Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

I'm enjoying Fossa, but now there's a problem which I think must be my hardware. I've eliminated bad headphones and OS.

One stereo channel has died on my Intel box with a Gigabyte Z97P-D3 mainboard.

I don't expect anyone to tell me what's wrong with that (although I'd be delighted if anyone has experienced the same thing, and leaps in with a fix) — what I would like to know is:

a) Would using an external USB sound card be a sensible way of fixing this?

b) If that is a good fix, which external USB sound card would Fossa recognise?

I'm not looking for Hi-Fi, just both channels working OK.

I assume this is a desktop computer?

What are you using to provide the sound?
Speakers, headset, some kind of speaker on the case?

For plug in speakers or headset.
I have had this kind of issue and it was caused by not making good contact with the cable end plugged into the audio port.
A little wiggle around with the cable end in the port fixed it.
Also look for condition of the port.
Dirty, corrosion, etc.......

If it is a speaker on the case.
The cable plug could have worked loose that attaches to the motherboard.

I suggest you open the computer case and look carefully over the motherboard for any issues.
corrosion on connections.
Leaking capacitors.
Dirt and dust bunnies.
Cooling fans dirty.

If it has been used for 5 years or more.
Check all connections to make sure none are loose.
They can work loose over time.
Unplug and plug back in can clean corrosion off contacts.

As to what USB audio sound card to use.

as long as it is a simple sound card it should be supported.
Something with a lot of features (switches) is most likely using some special driver, that would need to be added.

@Bushbuck

If you look on Ebay & Amazon and just search for a Linux supported device. There are plenty of cheap ones available.

Bear in mind that you may need to swap over the kernel if the device is not recognised immediately.

Hi, @Bushbuck :-

Long time no see!

By and large, m'colleague's right about the need for a good general inspection/tidy-up.....but I will add this:-

With audio ports (3.5 mm?), if they've had any amount of use over time, the internal spring contact eventually becomes weak, and won't make contact any more. TBH, the way these things are designed and built, you can't really pull them apart and re-tension the spring contact by judiciously bending it. Which leaves two options.....

• If you're at all handy with a soldering iron, they're simple enough to replace.

• Since most people don't know one end of a soldering iron from the other - nor how to use one effectively - an "add-in" sound card is the usual alternative.

====================

I've had great success on ye anciente Dell (before it died) with a basic USB sound card from Plugable.....like this:-

https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Speaker ... 157&sr=8-5

They're a little bit dearer than many others of similar design, but that's because they're built like a tank with an aluminum outer shell. Apart from that, they're pretty standard; they provide a microphone input, and a stereo headphone/speaker output. And they're really easy to use; two simple controls, one for 'PCM' (that's for output volume) and one for Microphone input level.

The sound quality is pretty good. Any non-audiophile will be perfectly satisfied with it. If that seems a bit expensive for you, a quick search on Amazon for "Plugable external usb audio adapter" will bring up a ton of similar items.......which, in all honesty, are probably using the exact same basic DAC chip!

Nothing special is needed. Just plug it in, and set Puppy up to use it. It's that simple, it really is. And they will work with ANY generation of Puppy. If the machine has at least USB 2.0 ports, you're gold.

Just some suggestions for you.

Mike.

Bigpup, it's a floor-standing tower computer, and I'm using headphones with 3.5mm stereo jack, plugged into a socket on the front.

I edit WAVs with mhWaveEdit, and convert them to mp3 files. My first guess was that I'd broken another pair of cheap headphones (the cables usually break after a year or two), so I was taken aback to find it was the computer.

I'll give it a good clean-up and check, as you suggest — it's 6 years old, with an Intel i7 processor. My nephew built it for me, he's much more clued up on modern hardware than I am.

Thanks, @Jasper and @mikewalsh, for confirming that a USB sound card is a sensible way to go, and for pointers to good ones. As for audio quality, the joke used to be in the 70s that if you can afford the best kit, you're probably too old to hear the high frequencies anyway.

I have a soldering iron in the cupboard, so will look at the 3.5mm socket when I install a new hard disk (which I have, and df says I need to do soon), but it sounds like getting a USB sound card is the easy fix.

Thanks for your replies, everyone.