whatever meant for a distro release should work BY DEFAULT, I think, pulseaudio might be the best audio server in the universe but so far in f8 its a no go. On Nov 16, 2007 9:49 PM, David A. De Graaf <dad@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > On Wed, Nov 14, 2007 at 08:39:04AM -0500, Kelly Miller wrote: > > On Nov 13, 2007 2:56 PM, David A. De Graaf <dad@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > > I got PulseAudio to start automatically on XFCE4 using > > Autostarted Applications. It really isn't that hard. > > It's hard for me. Please tell us how. But first read below. > > > > > First of all, I've noticed that using --system ALWAYS throws the "Error > > opening PCM device" error, so don't use it. I had the same error you're > > getting, and fixed it by using module hal-detect to get the system to find > > the ALSA objects. I'll post my config file here when I get home and can > > look at it. > > Please, do. Please be precise how you use module hal-detect. > > > > > The PCM device is listed in ALSA; it's usually hw:0 by default. Again, use > > module hal-detect and the system will find the entries for you. > > I haven't found it yet. > > > > I can report modest progress - more a workaround than a solution. > > First, my operating environment - > I use the default init level of 3 and manually run startxfce4, or startx > (rarely). I rely on aplay to audibly mark certain events - by commands > in, eg, rc.local, in various crontabs, to note arrival of mail, etc. > > Second, to restate my expectations - > 1) Sound should work during bootup, before anyone has logged in. > 2) Sound should work at init level 3, before and after running either > startx or startxfce4 to run X. > 3) Sound should work inside xfce or gnome, for any user. > 4) Sound should work in a console screen, whether or not X is also > running, or for a cron job, by any user. > > After much experimentation here's what I've found: > > For the new sound system to work, the pulseaudio daemon must be > started. Gnome starts it by some unknown method - ps shows it > running - and sound works inside gnome for the user who ran 'startx'. > Like most everything in gnome, I cannot deduce how it is started. > Thorough grepping shows the word 'gnomeaudio' is nowhere to be found in > any gnome-related file in my home directory, so the command that > starts it remains elusive. > > When gnome isn't used, pulseaudio must be started some other way. > 'pulseaudio --help' - the only available documentation - suggests the > proper command is: > pulseaudio -D --system --log-level=syslog > however, as Kelly Miller has pointed out, the --system option > guarantees that startup will fail. > > This is a fundamental flaw. > > The only command that succeeds is > pulseaudio -D --log-level=syslog > and only if run by root. > > If I run it as user 'dad', it fails with the characteristic error: > Error opening PCM device hw:0: No such device > > This, too, is a major flaw with the pulseaudio system. > > (The same error occurs when root uses the --system option.) > > The startup can be accomplished in /etc/rc.d/rc.local, which is run as > root, but only if the x11 lines in /etc/pulse/default.pa are deactivated. > But then only root can make sounds, and only in the console. No sound > is available to a non-root user, nor to any user in X. > > Another possible place to put the startup command is in xfce's > autostart service but, of course, this fails because it's run as > 'dad', not root. > > The only successful way to start the daemon that I've found is to run the > command manually in a xterm that's been su'ed to root (or to use sudo). > Then both root and all other users can generate sound. Oddly, this > ability propagates backward to a console owned by root, but not to one > owned by an ordinary user. > crontab's of root, but not of non-root, can produce sounds with aplay. > > Since the file permissions of pulseaudio include the SUID bit, eg > -rwsr-xr-x 1 root root 49776 2007-10-30 21:03 /usr/bin/pulseaudio > there should be no difference between running the command as root, > or as a non-privileged user. > > But there is! > When a non-root user runs it, pulseaudio consistently fails with the > error: > Error opening PCM device hw:0: No such device > > I strongly suspect a non-root user can't access this special device, > and also that --system fails, because of some conflict with the arcane > permissions created by the udev system, but the rules there are all but > impenetrable (to me). > > It is also likely that pulseaudio gives up it's SUID privilege, and > does it too soon - before all needed files are opened. > > Any advice how to overcome these problems is most welcome. > > I reiterate - pulseaudio is not ready for prime time. > > > -- > David A. De Graaf DATIX, Inc. Hendersonville, NC > dad@xxxxxxxx www.datix.us > > -- > fedora-list mailing list > fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx > To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list > -- [Jorge J. Boscán Etura] quando omni flunkus moritatus
