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[SOLVED] Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

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that1guy
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[SOLVED] Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#1 Post by that1guy »

I can't figure it out. I am no computer wiz, but I usually find solutions through google searching/trial and error uninstalling and switching off features...etc....etc......

I plug in ANYTHING into the audio jack of my laptop, and the volume is loud and clear for about half a second, and then the volume drops low and stays low.

I have to amp up the volume much higher than normal to achieve a good listening volume. Sometimes youtube videos are so low, I crank up the volume on the system tray to 150% and youtube video volume all the way up, AND THE VOLUME IS STILL TOO LOW. I got headphones with a mic, earbuds, and desktop speakers with a subwoofer. Anything I plug in, it always happens. I looked through out ALL the audio settings. I looked for a profile setting for audio reduction, or safety feature to prevent ear damage, and I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING. I uninstalled alsa, didn't make a difference. Reinstalled it and uninstalled pulseaudio, no difference again. I emailed a tech rep (one that charges) and I got no response in days.

It's not my HP laptop. I was using kali linux before switching to debian, and there was no volume reduction when plugging in anything. It was loud and clear. NORMAL. I don't want to install another linux distro just to avoid this issue. :roll:

*****SOLVED******* go to page 3...
Last edited by that1guy on 2019-01-13 23:21, edited 1 time in total.

that1guy
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Joined: 2018-09-28 23:59

Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#2 Post by that1guy »

OP here:

It's alsamixer. Open terminal - alsamixer:
I noticed while having it opened and when I have nothing plugged in, the speaker volume is all the way up, and the headphone volume is muted and the sound is coming out of my laptop small built in speakers. When I plug in anything into the audio jack, the opposite happens; The headphones volume goes up to 100% and the speaker volume goes mute BUT THAT'S WHEN THE VOLUME GOES LOW FOR WHATEVER I PLUG IN. I manually boost the volume setting for "speaker", and tada, I get the full sound I had on kali linux.

How do I modify this to permanently stay up. Am I the only one out there with this problem? I guess most people don't play loud music or movies like I do.

I have auto-mute mode disabled. But when enabled, nothing changes.

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debiman
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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#3 Post by debiman »

have you also checked pulseaudio settings?
i think there's a gui mixer specifically for pa, maybe pavucontrol.

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Head_on_a_Stick
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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#4 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

Is Pulseaudio running?

Code: Select all

pgrep -a pulse
Could be that old "flat volumes" thing but I'm just grasping at straws here.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pu ... s_adjusted
deadbang

that1guy
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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#5 Post by that1guy »

debiman wrote:have you also checked pulseaudio settings?
i think there's a gui mixer specifically for pa, maybe pavucontrol.
There doesn't seem to be anything there when I use that code in the terminal.

that1guy
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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#6 Post by that1guy »

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:Is Pulseaudio running?

Code: Select all

pgrep -a pulse
Could be that old "flat volumes" thing but I'm just grasping at straws here.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pu ... s_adjusted

No, I messed around with that already. Thanks for the response.

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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#7 Post by bw123 »


...I uninstalled alsa, didn't make a difference. Reinstalled it and uninstalled pulseaudio, no difference again.
Okay, that sounds unlikely. You uninstalled alsa and it made no difference? You usually can't have sound without alsa, so it should have made a pretty huge difference.
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that1guy
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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#8 Post by that1guy »

bw123 wrote:

...I uninstalled alsa, didn't make a difference. Reinstalled it and uninstalled pulseaudio, no difference again.
Okay, that sounds unlikely. You uninstalled alsa and it made no difference? You usually can't have sound without alsa, so it should have made a pretty huge difference.
I kept pulseaudio and audio still worked. Unless I didn't uninstall it right.

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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#9 Post by bw123 »

Sound is confusing sometimes. Maybe if you post the hardware details, and answer the question is pulse running? that HoaS axed you? Since you removed pulseaudio and it made no difference, it sounds like maybe a hardware issue with alsa.

Maybe you should try using alsactl to reinit the soundcard, there's a good man page for alsactl.

On the other hand, after trying to remove and reinstall stuuf things can get out of whack pretty easy, so maybe let people know how you did that? The best way might be to purge with apt, then reinstall the sound pkgs.

debiman was trying to tell you that if you don't have pavucontrol or whatever, that you should install it and try that instead of alsamixer. That is... if you are using pulseaudio, which HoaS was trying to find out.

We don't know what you installed, all I noticed was stretch 9.4 that doesn't mean a lot...debian isn't like kali or other distros, there are dozens of different ways to install it and they all have different configurations.
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that1guy
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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#10 Post by that1guy »

bw123 wrote:Sound is confusing sometimes. Maybe if you post the hardware details, and answer the question is pulse running? that HoaS axed you? Since you removed pulseaudio and it made no difference, it sounds like maybe a hardware issue with alsa.

Maybe you should try using alsactl to reinit the soundcard, there's a good man page for alsactl.

On the other hand, after trying to remove and reinstall stuuf things can get out of whack pretty easy, so maybe let people know how you did that? The best way might be to purge with apt, then reinstall the sound pkgs.

debiman was trying to tell you that if you don't have pavucontrol or whatever, that you should install it and try that instead of alsamixer. That is... if you are using pulseaudio, which HoaS was trying to find out.

We don't know what you installed, all I noticed was stretch 9.4 that doesn't mean a lot...debian isn't like kali or other distros, there are dozens of different ways to install it and they all have different configurations.
Synaptic package manager.

I selected all packages oriented towards each of those. I am install pavucontrol right now and restarting, maybe i'll have luck.

apt gives me errors. Even when I run as root.

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debiman
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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#11 Post by debiman »

that1guy wrote:There doesn't seem to be anything there when I use that code in the terminal.
that1guy wrote:No, I messed around with that already. Thanks for the response.
that1guy wrote:I kept pulseaudio and audio still worked. Unless I didn't uninstall it right.
your responses are a little thin, and apparently so are your efforts.
if you want my help, you're going to have to do better than that.
maybe read http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#12 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

that1guy wrote:apt gives me errors
Would it be possible for us to see these mysterious errors or are they a closely-guarded secret?
deadbang

that1guy
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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#13 Post by that1guy »

debiman wrote:
that1guy wrote:There doesn't seem to be anything there when I use that code in the terminal.
that1guy wrote:No, I messed around with that already. Thanks for the response.
that1guy wrote:I kept pulseaudio and audio still worked. Unless I didn't uninstall it right.
your responses are a little thin, and apparently so are your efforts.
if you want my help, you're going to have to do better than that.
maybe read http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
Yes, i'm vague because I tried what you are suggesting.

that1guy
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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#14 Post by that1guy »

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:
that1guy wrote:apt gives me errors
Would it be possible for us to see these mysterious errors or are they a closely-guarded secret?

apt-get update

(works)

apt-get install (ANYTHING)

ERROR:

W: GPG error: http://ppa.launchpad.net/nilarimogard/webupd8/ubuntu cosmic InRelease: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 531EE72F4C9D234C
W: The repository 'http://ppa.launchpad.net/nilarimogard/webupd8/ubuntu cosmic InRelease' is not signed.
N: Data from such a repository can't be authenticated and is therefore potentially dangerous to use.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
W: GPG error: http://ppa.launchpad.net/noobslab/apps/ubuntu cosmic InRelease: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY D530E028F59EAE4D
W: The repository 'http://ppa.launchpad.net/noobslab/apps/ubuntu cosmic InRelease' is not signed.
N: Data from such a repository can't be authenticated and is therefore potentially dangerous to use.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.


Sooooo I don't use apt-get, I use apper, or discover (software management), or synaptic.

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GarryRicketson
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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#15 Post by GarryRicketson »

I know, in the title it says Debian Stretch 9.4 , but
I don't think the OP is using Debian, but if they are then they need to read:
https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian
Don't make a FrankenDebian

Debian Stable should not be combined with other releases. If you're trying to install software that isn't available in the current Debian Stable release, it's not a good idea to add repositories for other Debian releases. The problems might not happen right away, but the next time you install updates.

The reason things can break is because the software packaged for one Debian release is built to be compatible with the rest of the software for that release. For example, installing packages from buster on a stretch system could also install newer versions of core libraries including libc6. This results in a system that is not testing or stable but a broken mix of the two.

Repositories that can create a FrankenDebian if used with Debian Stable:

Debian testing release (currently buster)
Debian unstable release (also known as sid)
Ubuntu, Mint or other derivative repositories are not compatible with Debian!
Ubuntu PPAs
So this is another FrankenDebian, and not Debian any more, maybe change the title to
" I was using Debian Stretch 9.4, but then I made a FrankenDebian "
What do I do now ? :mrgreen:

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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#16 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

GarryRicketson wrote:So this is another FrankenDebian
No, the errors show that APT is refusing to install packages so all the OP has to do is remove the offending lines from /etc/apt/sources.list{,.d/whatever.list} and run `apt update` (as root).
deadbang

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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#17 Post by GarryRicketson »

Ok, then I apologize, fortunately for the OP it did not /could not install the packages.
Thanks

that1guy
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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#18 Post by that1guy »

GarryRicketson wrote:I know, in the title it says Debian Stretch 9.4 , but
I don't think the OP is using Debian, but if they are then they need to read:
https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian
Don't make a FrankenDebian

Debian Stable should not be combined with other releases. If you're trying to install software that isn't available in the current Debian Stable release, it's not a good idea to add repositories for other Debian releases. The problems might not happen right away, but the next time you install updates.

The reason things can break is because the software packaged for one Debian release is built to be compatible with the rest of the software for that release. For example, installing packages from buster on a stretch system could also install newer versions of core libraries including libc6. This results in a system that is not testing or stable but a broken mix of the two.

Repositories that can create a FrankenDebian if used with Debian Stable:

Debian testing release (currently buster)
Debian unstable release (also known as sid)
Ubuntu, Mint or other derivative repositories are not compatible with Debian!
Ubuntu PPAs
So this is another FrankenDebian, and not Debian any more, maybe change the title to
" I was using Debian Stretch 9.4, but then I made a FrankenDebian "
What do I do now ? :mrgreen:
This is how people learn. This is how I learn. I make mistakes, then I correct them. Even if I have to go back and reinstall the operating system. Laugh about it :roll: meh :roll:

I don't have a masters degree in software engineering. I just try new things and take risks.

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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#19 Post by GarryRicketson »

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:
GarryRicketson wrote:So this is another FrankenDebian
No, the errors show that APT is refusing to install packages so all the OP has to do is remove the offending lines from /etc/apt/sources.list{,.d/whatever.list} and run `apt update` (as root).
But fortunately, you don't need to re-install. We all learn from our mistakes, or most of us do any way.

that1guy
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Re: Debian Stretch 9.4 automatic volume reduction

#20 Post by that1guy »

GarryRicketson wrote:
Head_on_a_Stick wrote:
GarryRicketson wrote:So this is another FrankenDebian
No, the errors show that APT is refusing to install packages so all the OP has to do is remove the offending lines from /etc/apt/sources.list{,.d/whatever.list} and run `apt update` (as root).
But fortunately, you don't need to re-install. We all learn from our mistakes, or most of us do any way.
Yes, if I can fix them. But if you don't want to help, then there's no need to poke fun at me. I thoroughly searched for days through google for a duplicate of this exact problem. I only see things about microphone auto mute features messing with audio. Or hidden settings in pulseaudio that was lowering the volume. I tried those things to no avail and many others.

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