Help with the version of MX KDE officially released by the Development Team.
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CyberGhost wrote: Thu May 12, 2022 4:08 pm
I may have missed something. not sure, but have you tried those external PC speakers that you can plug into the headphone jack/port? The speaker line in male plug looks just like a headphone plug. Like I have my laptop connected to my TV via HDMI for video, and then I have my speakers plugged into the headphone jack/port. Works for me. Maybe that could possibly work for you?
That's EXACTLY what has happened!!! Stand by for my next post!
OK, after scouring the internet and following every possible trace I have discovered the cause of the problem and the solution.
CAUSE:
The conexant CX20585 video chip/card is inherently flawed and commonly busts causing the audio on speakers to cut out. It can work in reverse, mind, where it supplies audio to the speakers and not headphones. It is a HARDWARE fault and cannot be fixed!
Exactly what causes the chip to fail is up for discussion. In some cases it is overheating and a small heatsink can help but other cases, clearly this laptop, it is something else. It can be a lose jack or the chip just goes bananas. The Conexant 20585 had this particular flaw. Suffice to say that the problem was reported years back in both Windows and Linux and THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A SUITABLE FIX found in either software or hardware and that applies to Windows as well as Linux!
It is NOT a software problem, it is not having two audio sources, it is a flaw in the chip that appears over time and CANNOT be fixed save in a few cases where a heatsink might help but it is a bit hit and miss and tricky on a laptop.
SOLUTION:
Use a cheap pair of USB speakers plugged into the headphone socket. I had a set which I gave to the neighbour who was more than happy! (Which was a relief on my part.)
The laptop has just been handed over. We have builders in and I was keen to get the machine out while cement was flying around!
Er, I installed Kubuntu in the end rather than MX-Linux because with Kubuntu at least the sound to headphones works immediately whereas it did not in MX-Linux. And Kubuntu, for all it's flaws (slow and SNAP!) allows for upgrades without reinstalling while MX-Linux does not really and I do not want to be reinstalling MX-Linux on this machine EVER AGAIN! This needs to be "install and forget about it!"
So many thanks to all those that tried to help with this most hideous of problems. I will mark as <solved> because, and I have checked this on Windows forums, it is a HARDWARE issue. The conexant CX20585 is a chip prone to this failure and it's obsolete so nobody cares about it any more.
The solution is - do not waste your time trying to fix this (I lost DAYS trying!) and just go with headphones or buy a cheap pair of USB speakers that take input via the headphone socket.
Again, many thanks to everyone how tried so hard on what is actually an impossible fix. This is a HARDWARE FAULT.
CyberGhost wrote: Sat May 14, 2022 11:12 am
@atom6502 Thanks for the update! Glad you got it figured out. Too bad it can't be fixed but at least you found a workable solution. Have a nice day!
