Archive:Set up HDMI audio on GeForce GT210, GT220, or GT240

Before You Begin/Notes

This guide assumes that you have a GeForce G210, GT220, or GT240 card, are using a reasonably up-to-date system, and that you have at least the nVidia 190 series proprietary drivers installed.

Getting ALSA

ALSA 1.0.23 contains the new drivers. You can download, compile, and install it without further additions, and proceed to configuration. [verified April 29, 2010 with GT220]

• Note for Ubuntu users make sure to remove linux-backports-modules-alsa-`uname -r` or your newly compiled alsa drivers will be ignored.

The following is obsolete now but since I'm new here I won't delete it:

You will need to compile ALSA 1.0.22.1 from source with updated drivers from a snapshot.  An easy way to do this is with the 
[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=6589810 ALSA Upgrade Script].  Alternatively, you can download the sources from the 
[http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Download ALSA Project].  If using the upgrade script, you will need to do both the
 <tt>-d</tt> and <tt>-s</tt> steps before compiling.  If you downloaded the sources manually, you can download the latest 
alsa-driver snapshot from [http://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/tiwai/alsa/alsa-driver/ Takashi Iwai's FTP].

Compiling and Installing ALSA

If using the upgrade script, run the -c and -i steps now (hint for the adventurous: make the -c step faster on multicore systems). Otherwise, follow the standard ALSA configure, make, and install process, but do not reboot.

Setting Module Options

You may need to set options in /etc/modprobe.d/sound.conf depending on your card. The general format is:

options snd-hda-intel OPTIONS

The snapshot driver seems to work sufficiently differently than the leaked driver that the original patch is based on that the module options may change. Please list your card and working module options below, along with the working device(s).

nVidia GPU	Manufacturer/Model	Options	Best/working device (X=Card #)
G210	MSI N210 MD512H	enable_msi=0	plughw:X,7 (only stereo confirmed)
G210	Asus EN210	no options needed with current alsa snapshot	plughw:X,7 (PCM, multichannel PCM, bitsteam (DD/DD-EX/DTS/DTS-ES)
G210	Galaxy G210 PCI-E 512M	enable_msi=0 probe_mask=0xfff2	hw:X,3 (6 channels)
GT220	Zontac ZT-20201-10L GT220	enable_msi=0 probe_mask=0xfff2	plughw:X,3 (6 channels)
GT220	ASUS ENGT220/DI/1GD2(LP)	enable_msi=0 probe_mask=0xfff2	hw:X,3 (only stereo confirmed)
GT220	HP Pavilion Elite HPE-141F	enable_msi=0 probe_mask=0xffff,0xfff2	hw:X,3 (only stereo confirmed)
GT240	ASUS ENGT240/DI/512MD5/A	enable_msi=0	plughw:X,7 (only stereo confirmed)

Once you've set your module options, proceed to "PulseAudio Configuration" (if applicable) or "Finishing Configuration".

If that doesn't work...

if probe_mask doesn't work for you (it didn't for me, one boot my GT220 came up first instead of second, but next reboot it came up second without me touching the probe_mask parameter, you can try this (which works reliably for me):

options snd-hda-intel enable_msi=0 index=-2

or

options snd-hda-intel enable_msi=0 index=1

The first one tells snd-hda-intel "don't grab index 0", while the second one says "grab index 1" (so even if you disable your on-board card, your GT220 is still going to be hw:1,7)

I have to make a BIG NOTE that I don't have another Nvidia sound card on the motherboard, and that's why the above works for me. It won't work if you have an integrated nvidia sound AND a GT220.

If multiple nVidia devices still show up with the recommended probe_mask, you may need to adjust it. More information about selecting the correct parameters for this option can be found in Takashi Iwai's documentation for the High-Definition Audio drivers.

PulseAudio Configuration

If using PulseAudio, add the following line to /etc/pulse/default.pa:

load-module module-alsa-sink device=hw:1,3

Where 1,3 is card#,device# for the nVidia HDMI output given by aplay -l.

Finishing Installation

Now, reboot your system. Using `alsamixer', select your nVidia card (select it from the F6 menu, or use the -c option) and unmute the S/PDIF output (press "m"; the box should change from "MM" to "OO".) Enjoy!

If you have no sound, you should ensure that your user is a member of the "audio" group:

$ groups
adm dialout cdrom audio video plugdev mythtv lpadmin

Consult your distributions' documentation to determine how to add users to groups.

If you still have no sound, you can try editing/creating /etc/asound.conf:

pcm.!default hdmi:NVidia
pcm:iec958 hdmi:NVidia

once you have done this reboot.