This post has been updated since something changed (yeah, the audio out jack now works great!)
Making both the wireless connection and the audio board work on a HP Pavilion DV6-1060el with Debian Lenny (currently stable) and Squeeze (currently testing) needs a small effort. This is due to 2 reasons: first, the linux kernel up to version 2.6.26 (current version distributed with Lenny) doesn’t support the Intel 5100 wireless interface, second, the ALSA driver up to 1.0.21 (that comes with Squeeze’s kernel) doesn’t support the audio board’s codec (that is, IDC 92HD75B3X5) out of the box, yet you can force the driver to use another codec and make the audio board fully work.
So, if running lspci you got:
02:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 5100 AGN [Shiloh] Network Connection 00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 03) [...]
And running
cat /proc/asound/card0/codec#* | grep Codec
you got:
Codec: IDT 92HD75B3X5
- If you are using Debian Lenny, follow the instructions here to install a new kernel >= 2.6.30. This kernel version supports the wireless interface and has the pre-built ALSA module version >= 1.0.21.
(to check your running ALSA version, type cat /proc/asound/version) - Otherwise, if you are using Debian Squeeze, just add non-free to your repository list and install 2 packages as described here. If your kernel is not up to date, update it with:
apt-get install linux-image-amd64
(replace ‘amd64’ with your architecture) - edit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf adding the line: options snd-hda-intel model=hp-dv5 at the bottom of the file. This can be done with the command (as root):
echo “options snd-hda-intel model=hp-dv5” >> /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf - remove and reload the snd-hda-intel module with the command (as root):
alsa force-reload
or restarting your machine. - Now everything should work fine. With alsamixer raise up the volume of Master, Speaker and PCM. Switch to Capture (using Tab key) and make sure it is activated, pressing space until a red CAPTURE appears. Raise up Digital and Digital Mic volumes. Try out the speakers, the headphones, the internal and external microphone (try recording with Audacity or another sound recorder). Everything should work now.
The audio card is still not fully supported. When switching the pc off, you may hear some weird noises. Anyhow, that’s a workaround that will make your PC rock. When an ALSA version fully supporting this audio board will be released in future debian kernels, you’ll probably have to remove the line “options snd-hda-intel model=hp-dv5” from /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf, and everything will work as is.
If you found this post useful, you have alternative solutions, some news, or something is unclear, please comment.