Back in the day, I was something of an audiophile and was interested in expensive sound systems. But that interest ended quite some time ago when I realized how fettering sinking alot of money (and the time it takes to earn it) into such things is. Nowadays, we have this notion of getting sound from our computers, which otherwise would be limited to producing for us various calculations, text compositions and graphical renderings. It's a bit odd to me that someone would want to get quality sound out of their computer: it's kind of like expecting your washing machine to double as a sports car. Can't one machine just do one job, and a separate machine another? Why this quest for the renaissance machine that does it all?
But, I wax philosophical. I finally decided to give in and listen to some music through my computer. Mainly a satellite radio I've gotten to run through it. I'm satisfied with the barest semblance of audio reproduction these days: it sounds a little better than an old mono phonograph playing 45's, which is fine. If I want better sound I'll visit a friend with a real stereo or go to a live performance. So, all would be fine if I could just keep my computer from suddenly ceasing to output sound for unknown reasons. I'm not really interested in troubleshooting the sound server so much as I am in a way of possibly resetting it short of rebooting the machine. Is there a way to do this, i.e., to shutdown, then restart the sound server to see if I can get the sound back without a reboot? A few details, in case it's helpful. This is Ubuntu, a Debian variant. Sound hardware uses the snd_via82xx module--auto-detected and set up by the OS on installation. Things I've noted that cause sound output to cease: plugging/unplugging the speakers while the computer is running; plugging a usb device into a hub mounted on top of the computer case; and today I can't say that anything in particular caused this. The symptom is an end to all sounds: no music will play, nor will system sounds. Only the PC speaker remains operational. Sound comes back after a reboot. I'm hoping there's a way to stop, then restart the sound server and that this might resolve the problem when it occurs. I think this distro must use the ALSA sound server, if I've understood correctly these technical details. Any advice? Go back to using a stereo-type device for sound and just use my computer for computing, perhaps? James - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-newbie" in the body of a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.linux-learn.org/faqs
