Unable to detect microphone/speaker on Windows 7 host/Ubuntu guest in 5.2.8

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Mazdur
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Unable to detect microphone/speaker on Windows 7 host/Ubuntu guest in 5.2.8

Post by Mazdur »

Hello

I have a version 5.2.8.r12 1009 installed on a Windows 7 professional host on IBM Lenovo edge 440. The guest operating system Ubuntu 14.04.
There has not been any problem in configuring the network interfaces for that matter any other installation issue. However, the guest operating system is not able to recognise the microphone/speakers hardware.

I also have an external soundcard apart from the soundcard installed within the Lenovo machine. The external soundcard is Andrea pure sound USB and the internal soundcard Conexant 2061 Smart audio.

How do I troubleshoot this? I have already looked at the manual and searched on the Internet for any possible solution without any success so posting here.

At the very least, what data can I collect in order to find out what may be the problem?

The context is that I am writing a program that will recognise the speech on Linux using Python API but the Python script for detecting microphone is unable to detect anything.

Thank you for any inputs
mpack
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Re: Unable to detect microphone/speaker on Windows 7 host/Ubuntu guest in 5.2.8

Post by mpack »

Please provide a VM log file. With the VM fully shut down, right click it in the GUI. Select "Show Log" and save "VBox.log" (no other file) to a zip file. Attach the zip here.

Please include the "<vmname>.vbox" file from the VM folder, in the zip.
Mazdur
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Re: Unable to detect microphone/speaker on Windows 7 host/Ubuntu guest in 5.2.8

Post by Mazdur »

Thank you for a prompt response. Unfortunately, I was sick and was not able to respond.

As you had desired, the log file is appended with the compressed format. Actually the size of the log file was 134 kB so it really need not be appended in the compressed format. However, I did it anyway because those were the instructions.

I looked to the log file and an producing the relevant messages that I see. I started the virtual machine, then tried to record audio a microphone using a basic microphone application that comes along with ubuntu 14.04. When I tried to terminate the application it would not end and so I had to shut down the virtual machine by sending a message ACPI shutdown command. Before that I had tried to shut it down in the usual way by clicking on the shutdown button on the desktop of ubuntu VM but it would not respond to my clicks and therefore I had to do and a CPI shutdown.

When it was booted, I saw the following messages in the log
00:01:06.499538 DSound: Output: GUID: {D74A48CE-50F4-4DD7-B49E-F45465630D38} [Speakers (Conexant 20671 SmartAudio HD)] (Module: {0.0.0.00000000}.{d74a48ce-50f4-4dd7-b49e-f45465630d38})
00:01:06.499560 DSound: Output: GUID: {844249EA-AA71-45B5-B9A9-C89076342DBF} [Speakers (Andrea PureAudio USB-SA)] (Module: {0.0.0.00000000}.{844249ea-aa71-45b5-b9a9-c89076342dbf})
00:01:06.499949 DSound: Input: GUID: {42E41B69-AC06-4769-9479-F590646807B7} [Microphone (Andrea PureAudio USB-SA)] (Module: {0.0.1.00000000}.{42e41b69-ac06-4769-9479-f590646807b7})
00:01:06.499962 DSound: Input: GUID: {F9EEDE52-86E7-484C-A233-4B78D8341744} [Microphone (Conexant 20671 SmartAudio HD)] (Module: {0.0.1.00000000}.{f9eede52-86e7-484c-a233-4b78d8341744})
00:01:06.501178 DSound: Guest source 'Line In' is using host recording device with GUID '{42E41B69-AC06-4769-9479-F590646807B7}'
And I think the messages below are generated when I was trying to record the sound using a microphone.
0:01:07.049486 DSound: Creating capture buffer failed with ERROR_BAD_ENVIRONMENT 0x8878000A
00:01:07.049903 DSound: Output: GUID: {D74A48CE-50F4-4DD7-B49E-F45465630D38} [Speakers (Conexant 20671 SmartAudio HD)] (Module: {0.0.0.00000000}.{d74a48ce-50f4-4dd7-b49e-f45465630d38})
00:01:07.049903 DSound: Output: GUID: {844249EA-AA71-45B5-B9A9-C89076342DBF} [Speakers (Andrea PureAudio USB-SA)] (Module: {0.0.0.00000000}.{844249ea-aa71-45b5-b9a9-c89076342dbf})
00:01:07.049949 DSound: Input: GUID: {42E41B69-AC06-4769-9479-F590646807B7} [Microphone (Andrea PureAudio USB-SA)] (Module: {0.0.1.00000000}.{42e41b69-ac06-4769-9479-f590646807b7})
00:01:07.049962 DSound: Input: GUID: {F9EEDE52-86E7-484C-A233-4B78D8341744} [Microphone (Conexant 20671 SmartAudio HD)] (Module: {0.0.1.00000000}.{f9eede52-86e7-484c-a233-4b78d8341744})
00:01:07.049983 DSound: Creating capture buffer failed with ERROR_BAD_ENVIRONMENT 0x8878000A
00:01:07.050678 DSound: Output: GUID: {D74A48CE-50F4-4DD7-B49E-F45465630D38} [Speakers (Conexant 20671 SmartAudio HD)] (Module: {0.0.0.00000000}.{d74a48ce-50f4-4dd7-b49e-f45465630d38})
00:01:07.050692 DSound: Output: GUID: {844249EA-AA71-45B5-B9A9-C89076342DBF} [Speakers (Andrea PureAudio USB-SA)] (Module: {0.0.0.00000000}.{844249ea-aa71-45b5-b9a9-c89076342dbf})
00:01:07.051048 DSound: Input: GUID: {42E41B69-AC06-4769-9479-F590646807B7} [Microphone (Andrea PureAudio USB-SA)] (Module: {0.0.1.00000000}.{42e41b69-ac06-4769-9479-f590646807b7})
00:01:07.051060 DSound: Input: GUID: {F9EEDE52-86E7-484C-A233-4B78D8341744} [Microphone (Conexant 20671 SmartAudio HD)] (Module: {0.0.1.00000000}.{f9eede52-86e7-484c-a233-4b78d8341744})
00:01:07.051078 DSound: Creating capture buffer failed with ERROR_BAD_ENVIRONMENT 0x8878000A
This is the setup on my first machine of Windows 7 professional.
I have an external soundcard with Andrea which is for noise cancelling because I'm disabled and use Dragon NaturallySpeaking on the Windows 7 host system. I also have an internal sound card that came along with the Lenovo. That appears to be the Conexant 20671 Smart audio HD soundcard.

For the purposes of the virtual machine, I am okay if it recognises any of the Sound cards-either the external of the internal. I did not see any conflict in them in the recognition.

My main problem is recording voice the microphone. However, the output is also not working.

Thank you again. I hope I have provided the relevant information to assist you in troubleshooting. If you need any more inputs, please let me know.
Attachments
CP2-ub-14.04.zip
Log to determine the inability of using microphone and audiio
(24.88 KiB) Downloaded 17 times
Last edited by socratis on 27. Apr 2018, 19:16, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Enclosed the information in [pre] tag for better readability
Mazdur
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Re: Unable to detect microphone/speaker on Windows 7 host/Ubuntu guest in 5.2.8

Post by Mazdur »

Just to give you more context, I'm trying to make this speech recognition system work on the virtual machine with ubuntu
https://github.com/dwks/silvius

The script that detects the microphones is not able to detect anything
python stream/mic.py

Also I searched for possible solutions with the error code on this forum-but could not come up with anything. Lot of people seem to be having this issue but it is either a problem with some kind of a setting or some external problem about installation. I do not seem to have either of these.

Is there anything that I can do to troubleshoot and get more logs which would be helpful in pinpointing the issue?
socratis
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Re: Unable to detect microphone/speaker on Windows 7 host/Ubuntu guest in 5.2.8

Post by socratis »

Mazdur wrote:The script that detects the microphones is not able to detect anything
As a first pass, I'm not that much interested about the script, I'm more interested whether your guest sees the audio card.

So, the question is, does it? How can you tell? What's shown in the System Settings » Sound » Input? What does the "arecord -l" output looks like? Here's mine from a 16.04 Ubuntu guest:
VB-Ubuntu:~$ arecord -l
**** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
card 0: I82801AAICH [Intel 82801AA-ICH], device 0: Intel ICH [Intel 82801AA-ICH]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: I82801AAICH [Intel 82801AA-ICH], device 1: Intel ICH - MIC ADC [Intel 82801AA-ICH - MIC ADC]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
and as you can guess I don't have a problem with the audio input...

Oh, BTW, your log looks fine. A little short in the VRAM and no 3D accelaration, but that's not related to your problem.
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Mazdur
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Re: Unable to detect microphone/speaker on Windows 7 host/Ubuntu guest in 5.2.8

Post by Mazdur »

thank you for your prompt response. When I run the command that you mention, I do not get any output. I waited for three minutes to see if it would detect anything. All that I get is
arecord -l
**** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****


After that I had to press control C in order to get out of the program.

The screenshot for the input devices is appended. It shows two built in microphones. It does not say anything about the soundcard. Wake up according to this link https://askubuntu.com/questions/253675/ ... le_rich_qa, I should see some kind of a soundcard listed but I'm not seeing anything.

I scrolled through the list and it is only showing me 2 built in microphones, 1 built in line in , analog input and 1 video input. Should it not explicitly showed Conexant soundcard?

Unrelated issue:
------------
As you can see, I am not able to get the full window of the application but I think I have got to whatever needed to be seen.

Then ability to see the full window is an unrelated problem. I'm not able to see the full GUI. I thought I will install VNC but even after installing the proper server, I am able to connect to it but not getting the full desktop. However, that is another problem.

If this information does not help you arrive at any conclusion, do you think that a new installation will help? I say this because earlier I was thinking it may be the problem with Virtual box but perhaps when you say that the log file is created them it may be related to Ubuntu.

And if you would recommend a reinstall, are there any prepared Virtual box images that you would recommend? I am okay with any later version of Ubuntu also. My only problem is that due to my disability, configuring everything from ISO is a difficult problem..

Thank you again (I hope you do not mind my long responses. I'm trying to provide as much information as I can and also see if there is any work around)
socratis
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Re: Unable to detect microphone/speaker on Windows 7 host/Ubuntu guest in 5.2.8

Post by socratis »

Mazdur wrote:Should it not explicitly showed Conexant soundcard?
It shouldn't. Your virtual machine has virtual hardware, not access to the real hardware.

Can you try to download the LiveDVD for Ubuntu and boot in live mode? No need to install it at this point. See if the sounds you're making when you're talking to the microphone are seen by the VM. Make sure if you create a new VM, by default the sound input is disabled (security). Enable it. And stick with the defaults, except maybe RAM, VRAM, #CPUs, HD size.


PS. I will not deal with your second issue at this point. It doesn't match the ... thread's title ;). Let's solve the microphone, and then you can open an appropriately titled new thread.
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Mazdur
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Re: Unable to detect microphone/speaker on Windows 7 host/Ubuntu guest in 5.2.8

Post by Mazdur »

Hello

Thank you for your suggestion. I'm sorry it takes me several days to respond because with my medical constraints, I can spend maximum of 30 minutes everyday.

I was unable to boot with the live DVD . I will spare you the details because ultimately, I downloaded the virtual box Ubunutu 14.04 image from osboxes.org,

I am able to hear the sound output on my computer and also when I do the command "arecord -l", I get the output that you have got in your virtual machine and have mentioned it in the prior messages. I have attached the screenshot because I was not able to get the text output copied using the clipboard from virtual machine.

However, I'm still not able to get their input. I tried recording my voice through both the Lenovo E431 microphone as well as the external soundcard by Andrea that is connected to the computer. I used the application sound recorder to record this and then played back using the rhythm jukebox. I do not hear anything.

I double checked the settings on the virtual machine menu which I have got an option for input and output sound. I ensured that the input is checked.

Thank you for educating me on the fact that since the virtual machine is virtual hardware, it will not show the real hardware drivers. So how do I get to know which real hardware soundcard has mapped which virtual hardware.

Right now, I have 3 kind of playback devices configured on my Windows host machine. The first is the native inbuilt conexant soundcard (set as default). The second is the Andrea external soundcard. And the third is the Bluetooth headset. Right now the Ubuntu Linux virtual host is playing the sound through the inbuilt conexant soundcard. Is it because that is configured by default on the Windows host machine and the virtual machine will only pick up the default?

If that is so, then it should pick up the sound input also from the inbuilt conexant soundcard? ( As I mentioned, I have tried both using the context sent soundcard as well as the external soundcard but it is not able to detect the incoming voice)
looking forward to your inputs
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socratis
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Re: Unable to detect microphone/speaker on Windows 7 host/Ubuntu guest in 5.2.8

Post by socratis »

Mazdur wrote:I was unable to boot with the live DVD . I will spare you the details because ultimately, I downloaded the virtual box Ubunutu 14.04 image from osboxes.org,
That's fine, from what I've also seen myself it "seems" like a pretty standard installation. I don't trust them for you long, because I don't really know what's installed in there, but I've taken a couple of them for a test-drive and for the purposes of your experiment, they should be all right for the job.
Mazdur wrote:I am able to hear the sound output on my computer and also when I do the command "arecord -l", I get the output that you have got in your virtual machine
Great! That means that the sound part is working in VirtualBox, so nothing fundamental is wrong. And as for your inability to copy/paste (C/P), that's normal. This functionality requires the installation of the Guest Additions (GAs) in the guest, a version of the GAs that matches the version of your host's VirtualBox version. This almost never happens with a LiveDVD/pre-made VM, so a screenshot was the right thing to do.

"Bad" Mazdur for not trimming the screenshot, multiple "Kudos" Mazdur for scaling the screenshot!!! :D
Mazdur wrote:I tried recording my voice through both the Lenovo E431 microphone as well as the external soundcard by Andrea that is connected to the computer.
That won't work. See below.
Mazdur wrote:So how do I get to know which real hardware soundcard has mapped which virtual hardware.
You already figured it out yourself! See below (again).
Mazdur wrote:Is it because that is configured by default on the Windows host machine and the virtual machine will only pick up the default?
BINGO!!! A VM can have one, and one only sound input/output. That single audio card makes sense if it's the default for the host OS, no? So, based on your selection on your host OS, VirtualBox assigns the host's default sound card as your input/output in the guest. Of course the guest will see a virtual audio card; a Sound Blaster, an Intel HD Audio, or an AC97, not your host's real audio card. If you're thinking of changing the audio card in the VM settings, *don't*. Stick with the defaults.
Mazdur wrote:If that is so, then it should pick up the sound input also from the inbuilt conexant soundcard?
Yes, it should. Go inside your guest's Settings » Sound properties, and make sure that the input levels are not set to 0, or something really low, max it out. Also, you may see multiple inputs, doesn't matter. Usually it's the Microphone (1) that's the listening device. For example, booting from an Ubuntu 18.04 LiveDVD, I'm having the following input sources: 1) Video, 2) Analog Input, 3) Line in, 4) Microphone 2, and 5) Microphone 1. I honestly don't know what all of them are doing there, but they all seem to react the same in sound input. As I said, I usually leave it at the default, Mic1, and that simply works.
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Mazdur
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Re: Unable to detect microphone/speaker on Windows 7 host/Ubuntu guest in 5.2.8

Post by Mazdur »

Update:
there is a bug that seems to be filed for audio issue similar to what I'm experiencing https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/17597. But I have not seen the same combination of Windows 7 host and Ubuntu 14.04 so I'm not very sure if this is the actual problem. I did try some workarounds that were mentioned. I also tried changing the Windows control it from ICH AC97 to Intel HD audio. When I do that I get stuttering sound during playback.
Also, when I use the Sound recorder application, it defaults to using the built-in analog sound speaker (output). That is possibly the reason why it was not recording anything. However, when I changed it to using the built-in analog stero (microphone), it just hangs.

So with the output it is actually not hanging but not regarding anything. With the input, it is hanging. I wonder if there is still a problem of detecting the microphone.

Thank you
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socratis
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Re: Unable to detect microphone/speaker on Windows 7 host/Ubuntu guest in 5.2.8

Post by socratis »

A couple of things:
  1. Do you need 14.04? That's quite old. What if you moved to the more "stable" ones, like 16.04 LTS, or the new 18.04 LTS. With the latter, I'd expect that there are some more kinks to be fixed (be new and everything), but in a couple of months I expect that to be the most solid one.
  2. I think I told you to stick with the default sound options provided by the VirtualBox suggested template. There's a logic behind the madness... ;)
  3. The Windows host part of the audio problems is certainly a big factor here. The rest of the supported hosts are in 99% "working correctly" mode. Windows is slowly getting there with each and every build. You could try the test builds, and keep on trying them for the latest fixes...
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
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