Sound drivers and hardware scans. Solved.

[Weatherlawyer]

What application do I need to see what motherboard I am using?

I did a test of my computer before upgrading that showed me what was and what wasn't OK.

I have no idea where it is now with Ubuntu 11.4.

I need a sound driver. Presumably I'll be OK with Avrak until this get sorted. Or is there a more Linux friendly driver out there waiting in the dark?

[Rhakios]

I found the easiest way to find out what motherboard I have is to open the case and have a look (it might also be reported in the BIOS, I don't remember).
If you just want to find out what sound card you have, then just do:
lspci | grep -i audio

For example, this gives me:

Code: Select all

rhakios@pythia:~$ lspci | grep -i audio
00:05.0 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP61 High Definition Audio (rev a2)


Which is enough information for the basis of a search.

Edit: programs like hwinfo, tend to give a lot more detail, without it necessarily being of much use, for example, it gives a system board identifier for my PC, but doesn't tell me the exact model.

[MessedUpHare]

you could use dmidecode to find what the motherboard is saying it is... you havto run it as root, though...

Code: Select all

# dmidecode -t 2

[/code]

[Rhakios]

For me, that only gives to same info as hwinfo, i.e. not the motherboard's full product name.

[Weatherlawyer]

That just about sums up what is wrong wioth Linux.

Most Windows users expect to find a programme they just need to click on and the computer does the rest.

I don't have a clue how to use the command line. All the replies for help here require I learn.

[towy71]

Most Windows users expect to find a programme they just need to click on and the computer does the rest.

I'm fairly sure there isn't a Windows program that would properly identify the motherboard, and definitely Windows will not have bundled drivers for most hardware

[Ram]

That just about sums up what is wrong wioth Linux.

Most Windows users expect to find a programme they just need to click on and the computer does the rest.

I don't have a clue how to use the command line. All the replies for help here require I learn.

There's nothing wrong with Linux.

I use the command line a lot in Windows to launch programmes.

That's your bad, your never to old to learn.

[nelz]

You don't need to learn anything, or even type anything. Open a terminal then copy and paste the command from the reply. Maybe three mouse clicks, which is quicker than doing it with most GUI programs.

The command line is an advantage to be embraced, not a foreign land full of dragons.

[towy71]

The command line is an advantage to be embraced, not a foreign land full of dragons.

True, but it is still powerful enough to bite you on the derrière

[wyliecoyoteuk]

Answering questions with a single line command that can be cut and pasted into a terminal is easier than writing half a page of "click this, select that" descriptions.
Actually, you often see that on windows forums as well, as most programs and config tools can be launched from the command line.
In fact there are some tools in windows that only work properly from the CLI.

[nelz]

And you can hurt yourself with a GUI?

[wyliecoyoteuk]

Of course you can.

If you do not continue, the application will not be completely installed, and may not function correctly.
Do you not want to continue?

Yes no

[MessedUpHare]

Personally, I find hardware issues in windows harder to deal with - especially if the owner has inadvertently installed the wrong driver, the machine can report incorrectly...

Anyhoo, Windows/Linux arguments are fairly dull..

I'm kind of out of ideas with regards to polling the mainboard... Beyond the previously mentioned checking the physical board...

Sorry to dissapoint

[nelz]

That was meant to be a rhetorical question, which would have been clear had I typed can't instead of can

[Ram]

For me, that only gives to same info as hwinfo, i.e. not the motherboard's full product name.

Pretty darn close for me.

# dmidecode 2.9
SMBIOS 2.5 present.

Handle 0x0002, DMI type 2, 15 bytes
Base Board Information
Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Product Name: Crosshair III Formula
Version: Rev 1.xx
Serial Number: 102426410000199
Asset Tag: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Features:
Board is a hosting board
Board is replaceable
Location In Chassis: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Chassis Handle: 0x0003
Type: Motherboard
Contained Object Handles: 0