Need help setting up audio

[Praetor]

I have a little project in the works for my second PogoPlug that seems to have come to a complete stop right now. I'm trying to get audio to work but I'm stumped.

I'm using a USB audio card that I rescued from a dumpster a few years back. I know this works because I've used it from time to time on other builds.

I've confirmed that the card shows up in lsusb and that the modules are automatically loaded. However, when I try to start the alsa service, I get an error. As the modules are loaded without issue, and since I know the card works, I'm assuming this has to be a configuration issue on my end. For the past few years, alsa has "Just Worked" for me on my other builds, so I'm a little stumped as to what to do.

Here's what I get:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '[root@endor ~]# lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 05e3:0608 Genesys Logic, Inc. USB-2.0 4-Port HUB
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 041e:3010 Creative Technology, Ltd SoundBlaster MP3+
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 18a5:0302 Verbatim, Ltd
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0a5c:2101 Broadcom Corp. BCM2045 Bluetooth
[root@endor ~]# lsmod
Module Size Used by
btusb 12484 0
bluetooth 58356 1 btusb
bootled_module 1472 0
snd_usb_audio 83172 0
snd_hwdep 7568 1 snd_usb_audio
snd_usb_lib 16100 1 snd_usb_audio
snd_rawmidi 21688 1 snd_usb_lib
snd_seq_device 7056 1 snd_rawmidi
snd_pcm 69456 1 snd_usb_audio
snd_page_alloc 6924 1 snd_pcm
snd_timer 20696 1 snd_pcm
gmac 40012 0
snd 49244 6 snd_timer,snd_pcm,snd_seq_device,snd_rawmidi,snd_hwdep,snd_usb_audio
mii 6200 1 gmac
soundcore 6944 1 snd
rt3390sta 893736 1
[root@endor ~]# /etc/rc.d/alsa start
:: Restoring ALSA Levels [BUSY] /usr/sbin/alsactl: get_control:259: Cannot read control '2,0,0,Mic Playback Switch,0': Invalid argument
[FAIL]
[root@endor ~]#
')

If I try to just use alsamixer, I get the following error:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '[root@endor ~]# alsamixer
cannot load mixer controls: Invalid argument
')

I'm not seeing anything in the Wiki that directly applies to my situation, and every command I've run ends with an error. What am I missing?

[anto]

I've been struggling with the same thing for about three weeks and can't get USB audio to work either.

I've tried installing pulseaudio and every configuration of alsa that I can find with no success.

dmesg shows the usb card is detected and lsmod shows modules are loaded OK.
directory /dev/snd exists and the contents look valid but like you whenever i try an alsa command it returns an "Invalid argument" error
$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '[root@pogo etc]# alsactl init
Found hardware: "USB-Audio" "USB Mixer" "USB0d8c:000c" "" ""
Hardware is initialized using a generic method
/usr/share/alsa/init/default:171: value write error: Invalid argument
/usr/share/alsa/init/default:171: value write error: Invalid argument
/usr/share/alsa/init/default:173: value write error: Invalid argument
[root@pogo etc]# amixer
amixer: Mixer default load error: Invalid argument
')

I have noticed that the dmesg log is filled with errors like this..
$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '[ 566.460000] usb 1-1.2: alsactl timed out on ep0in len=0/1
[ 566.560000] usb 1-1.2: alsactl timed out on ep0in len=0/1
[ 566.660000] usb 1-1.2: alsactl timed out on ep0in len=0/1
[ 566.760000] usb 1-1.2: alsactl timed out on ep0in len=0/1
')

so I assume the kernel is having some problem addressing the usb port...it's beyond me!

at this point i'm going to bin pogoplug pro and by a raspberry pi instead!!

[Praetor]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('anto', 'I')'ve been struggling with the same thing for about three weeks and can't get USB audio to work either.
<snip>
I have noticed that the dmesg log is filled with errors like this..
$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '[ 566.460000] usb 1-1.2: alsactl timed out on ep0in len=0/1
[ 566.560000] usb 1-1.2: alsactl timed out on ep0in len=0/1
[ 566.660000] usb 1-1.2: alsactl timed out on ep0in len=0/1
[ 566.760000] usb 1-1.2: alsactl timed out on ep0in len=0/1
')

so I assume the kernel is having some problem addressing the usb port...it's beyond me!

at this point i'm going to bin pogoplug pro and by a raspberry pi instead!!

[Praetor]

I just bought a new usb sound card figuring that the one I was using was too complicated.

Unfortunately, I'm getting the same results.

Any ideas?

[NoPinky]

I have the same "cannot load mixer controls: Invalid argument" error trying to start alsamixer on my B04 with the PS3 Eye connected. arecord runs fine and I have very good recording quality. I was just currious what I can tweak with the alsamixer. Maybe I won't really need alsamixer but it's annoying to know that this doesn't work. Maybe someone can help me troubleshoot this?

[jm2]

Unfortunately this is one of the big drawbacks of the ancient kernel on the V3/oxnas. I spent days trying nearly every avenue to fix this including recompiling alsa drivers and using oss instead, but without any luck. The kernel on the V2 pogoplug (3.1.10) just works with everything else being the same, so I just ended up using V2 pogoplugs instead for this application.

[jm2]

An update on this, after doing some alsa-driver patching, I was able to get alsa drivers 1.0.25 to compile and run on the pogoplug. Unfortunately it didn't change anything, so I suspect the usb drivers in the 2.6.31 kernel are the culprit.