# Let's begin!! ^_^



## DusTech (Apr 11, 2020)

Hi all,

I've finally decided to raze my old desktop windows OS and install FreeBSD 12.1 RELEASE.
I got a copy of the book Absolute FreeBSD 3rd edition and began from the noob level.
While I'm learning questions are rising, as it should I think.

There is something that I don't understand, I googled, searched the manuals and looked in the forum but I didn't find any specific answer so...

I was using /usr/libexec/locate.updatedb and the shell told me to not run it as root as the locate.database would contains too many entries and it would be a security issue.
Than I nuked the file and run periodic(8) with daily, weekly, and monthly params and than I saw that the locate.database  size was the same as before.
As periodic(8) is called by cron(8) I searched and found that cron is run by root.

So: I don't understand - is  locate.database  populated by root by default?

P.S. This post is my first try to use correct forum markup .

Thank you all!!


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## gpw928 (Apr 11, 2020)

`locate.updatedb` runs as the user "nobody", so it won't have permission to look at or record  things that are not publicly readable.

This is generally what you want, as some things need to be kept private, e.g. your home directory.


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## wolffnx (Apr 11, 2020)

DusTech said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I've finally decided to raze my old desktop windows OS and install FREEBSD 12.1 RELEASE.
> I got a copy of the book Absolute FreeBSD 3rd edition and began from the noob level.
> ...



good to know, welcome and enjoy!


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## DusTech (Apr 12, 2020)

Yeah, weekly is run with root, but the locate.updatedb is run with nobody inside the script. 
I have to get used with this change of user ad runtime


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## DusTech (Apr 13, 2020)

Update:


I'm configuring my desktop environment... but it isn't all so smooth .

I corrupted the system with strange installations, I couldn't setup the locale...everything went blowing up .

Then I rage quitted, razed FreeBSD and installed Debian.

After 5 minutes I dropped Debian and restarted from ground with FreeBSD using more patience than before... programming teached me to be patient, but FreeBSD is very demanding.
I've installed Plasma5, Nvidia drivers for my GTX 1080, OSS for the sound, locale for ncspot and listen spotify.
I'm a happy panda by now and I've just scratched the surface.

I tried to plug in my USB G35 Logitech Headset while the system is running, but it goes in lock and crashes.
If I start the system with the usb plugged in the headset works, but disables the remaining audio interfaces.

Still, I'm going forward


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## christhegeek (Apr 18, 2020)

From windows straight to freebsd !
Omg !
I'm insecure to go from linux to freebsd and i'm a linux user since 1999 ! (and back then i was using always the kernel i've compiled myself)
Good luck ! And ask everything you want freebsd has a good community !





DusTech said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I've finally decided to raze my old desktop windows OS and install FREEBSD 12.1 RELEASE.
> I got a copy of the book Absolute FreeBSD 3rd edition and began from the noob level.
> ...


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## Alain De Vos (Apr 18, 2020)

I have in /etc/rc.local the line :
chmod a-x /usr/libexec/locate.updatedb
Someone should remove locate from Base,  but I think some people like some this old stuff as a relic from the past
PS: The port slocate is as bad.


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## Alain De Vos (Apr 18, 2020)

Dustech , in case of audio problems you could restart the audio server (sndiod,pulseaudio) if you use one.


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## DusTech (Apr 18, 2020)

Alain De Vos said:


> Dustech , in case of audio problems you could restart the audio server (sndiod,pulseaudio) if you use one.



mmm I installed OSS as drivers but don't know anything on an audio server. Surely there isn't pulse audio on this system.
Sound will be a concern in the future, by now I'm on bhyve testing with Windows 10... I'm such a n00b


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## wolffnx (Apr 19, 2020)

DusTech said:


> mmm I installed OSS as drivers but don't know anything on an audio server. Surely there isn't pulse audio on this system.
> Sound will be a concern in the future, by now I'm on bhyve testing with Windows 10... I'm such a n00b



OSS is the default in FreeBSD 
everything is configure automactly,
just run `mixer`
in this forum there is a lot a post about it,but quick help:

post the output of
`cat /dev/sndstat`

and then choose the default sound output


```
sysctl hw.snd.default_unit=xxx
```

(xxx is the unit)


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## DusTech (Apr 20, 2020)

wolffnx said:


> OSS is the default in FreeBSD
> everything is configure automactly,
> just run `mixer`
> in this forum there is a lot a post about it,but quick help:
> ...



Thank you.
`mixer` doesn't return anything.

`cat /dev/sndstat` return this:







i followed this guide and installed the OSS in the pkg.
running ossxmix (i found it just now) I get this:




So finally I have some kind of volume control... it does not integrate with kmix though (or the default volume  widget of KDE Plasma)
Maybe i'll found to merge those two features.


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## wolffnx (Apr 20, 2020)

the "engine 1 opened by..." is new to myself

you got 10 output interfaces if I'am not wrong

1 is a sound blaster audigy not?


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## DusTech (Apr 20, 2020)

wolffnx said:


> the "engine 1 opened by..." is new to myself
> 
> you got 10 output interfaces if I'am not wrong
> 
> 1 is a sound blaster audigy not?



Well  I'm guessing here.

In the box I have two separate audio cards: 


one is the - 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec)  integrated in the ASRock Z68 motherboard
the other is an old EMU-0404 pci that I used when I was making music years ago.
I don't think that FreeBSD recognize the EMU, so I guess it labels as SB Audigy.

I don't know how to switch to the EMU just to try, I think it will crash the system though because there is no driver.

I'm wondering if there is way to make FreeBSD to recognize the Display Port connection with the monitor, Windows and some Linux distro can reproduce audio from the monitor as well. (not that is so important anyway)


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## wolffnx (Apr 20, 2020)

so just lets try'it...
first install audacious and copy
an audio file 

connect the 3.5mm jack to the
ouput of the sound card

and repeat this 10 times
in a terminal as root run
`sysctl hw.snd.default_unit=xxx`
xxx is 1 to 10
`mixer`
and at least that have to give you
the "vol" and "pcm" channels
`mixer vol 90`
`mixer pcm 90`
and play the audio file in audacious
if not work switch to the next
output in hw.snd.default_unit=xxx


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## PMc (Apr 20, 2020)

Now *that* is really decent! I'm impressed.

I was searching for a cute, lightweight mixer panel after the one I formerly used was retired; and ideally one that would present all the client vchans on one panel. But nobody told me about this option. 

This one seems to void all the FreeBSD native sound config (nid-wiring in device.hints, vpc adjustment, default_unit), but otherwise works out of the box.

Some minor problems:

There was horrible noise (hum, hiss, broadcast injection, etc.) at first start. Cause was that by default some pins were configured for input, while actually used for output, or nothing attached at all.
Firefox (esr) has a problem with this driver; it uses exactly 100% CPU while playing sound (but otherwise it works). There seems to be a loop in the code.
Audacious creates massive artifacts with default config. Setting bit-depth to 16 resolves this. It seems related to an option Enable format conversions by the OSS software. But when entirely disabling that option (as the linked discussion appears to suggest), audacious increases the pitch by some 10% (and actually plays the recordings too fast). Not sure what to make of that one...
The native FreeBSD sound used to present the integrated device (ALCsomething) as three independent soundcards (rear, front, optical) which could be used each for entirely different things. This one seems to consider them a single entity.
Sound adjustment (treble/bass) is missing. (The pros seem to not like to use those anyway.)


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## PMc (Apr 20, 2020)

DusTech said:


> I don't think that FreeBSD recognize the EMU, so I guess it labels as SB Audigy.
> 
> I don't know how to switch to the EMU just to try, I think it will crash the system though because there is no driver.



That OSS thing You discovered, *IS* the driver. That beast sit now in the kernel; the FreeBSD driver is out of the loop:


```
$ kldstat
Id Refs Address            Size     Name
1   23 0xffffffff80200000 1410c20  kernel
2    1 0xffffffff81819000 3bf38    linux.ko
3    3 0xffffffff81855000 2f78     linux_common.ko
4    1 0xffffffff81858000 33e00    linux64.ko
5    1 0xffffffff8188c000 4320     linprocfs.ko
7    2 0xffffffff81891000 81191    osscore.ko
8    1 0xffffffff81913000 21408    oss_hdaudio.ko
```

You can check your boot-up messages:

```
kernel: oss_hdaudio0: <Intel HD Audio> mem 0xf7d10000-0xf7d13fff irq 22 at device 27.0 on pci0
```

You should have a _second_ such line, mentioning that "SB Audigy". It might or might not be compatible to something that OSS knows; it might or might not work...


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## PMc (Apr 21, 2020)

PMc said:


> Audacious creates massive artifacts with default config. Setting bit-depth to 16 resolves this. It seems related to an option Enable format conversions by the OSS software. But when entirely disabling that option (as the linked discussion appears to suggest), audacious increases the pitch by some 10% (and actually plays the recordings too fast). Not sure what to make of that one...
> The native FreeBSD sound used to present the integrated device (ALCsomething) as three independent soundcards (rear, front, optical) which could be used each for entirely different things. This one seems to consider them a single entity.



Hunted down these two:
The artefacts and the pitch change are introduced when `vmix0-enable` is clicked. In the picture we see "48.0 kHz", while recordings usually are 44kHz - that might likely be the 10%.

Without the `vmix0-enable` audacious works correct with 16 or 32bit, but, obviousely, it then requires exclusive access to the respective speaker-pair. This is also the solution to run different playbacks simultaneous: they can simply be routed to different speaker-pairs.

OTOH, without `vmix0-enable` the volume control inside audacious does not work properly. With vmix0-enable it steers the fader in the vmix, and that works. But without vmix0-enable it steers all kinds of faders in the ossxmix panel, and it does so in mono and mostly wrong. There is a switch in audacious "Use software volume control (not recommended)", which translates to: audacious will not try to steer the soundcard, but do volume adjustment by internal computation.


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## wolffnx (Apr 21, 2020)

PMc said:


> There is a switch in audacious "Use software volume control (not recommended)", which translates to: audacious will not try to steer the soundcard, but do volume adjustment by internal computation.



Without that switch my volume control don't work (always is at the same level)
The output is a HDMI to a TV. So, I have only the audacious volume control.


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## PMc (Apr 21, 2020)

wolffnx said:


> Without that switch my volume control don't work (always is at the same level)
> The output is a HDMI to a TV. So, I have only the audacious volume control.


That makes sense. That is "digital out", so no DAC is involved. The point here is that it is better to have the DAC adjust the volume than to do it in software by audacious and have the DAC in the loop anyway. But in Your case there is only the option to either do it in software or on the TV.

BTW, workarounded another one:


PMc said:


> Firefox (esr) has a problem with this driver; it uses exactly 100% CPU while playing sound (but otherwise it works). There seems to be a loop in the code.


Firefox can be compiled to use JACK as the sound driver. Then CPU load is still not low, but at least not obviousely an endless loop.
You need a jack driver on the OSS to do so (but you need that anyway if you want to use audio/ardour5 as a tape-machine equivalent  ).

audio/jack has given me another challenge: it tends to do kernel panics with such a backtrace:

```
copyout() at copyout+0x3e/frame 0xfffffe02371d5750
uiomove_faultflag() at uiomove_faultflag+0xf4/frame 0xfffffe02371d5790
oss_audio_read() at oss_audio_read+0x4a7/frame 0xfffffe02371d5850
oss_read() at oss_read+0x5d/frame 0xfffffe02371d5870
...
```
The workaround was to run it from  /dev/oss/oss_hdaudio0/pcmin1 instead of pcmin0 - for whatever reason there might be (might also be specific to the involved ALC887, or to whatever else). So my invocation now is:
`jackd -r -d oss -P /dev/dspX -C /dev/dsp7`

So now I should probably go and get myself a pair of proper monitors. And then, happy listening


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## christhegeek (Apr 23, 2020)

By the way do you know how to change default soundcard , i don't have pulseaudio , i have installed kde plasma.


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## Alain De Vos (Apr 23, 2020)

/etc/sysctl.conf :
hw.snd.default_auto=0
hw.snd.default_unit=X


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## christhegeek (Apr 23, 2020)

Thanks for your reply !
1)  if i run sysctl hw.snd.default_unit=1 will it do it permanent too ?
2) There are two applications i need ! Its not me that decides others decided that for me
 First is Viber  tried to install the setup  installer but doesn't run either with wine or i386 wine
The second is zoom.us
3) My keyboard is disconnecting sometimes i though i did something wrong with my freebsd installation and started from start again :-(
also i installed my rx580 nitro+ and unplugged accidentally the dvd drive sata data cable and though that my freebsd installation went south 
Of course that was not a problem of my installation.
Freebsd installation is not hard but it takes time , it helped me switching to -eu- pkg mirror , it helped very much but it is a process that takes time and
thinking that i need to replicate that (god knows what lines i added to rc.conf and loader.conf )  to my ultrabook .....................




Alain De Vos said:


> /etc/sysctl.conf :
> hw.snd.default_auto=0
> hw.snd.default_unit=X


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