sound corruption necessitates routine reboot

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nubc · #1 Post by **nubc** » Thu 09 Jun 2011, 19:46

I believe my sound issue occurs when the computer goes into standby, or whatever dormant mode. When the computer is awakened again, the sound driver is not correctly restored, perhaps because it wasn't properly saved. So if I let my computer rest for a long while, the sound driver will come back corrupted, the sound is profoundly flawed (stuck loop), and I must reboot to correct the condition. This happens three or four times a day, so I would like to find a remedy, or workaround, because I have lost my data more than once. Any suggestions?

Wary Puppy 5.1.1
ASUS mobo/P4 1.8 GHz/[desktop tower]
SiS AC'97 onboard sound (snd-intel8x0)
2 GB ddr ram
160 GB ide hdd

#2 Post by **BÃ©Ã¨m** » Thu 09 Jun 2011, 19:53

You could do a test by not letting the laptop into standby mode, but leaving it idle for a fair amount of time.
If you try some sound then and the sound is good, it has to do with the awakening from standby.

nubc · #3 Post by **nubc** » Fri 10 Jun 2011, 00:09

The computer is a desktop, not a laptop. The procedure you suggest is the way I deduced that sound is corrupted when the computer wakes. I'm thinking this might be a bug. I guess I'll try ALSA Sound Wizard next time things go bad.

nubc · #4 Post by **nubc** » Fri 17 Jun 2011, 02:36

Well, now I have experienced the sound going bad without the computer going into some dormant state. In this case, it was just a matter of time before the sound got corrupted, after several (3 to 5) hours of continuous operation, one single session.

#5 Post by **BÃ©Ã¨m** » Fri 17 Jun 2011, 04:18

How is Wary installed?
On which partition type?

nubc · #6 Post by **nubc** » Fri 17 Jun 2011, 14:47

Wary 5.1.1 full install
single ext2 partition with Linux-swap partition

nubc · #7 Post by **nubc** » Sun 03 Jul 2011, 10:04

After the sound had become corrupted, if I play a FLV file that is already downloaded, it plays fine. Streaming FLV video (on YouTube) is what gets corrupted. The corruption can occur in the middle of a song. Sound degenerates into a short loop. After the degeneration has occurred, if I start a streaming video, there won't be any sound for 20 or 30 seconds, and then the first audio to be heard is a loop.

chiron · #8 Post by **chiron** » Sun 03 Jul 2011, 10:43

actually, this sounds more like a streaming prob to me, than a sound prob in general. after the loop occurs, is the 'normal' sound corrupted also, or can you playback local files normally?

nubc · #9 Post by **nubc** » Sun 03 Jul 2011, 11:11

Local files play normally. So then, is my problem a connectivity issue? How does one correct a streaming problem?

#10 Post by **BÃ©Ã¨m** » Sun 03 Jul 2011, 11:23

How are you connected to the internet?

nubc · #11 Post by **nubc** » Sun 03 Jul 2011, 11:25

Hardwire cable from (hardwired) Linksys router to ADMtek NC100 Network Everywhere Fast Ethernet 10/100 pci card. HardInfo reports this card has capability of Power Management version 2.

#12 Post by **BÃ©Ã¨m** » Sun 03 Jul 2011, 11:27

Spec's about your connection please.

nubc · #13 Post by **nubc** » Sun 03 Jul 2011, 11:58

I just pulled the Linksys NIC (possibly incorrectly identified as ADMtek) and replaced it with a 3com 3c905B 100BaseTX, automagically detected and operational.

#14 Post by **BÃ©Ã¨m** » Sun 03 Jul 2011, 14:19

And the result is?

nubc · #15 Post by **nubc** » Mon 04 Jul 2011, 08:10

Good chance this problem is fixed. The computer has been on for 12 straight hours, and videos still stream normally.

nubc · #16 Post by **nubc** » Mon 04 Jul 2011, 08:55

Just out of curiosity, how would I go about fixing the incorrectly identified Linksys NIC? Would I have to blacklist ADMtek, and force it to be detected as Linksys Fast Ethernet? General procedure, please.

nubc · #17 Post by **nubc** » Tue 05 Jul 2011, 05:04

After 10 hours of using this computer, including a 2-hour dormant period when I fell asleep, the sound became corrupted with the replacement 3com NIC. I tried to redo the network connection with the Connection Wizard, but doing so did not clear the looping-sound condition. I guess it's time to reboot. Same problem. Persists.

nubc · #18 Post by **nubc** » Tue 06 Sep 2011, 14:28

I know I should just do it, but I also don't want to waste time. If I run Wary 5.1.1 with older kernel as a live CD or frugal install, will I be able to ascertain whether a full install of same will be free of this streaming issue? I wonder if the current Wary 5.1.1 would have streaming issues if I was running it as a live CD. Any opinion to the effect that an older kernel will fix this streaming issue?

Refresher: Since a local flash file will play fine even when a streaming YT video won't play, it is known that this is a streaming issue. I am hesitant to commit to another (older) kernel because of questionable outcome, and the need to transfer much data (loss of time and productivity). Even testing of Wary 5.1.1 with older kernel represents considerable loss of time.

nubc · #19 Post by **nubc** » Wed 07 Sep 2011, 13:52

Sound eventually degenerated into a loop when running Wary 5.1.1 (old kernel k2.6.30.5) as a frugal install. So I guess Wary is going to have a streaming problem on this computer. I wonder if other Wary users might experience this problem if they streamed from YouTube for 5 or 10 hours straight without leaving the site. Classic Pup 214x seems the logical choice now.

I think it's a connectivity issue. At some point the connection gets dropped, and is inadequately re-established, and so streaming is negatively impacted.
If Classic Pup 214x fails too, I will conclude this is either a Flash 10 bug or the hardware on this computer is incompatible with the Linux kernel. If streaming does not degenerate using Classic Pup 214x, I will conclude this is a Wary issue.

EDIT: Streaming degenerated on Classic Pup too. Good excuse to put together another computer, another mobo anyways.

nubc · #20 Post by **nubc** » Tue 19 Mar 2013, 01:31

UPDATE: March 18, 2013

I've reached a point where I have to do something about this issue. Every day, probably four times a day I have to reboot the computer at an inopportune time, and I must rely on Seamonkey to recover my place so I don't lose my work and progress. Lately, the script kiddies designing YouTube have made it so that I cannot recover more than two instances of Seamonkey playing a YT music video. Formerly, I could recover as many as 7 instances of Seamonkey playing YT, but now Seamonkey freezes (unrecoverable without restarting x) with just 3 instances of SM playing YT, after rebooting the computer to correct the corrupted audio. I am losing my place and my work when Seamonkey recovers in this reduced, minimal way. This issue applies to any uniprocessor computer, not just this computer. I have confirmed the every-4-hour reboot requirement on several computers. Moreover, it's not limited to Wary 5.1.1 because I have observed it in Wary 5.1.2 (full installed) and Wary 5.2 (live CD). I don't have to tell you how annoying and inconvenient it is to have to reboot this often, and with such regularity. It just so happens that I just acquired a 2T Baracuda SATA drive which will double my disk space, so now is a good time to select another Puppy version, hopefully a version that will not have these old problems. Please suggest versions of Puppy that will be suitable for my, more or less, 24/7 activity. It would be most helpful if someone can help check a suggested version for the corrupted audio/reboot issue. Thanks

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sound corruption necessitates routine reboot

sound corruption necessitates routine reboot