HP Mini 1000 audio fix for Ubuntu 9.04

So i decided to pick up a sexy netbook and i couldn’t be happier. Now, this is the first time i’ve actually purchased anything that wasn’t a desktop, and the recent surge in popularity of netbooks caught my interest. Now i rarely have a need to do computer work on the road or have the need to take a computer somewhere, but i knew i could find some conveniences with a netbook that i wouldn’t normally have with a laptop. Netbooks are tiny, light, and generally look better than laptops. Plus they have enough power to do your every day tasks and is crazy easy to carry around. I decided on the HP Mini 1000 (1035NR) for 2 reasons. 1, the keyboard is large for my freakishly bulbus fingers, and 2. the price was right for only $279.

Obviously, my first task after opening it up was installing Ubuntu. First problem was that i don’t have an external dvd drive, so i had to create a bootable usb flash drive with the ubuntu cd image. That had it’s own set of challenges until i actually managed to format the flash drive correctly prior to loading the image on to it.

After i got Ubuntu installed it looked absolutely perfect with none of the usual suspects when it comes to Linux compatibility with hardware with the one exception of the audio. After searching all over getting no real good answers, i find this incredibly helpful post with a line by line instruction on how to compile the newest alsa drivers from source. i followed the instructions, rebooted, and bam, i got myslef some sound.

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/318942/comments/63

- First, check that you have this packages installed (sudo apt-get install package_name):
patch, gettext, libncurses5-dev, xmlto, xmltoman
- Use this script:

cd ~
mkdir soundtmp
cd soundtmp

wget ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/driver/alsa-driver-1.0.19.tar.bz2
wget ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/lib/alsa-lib-1.0.19.tar.bz2
wget ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/utils/alsa-utils-1.0.19.tar.bz2

tar xjf alsa-driver-1.0.19.tar.bz2
tar xjf alsa-lib-1.0.19.tar.bz2
tar xjf alsa-utils-1.0.19.tar.bz2

cd alsa-driver-1.0.19
./configure –with-cards=hda-intel –with-kernel=/usr/src/linux-headers-$(uname -r)
make
sudo make install
cd ..

cd alsa-lib-1.0.19
./configure
make
sudo make install
cd ..

cd alsa-utils-1.0.19
./configure –disable-nls
make
sudo make install

- Change your alsa-base.conf file (sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf) adding these lines:

options snd-pcsp index=-2
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel
alias sound-slot-0 snd-hda-intel
options snd-hda-intel model=hp-m4
options snd-hda-intel enable_msi=1

- Go to System>Preferences>Sound and change first 4 options to ALSA

- Reboot!

- After reboot you should hear login sound…

- In volume control, you’ll want to set the input sources to “line” and “front mic” for the HDA Intel (Alsa mixer). Make sure your volumes are not set too low after a reboot, you’re off and running (thanks to jasonq).

Built in speakers work, headphones and internal mic. Magic blue keys works too, and i’m not having issues about playing from 2 different sources at the same time (youtube in firefox and mp3 in rhytmbox). However, I didn’t test external mic.

Setting up your Xbox 360 controller on Ubuntu

As much as people want to deny it, the Xbox 360 controller is the best gamepad you can buy. And since i already have a 360, using my current xbox controllers makes a lot of sense for emulation on ubuntu. However, the usb receiver/gamepad compatibility in ubuntu is sketchy at best for older Ubuntu versions.

If you are using Ubuntu 9.04, it’s basically plug and play. As soon as you connect the receiver and sync your controller, you should just have to map your buttons like any other gamepad. For Ubuntu 8.04 and 8.10 you have to do the following.

First thing is, plug in that usb receiver and then attempt to sync your controller with the receiver. First thing i noticed was that it doesn’t connect like it does with the xbox where you will get the top left part of the ring lit up representing player 1. In ubuntu, I got the full ring blinking constantly. Not sure why this is, but i just ignore it.

When you first plug it in, you notice, it’s basically the mouse… as you move the left analog, your mouse cursor moves. Fantastic, another mouse, this isn’t what i want. After doing a bit or research, this is apparently a problem in 8.04 and 8.10. To get it working as a joystick/gamepad, open up terminal and type:

xinput list

you will get a list of devices. despite what you read online elsewhere, you don’t get one for the controller, but 4 of “Xbox Wireless Receiver” which look like this:

“Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver” id=6 [XExtensionPointer]
Num_buttons is 32
Num_axes is 2
Mode is Absolute
Motion_buffer is 256
Axis 0 :
Min_value is -32768
Max_value is 32767
Resolution is 10000
Axis 1 :
Min_value is -32768
Max_value is 32767
Resolution is 10000

You have to enable all 4 of them (cause who knows which one your controller will pick) with the following command. The device number is the “id=6″ part from above.

sudo xinput set-int-prop [device number] ‘Device Enabled’ 32 0

Now the problem appears to be with this is when you restart your pc, these settings get reset. as of now, you gotta set them each time you reboot. I’m going to work on this issue. I’ll post when i got it worked out. But from here, just go into zsnes for example and map your buttons for your gamepad. Easy as that.

I must admit, playing Super Mario Bros. 3 with an Xbox 360 Controller is a bit surreal.

Setup Capture Card for Mythbuntu

Setup Capture Card for Mythbuntu:

Log into MythTV Backend

****Assumung Hauppauge PVR-150****

A) Capture Card Setup

Card Type: MPEG-2 encoder card (PVR-x50, PVR-500)

Video Devce: /dev/video0

Probed Info: Should see the card!

Default Input: Tuner1

B) Video Sources

* New Video Source

Video Source Name: Cable

Listings Grabber: Transmitted Guide Only (EIT)

Channel Frequency Table: us-cable

C) Input Connections

* Select Tuner 1

Video Source: Cable

MythTV Troubleshooting

MythTV Troubleshooting:

1) Audio Adjustments in MythTV not working:

a. Change: Utilities/Setup > Setup > General > Next (2 Menus) Audio Menu > Mixer Device: ‘ALSA:default’

2) If unable to connect to database…

a. Run “sudo dpkg-reconfigure mythtv-database”

My list of junk i installed

get windows fonts
sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts

low volume
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base
add line: options snd-hda-intel model=3stack

get printer working
open printer properties
install Canon PIXMA MP150 CUPS driver

install samba for network sharing
open synaptic package manager
install samba (samba – LanManager-like file and printer server for Unix.)
sudo gedit /etc/samba/smb.conf
change workgroup

install desktop effects
get from add/remove applications (didn’t seem to work)
sudo aptitude install compizconfig-settings-manager (worked)

install amarok
get from add/remove applications

install thunderbird
sudo aptitude install mozilla-thunderbird

install firetray add-on to minimize thunderbird to tray

http://code.google.com/p/firetray/downloads/list

install filezilla
sudo apt-get install filezilla

install amsn
sudo apt-get install amsn

install mythtv
sudo apt-get install mythtv

install tvtime
get from synaptic package manager
after installation go into sound settings and change channel mode to 2ch to get line-in working

install unrar
sudo apt-get install unrar