HP ZBook Laptop
RHEL 8
GNOME 3

Hi all,

I have all of the above.

The built in microphone is not working.

The sound works great, so audio is no problem.

In the GNOME 3 sound settings the microphone test did not work.

I installed AlsaMixer and cranked up the bar on the microphone, still no joy.

Please let me know of any commands I can run to add more information to this subject.

Steve

On 01/02/2022 08:29, Steve Mysterious wrote:
> HP ZBook Laptop
> RHEL 8
> GNOME 3
>
> Hi all,
>
> I have all of the above.
>
> The built in microphone is not working.
>
> The sound works great, so audio is no problem.
>
> In the GNOME 3 sound settings the microphone test did not work.
>
> I installed AlsaMixer and cranked up the bar on the microphone, still no joy.
>
> Please let me know of any commands I can run to add more information to this subject.
>
> Steve

Right, first of all is there a microphone input under 'hardware' and is
it switched on?

Try something like `cheese` to see if it's all there, or maybe audacity.

--
"In our post-modern world, climate science is not powerful because it is
true: it is true because it is powerful."

Lucas Bergkamp

On Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 5:29:01 AM UTC-5, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> Right, first of all is there a microphone input under 'hardware' and is
> it switched on?
>
> Try something like `cheese` to see if it's all there, or maybe audacity.

In the GNOME 3 "Settings" dialog I could not find a "Hardware" section, but I did find a sound section.

https://i2.paste.pics/d1983a749327cab393c63d0c1736b0ec.png

I plugged a webcam in and the sound test picture worked for the microphone in the web cam.

It did not work for the onboard microphone shown in the screen shot

On Tue, 01 Feb 2022 00:29:23 -0800, Steve Mysterious wrote:

> HP ZBook Laptop RHEL 8 GNOME 3
>
> Hi all,
>
> I have all of the above.
>
> The built in microphone is not working.
>
> The sound works great, so audio is no problem.
>
> In the GNOME 3 sound settings the microphone test did not work.
>
> I installed AlsaMixer and cranked up the bar on the microphone, still no
> joy.
>
> Please let me know of any commands I can run to add more information to
> this subject.

Check to see if the microphone is hard muted.

If "Microphone Muted light" is lit, then microphone is hard muted
To unmute: toggle the "Microphone Mute" action key on the keyboard

HTH
--
Lew Pitcher
"In Skills, We Trust"

On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 00:29:23 -0800 (PST), Steve Mysterious wrote:
>
> HP ZBook Laptop
> RHEL 8
> GNOME 3
>
> Hi all,
>
> I have all of the above.
>
> The built in microphone is not working.
>
> The sound works great, so audio is no problem.
>
> In the GNOME 3 sound settings the microphone test did not work.
>
> I installed AlsaMixer and cranked up the bar on the microphone, still no joy.
>
> Please let me know of any commands I can run to add more information to this subject.

Do you have something like Audacity installed? You need a visual feedback
that the microphone is recording. Audacity shows when you record something.

If you get visual feedback, something is muted.

You might also have installed arecord. Try

arecord somefile.wav

and then play it back, for example with

aplay somefile.wav
--
Andreas

On Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 9:58:02 AM UTC-5, Lew Pitcher wrote:
>
> If "Microphone Muted light" is lit, then microphone is hard muted
> To unmute: toggle the "Microphone Mute" action key on the keyboard

I did not know that laptop had a microphone mute button.

I tried toggling it on and off, with testing.

No joy.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> writes:

> On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 00:29:23 -0800 (PST), Steve Mysterious wrote:
>>
>> HP ZBook Laptop
>> RHEL 8
>> GNOME 3
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I have all of the above.
>>
>> The built in microphone is not working.
>>
>> The sound works great, so audio is no problem.
>>
>> In the GNOME 3 sound settings the microphone test did not work.
>>
>> I installed AlsaMixer and cranked up the bar on the microphone, still no joy.
>>
>> Please let me know of any commands I can run to add more information to this subject.
>
> Do you have something like Audacity installed? You need a visual feedback
> that the microphone is recording. Audacity shows when you record something.
>
> If you get visual feedback, something is muted.
>
> You might also have installed arecord. Try
>
> arecord somefile.wav
>
> and then play it back, for example with
>
> aplay somefile.wav

I think looking at the recording tab in pauvcontrol will get closer to
the source of the problem.

--
Dan Espen

On 01/02/2022 14:32, Steve Mysterious wrote:
> On Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 5:29:01 AM UTC-5, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>
>> Right, first of all is there a microphone input under 'hardware' and is
>> it switched on?
>>
>> Try something like `cheese` to see if it's all there, or maybe audacity.
>
> In the GNOME 3 "Settings" dialog I could not find a "Hardware" section, but I did find a sound section.
>
> https://i2.paste.pics/d1983a749327cab393c63d0c1736b0ec.png
>
> I plugged a webcam in and the sound test picture worked for the microphone in the web cam.
>
> It did not work for the onboard microphone shown in the screen shot

It is fucked then, probably.

Or disabled by some 'special' mute key

--
"Women actually are capable of being far more than the feminists will
let them."

On Tue, 01 Feb 2022 03:29:23 -0500, Steve Mysterious <tinker123@gmail.com> wrote:

> HP ZBook Laptop
> RHEL 8
> GNOME 3

> The built in microphone is not working.

Has the microphone ever worked? According to the specs for the ZBook laptops,
from https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/zbook-fury-specs.html, the microphone
is optional, so it may not be present.

Regards, Dave Hodgins

On 01/02/2022 18:27, David W. Hodgins wrote:
> On Tue, 01 Feb 2022 03:29:23 -0500, Steve Mysterious
> <tinker123@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> HP ZBook Laptop
>> RHEL 8
>> GNOME 3
>
>> The built in microphone is not working.
>
> Has the microphone ever worked? According to the specs for the ZBook
> laptops,
> from https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/zbook-fury-specs.html, the
> microphone
> is optional, so it may not be present.
>
> Regards, Dave Hodgins

I had a camera in my previous laptop. One day it just stopped working.
Shit happens.

--
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign,
that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."

Jonathan Swift.

On Tue, 01 Feb 2022 12:56:56 -0500, Dan Espen wrote:
>
> Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> writes:
>
>> On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 00:29:23 -0800 (PST), Steve Mysterious wrote:
>>>
>>> HP ZBook Laptop
>>> RHEL 8
>>> GNOME 3
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> I have all of the above.
>>>
>>> The built in microphone is not working.
>>>
>>> The sound works great, so audio is no problem.
>>>
>>> In the GNOME 3 sound settings the microphone test did not work.
>>>
>>> I installed AlsaMixer and cranked up the bar on the microphone, still no joy.
>>>
>>> Please let me know of any commands I can run to add more information to this subject.
>>
>> Do you have something like Audacity installed? You need a visual feedback
>> that the microphone is recording. Audacity shows when you record something.
>>
>> If you get visual feedback, something is muted.
>>
>> You might also have installed arecord. Try
>>
>> arecord somefile.wav
>>
>> and then play it back, for example with
>>
>> aplay somefile.wav
>
> I think looking at the recording tab in pauvcontrol will get closer to
> the source of the problem.

If PulseAudio is installed. Okay, it's by now probably default for most
Linux installations. This in front of me might be an exemption, so I
didn't think of pauvcontrol.
--
Andreas

On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 23:46:41 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>
> On 01/02/2022 18:27, David W. Hodgins wrote:
>
>> Has the microphone ever worked? According to the specs for the ZBook
>> laptops,
>> from https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/zbook-fury-specs.html,
>> the microphone
>> is optional, so it may not be present.
>> Regards, Dave Hodgins
>
> I had a camera in my previous laptop. One day it just stopped working.

The laptop in front of me goes into its 10th year. Around 5 years ago one
of the built-in speakers died (I used a hack in asoundrc to make stereo
to mono). In 2020 the other speaker died too.

> Shit happens.

Indeed.

Umm, anybody knows how to transfer the audio to a tablet? I played with
icecast. As while I could cast audio files, I didn't manage to get the
sounds of the computer itself over to the tablet.
--
Andreas

On Tue, 01 Feb 2022 00:29:23 -0800, Steve Mysterious wrote:

> The built in microphone is not working.

Firefox has started blocking access to microphone.

I found that the Opera browser does not, and (if doing a test
connection on
meet.jit.si refects the mic input volume in dynamic slot).

Regards,

--
/\/\aurice
(Replace "nomail.afraid" by "bcs" to reply by email)

On Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 1:29:34 PM UTC-5, David W. Hodgins wrote:
> On Tue, 01 Feb 2022 03:29:23 -0500, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>
> > HP ZBook Laptop
> > RHEL 8
> > GNOME 3
> > The built in microphone is not working.
> Has the microphone ever worked? According to the specs for the ZBook laptops,
> from https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/zbook-fury-specs.html, the microphone
> is optional, so it may not be present.
>
> Regards, Dave Hodgins

No, the microphone never worked. The laptop is new ( not mine ).

In this settings dialog it looks like *something* is there, though maybe this is a bogus entry in some way:

https://i2.paste.pics/d1983a749327cab393c63d0c1736b0ec.png

On Thursday, February 3, 2022 at 7:13:09 AM UTC-5, Maurice wrote:
> On Tue, 01 Feb 2022 00:29:23 -0800, Steve Mysterious wrote:
> > The built in microphone is not working.
> Firefox has started blocking access to microphone.
>
> I found that the Opera browser does not, and (if doing a test
> connection on
> meet.jit.si refects the mic input volume in dynamic slot).

I haven't been trying to use the microphone in a browser, just in Microsoft Teams.

That is a useful piece of information to know!

Thank you.

Steve

On 08/02/2022 06:55, Steve Mysterious wrote:
> On Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 1:29:34 PM UTC-5, David W. Hodgins wrote:
>> On Tue, 01 Feb 2022 03:29:23 -0500, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>>
>>> HP ZBook Laptop
>>> RHEL 8
>>> GNOME 3
>>> The built in microphone is not working.
>> Has the microphone ever worked? According to the specs for the ZBook laptops,
>> from https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/zbook-fury-specs.html, the microphone
>> is optional, so it may not be present.
>>
>> Regards, Dave Hodgins
>
> No, the microphone never worked. The laptop is new ( not mine ).
>
> In this settings dialog it looks like *something* is there, though maybe this is a bogus entry in some way:
>
> https://i2.paste.pics/d1983a749327cab393c63d0c1736b0ec.png

That is not your microphone, built in or otherwise.

On my sound config screen (MATE) there exists a 'hardware' option that
is missing from yours.

more than that is ignorant speculation on my part.

--
“The fundamental cause of the trouble in the modern world today is that
the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt."

- Bertrand Russell

On Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 1:29:34 PM UTC-5, David W. Hodgins wrote:
> On Tue, 01 Feb 2022 03:29:23 -0500, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>
> > HP ZBook Laptop
> > RHEL 8
> > GNOME 3
> > The built in microphone is not working.
> Has the microphone ever worked? According to the specs for the ZBook laptops,
> from https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/zbook-fury-specs.html, the microphone
> is optional, so it may not be present.
>
> Regards, Dave Hodgins

I contacted HP. They confirmed that it does have an onboard microphone.

The laptop comes with windows which has its own driver for the microphone. I called Red Hat, but since I don't own the copy of RH8 ( through work ) I am on my own as far as finding what driver I need.

Your post provided a valuable clue.

Thank you.

Steve

On 08/02/2022 14:35, Steve Mysterious wrote:
> HP ZBook

load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7

Try that.

--
The New Left are the people they warned you about.

On Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 2:11:39 PM UTC-5, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 08/02/2022 14:35, Steve Mysterious wrote:
> > HP ZBook
> load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
>
> Try that.

$ load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
bash: load-module: command not found...
$

On 10/02/2022 10:34, Steve Mysterious wrote:
> On Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 2:11:39 PM UTC-5, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> On 08/02/2022 14:35, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>>> HP ZBook
>> load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
>>
>> Try that.
>
>
> $ load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
> bash: load-module: command not found...
> $
try running with sudo

--
“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit
atrocities.”

― Voltaire, Questions sur les Miracles à M. Claparede, Professeur de
Théologie à Genève, par un Proposant: Ou Extrait de Diverses Lettres de
M. de Voltaire

On 10/02/2022 17:51, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 10/02/2022 10:34, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>> On Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 2:11:39 PM UTC-5, The Natural
>> Philosopher wrote:
>>> On 08/02/2022 14:35, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>>>> HP ZBook
>>> load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
>>>
>>> Try that.
>>
>>
>> $ load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
>> bash: load-module: command not found...
>> $
> try running with sudo
>
>
ah. probably modprobe is the command on debian systems.

--
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the
other is to refuse to believe what is true.”

—Soren Kierkegaard

On Thursday, February 10, 2022 at 1:26:12 PM UTC-5, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 10/02/2022 17:51, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> > On 10/02/2022 10:34, Steve Mysterious wrote:
> >> On Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 2:11:39 PM UTC-5, The Natural
> >> Philosopher wrote:
> >>> On 08/02/2022 14:35, Steve Mysterious wrote:
> >>>> HP ZBook
> >>> load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
> >>>
> >>> Try that.
> >>
> >>
> >> $ load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
> >> bash: load-module: command not found...
> >> $
> > try running with sudo

Same output
bash: load-module: command not found...

On 10/02/2022 19:10, Steve Mysterious wrote:
> On Thursday, February 10, 2022 at 1:26:12 PM UTC-5, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> On 10/02/2022 17:51, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>> On 10/02/2022 10:34, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>>>> On Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 2:11:39 PM UTC-5, The Natural
>>>> Philosopher wrote:
>>>>> On 08/02/2022 14:35, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>>>>>> HP ZBook
>>>>> load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
>>>>>
>>>>> Try that.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> $ load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
>>>> bash: load-module: command not found...
>>>> $
>>> try running with sudo
>
> Same output
> bash: load-module: command not found...
>
yeah. these days on debian type systems it's modprobe.

Basically if the hardware is ok and works under winders but not linux
somehow the driver ain't being loaded right. Modprobe is the tool that
loads and configures drivers. Read up in it. I don't have a magic spell.

--
“it should be clear by now to everyone that activist environmentalism
(or environmental activism) is becoming a general ideology about humans,
about their freedom, about the relationship between the individual and
the state, and about the manipulation of people under the guise of a
'noble' idea. It is not an honest pursuit of 'sustainable development,'
a matter of elementary environmental protection, or a search for
rational mechanisms designed to achieve a healthy environment. Yet
things do occur that make you shake your head and remind yourself that
you live neither in Joseph Stalin’s Communist era, nor in the Orwellian
utopia of 1984.”

Vaclav Klaus

The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> On 10/02/2022 19:10, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>> On Thursday, February 10, 2022 at 1:26:12 PM UTC-5, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>> On 10/02/2022 17:51, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>> On 10/02/2022 10:34, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>>>>> On Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 2:11:39 PM UTC-5, The Natural
>>>>> Philosopher wrote:
>>>>>> On 08/02/2022 14:35, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>>>>>>> HP ZBook
>>>>>> load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Try that.
>>>>>
>>>>> $ load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
>>>>> bash: load-module: command not found...
>>>>> $
>>>> try running with sudo
>>
>> Same output
>> bash: load-module: command not found...
>>
> yeah. these days on debian type systems it's modprobe.
>
> Basically if the hardware is ok and works under winders but not linux
> somehow the driver ain't being loaded right. Modprobe is the tool that
> loads and configures drivers. Read up in it. I don't have a magic spell.

Given that a microphone device appears in AlsaMixer, I'd put it
down to a bug in the driver or maybe a configuration issue.
"lspci -k" will show the driver used for each PCI device. It
should be easy to identify from that which driver is associated
with the sound chip. Then hopefully there's some sort of
documentation on the Alsa website or elsewhere that suggests
alternative driver modules or configurations.

Also the sound card in the PC I'm using now also has a "mic boost"
control which can mute the mic separately from tha main "mic"
volume/mute control in AlsaMixer. It should go without saying, but
if there are any controls like that then make sure to play with
them thoroughly.

Perhaps there could be a BIOS setting to disable the mic for
security reasons as well? I don't remember ever seeing such a
thing, but worth a check as it seems like a plausible feature.

--
__ __
#_ < |\| |< _#

On 11/02/2022 22:57, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
> The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>> On 10/02/2022 19:10, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>>> On Thursday, February 10, 2022 at 1:26:12 PM UTC-5, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>> On 10/02/2022 17:51, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>>> On 10/02/2022 10:34, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>>>>>> On Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 2:11:39 PM UTC-5, The Natural
>>>>>> Philosopher wrote:
>>>>>>> On 08/02/2022 14:35, Steve Mysterious wrote:
>>>>>>>> HP ZBook
>>>>>>> load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Try that.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> $ load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,7
>>>>>> bash: load-module: command not found...
>>>>>> $
>>>>> try running with sudo
>>>
>>> Same output
>>> bash: load-module: command not found...
>>>
>> yeah. these days on debian type systems it's modprobe.
>>
>> Basically if the hardware is ok and works under winders but not linux
>> somehow the driver ain't being loaded right. Modprobe is the tool that
>> loads and configures drivers. Read up in it. I don't have a magic spell.
>
> Given that a microphone device appears in AlsaMixer,

But is it the RIGHT microphone device? You can have 'sample digital
audio' as an 'input'

I'd put it
> down to a bug in the driver or maybe a configuration issue.
> "lspci -k" will show the driver used for each PCI device. It
> should be easy to identify from that which driver is associated
> with the sound chip. Then hopefully there's some sort of
> documentation on the Alsa website or elsewhere that suggests
> alternative driver modules or configurations.
>
> Also the sound card in the PC I'm using now also has a "mic boost"
> control which can mute the mic separately from tha main "mic"
> volume/mute control in AlsaMixer. It should go without saying, but
> if there are any controls like that then make sure to play with
> them thoroughly.
>
> Perhaps there could be a BIOS setting to disable the mic for
> security reasons as well? I don't remember ever seeing such a
> thing, but worth a check as it seems like a plausible feature.
>

--
"If you don’t read the news paper, you are un-informed. If you read the
news paper, you are mis-informed."

Mark Twain