5
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2026
5 points (100.0% liked)
Linux
14837 readers
20 users here now
Welcome to c/linux!
Welcome to our thriving Linux community! Whether you're a seasoned Linux enthusiast or just starting your journey, we're excited to have you here. Explore, learn, and collaborate with like-minded individuals who share a passion for open-source software and the endless possibilities it offers. Together, let's dive into the world of Linux and embrace the power of freedom, customization, and innovation. Enjoy your stay and feel free to join the vibrant discussions that await you!
Rules:
-
Stay on topic: Posts and discussions should be related to Linux, open source software, and related technologies.
-
Be respectful: Treat fellow community members with respect and courtesy.
-
Quality over quantity: Share informative and thought-provoking content.
-
No spam or self-promotion: Avoid excessive self-promotion or spamming.
-
No NSFW adult content
-
Follow general lemmy guidelines.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
For new Linux users it’s best to stick with well established and supported distributions. Then it’s easier to find solutions for common problems.
It’s good practice to look up what the commands do, you enter when you find a solution. Read the man page or other documentation of the command you’re entering. It doesn’t need to be everything, just enough to get an idea what it does.
Also: take notes when you find a problem and how you fixed it. You can go back to them later.
You can’t give a general answer to this. There are several different software stacks for sound on Linux. A typical one goes like this, but can look different.
Kernel - driver - ALSA - PipeWire - desktop environment - application - user
There might be an error at each of these levels.
In the simplest case, it’s a bad configuration, where the volume is set to 0 or mute somewhere in this stack. So try different applications first to play sound, also try playing sound from the terminal. Change volume sliders in different places.
Then go down the stack. Try playing sound with ALSA directly using
aplayandspeaker-test.Finally go down to the driver and see if the hardware is detected. Depending if the soundcard is connected via USB or PCI use
lsusborlspci.Find out the type snd chipset of your soundcard and then search if there’s a driver for Linux already. If you have new or unpopular hardware, it can take a while (a year or two) for a driver to be written, tested, and accepted into the kernel. Then it has to go downstream to the distributions until you get it. So for new hardware you might have to do some additional steps like finding a driver and compiling a kernel yourself.
It’s also worth checking the log files of the audio stack (ALSA, pipewire, or whatever your distro uses).
The stack looks like this:
Kernel - driver - X11/XOrg or Wayland - compositor - Desktop Environment (KDE, Gnome, etc.)
The error might be the keystroke not registering, the desktop not sending the right command, the display driver not supporting dimming, a bad or missing configuration. Again work through the stack. Find out what your distro uses.
Try setting the brightness through the terminal for example.