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

[GeekGirl1]

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:

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

Unload any currently loaded ALSA drivers:

# alsa unload

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

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

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:

# 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

Install only the kernel modules:

# make install-modules

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

# modprobe snd-ctxfi

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

alsamixer

Let's make some noise.

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

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:

# 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

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

sudo alsactl store 0

Now, configure Ubuntu to load the drivers at boot.

sudo gedit /etc/modules

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

#X-fi
snd-ctxfi

Configure ALSA for your soundcard.

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

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.

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

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