PPC Luddite: Debian Kernel With Sound Fix http://ppcluddite.blogspot.com/2015/08/debian-kernel-with-sound-fix...

PPC Luddite
Those who are late do not get fruit cup.

T h u r s d a y, A u g u s t 1 3 , 2 0 1 5

Debian Kernel With Sound Fix

(UPDATE: The original version of this post had typos in the symlinks below. They have been
corrected.)

Following up on my last post where I mentioned compiling a custom kernel to test sound
patches, I can report the patches worked and those of you who have been suffering from that
nasty soundcard detection failure will have restored sound in, I believe, the 4.2 kernel.
However, if you don't want to wait that long, I'm making available the patched Jessie kernel I
compiled on my Sawtooth (download link at bottom).

Actually, the first kernel I compiled was on my G3 iBook, but I compiled it without Altivec
instructions, so that would be kind of useless to G4 owners. So I compiled another one on the
Sawtooth (I didn't want to risk melting my iBook again), and it works fine on all three systems
I've tried it on (G3 iBook, G4 Sawtooth, and G4 Powerbook). It's compiled with all the stock
options; the only modifications are the two patches, this one applied on top of this one, that
fix the sound bug.

So after you download it, open a terminal and use the cd command to change to your
downloads directory:

cd ~/Downloads

Then install the kernel with:

sudo dpkg -i linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix_1.0_powerpc.deb

Then to set it as your default kernel, create these two symlinks:

sudo ln -s /boot/initrd.img-linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix /boot/initrd.img.soundfix

sudo ln -s /boot/initrd.img-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix /boot/initrd.img.soundfix

sudo ln -s /boot/vmlinux-linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix /boot/vmlinux.soundfix

sudo ln -s /boot/vmlinux-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix /boot/vmlinux.soundfix

Then edit /etc/yaboot.conf, adding this kernel entry on top of the others:
image=/boot/vmlinux.soundfix
label=soundfix
read-only
initrd=/boot/initrd.img.soundfix

Listing it first will keep it as your default kernel even after a software update installs a newer

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kernel. Conversely, if you're through with it being your default, list it somewhere other than
first. As always when changing yaboot.conf, run sudo ybin -v to update the configuration.

Now using this very unofficial kernel brings up thorny security issues: how can you trust it, how
do you know it doesn't have malicious code, etc. However, in the years I've written this blog, I
think I've established that

a) I'm reasonably trustworthy.

b) I totally lack the skills to pull something like that off.

So install with no worries :)

Here's the download and sha256 fingerprint:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/cj8h2h4dybg2otm/linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-
soundfix_1.0_powerpc.deb

sha256: f489a9d2c617fa803bbe44c7913a4540b1705ab3e6da6b149559bddcb3b508ff

Dan at 8:17 AM

Share

32 comments:

Anonymous August 13, 2015 at 10:07 AM

Why don't you install the Linux headers package and then use dkms? There is already a package
with the sound patches on the ubuntu forums.
Reply

zen August 18, 2015 at 9:01 AM

Good work, Dan.
Reply

Replies

Dan August 18, 2015 at 9:25 AM

Thanks! I've been in a Linux mood lately, messing around with different things. It's easy
to get lost in ;)

zen August 24, 2015 at 7:16 AM

I know the feeling... Linux has a hold on me each time I use it. I always desire to go
back to it.

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Juggling 3 OS in my life (OpenBSD, Linux and Mac OS) is hard when one keeps calling
me in my nerd brain. I imagine it's because I know Linux the least of the three, and
want to correct that.

Reply

Charles Lehner August 24, 2015 at 11:14 AM

Works great for me on a PowerBook G4. Thanks!
Reply

Anonymous September 11, 2015 at 4:50 AM

I installed soundfix kernel ok with your instructions,but at the
yaboot prompt iget,soundfix no such file or directory.
Many thanks for any info.Imac G4.
Great site.
Reply

Replies

Dan September 11, 2015 at 10:01 AM

When you press tab at the second yaboot prompt, does it list soundfix alongside Linux
and old?

What's in your /boot directory? Is

initrd.img-linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix

and

vmlinux-linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix

inside it?

If all those answers are yes, maybe something went wrong with the symlinking. The
symlinks aren't required. You could just put the full filenames in your yaboot entry:

image=/boot/vmlinux-linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix
label=soundfix
read-only
initrd=/boot/initrd.img-linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix

Did you remember to run sudo ybin -v after editing yaboot.conf? That's a step I often
forget myself.

If the files mentioned above aren't in your /boot directory, then something went wrong
with the dpkg installation.

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If the "soundfix" label doesn't show up when you press tab at the yaboot prompt, then
it means something is misconfigured in yaboot.conf or you didn't run ybin again after
editing it.

I hope some of this helps :)

Anonymous September 12, 2015 at 5:35 AM

Dan ,thank you very much for your help.
At the yaboot promt after i pressi tab i get
"soundfix" "old" "Linux" &"Ubuntu-Linux"
I can boot Debian8 ok,with no sound, with Linux.
I can boot Lubuntu14.04 ok with no webkit browsers.using Ubuntu-Linux.
With soundfix or old i get the "vmlinux no such file or directory"
I can answer yes to all your other points.I will try yaboot.conf again.
Many thanks for keeping our ppc macs away from the local landfill.

Dan September 21, 2015 at 9:55 PM

There was a typo previously in the symlinks on the post above, which would cause
problems if you copy and pasted. I've corrected the post, so you may want to try again
and hopefully it will work.

Reply

Rick Appel September 21, 2015 at 8:42 AM

Hi Dan,

I had a problem very simular to that of Anonymous. Thanks to some of your thoughts, I was able
to puzzle it out, and now have Debian 8.2 with sound on my Powerbook G4 Titanium!

Yep, I did suspect a symlink problem, so I tried simply placing the full
"image=/boot/vmlinux-linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix" (and the rest) in my yaboot.conf. No
luck. I still got "no such" response when I typed soundfix in at the second yaboot prompt , though
"soundfix" was clearly listed.

Your suggestion to Anonymous to check the /boot directory to make sure that
"image=/boot/vmlinux-linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix" and
vmlinux-linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix
were present led me to the solution. My eye had fooled me. I ALMOST had those files, but in a
slightly different form, in my /boot directory.

Instead, I had (missing the word "linux"):

vmlinux-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix
initrd.img-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix

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So, when I copied THOSE full filemanes into my yaboot.conf file, faithfully followed by ybin -v,
everything worked.

Without your suggestion to check the /boot directory, never would have figured it out. Your work
has made a major difference for me in getting this old Powerbook up and running, so thank you.
Reply

Replies

Dan September 21, 2015 at 9:52 PM

Oh, shoot, that's a really bad typo on my part. I've fixed the post. Thanks for pointing
it out!

Reply

Chris Rutherford November 25, 2015 at 7:24 PM

I get an odd issue when attempting to boot into the sound fix kernel on an imac G5, it loads the
open firmware rom and says to "Release keys to continue"
Reply

Replies

Dan November 26, 2015 at 9:00 PM

Hmm. Maybe it's because the kernel is compiled as 32 bits? I didn't make a 64 bit
kernel because this sound bug only affects older Macs, not newer ones like G5s. If
you're unable to get sound on your G5, I'm pretty sure it's for another reason. See here
for suggestions:

https://wiki.debian.org/PowerPC/FAQ#Why_doesn.27t_my_sound_work.3F

Reply

Playing Politics December 26, 2015 at 9:24 AM

I had debian 8.2 installed and using this still caused the machine to freeze. Then I went back to
Ubuntu Mate 15.10 and it's having the same issue. The only stable install I've found is
MINTPPC11. Everything else just freezes after some basic use. For a daily driver MINTPPC11
would be my go to right now.
Reply

Replies

Dan December 26, 2015 at 11:28 AM

Sounds like a graphics lock up. Did you try the boot parameter "Linux
radeon.agpmode=-1"? The "-1" forces PCI mode to make the graphics stable.

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The lockup problems have to do with KMS, which isn't enabled by default on
MintPPC11.

Reply

Anonymous January 11, 2016 at 9:42 AM

I installed debian ppc kernel 4.3.0 today - and still no soundcard found on my g4 ibook... what a
shame - seems, the fix still did not make it into a newer kernel...
Reply

Replies

Dan January 11, 2016 at 12:19 PM

The patched code is in the new kernel source according to here:

http://lxr.free-electrons.com/source/sound/ppc/keywest.c?v=4.2

Did you try running "sudo modprobe snd-aoa-i2sbus" to get alsamixer to load?

My iBook's motherboard died (#!$^**$#!!!), so I can't test at the moment.

Anonymous January 20, 2016 at 12:23 PM

very sad to here that your ibook had died :(

I tried "sudo modprobe snd-aoa-i2sbus" as you suggested - but nothing happens after
enter it..

when I "aplay -l" I still have no soundcard found. "uname -a" states: "Debian 4.3.3-5
bpo 8+1 (2016-01-07)

Anonymous January 20, 2016 at 12:44 PM

ok, now I undo some steps, I did before (commenting/uncommenting in blacklist file)
and reboot. Now "aplay -l" returns: "Powermac Snapper". Another "sudo modprobe snd-
aoa-i2sbus" now returns:"FATAL: module snd-aoa-i2bus not found ... any clues?! best
regards

Dan January 20, 2016 at 2:37 PM

If aplay -l returns Powermac Snapper then it's seeing your soundcard and you should be
able to open alsamixer and turn up the master volume and PCM level, etc. Loading the
snd-aoa-i2sbus module shouldn't be necessary.

I *believe* (though I'm not certain) Powermac Snapper cards use the snd-powermac

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module. If alsamixer still won't open, you can confirm the module is loaded by running
lsmod and looking for snd-powermac on the list. If it's not there, you can manually
load it with the modprobe command or add snd-powermac into /etc/modules to have
it load on boot.

If on the other hand you need all the snd-aoa-* modules, double check they aren't
blacklisted.

In any event, anytime I could see "Powermac Snapper", all I had to do was open
alsamixer and turn up the volume and PCM level to 75% because they were muted by
default for some reason.

Anonymous January 20, 2016 at 11:51 PM

hey Dan,

alsamixer opens all the time, if I type 'alsamixer'. But now it contains Powermac
Snapper in the soundcard section and it looks allright to me. Also got headphones,
mic, pcm, and so on. Master volume is not muted (it displays some green '00' instead of
'MM'. But I never touched the PCM volume (it it turned down to zero) I´ll give that a
try, later on. Thanks for helping me out :)

Anonymous January 21, 2016 at 10:29 AM

lamod returns snd powermac, snd pcm, snd timer, snd ... are there. when I start
alsamixer, it has "PulseAudio" device acitve. I had to go "F6" then choose "snd
powermac" from soundcards to get acces to all the dials. Got PCM and Master up to
75% but still no sound. when I close and re-open alsamixer, it states "Pulsaudio"
again...

Dan January 21, 2016 at 11:26 AM

Ah! You have pulseaudio! I have that on a spare testing laptop and had the same
problem. Try installing pavucontrol (it'll be called PulseAudio Volume Control in your
Multimedia menu) and use it to unmute the volume by clicking the little speaker icon.
If that doesn't work, you can try fiddling with the settings in the Configuration tab.

You can also try uninstalling pulseaudio. Oftentimes it gets installed as a

"recommended" dependency but it's not really needed. In my experience it's been
more trouble than it's worth.

Anonymous January 28, 2016 at 9:44 AM

Dan, you are the man ;) installing pavucontrol and un-muting worked like a charm :)

Reply

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Unknown April 17, 2016 at 11:44 PM

I need to compile some modules, can i please have the modified source deb???
Reply

Anonymous June 5, 2016 at 3:42 PM

Hello Dan

At first, i wanto to congratulate you for this great blog. Help me a lot to learn debian, not just
for powerpc machines.

I have a powerbook g4.

If i install in it Jessie 8.4 sounds will work just with the "modprobe.. " you advise to do in your
instalation guide. But Jessie dont work well in it, mouse go slows, and the laptop go on too hot
without any reason. (Any advise for it also would be great)

Then i install Whezzy, that works much better. Mouse not "laging" and the laptop not so hot.
Some problem with graphics that i resolved installing your custom kernel. But, not sound!
Any idea what can be?

Will thank you a lot if you can help me with this.

Agustin

Reply

Replies

Dan June 6, 2016 at 11:24 AM

Hi,

There's some extra troubleshooting stuff at the Debian PowerPC FAQ. There's an entry
for sound, another for cpu frequency scaling which might help with the heat, and one
for multi-touch gestures which use the Synaptics driver to improve mouse
performance.

If you have an aluminum Powerbook, you might want to look at the entry "Why are my
laptop's fans in overdrive when I have nothing running?" That also deals with heat
issues.

Reply

Anonymous October 18, 2016 at 6:22 AM

Hi Dan, Thank you for your work. I tried to install your kernel but get errors:
sudo dpkg -i linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix_1.0_powerpc.deb

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(Lese Datenbank ... 195549 Dateien und Verzeichnisse sind derzeit installiert.)
Vorbereitung zum Entpacken von linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix_1.0_powerpc.deb ...
Examining /etc/kernel/preinst.d/
Done.
Entpacken von linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix (1.0) über (1.0) ...
Examining /etc/kernel/postrm.d .
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postrm.d/initramfs-tools 3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix /boot/vmlinux-
3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix
linux-image-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix (1.0) wird eingerichtet ...

Hmm. There is a symbolic link /lib/modules/3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix/build

However, I can not read it: Datei oder Verzeichnis nicht gefunden
Therefore, I am deleting /lib/modules/3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix/build

Hmm. The package shipped with a symbolic link /lib/modules/3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix/source

However, I can not read the target: Datei oder Verzeichnis nicht gefunden
Therefore, I am deleting /lib/modules/3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix/source

Running depmod.
Examining /etc/kernel/postinst.d.
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postinst.d/apt-auto-removal 3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix
/boot/vmlinux-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix
run-parts: executing /etc/kernel/postinst.d/initramfs-tools 3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix
/boot/vmlinux-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-3.16.7-ckt11-soundfix
Consequently my G5 do not boot but runs into open firmware and stops.

Any suggestions?
Reply

Replies

Dan October 18, 2016 at 12:32 PM

Hmm, I never saw that error before. The soundfix kernel was compiled for people with
certain G3 & G4 models that had a hardware incompatibility. I don't think any G5s had
the problem, and the hardware incompatibility was fixed in, I think, kernel 4.4.

Anonymous October 21, 2016 at 6:08 AM

Hi Dan,

I installed Jessie and get

uname -v
#1 SMP Debian 3.16.7-ckt25-2+deb8u3 (2016-07-02)
There is no kernel 4.4???

Dan October 21, 2016 at 11:40 AM

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Oh, right. If you enable Jessie-backports, you can install kernel 4.7:

https://packages.debian.org/jessie-backports/linux-image-4.7.0-0.bpo.1-powerpc

Reply

One0 October 23, 2016 at 9:23 AM

Thank you for this series! I have Jessie running on a PowerBook G4 1.25GHZ with 1.25GB RAM,
ATI Radeon 9600. I haven't tried to get sound set up. I made some missteps along the way, but
was eventually successful. Along the way, I wonder why I find Linux so compelling and why I keep
trying after failure on failure. I guess it feels so good to eventually reach success.
Reply

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