[kde-linux] KDE resetting microphone setting upon login

[Mark Knecht]

On Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 5:46 PM, Duncan <1i5t5.duncan at cox.net> wrote:
> Mark Knecht posted on Sun, 29 Apr 2012 07:06:25 -0700 as excerpted:
>
>> The newest stable KDE (4.8.1) on Gentoo is causing me problems with my
>> microphone levels. It seems that each time I log in KDE sets the 3
>> faders required for me to get microphone audio (called Front Mic Boost,
>> Capture and Digital in the mixer) back to 0. Each time I log in, if I
>> need to use the microphone, then I have to set these up again.
>>
>> This problem is new since 4.8.1. With the previous 4.7 version and all
>> version before it I never had this problem.
>>
>> I know it's KDE on login:
>>
>> 1) If I log out of KDE and look in alsamixer in the console then the
>> settings are correct.
>>
>> 2) If the settings are correct when I shutdown then when  reboot I can
>> look in alsamixer before starting KDE and the levels are fine.
>>
>> 3) When the levels are fine in the console and I log into KDE the levels
>> are set back to zeros.
>>
>> 4) With the levels set back to zeros in KDE if I then shell to the
>> console the levels are all zeros. (No surprise there)
>>
>> Does anyone know of a fix for this frustrating little problem?
>
> Check in kmix.
>
> FWIW here, I don't actually have kmix installed on my main machine.  All
> output there is via SPDIF to external amp @ digital line-level, so all
> system audio gives me is essentially mute/no-mute anyway.  So I use
> individual app and external amp volume levels only, and just set alsa to
> turn on the SPDIF at boot and leave it.
>
> I do have kmix on the netbook, but I don't update it regularly, and I
> think it's still back on kde 4.6.0 or some such.
>
> But I believe kmix is considered a kde system component now, so will
> automatically start with kde and set its remembered volumes when it does
> so.  Depending on your config, it may or may not show up in the systray,
> but even if it doesn't, I believe if you have the option set to restore
> volumes at login, it'll do that and then quit, instead of staying in the
> systray.
>
> So if I'm correct, you should be able to fix it one of two ways.  Either
> uncheck the option to restore volumes at login (probably what you want
> based on your post), or leave that checked, but set the volumes with kmix
> to what you want, so it remembers those, instead of all zero-levels.
>
> There may also be interactions with phonon and the backend you've chosen
> (phonon-gstreamer is the kde and gentoo default, phonon-vlc is what I use
> as I don't have gstreamer installed at all, here, phonon-xine is masked
> and in the process of removal, switch to something else if you're still
> using it, I've NO idea how pulseaudio plays into it as I won't touch it
> with a 10 foot bargepole!), so you can try experimenting a bit there too,
> but that gets too complicated to describe pretty fast and I suspect it's
> a kmix restore-settings problem anyway, so definitely investigate kmix,
> first.
>
> --
> Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
> "Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
> and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman

Hi Duncan,
   I hate to be sort of 'Well, duh...' but kmix is what I'm using and
the problem is evidenced entering in KDE before I run kmix.

1) Enter KDE
2) Open kmix. Settings for the mic are all zeroed out. Set them and
test the mic.
3) Close kmix.
4) Open a terminal and run alsamixer to check levels. They are all fine.
5) Log out of KDE
6) Shell to the Linux console. Run alsamixer. All levels for the mic are fine.
7) Log back into KDE

8) At this point I can run alsamixer or mkix first. Both show all
levels for the mic set back to zeros again.

It's KDE that's setting them to zeroes, not kmix best I can tell.

As I said earlier, this never happened with earlier versions of KDE,
and to the best of my ability to tell so far I don't think it has
anything to do with kmix. It's a KDE thing overall since alsamixer
shows them as different right after I log out vs right after I log
back in.

   Like you I don't use pulseaudio and likely won't ever. My KDE audio
backend is Gentoo default. I've never changed that.

   To me this sounds like a bug that should be reported somewhere. I
guess I'll send it to Gentoo devs and let them push it up to KDE if
they think that's the right thing to do.

Thanks,
Mark