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I happen to have a cheap Thomson TH12-N2.32 netbook in my care that is driving me nuts with the sound from the internal speakers not working after a Linux Mint 20 XFCE reinstall.

So first things first, the specs :

$ sudo inxi -Fm
System:    Host: TH12-N2-32 Kernel: 5.4.0-48-generic x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Xfce 4.14.2 Distro: Linux Mint 20 Ulyana
Machine:   Type: Desktop System: Thomson product: TH12-N2.32 v: N/A serial: N/A
           Mobo: AMI model: Cherry Trail CR serial: N/A UEFI: American Megatrends v: 5.011 date: 04/19/2016
Battery:   ID-1: axp288_fuel_gauge charge: 5% condition: N/A
Memory:    RAM: total: 1.83 GiB used: 1.17 GiB (64.1%)
           Array-1: capacity: 8 GiB slots: 2 EC: Multi-bit ECC
           Device-1: A1_DIMM0 size: 2 GiB speed: 4626 MT/s
           Device-2: A1_DIMM1 size: No Module Installed
CPU:       Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Atom x5-Z8300 bits: 64 type: MCP L2 cache: 1024 KiB
           Speed: 1441 MHz min/max: 480/1440 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1440 2: 1440 3: 1440 4: 1440
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Integrated Graphics driver: i915 v: kernel
           Display: server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1366x768~60Hz
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics (CHV) v: 4.6 Mesa 20.0.8
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Imaging Unit driver: intel_atomisp2_pm
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-48-generic
Network:   Device-1: Intel Wireless 3160 driver: iwlwifi
           IF: wlp1s0 state: up mac: 2c:6e:85:94:72:a8
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 29.12 GiB used: 28.38 GiB (97.5%)
           ID-1: /dev/mmcblk0 model: BGND3R size: 29.12 GiB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 15.69 GiB used: 7.38 GiB (47.0%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/mmcblk0p2
           ID-2: /home size: 12.60 GiB used: 10.50 GiB (83.4%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/mmcblk0p3
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 43.0 C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Info:      Processes: 211 Uptime: 17m Shell: bash inxi: 3.0.38


$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series SoC Transaction Register (rev 22)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 22)
00:03.0 Multimedia controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Imaging Unit (rev 22)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series USB xHCI Controller (rev 22)
00:1a.0 Encryption controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Trusted Execution Engine (rev 22)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCI Express Port #1 (rev 22)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCU (rev 22)
01:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Wireless 3160 (rev 83)


$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 2109:0813 VIA Labs, Inc. USB3.0 Hub            
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 058f:3822 Alcor Micro Corp. USB 2.0 Camera
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 8087:07dc Intel Corp.
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0911:2188 Philips Speech Processing
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 2109:2813 VIA Labs, Inc. USB2.0 Hub            
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

I (re)installed the OS using Linuxium's isorespin.sh script (http://www.linuxium.com.au/how-tos/creatingpersonalizedubuntumintanddebianisosforintelminipcs) with the --atom option (hence generating linuxium-atom-linuxmint-20-xfce-64bit.iso)

I blacklisted snd_hdmi_lpe_audio in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist_hdmi.conf, to no avail.

However, I don't get any sound, though all corresponding indicators in pavucontrol behave as if sound was coming out correctly. I know that the hardware is fine as I previously (summer 2019, IIRC) managed to make the sound work with a previous Linux Mint version, though I can't remember what tweaks I used/how I did it.

For what it's worth, the device also has troubles shutting down/rebooting properly.

What I tried :

  • Using several different kernels (hwe, edge, lowlatency, etc.)
  • Reinstall a previous Linux Mint version (19.3)
  • Plugging in a pair of earphones (thanks @terdon) : sound comes out
breversa
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    Just to rule out the obvious, have you tried plugging in a pair of earphones? Do you get sound then? – terdon Oct 10 '20 at 11:47
  • @terdon : I tried and yes, I have sound with the earphones ! – breversa Oct 10 '20 at 11:52
  • Sounds like your speakers are broken then. :( – terdon Oct 10 '20 at 11:53
  • @terdon : it would seem so, but I wouldn't be too quick with ruling it as a hardware failure : I *think* that in the past, I had sound from the earphones before I managed to make the speakers work. Also, I've encountered a similar issue with another laptop (in perfect condition) where the speakers wouldn't work but the earphones would. Again, I can't remember how I solved it (I really should start taking notes ^^), but I'm 100% certain that it wasn't with a hardware replacement. :-) – breversa Oct 10 '20 at 11:58
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    Yes, fair enough. I've also seen this actually. Hardware failure is a distinct possibility, but you're quite right, it isn't the only one. – terdon Oct 10 '20 at 12:05

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