2nd week in Linux. lol.
I have an important Zoom session in 13 hours. I need my sound.
Maybe uninstalling alsamixer could bring lady back, for now? Regular sound still work, for now.
I understand. I'm not kockin' ya - Just sayin'.
Pulseaudio. There is a reason Ubuntu derivitives that use it are plagued with these sound problems.
- Mic not working
- Very low sound
- Background static and popping
- Sound device not detected
- Settings seeming to change themselves out of the blue
- Intermittent functionality...
It goes on and on. And getting Lennart Poettering to acknowledge the problem without being granted a Pwny Award is like pulling teeth. Either because he doesn't know how to fix it or refuses to believe that his Beloved Pet Systemd Module gobbling Pulseaudio is fundamentally flawed. Or perhaps a bit of each.
Yet, on Devuan, for example- No Sound Problems. Just Alsamixer; no pulseaudio, no module, no problems.
This is how it is and we all know it. If me saying it bluntly makes me impolitic then I guess I will be a little impolitic.
Neh. It's alright.
Maybe just uninstalling pulseaudio again and leaving alsamixer in would be best?
It didn't detect the sound chip, just by itself, this afternoon though.
If all else fails, I have Windows as my backup for tomorrow's Zoom session. I'll have a few weeks of freedom then to tinker with my laptop.
If I were you... I would focus on making this back up into your plan.
Go with what you know works while the pressure is on.
And with that pressure relieved, take the time to really focus on the Sound Problem here. Without stressing about an upcoming meeting.
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Yup. I will. I just hate things not working and I have this urge to get it working.
I'll use Windows tomorrow. Good thing I didn't delete the partition. 
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I know the feeling. It is a big part of why I take time for the forum, to help me to learn. It is slow going...
For my brain is broken...
But I try.
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@YukKevChuHau I agree with @Aravisian. Your priority must be your Zoom session without fear of any sound misadventure. We can come back to this when you have more time, as you will need more time for sure.
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Hi, you might want to consider getting one of those for an emergency situation like this:
This works OOB in any Linux distro.
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@YukKevChuHau I am sure you can find one of these at a good price in one of the Computer Centres in HKG.
I'm sorry that you are still having sound issues after 2-weeks on Linux. FrenchPress posted a link to an external USB connected sound card. I just wanted to let you know that I recommend those. I have one cause notebooks are notorious for having bad audio chips in the past, that to process 48V of Phantom power from a condensor mic, I knew it was my best option.
When you connect one of those puppies up to your system, it should show up in your Pulse Audio as USB Audio Device, or something to that effect. Good luck!
@FrenchPress @StarTreker @zabadabadoo @Aravisian
Thanks for the recommendations everyone. I think I should get a device like that just in case. I haven't heard the name Sound Blaster in ages. Wow. I remember when I got my first Sound Blaster, it was a SB16 ISA Card. It's been ages since I last installed an actual sound card. then then moved on to an Audigy I think. Haven't bought a card afterwards. LOL.
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I remember those days.
There was no on-board sound system by then. I went through many sound cards.
That is correct. This is because computers only had PC speakers at best, they were really good at the bleeps, the sweeps, and the creeps, but not much else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGPHFNR5Gms&ab_channel=IntoleranceShallNotBeTolerated
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Remember listening to beeps to decipher motherboard error codes? Don't forget the loud and noisy boot up with the HDD and fans overpowering the beeps. 
It was fun playing midi through it though. Lol.
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Yes I do remember that, that was the days before motherboards included CMOS error codes via LED display on mobo.
I have a Dell XPS 9710 and same issue, opened a thread on it. Basically you will need to wait like I will for next kernel release which will address sound issues on our XPS units. Kernel 5.11.0-35 will have the fix. Tested with a prerelease of this kernel and had sound working. then reverted back due to my use of Vmware Workstation.
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You have the same problem as I have - Kernel and VMware version mismatch.
Correct, patiently waiting on next kernel release.
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Hello! I read your thread. It's a shame your much newer laptop has issues too. Mine's six years old.
I just upgraded to linux-image-unsigned-5.14.6-051406-generic_5.14.6-051406.202109181232_amd64 30 minutes ago. Still got sound, and system seems speedier too. I'll revert back to 5.11.0-34-generic if I have issues.
https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.14.6/
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/?h=v5.14.6
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I believe changes made to 5.11.0-35 will make it to all future mainline kernel releases.
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