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lspci |grep -i audio

00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03)

cat /dev/sndstat

Sound Driver:3.8.1a-980706 (ALSA v1.0.21 emulation code)
Kernel: Linux Pinguino 2.6.32-33-generic #71-Ubuntu SMP Wed Jul 20 17:27:30 UTC 2011 x86_64
Config options: 0

Installed drivers:
Type 10: ALSA emulation

Card config:
HDA Intel at 0x96500000 irq 22

Audio devices:
0: HDA Generic (DUPLEX)

Synth devices: NOT ENABLED IN CONFIG

Midi devices: NOT ENABLED IN CONFIG

Timers:
31: system timer

Mixers:
0: Intel G45 DEVCTG

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-audio-dev/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install linux-alsa-driver-modules-$(uname -r)

You are still using an old version of Alsa, Alsa 1.0.20-21 (it is shown in the alsa-info output).

So, what you do?

Step 1

Install the latest Alsa for your distribution from the Alsa PPA at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Audio/Installin ... verModules

InstallingLinuxAlsaDriverModules

The Ubuntu Kernel Team produces what they call "Crack of the Day" builds of alsa-driver code. This is the latest development code that is being worked on "upstream" and has all the most recent fixes to hardware issues. We ask users having audio problems to install these builds in order to help us identify whether the issue has already been fixed or if it's also an issue upstream.

Installing

Install with Command Line

Adding the ppa

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-audio-dev/ppa
sudo apt-get update

Install the linux-alsa-driver-modules package

sudo apt-get install linux-alsa-driver-modules-$(uname -r)

Note: After installing the linux-alsa-driver-modules package, your system needs to be rebooted.

Install with Synaptic Package Manager

Adding the ppa

   * Open up the "Synaptic Package Manager":
         o

           System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager
   * Bring up the "Software Sources" dialog in the "Synaptic Package Manager":
         o

           Settings -> Repositories
   * Select the "Other Software" tab in the "Software Sources" dialog.
   * Click the "+Add" button.
   * In the "APT line: " text input box type:
         o ppa:ubuntu-audio-dev/ppa
   * Click the "+Add Source" button.
   * Close the "Software Sources" dialog.
   * You may see a dialog box pop up which warns you that your "Repositories changed". This is a good thing and you can close the dialog.
   * Since we've just added a new repository we need to update that database that knows what packages are available and where from. Update the package information by:
         o

           Edit -> Reload Package Information

Determine the current version of kernel running (via command line)

uname -r

Install the linux-alsa-driver-modules package

   * Open up the "Synaptic Package Manager" if it isn't already open:
         o

           System -> Administration -> Synamptic Package Manager
   * Search for the "linux-alsa-driver-modules" package:
         o

           Edit -> Search
   * In the search results shown, find the package that matches up with the kernel version that you are running.
   * Select the "linux-alsa-driver-modules" package by checking the checkbox in the leftmost column of the search results.
   * Install the package:
         o

           Edit -> Apply Marked Changes
   * A dialog will come up asking if you want to "Apply the following changes?". Click the "Apply" button.
   * A dialog will appear showing the progress of applying the indicated changes. After it's complete another dialog appears stating the changes have been applied. That dialog can be closed by clicking on the "Close" button.
   * The "Synaptic Package Manager" can now be closed, the package has been installed.

Note: After installing the linux-alsa-driver-modules package, your system needs to be rebooted.

This is Alsa 1.0.24. So you can keep your current version of Ubuntu and have the latest Alsa kernel module. Once you install the latest Alsa, reboot your computer.

Step 2

Test whether sound automatically works. If it does not work, check to see whether you still see the following message (from Alsa-info):

[    7.422678] hda_codec: ALC268: BIOS auto-probing.

If you still see this message, then Alsa does not know the details of your sound card, and you need to add these details yourself. I'll add details for this if it is still the case.

Step 3

So you still see the message about ALC268: BIOS auto-probing. Now, visit http://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation ... Models.txt and check the section about ALC268. It is

ALC267/268
==========
 quanta-il1        Quanta IL1 mini-notebook
 3stack            3-stack model
 toshiba           Toshiba A205
 acer              Acer laptops
 acer-dmic         Acer laptops with digital-mic
 acer-aspire       Acer Aspire One
 dell              Dell OEM laptops (Vostro 1200)
 zepto             Zepto laptops
 test              for testing/debugging purpose, almost all controls can
                   adjusted.  Appearing only when compiled with
                   $CONFIG_SND_DEBUG=y
 auto              auto-config reading BIOS (default)

The auto-probing message means that the auto facility in Alsa did not identify the correct sound chip, and you will have to set it explicitly. Your options are quanta-il1, 3stack, toshiba, etc. Depending on your laptop brand, start with the most relevant models.

You need to

  1. Edit the file /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf by running

   sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

  1. Add or edit (if it already exists) the line

   options snd-hda-intel model=XXXXXXXX

and replace XXXXXXXX with one of the available models. Restart the computer and check if the sound is fixed. Repeat until your try out all other models.

Once you find the correct model, you are done! But please report back to describe the next step which involves informing the Alsa project about your sound card. So that your computer's sound works out of the box in the next version of Ubuntu!