FC4 no longer plays CDs

[Mikkel L. Ellertson]

Anne Wilson wrote:
> On Sunday 03 December 2006 15:38, Mikkel L. Ellertson wrote:
>> Anne Wilson wrote:
>>> For some reason I can no longer get music out of a CD on that box. 
>>> System sounds work, so the audio card is OK and speakers are OK, so are
>>> the connections.  Xmms shows that the CD is playing but nothing comes
>>> out.   I've checked everything in alsamixer.
>>>
>>> I've disabled the on-board audio and put in a SBLive card, which is
>>> detected and playing system sounds.  This is 5.1 card, and it is
>>> connected to a 2.1 speaker setup.  Is there something that I can use to
>>> tell it so?
>>>
>>> Any more ideas that I can check out?
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>>
>>> Anne
>> Are you using an audio cable between the CD drive and the sound
>> card? Or are using digital audio from the drive?
>>
> There is a cable from the cd drive, and it is securely attached.  I do have 
> cdread enabled in xmms (I think that's the name) instead of cdplayer, and 
> that has always done it for me in the past.
> 
>>  If you are using an audio cable, check that the CD audio didn't get
>> muted in the mixer, and/or try another audio cable. You can also try
>> plugging headphones into the jack on the drive, and see if you get
>> audio there.
>>
> I've been through all the mixer settings.  I can't find anything wrong there.
> 
Even though it may be securely attached, it may not be a good cable.
They do sometimes break. That is why I asked about trying another
cable. Also, if the drive has a headphone jack, then you should be
able to plug in a set of headphones and hear the CD when you try and
play it in the analog mode. If you don't get sound through the
headphones, then chances are you will not get sound over the cable.

>>  If you are using digital audio, make sure an upgrade didn't change
>> the settings to the analog audio cable from the drive.
>>
> This box was using on-board sound, and cd playing worked then.  The trouble is 
> that it wasn't used for sound for quite some time, so I'm not sure in what 
> order the problems started.
> 
> I have two DVD drives - a reader and a writer.  The writer is hdc and has the 
> audio cable.  In the past I was able to use hdc with xmms, and oddly enough I 
> could play a cd digitally using the front-panel buttons on the dvd-reader.  
> At some point it all stopped working, even system sounds.
> 
I suspect that you were playing the sound using the analog cable,
and not digital audio when using the front panel buttons. When using
the buttons on the drive, you are using the drive electronics to
convert the digital data on the disk, and send the sound the cable
from the drive to the sound card, as well as the headphone jack on
the drive. When you play in the digital mode, you are sending the
information over the IDE cable and using software on the computer to
send it to the sound card. (There is also a digital output on some
drives that works at the same time as the analog cable, but most
people do not have the cable to use it, and only some sound cards
support it.)

> I installed the SBLive card, and now system sounds work, but I can't get any 
> music.
> 
> Anne
> 
In XMMS, you have the option of using the CD audio, or digital
extraction. When I use digital audio, I guess I should be using
digital extraction instead. This mode reads the digital data from
the CD, and sends it to the sound card the same way you play .wav or
.mp3 files. This mode works even if there isn't an audio cable from
the drive. It also works if the digital to analog converter on the
drive is broken. It may also give better sound quality, depending on
the DtoA converter on the drive, and the sound card.

Mikkel
-- 

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