Due to overwhelming demand (OK, one person), I’ve decided to post something.
I’ve been using a version of Linux as my main desktop OS for maybe five or ten years now. Although Linux, speaking generically about the various distributions, has made progress on many fronts, it can still be a pain when it comes to peripherals (e.g., audio, video, cameras, iphones, scanners, etc.).
Today, I am (again, long story) creating a tutorial on getting the internal speaker working on my Dell OptiPlex 760. I need to create this so I can remind myself what I’ve already learned a couple of times now.
I’m using Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, also known as Lucid Lynx. These instructions probably won’t work if you are using another version of Ubuntu (Editorial comment: because of how they, seemingly, randomly change applications and configurations).
In any case, the Dell PC has an internal speaker that no version of Ubuntu I’ve tried defaults to using. I can plug in external speakers or a headphones and hear the sound fine. But the internal speaker is not enabled, and as far as I can see, unless you add some software or find the right configuration file/command line instructions, you can’t enable it.
So, this tutorial is to remind myself how to do so. Before I go farther, please insert the standard disclaimer here. This entire site is provided “as is”, without any warranty whatsoever. Following these instructions may cause high fever, dandruff, and/or the complete loss of all data on your device – not to mention Thermal Nuclear War.
1. System –> Administration –> Synaptic Package Manager
2. Type in your password then use the “Quick search” box to find gnome-alsamixer.
3. Mark it for installation and Apply the change.
4. Applications –> Sound & Video –> GNOME ALSA mixer
5. Check if “Beep”, “IEC958”, or “Mono” are “Muted” (i.e., the little box at the bottom of the columns for each of the categories is checked). If any are muted, unmute each one and test your sound. How you test your sound is a task left to you, dear reader. If all else fails, unmute all sources on the mixer. If that fails, check the Master level to ensure it’s not set to zero (i.e., at the bottom of its slider). Done. At least, it works for me.
Misc. Ramblings 