Linux Sound Card Setup

Setting up a sound card under Linux ranges from being simple to complex, depending on the card you have. The basic procedure is very simple:

Identify your soundcard
Find and load the appropriate driver

Most distributions come complete with most or all sound drivers already compiled. These can usually be found in /lib/modules/2.4.x/kernel/drivers/sound/. If you're the more adventurous type and would like to compile your own kernel, read the Kernel HOWTO and under the "Sound" menu, compile in support for your sound card.

Table 1 below is an incomplete list of sound cards and the modules required to activate them (The descriptions were taken from the description field of modinfo <module>. Unfortunately, not all modules have information listed in their description fields, and those that don't have been ommitted from the list). These are the modules supported natively by linux, as of kernel 2.4.20. More sound card information can be found in the linux kernel source. If you have the source code on your system, have a look in /usr/src/linux/Documentation/sound. The definitive sound guide is the Sound HOWTO.

The ALSA project provides further sound support. A full list of cards supported by ALSA can be found here. The page contains information on every supported driver and also contains links for quick installation of those drivers.

And if all else fails, there's always the one resource every linux user counts on: www.google.com

Table 1: Sound Drivers and Descriptions

Driver	Description
aedsp16.o	Audio Excel DSP 16 Driver Version 1.3
awe_wave.o	SB AWE32/64 WaveTable driver
btaudio.o	bt878 audio dma driver
cmpci.o	CM8x38 Audio Driver
cs4232.o	CS4232 based soundcard driver
cs46xx.o	Crystal SoundFusion Audio Support
es1370.o	ES1370 AudioPCI Driver
es1371.o	ES1371 AudioPCI97 Driver
esssolo1.o	ESS Solo1 Driver
i810_audio.o	Intel 810 audio support
maestro.o	ESS Maestro Driver
maestro3.o	ESS Maestro3/Allegro Driver
msnd.o	Turtle Beach MultiSound Driver Base
msnd_classic.o	Turtle Beach MultiSound (Classic/Monterey/Tahiti) Linux Driver
msnd_pinnacle.o	Turtle Beach MultiSound (Pinnacle/Fiji) Linux Driver
opl3sa2.o	Module for OPL3-SA2 and SA3 sound cards (uses AD1848 MSS driver)
pss.o	Module for PSS sound cards (based on AD1848, ADSP-2115 and ESC614). This module includes control of output amplifier and synth volume of the Beethoven ADSP-16 card (this may work with other PSS cards)
rme96xx.o	RME9652/36 "Hammerfall" Driver
sb.o	Soundblaster driver
sonicvibes.o	S3 SonicVibes Driver
trident.o	Core sound module" "Trident 4DWave/SiS 7018/ALi 5451 and Tvia/IGST CyberPro5050 PCI Audio Driver
via82cxxx_audio.o	DSP audio and mixer driver for Via 82Cxxx audio devices
wavefront.o	Turtle Beach WaveFront Linux Driver
ymfpci.o	Yamaha YMF7xx PCI Audio
emu10k1.o	Creative EMU10K1 PCI Audio Driver for SoundBlaster Live cards
cs4281.o	Cirrus Logic CS4281 Driver

Finding The Necessary Module

Have a look at the list above. If you see a description of your soundcard, use the corresponding module
If you aren't sure which module to use from the description, and you have a PCI sound card, use the lspci command as root. This prints out a list of all detected PCI devices on your system. Look for an entry that resembles your soundcard and try to match it to and entry in the list above
Remember, the list above is incomplete, so check www.google.com and the documentation in /usr/src/linux/Documentation/soundif you're still having problems identifying your card.
Use ALSA if need be. ALSA contains its own documentation, so there's no need to continue reading this page if you choose to use it.

Setting Up A PCI Card

Once you have your module, PCI setup is usually very straightforward. For the example below, I will be using the emu10k1 module for the SoundBlaster Live! PCI card. As root type:

modprobe emu10k1

And that's it!!! You should now have a working SoundBlaster Live! card. Try playing an mp3 with mpg123 some_file.mp3.

Setting Up An ISA Card

This is more complex than the PCI setup above. Aside from simply just loading the module, you also need to have your card detected. This is fully explained in the Sound HOWTO. The steps below give the summarized version of the configuration

To have the system detect the soundcard, you need to use pnpdump to create the configuration file /etc/isapnp.conf. This step has to only be performed once.

To do this, run the command pnpdump > /etc/isapnp.conf. Your output will look similar, but most likely not identical to the output below. The output below is from my SoundBlaster AWE64 card:

Section 1

#     Start dependent functions: priority preferred
#       IRQ 5.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 1.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 1))
#       Next DMA channel 5.
#             16 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is a bus master
#             DMA may not execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 1 (CHANNEL 5))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0220
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0330
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0330
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x0330))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0388
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0388
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 4
# (IO 2 (SIZE 4) (BASE 0x0388))

Section 2

Section 3

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Next DMA channel 5, 6 or 7.
#             16 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is a bus master
#             DMA may not execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 1 (CHANNEL 5))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0300
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0330
#             IO base alignment 48 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x0300))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Next DMA channel 5, 6 or 7.
#             16 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is a bus master
#             DMA may not execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 1 (CHANNEL 5))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))
#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0300
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0330
#             IO base alignment 48 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x0300))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0388
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0388
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 4
# (IO 2 (SIZE 4) (BASE 0x0388))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0300
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0330
#             IO base alignment 48 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x0300))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))

#       Start dependent functions: priority functional
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Next DMA channel 5, 6 or 7.
#             16 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is a bus master
#             DMA may not execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 1 (CHANNEL 5))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0300
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0330
#             IO base alignment 16 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x0300))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0388
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0394
#             IO base alignment 4 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 4
# (IO 2 (SIZE 4) (BASE 0x0388))

#     End dependent functions
(NAME "CTL009d/110882009[0]{Audio               }")
# (ACT Y)
))
#
# Logical device id CTL7002
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x38
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x39
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x3a
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x3d
#
# Edit the entries below to uncomment out the configuration required.
# Note that only the first value of any range is given, this may be changed if required
# Don't forget to uncomment the activate (ACT Y) when happy

(CONFIGURE CTL009d/110882009 (LD 1
#     Compatible device id PNPb02f
#     ANSI string -->Game<--

# Multiple choice time, choose one only !

#     Start dependent functions: priority preferred
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0200
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0200
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 8
# (IO 0 (SIZE 8) (BASE 0x0200))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0200
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0208
#             IO base alignment 8 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 8
# (IO 0 (SIZE 8) (BASE 0x0200))

#     End dependent functions
(NAME "CTL009d/110882009[1]{Game                }")
# (ACT Y)
))
#
# Logical device id CTL0022
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x39
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x3a
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x3d
#
# Edit the entries below to uncomment out the configuration required.
# Note that only the first value of any range is given, this may be changed if required
# Don't forget to uncomment the activate (ACT Y) when happy

(CONFIGURE CTL009d/110882009 (LD 2
#     ANSI string -->WaveTable<--

# Multiple choice time, choose one only !

#     Start dependent functions: priority preferred
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0620
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0620
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 4
# (IO 0 (SIZE 4) (BASE 0x0620))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0620
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0680
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 4
# (IO 0 (SIZE 4) (BASE 0x0620))

#     End dependent functions
(NAME "CTL009d/110882009[2]{WaveTable           }")
# (ACT Y)
))
#
# Logical device id CTL2011
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x39
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x3a
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x3d
#
# Edit the entries below to uncomment out the configuration required.
# Note that only the first value of any range is given, this may be changed if required
# Don't forget to uncomment the activate (ACT Y) when happy

(CONFIGURE CTL009d/110882009 (LD 3
#     Compatible device id PNP0600
#     ANSI string -->IDE<--

# Multiple choice time, choose one only !

#     Start dependent functions: priority preferred
#       IRQ 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 10 (MODE +E)))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0168
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0168
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 8
# (IO 0 (SIZE 8) (BASE 0x0168))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x036e
#             Maximum IO base address 0x036e
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x036e))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 11.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 11 (MODE +E)))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x01e8
#             Maximum IO base address 0x01e8
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 8
# (IO 0 (SIZE 8) (BASE 0x01e8))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x03ee
#             Maximum IO base address 0x03ee
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x03ee))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 10, 11, 12 or 15.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 10 (MODE +E)))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0180
#             Maximum IO base address 0x01b8
#             IO base alignment 8 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 8
# (IO 0 (SIZE 8) (BASE 0x0180))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0306
#             Maximum IO base address 0x033e
#             IO base alignment 8 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x0306))

#       Start dependent functions: priority functional
#       IRQ 15.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 15 (MODE +E)))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0170
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0170
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 8
# (IO 0 (SIZE 8) (BASE 0x0170))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0376
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0376
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 1
# (IO 1 (SIZE 1) (BASE 0x0376))

#     End dependent functions
(NAME "CTL009d/110882009[3]{IDE                 }")
# (ACT Y)
))
# End tag... Checksum 0x00 (OK)

# Returns all cards to the "Wait for Key" state
(WAITFORKEY)

Now we have the fun job of editing the file. But it's not nearly as scary as it looks. Most of the lines are just useless comments.
You need to know a few things about your card eg. IRQ, DMA and IO Adresses that your card will be using. You can normally get this from the card manual. In the worst case, try out a setting. If it doesn't work, try another.
The output above lists ALL detected combinations of settings, but you only need ONE set of settings. All you have to do is uncomment a few lines, that's it. You dont have to add anything to this file
From the top of the file, scroll down to the first line that says # Multiple choice time, choose one only !. The line after this is blank and is marked in red as Section 1 in the file above. Then you have a whole lot of commented lines without any blank lines in between. After that, you see Section 2 marked again in red. All the commented lines from Section 1 to Section 2 (without any blank lines in between) are one set of settings. Similarly, all the commented lines (without any blank lines in between) from Section 2 to Section 3 are another set of settings, and from Section 3 to the next blank line (not marked) are yet another set of settings and so on.
Some of the lines look like this: # (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E))). That means use IRQ 5. The line # (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0)) means that the first DMA channel is channel 0 (counting from 0) and so on. Lines in parentheses are configuration lines. Most of the other lines are just comments.
Pick a set of settings that's right for your sound card. For my SoundBlaster card, I need 1 IRQ, 2 DMA channels and 3 IO address ranges. Section 1 above has everything I need, so i uncommented the 6 lines I needed.
Lastly, scroll down to first instance of # (ACT Y) after you've selected your settings and uncomment that line as well.
That's it!!! You've finished configuring the file for sound. The card has other features, like a game port, and those can be configured in a similar manner, but we won't worry about that here.
To actually have the system detect the card, run the command /sbin/isapnp /etc/isapnp.conf. Most distributions run this command at startup so you dont have to.
If all goes well, you should see a small message saying that your card has been successfully detected. The message of course will depend on the card you have. Mine looks like this:

isapnp: Scanning for PnP cards...
isapnp: SB audio device quirk - increasing port range
isapnp: AWE32 quirk - adding two ports
isapnp: Card 'Creative SB AWE64 PnP'
isapnp: 1 Plug & Play card detected total

The last line above is an indication that my card was successfully detected.
Once this is done, just run modprobe sound_module where sound_module is the name of the module to use. And you should now have a working sound card!!!
Try playing an mp3 with mpg123 some_file.mp3 to test it out.
My working isapnp.conf configuration file is listed below. All the lines I uncommented are highlighed in green. This should help if you're still having problems trying to figure out what to do.

# $Id: pnpdump_main.c,v 1.27 2001/04/30 21:54:53 fox Exp $
# Release isapnptools-1.26
#
# This is free software, see the sources for details.
# This software has NO WARRANTY, use at your OWN RISK
#
# For details of the output file format, see isapnp.conf(5)
#
# For latest information and FAQ on isapnp and pnpdump see:
# http://www.roestock.demon.co.uk/isapnptools/
#
# Compiler flags: -DREALTIME -DHAVE_PROC -DENABLE_PCI -DHAVE_SCHED_SETSCHEDULER -DHAVE_NANOSLEEP -DWANT_TO_VALIDATE
#
# Trying port address 0273
# Board 1 has serial identifier 7e 06 9b ec d9 9d 00 8c 0e

# (DEBUG)
(READPORT 0x0273)
(ISOLATE PRESERVE)
(IDENTIFY *)
(VERBOSITY 2)
(CONFLICT (IO FATAL)(IRQ FATAL)(DMA FATAL)(MEM FATAL)) # or WARNING

# Card 1: (serial identifier 7e 06 9b ec d9 9d 00 8c 0e)
# Vendor Id CTL009d, Serial Number 110882009, checksum 0x7E.
# Version 1.0, Vendor version 2.0
# ANSI string -->Creative SB AWE64 PnP<--
#
# Logical device id CTL0042
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x3a
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x3b
#     Device supports vendor reserved register @ 0x3d
#
# Edit the entries below to uncomment out the configuration required.
# Note that only the first value of any range is given, this may be changed if required
# Don't forget to uncomment the activate (ACT Y) when happy

(CONFIGURE CTL009d/110882009 (LD 0
#     ANSI string -->Audio<--

# Multiple choice time, choose one only !

#     Start dependent functions: priority preferred
#       IRQ 5.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
(INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 1.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
(DMA 0 (CHANNEL 1))
#       Next DMA channel 5.
#             16 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may not execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
(DMA 1 (CHANNEL 5))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0220
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
(IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0330
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0330
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
(IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x0330))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0388
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0388
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 4
(IO 2 (SIZE 4) (BASE 0x0388))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Next DMA channel 5, 6 or 7.
#             16 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may not execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 1 (CHANNEL 5))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0300
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0330
#             IO base alignment 48 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x0300))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0388
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0388
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 4
# (IO 2 (SIZE 4) (BASE 0x0388))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Next DMA channel 5, 6 or 7.
#             16 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may not execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 1 (CHANNEL 5))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0300
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0330
#             IO base alignment 48 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x0300))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Next DMA channel 5, 6 or 7.
#             16 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may not execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 1 (CHANNEL 5))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0300
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0330
#             IO base alignment 48 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x0300))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0388
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0388
#             IO base alignment 1 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 4
# (IO 2 (SIZE 4) (BASE 0x0388))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0300
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0330
#             IO base alignment 48 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x0300))

#       Start dependent functions: priority acceptable
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))

#       Start dependent functions: priority functional
#       IRQ 5, 7, 9 or 10.
#             High true, edge sensitive interrupt (by default)
# (INT 0 (IRQ 5 (MODE +E)))
#       First DMA channel 0, 1 or 3.
#             8 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may not execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 0 (CHANNEL 0))
#       Next DMA channel 5, 6 or 7.
#             16 bit DMA only
#             Logical device is not a bus master
#             DMA may not execute in count by byte mode
#             DMA may execute in count by word mode
#             DMA channel speed in compatible mode
# (DMA 1 (CHANNEL 5))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0220
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0280
#             IO base alignment 32 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 16
# (IO 0 (SIZE 16) (BASE 0x0220))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0300
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0330
#             IO base alignment 16 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 2
# (IO 1 (SIZE 2) (BASE 0x0300))
#       Logical device decodes 16 bit IO address lines
#             Minimum IO base address 0x0388
#             Maximum IO base address 0x0394
#             IO base alignment 4 bytes
#             Number of IO addresses required: 4
# (IO 2 (SIZE 4) (BASE 0x0388))

#     End dependent functions
(NAME "CTL009d/110882009[0]{Audio               }")
(ACT Y)
))

The listing above is just the first portion of the original file shown previously. The rest of the file (not shown) was not modified in any way.

Loading Modules Automatically

To have modules loaded automatically whenever you use your soundcard, add the line: alias sound-slot-0 sb where, in this example, sb is the name of the sound module I'm using. Replace sb with the name of your module
Next, as root, run the command depmod
And that's it. Now, whenever you try to use your soundcard, the module will automatically be loaded for you. You don't have to do a single other thing.

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