[SOLVED] Constantly losing audio

I had written to support, and they suggested that I ask for help here. So this is a copy of my complete message:

I am a donated user of both Zorin OS 5 and 6. Currently, I have a Dell Optiplex 745 with and ATI video card with HDMI (not sure of model). I have installed Zorin OS 6 Ultimate 64-bit on it and use it as my personal server to backup all of my other devices via SpiderOak, and as a multimedia station on my big screen TV. It is connected to the TV via HDMI, controlled by a wireless GearHead keyboard/touchpad, and also has a Logitech webcam for Skype. I also have Teamviewer 7 installed. I leave this PC on all the time, but only switch to it when not watching TV.

First, every time that I switch to the PC on my TV, I do not have any audio. I try to play videos or stream movies, but no audio. I confirm the settings and they are correct. When I reboot, it works fine. But if switch to TV and check back later, no audio again. I tried to use Pulse Audio as suggested in viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2023, but then my webcam disappears. So I removed Pulse Audio.

Possibly related or not, every time that I start a Skype video call, the other party cannot hear me. Again, it works after reboot. As suggested in the Pulse Audio article, I disabled allowing Skype to adjust audio levels.

Second, when I remote into this PC via Teamviewer, I often lose control of functions. Sometimes I cannot input anything from the keyboard. Other times, I cannot click anything with the mouse. Sometimes I lose control of both. As with the other issues, a reboot seems to temporarily solve the issue.

None of the problems mentioned here were issues with Zorin OS 5 or 5.2, or with other distros such as Linux Mint. But I donate to Zorin because I prefer to use Zorin. Please help me solve these issues.

As regards your Audio problem, it seems to be a bug related to the ATI graphics card and gnome3. It is created because your display is turned off and on when changing from TV to PC.

Try the following work-arounds till this bug is fixed.

- When you change to your PC and there is no audio go to your system>displays and just click on "apply" and then on "keep this resolution". This hopefully will restore audio.
- If not, try changing resolution to something else and then back to your resolution.
- You can also logout and login back again.
- Or you can take out the HDMI cable and plug it back (not very much suggested).

Try the above and see what works best for you.

Hi,

see also this link for Pulse Audio:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2023

Have you fully updated your system??:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2247

Regards Wolfman

madvinegar,
Last night, out of frustration, I did pull the HDMI cable out of the TV, then back in again. That did actually work. But, like you said, not ideal. I will try the display settings later tonight.

wolfman,
I did try Pulse Audio according the instructions in that thread, as you can see in my notes. It made my webcam disappear, so I removed Pulse Audio. I will try the updates in the second link tonight also.

Thanks to all.

As I said, even if it sounds strange, the bug has to do with the ATI card. It does not have to do with sound. Try the display settings as I explained and let us know if this workaround worked.

madvinegar,

I'm happy to report that changing the screen resolution and back again fixed my issue. Alot better than pulling the HDMI cable every time. Thanks to you and wolfman for your help.

Glad I helped!