Strange behaviours with sound settings and mounting drives

[markwiering]

Hello there!

I am running MX Linux 23 on an Intel Core i3 540 with 8 GiB of RAM and an ATI Radeon 5570 graphics card. I am dual-booting with Windows 10.

On MX Linux, I found some strange behaviour that I never experienced on Windows 10. This includes two things:
1. At random times, the sound bar appears in the top-right corner, as if I had just adjusted the sound, even though I haven't.
For example, I am watching a video, not touching the keyboard or mouse at all, and suddenly, this sound bar appears in the top-right corner as if I had just adjusted the sound.

But, that is not all. Sometimes, the sound switches completely from Intern sound Analog stereo (my speakers) to Redwood HDMI Audio (audio through my monitor, which is really soft and low-quality). If this happens, I click on the sound icon and I change it back to Intern sound Analog stereo.

Sometimes, however, the sound switches to Redwood HDMI Audio with no option to change it back to Intern sound Analog stereo, because the latter option becomes unclickable. In that case, I need to unplug the 3.5 mm Jack-thing from my computer and plug it back in. Then the option Intern sound Analog stereo becomes clickable again and I can select that option again.

I never had this problem on Windows 10 on the same computer. When running Windows 10, I never get a sound bar in the corner as if I had changed the sound if I didn't change the sound with the mouse through the sound icon. When running Windows 10, the sound never randomly switches to the monitor speakers. On Windows 10, I never need to unplug and plug back in the 3.5 mm Jack port. On Windows 10, I never had any problems with the sound.

But on MX Linux, I get random sound bar flashes as if I changed the sound, the sound randomly switches to the monitor speakers and I sometimes need to unplug and plug back in the sound 3.5 mm Jack port.

Why is this happening?

2. When mounting drives, I sometimes get a "Not authorized to perform operation" at every single drive I try to mount. This includes: another partition of the same hard disk, another internal hard disk and a USB memory stick.

This problem disappears when doing a reboot. But several boots later, this error is back again, forcing me into yet another reboot to solve this. Why does this problem appear at all? How do I make sure that I NEVER get this error when booting my PC with MX Linux?

Problem 2 doesn't appear very often. Maybe once every seven boots. Problem 1 is constant and plagues me at every single MX Linux session on this PC, so problem 1 is currently more urgent.

How do I solve the strange sound behaviour on MX Linux on this PC?
And what could be causing the "Not authorized to perform operation" that occasionally appears?

Here is my quick system information.

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 6.1.0-33-amd64 [6.1.133-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-33-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
  Desktop: Xfce v: 4.20.0 tk: Gtk v: 3.24.38 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm v: 4.20.0 vt: 7
    dm: LightDM v: 1.32.0 Distro: MX-23.6_x64 Libretto September 15  2024 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12
    (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: P7H55-M PRO v: Rev 1.xx serial: <superuser required>
    BIOS: American Megatrends v: 0703 date: 02/09/2010
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i3 540 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Westmere gen: core 1 level: v2
    built: 2010-11 process: Intel 32nm family: 6 model-id: 0x25 (37) stepping: 2 microcode: 0x11
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 2 tpc: 2 threads: 4 smt: enabled cache: L1: 128 KiB
    desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 512 KiB desc: 2x256 KiB L3: 4 MiB desc: 1x4 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 2840 high: 3015 min/max: N/A cores: 1: 2898 2: 2839 3: 2610 4: 3015
    bogomips: 24610
  Flags: ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable
  Type: mds status: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no microcode; SMT vulnerable
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Unknown: No mitigations
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed status: Not affected
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines; IBPB: conditional; IBRS_FW; STIBP: conditional; RSB
    filling; PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: Not affected
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Redwood PRO [Radeon HD 5550/5570/5630/6510/6610/7570] vendor: ASUSTeK
    driver: radeon v: kernel alternate: amdgpu arch: TeraScale-2 code: Evergreen
    process: TSMC 32-40nm built: 2009-15 pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 16 ports:
    active: HDMI-A-1 empty: DVI-I-1,VGA-1 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:68d9 class-ID: 0300
    temp: 48.5 C
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 compositor: xfwm v: 4.20.0 driver: X: loaded: radeon
    unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,vesa dri: r600 gpu: radeon display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1680x1050 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 445x278mm (17.52x10.94") s-diag: 525mm (20.66")
  Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 mapped: HDMI-0 model: Medion MD20433 serial: <filter> built: 2014
    res: 1680x1050 hz: 60 dpi: 82 gamma: 1.2 size: 521x293mm (20.51x11.54") diag: 598mm (23.5")
    ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
  API: OpenGL v: 4.5 Mesa 22.3.6 renderer: AMD REDWOOD (DRM 2.50.0 / 6.1.0-33-amd64 LLVM 15.0.6)
    direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 5 Series/3400 Series High Definition Audio vendor: ASUSTeK 5
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:3b56 class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: AMD Redwood HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 5000 Series] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel
    v: kernel pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:aa60 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-33-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: ASUSTeK M4A785/P7P55
    driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: d800 bus-ID: 03:00.0
    chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
  IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8812AU 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2T2R DB WLAN Adapter type: USB driver: rtl8812au
    bus-ID: 1-1.6:5 chip-ID: 0bda:8812 class-ID: 0000 serial: <filter>
  IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.32 TiB used: 572.73 GiB (42.5%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Seagate model: ST3320311CS size: 298.09 GiB block-size:
    physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 5900 serial: <filter> rev: CA12
    scheme: MBR
  ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Western Digital model: WD10EZEX-00BN5A0 size: 931.51 GiB
    block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s type: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter>
    rev: 1A01 scheme: GPT
  ID-3: /dev/sdg maj-min: 8:96 type: USB vendor: Generic model: Flash Disk size: 117.97 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 8.01 scheme: MBR
  SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 440 GiB size: 432.02 GiB (98.19%) used: 154.88 GiB (35.8%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/sdb3 maj-min: 8:19
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 8 GiB used: 313.1 MiB (3.8%) priority: -2 dev: /dev/sdb2
    maj-min: 8:18
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 46.5 C mobo: 37.0 C gpu: radeon temp: 47.5 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 2163 psu: 0 case-1: 1622
  Power: 12v: 11.98 5v: N/A 3.3v: 3.36 vbat: N/A
Repos:
  Packages: pm: dpkg pkgs: 2133 libs: 1059 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala,synaptic pm: rpm
    pkgs: 0 pm: flatpak pkgs: 0
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb http://nl.mxrepo.com/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
Info:
  Processes: 242 Uptime: 3h 38m wakeups: 1 Memory: 7.69 GiB used: 3.05 GiB (39.7%) Init: SysVinit
  v: 3.06 runlevel: 5 default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 alt: 12
  Client: shell wrapper v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: BIOS (legacy, CSM, MBR)

[markwiering]

Additional information about the audio problem: the annoyance isn't just visually. There is an actual audio interruption when I see the audio bar appearing in the top-right corner of the screen.

I tried to solve this problem by downgrading to antiX kernel 4.9, but this did NOT solve the problem. The problem persisted.
Also, my 2D cat game + Blender 3 run really awful with antiX kernel 4.9. With kernel 6, my cat game runs like a charm and Blender 3 also runs acceptably fast.

In short: antiX kernel 4.9 on this machine gave me a severe performance degradation with graphical software.

[CharlesV]

Most likely the issue with "Not authorized to perform operation" is because of an auth issue after logging out and then back in. A reboot will resolve it, until you log out and back in - and the weird part... it may NOT always happen.

There appears to be a question about how quick you logout and back in, but for me.. I have just stopped that process, and now just lock or reboot. Problem solved.

For the audio. You *may* be able to resolve the issue by getting everything setup as you want and then go into user manager and under group membership uncheck Audio. I am told this has some ramifications for working with audio if you use mixers and more, but I have not seen any yet and I record audio and video, and then of course play etc...

[m_pav]

I have seen weirdness such as you explain and typically, it's almost always hardware related. Your motherboard is of the age nearing the end of the dirty capacitors run which started in 2002. I must have done at least 50 full capacitor swaps on Motherboards and Power Supplies between 2006 and 2014, replacing them all with Japanese capacitors till I sold my business. A capacitor in a circuit performs the duty of a battery combined with a shock absorber to smooth, stabilise power delivery and reduce noise to electrical components and bad capacitors make for all sorts of weirdness.

Have a look inside your case to see if you can find any plastic wrapped cylindrical devices with Alloy caps that have been stamped with a pattern that will have intersecting lines. We call them E-Caps. The point where the stamped lines intersect is the pressure relief valve. E-Caps will be quite prolific both across the motherboard and in the Power Supply. All the alloy caps should be totally flat, no bulging whatsoever and they should all be standing upright from the motherboard. Leaning capacitors with a flat top are typically a sign of leakage from the bottom rubber seal. In your Power Supply, the E-Caps will likely be glued together to reduce harmonic vibration and therefore noise.

Here's the key take-away from all this. If you have just 1 bulging E-Cap, then ALL of them with the same markings will be working at less than 40% of their rated value, and those with properly bulging caps will be in the 15%< of their rated value. Their loss of capacitance will have the effect of over-driving every circuit in their path leading to potential chip failure. The electrical effect will be almost like a car with 4 uneven springs and no shock absorbers rolling down a bumpy road at speed.

Please check and report back, and don't forget to look carefully into your power supply.

[markwiering]

For the audio. You *may* be able to resolve the issue by getting everything setup as you want and then go into user manager and under group membership uncheck Audio. I am told this has some ramifications for working with audio if you use mixers and more, but I have not seen any yet and I record audio and video, and then of course play etc...

I could try this when I have booted into MX Linux again (currently, Windows 10 is running).
But first, how do I enter my "user manager" ?

@m_pav

Your motherboard is of the age nearing the end of the dirty capacitors run which started in 2002.

I bought this PC for 50 euros at a second hand shop to replace my other PC (Intel Core i7, 8 GiB, NVidia GeForce GTX 960) that broke.

I am aware that this PC is an older one - and slower than the one that broke - but I still think it's a decent rig for that price. It runs the software that I require very well.

The alternative approach would be to spend like 1000 euros on a modern and really fast PC, which I didn't want to do.

But, in terms of capacitors, I also have a PC from 1999, 2001 and 2003 (all Fujitsu Siemens) that all three work like a charm. Their motherboard has never been replaced, neither their capacitors.

Have a look inside your case to see if you can find any plastic wrapped cylindrical devices with Alloy caps that have been stamped with a pattern that will have intersecting lines. We call them E-Caps. The point where the stamped lines intersect is the pressure relief valve. E-Caps will be quite prolific both across the motherboard and in the Power Supply. All the alloy caps should be totally flat, no bulging whatsoever and they should all be standing upright from the motherboard. Leaning capacitors with a flat top are typically a sign of leakage from the bottom rubber seal. In your Power Supply, the E-Caps will likely be glued together to reduce harmonic vibration and therefore noise.

Here's the key take-away from all this. If you have just 1 bulging E-Cap, then ALL of them with the same markings will be working at less than 40% of their rated value, and those with properly bulging caps will be in the 15%< of their rated value. Their loss of capacitance will have the effect of over-driving every circuit in their path leading to potential chip failure. The electrical effect will be almost like a car with 4 uneven springs and no shock absorbers rolling down a bumpy road at speed.

I try to follow along, but I have trouble visualising what you are describing. I tried Ecosia, DuckDuckGo and Google Images, but I simply do not get anything computer related when searching for E-Caps or Alloy caps. Could you include images in your explanation, so that I can see exactly what you meant - and then look for what you described?

This would be a great help!

[CharlesV]

@markwiering MX Menu and that will be MX User Manager

[m_pav]

Could you include images in your explanation, so that I can see exactly what you meant - and then look for what you described?

I had thought of that, but I wanted to avoid copyright infringement, therefore I didn't attach one. I dug deep into my archives to find a picture I took of this very thing from 2014. Most of the information around the net will claim that "capacitor plague" was primarily between 2002-2007, but mt first-hand experience has shown it went for much longer than than that, and it was especially present on little known Chinese brand equipment, as was the case with this PC which was supplied brand new only 2 years prior as the controller for a Laser Engraving Machine. I sent the full picture to the customer asking if they wanted it repaired.

The top capacitor (E-Cap) has a flat top and the lower E-Cap has a bulging top due to heat related pressure build-up. Typically when you see only one failed capacitor as per the image, even if the machine is put away and not used for a few months, you'll find most, if not all the other capacitors will do the same, and that is why it is necessary to replace them all.

.

[markwiering]

@markwiering MX Menu and that will be MX User Manager

I just tried this. This didn't solve my problem. The sound interruptions persist.

[markwiering]

Could you include images in your explanation, so that I can see exactly what you meant - and then look for what you described?

I had thought of that, but I wanted to avoid copyright infringement, therefore I didn't attach one. I dug deep into my archives to find a picture I took of this very thing from 2014. Most of the information around the net will claim that "capacitor plague" was primarily between 2002-2007, but mt first-hand experience has shown it went for much longer than than that, and it was especially present on little known Chinese brand equipment, as was the case with this PC which was supplied brand new only 2 years prior as the controller for a Laser Engraving Machine. I sent the full picture to the customer asking if they wanted it repaired.

The top capacitor (E-Cap) has a flat top and the lower E-Cap has a bulging top due to heat related pressure build-up. Typically when you see only one failed capacitor as per the image, even if the machine is put away and not used for a few months, you'll find most, if not all the other capacitors will do the same, and that is why it is necessary to replace them all.

.

Thank you for the image and the additional explanation. I will open the case of my computer and check the capacitors. Then I will report back to you.

[markwiering]

@m_pav
I opened the case of my PC and I didn't find any bad capacitors. The flat side of all cylinders were truly flat. None of them bulged, not even a little bit.
And, in my case, there was no cross × on the capacitors, but a T.

To be honest, I would be surprised if my problem was hardware related, because Windows 10 on this same PC plays audio normally, without any interruptions. If Windows 10 can do it, then the hardware is capable of playing sound uninterrupted. Then the problem must be with the software.