This is an old revision of the document!
Sound Problems on Slackware
Investigate the problem
1) See which kernel modules are loaded:
lsmod | grep snd
Use this information along with your motherboard sound chipset to verify that the correct sound drivers are loading.
2) See which sound devices are detected by alsa:
aplay -l
Most likely, alsa is loading the correct modules but setting the wrong sound device as default.
3) Test sound devices to see which one(s) work:
alsamixer <F6> <select a card(s)> <adjust volumes and make sure they aren't muted> <ESC> aplay -D plughw:0,0 test.wav (WHERE 0,0 is card/slot 0, device 0 and test.wav is a sound file e.g. /usr/share/sounds/alsa/Noise.wav) aplay -D plughw:0,1 test.wav aplay -D plughw:1,0 test.wav aplay -D plughw:1,1 test.wav
PROBLEM: alsa is setting the wrong device as the default sound; you can force the correct default as follows:
FIX: Create /etc/asound.conf and add an entry for the working card/slot and device:
pcm.!default { type hw card 1 device 0 } ctl.!default { type hw card 1 device 0 }
OR, if you just want the changes for a single user create ~/.asoundrc in the user's home directory and put the above in it…
Sources