HOWTO: Install and use a Creative X-Fi card with full 5.1 support

I was having many problems with my configuration. I always had errors of alsamixer reporting "No file", "aplay -l" could not find an audio card, and no sound devices were installed in /etc. Driver compiling was successful, but something was missing. Finally, success!! :) Here is the complete process. Jaunty 9.04, Gnome, 2-channel stereo (the 5.1 channel test in Post #1 works correctly for my Front R/L speakers).

First, do everything in Post #1. If you have problems with sound, then try this. Based on the Debian X-Fi Wiki (thank you!) with a few changes. When you run 'su', notice the prompt changes to "#". You are now root. Be careful. You can also put "sudo" in front of each command. Copy the entire line except for the "$" or "#" command prompts.

Install the alsa-base and alsa-utils packages, along with necessary compilation packages:

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$ su
# aptitude install alsa-base alsa-utils build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r)

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Unload any currently loaded ALSA drivers:

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# alsa unload

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If previously installed, remove the alsa-modules-* package (built from alsa-source) from your system:

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# aptitude remove alsa-modules-$(uname -r)

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Since the script in Post #1 has already downloaded and unpacked the drivers, skip to the driver installation. First, create the sound device directories. Then, configure and compile drivers providing X-Fi device support. Note the different command line than Post #1 and you are still root:

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# cd alsa-driver-1.0.21
# snddevices
# ./configure --with-isapnp=no --with-cards=ctxfi,ca0106,hda-intel --with-moddir=/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates/alsa
# make

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Install only the kernel modules:

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# make install-modules

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The driver should be ready to go. Now, load the ALSA driver (insert into kernel).

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# modprobe snd-ctxfi

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You should have sound. Run alsamixer to un-mute the channels. Hit "M" on each channel to mute/unmute.

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alsamixer

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Let's make some noise.

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aplay /usr/share/sounds/alsa/Noise.wav

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Configure Ubuntu to load the mixer settings at boot. From the ALSA Quick Install wiki (the filenames have specific meaning). The last line will take you out of root:

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# ln -s /etc/init.d/alsasound /etc/rcS.d/S59alsasound
# ln -s /etc/init.d/alsasound /etc/rc1.d/K15alsasound
# ln -s /etc/init.d/alsasound /etc/rc6.d/K15alsasound
# exit

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Save your mixer settings, from the Comprehensive Sound Problem Solutions Guide:

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sudo alsactl store 0

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Now, configure Ubuntu to load the drivers at boot.

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sudo gedit /etc/modules

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Add the following 2 lines (the first is a comment):

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#X-fi
snd-ctxfi

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Configure ALSA for your soundcard.

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sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

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Add the following lines. Note that I commented out the alias and options for the snd-hda-intel driver. This may not be totally correct, but it works in my configuration. Refer to the ALSA Driver Configuration Guide for the gory details.

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#added for alsa driver update
#alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel
#options snd-hda-intel model=auto
alias snd-card-0 snd-ctxfi

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Finally, add your login to the 'audio' group. Follow Adding the current user to the audio group in the Comprehensive Sound Problem Solutions Guide.

One additional reference: Ubuntu's Sound Troubleshooting Guide

After I got my X-Fi driver up and running, the kernel is complaining about a version mismatch with the snd-ctxfi driver. Perhaps I missed something? Otherwise, I'll just let the warnings remain. Content of /var/log/messages:

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ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_ctl_add
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_ctl_add
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_pcm_new
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_pcm_new
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_card_register
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_card_register
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_card_free
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_card_free
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_pcm_lib_preallocate_pages_for_all
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_pcm_lib_preallocate_pages_for_all
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_pcm_hw_constraint_minmax
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_pcm_hw_constraint_minmax
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_ctl_new1
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_ctl_new1
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_card_new
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_pcm_lib_malloc_pages
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_pcm_lib_malloc_pages
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_pcm_lib_ioctl
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_pcm_lib_ioctl
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_pcm_lib_free_pages
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_pcm_lib_free_pages
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_ctl_notify
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_ctl_notify
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_pcm_set_ops
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_pcm_set_ops
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_device_new
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_device_new
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_pcm_hw_constraint_integer
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_pcm_hw_constraint_integer
ctxfi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_pcm_period_elapsed
ctxfi: Unknown symbol snd_pcm_period_elapsed

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Personally i'd wait until the release of Ubuntu 9.10, then your card's 5.1 capability will run out of the box with no issues, i've tested the alpha personally and i can say...that it works.

Yes, it's easier to wait until 9.10. I could have also upgraded the kernel, which has the driver. However, it was a great way for me to really dig in and learn how Linux works. I posted the details so others can learn (or tell me where I went wrong :) ). I'll live with the warnings until 9.10.

Many thanks to lantizia for this howto. My X-fi card is working perfectly with kubuntu jaunty updated to kde4.3.2.
I just followed your instructions line by line.
Great work
Cheers
Dave\\:D/

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Originally Posted by Capt. Blackwood

Personally i'd wait until the release of Ubuntu 9.10, then your card's 5.1 capability will run out of the box with no issues, i've tested the alpha personally and i can say...that it works.

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Does the microphone work now as well? I was almost 100% migrated from windows to Ubuntu a couple of years ago, then I started with MMO gaming. My microphone wouldn't work with the then very basic X-Fi drivers and there was only crappy stereo sound. I would have lived with the crappy sound if I only had microphone support, but I really need Ventrilo/TeamSpeak for my raids.

Funny how a simple thing as a microphone can turn into a dealbreaker. But I'm currently running Windows 7 RC that keeps crashing at random occasions, so would love to get back to my stable and secure linux, but would be nice to know if the microphone has been fixed yet? I'd rather crash and have viruses than be gagged.

Wonderful..It just worked like a breeze..I have been working for so long and was unable to get it to work...

The Linux World is just Amazing

Wow, this sounds almost too good to be true!

I had everything, including upgrading my left-over iTunes DRM music to Non-DRM to switch to Ubuntu in mid-october with 9.04........and as expected, the stopping point was my X-Fi Fatality PCIE Card, I used the Optical Out (Passthrough) to my Reciver, and even with headphones on the Analog connections, I could get no sound!

But by the sounds of several posts, X-Fi Fatality is a high-chance of working out of the Box now......with Optical Out?

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Originally Posted by NerdRacer

But by the sounds of several posts, X-Fi Fatality is a high-chance of working out of the Box now......with Optical Out?

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Well, out of the box stereo. To get 5.1 you have to fiddle around a bit, but it's not difficult at all. Just install alsa-mixer and pull a few levers around.

Optical out... I spoke to a guy at work the other day who said he had opened a stream to get the sound digital through to his reciever. As I understood, he got it to work. But I also assume this requires quite a bit of fiddling around and a lot more advanced fiddling than just pulling a few levers.

Hey, i'm a x-fi xtreme card on Ubuntu 10.04, I tried to follow post #1 but when I get to ./configer and make ect in terminal it says no such file or directory. Been trying to get sound all day now! :cry: