Can't get sound from speakers through fiber optic S/PDIF TOSLINK connection | Linux Mint Community🍵 | Page 1

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 10:33 AM

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Hello!

I've got a pair of active speakers that I've connected to my computer. I'm trying to connect them with a fiber optic cable to my motherboards built-in TOSLINK S/PDIF output, but I'm not able to make it work. I'm dual-booting with Windows, and this works fine on Windows, so it's not a hardware issue, most likely a driver/software issue. I've gotten the speakers to work with an RCA connection, but it's noisy because of a grounding issue and I'd rather fix the digital output than mess around with electrical circuits.

I'm very new to this whole thing, I'm almost entirely clueless. I've understood that PulseAudio is a thing, and I've successfully installed PipeWire and confirmed it's running with pact info, but to no avail. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing or how to fix this issue, any help is appreciated.

I'm on Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon. De

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 10:35 AM

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Try to update to Mint 22

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 10:35 AM

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Sure thing. I see the update manager isn't in charge of that, so where do I go to update the OS?

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 10:36 AM

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pure glacier Sure thing. I see the update manager isn't in charge of that, so where do I go t...

Terminal: apt install mintupgrade

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Then: sudo mintupgrade

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And follow instructions on screen then

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 10:37 AM

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oh, interesting, upgrading the OS needs a separate package? Linux sure is something, I'm used to Windows just forcing updates on me whether I want to or not, lol

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 10:38 AM

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pure glacier oh, interesting, upgrading the OS needs a separate package? Linux sure is someth...

It's a separate program, yes. And you don't must upgrade if you don't want. Linux Mint 21.3 supports until April 2027.

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But updating to new major version will bring new packages, that can help you

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It matters a lot if you pc is 2-3 years old

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 10:39 AM

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Oh, I'm totally fine with upgrading, I just installed linux on my system and wanted the newest stable release anyway

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running the upgrade tool now

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 10:40 AM

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Okay 😊

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Also, did you check driver manager?

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If you have new speakers, you could just not install necessary driver.

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 10:42 AM

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Currently I only have GPU drivers installed

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also, the upgrade tool fails APT cache because a repository is unsigned:
E: The repository 'https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com stable InRelease' is not signed.

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I tried installing Brave earlier, but didn't like it and went for LibreWolf instead, so how can I remove this repository?

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 10:45 AM

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You can delete Brave

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That's the only way I know

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You can reinstall it after updating

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I also had to delete some programs when updated to Mint 22, but I could reinstall all of them.

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 10:47 AM

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I thought I already deleted brave, but clearly not

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 10:54 AM

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Whats now?

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 10:56 AM

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I can't figure out how to get rid of that Brave thing

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Regret ever installing it, it's been nothing but a headache since I first tried to install it

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 10:59 AM

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sudo apt remove package_name

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:01 AM

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managed to comment out the release list repository for brave so it doesn't run during apt update, that fixed it

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alright, I'm further along, now there's a free space issue

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when I installed I followed a tutorial that suggested putting like 40 GB in an install partition, and the rest in a home partition, but I see now that the install partition filled up almost immediately

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at this point it might be easier to just format and reinstall everything, there's so many issues I've created with bad installs and poorly planned partitions

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:11 AM

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Thats not good

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If you prefer to do it, you can

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Install Linux Mint 22 iso and burn it on usb

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You can use system utility in context menu

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:13 AM

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When I first installed I followed this
https://itsfoss.com/guide-install-linux-mint-16-dual-boot-windows/

It's FOSS

How To Dual Boot Linux Mint And Windows 10 [Beginner's Guide]

Brief: This guide shows you how to dual boot Linux Mint with Windows 10 and enjoy both Linux and Windows together in one system.

So you have decided to switch to Linux. Good decision! And if you chose to use Linux Mint, that’s even a better decision.

Linux Mint

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It suggested installing Root, Swap and Home partitions

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:14 AM

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You dont have to

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You just install Windows, then Linux Mint

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But you choose "install alongside with Windows Boot Manager"

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:14 AM

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but the small root partition seems to have been bad advice at this point, because now I can barely fit any software before the filesystem fills up, while the home partition is almost entirely empty

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I have a separate disk for data, so seems to me like a root partition + swap should be good enough, yeah?

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:15 AM

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balmy python But you choose "install alongside with Windows Boot Manager"

Then you choose disk for install and size of you home partition and confirm

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:16 AM

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pure glacier I have a separate disk for data, so seems to me like a root partition + swap sho...

You dont need swap partition if you have many RAM

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:16 AM

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So maybe just one root partition, then? I have 32 GB RAM

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:16 AM

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Yes, you clearly dont need swap

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Install Mint 22 iso

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:17 AM

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I haven't really set up much on this OS yet, so I think I'll just go over to Windows, format all the linux partitions into free space and then install from scratch

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:17 AM

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I suggest remove grub at first

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If you just delete linux partition, you wouldnt be able to boot

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:18 AM

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Ah, right, how do I do that?

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:18 AM

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Boot from Windows usb

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Like install or PE

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:20 AM

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To change boot manager back to windows?

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:20 AM

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Yes

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:20 AM

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Right, makes sense

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I'll do this then, I'll get back to here in a bit if the mint upgrade doesn't fix the audio issues 😛

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:21 AM

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Do your speakers work on windows?

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:21 AM

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Yeah

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:21 AM

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Okay, do you have Windows usb?

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:22 AM

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No, it's a dual-boot setup. I was thinking I'd just boot into windows and then do advanced startup to get into the UEFI Firmware settings

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:22 AM

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You need to do it, preferably on windows

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:23 AM

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Yeah, I should be able to do it, I know Windows a lot better. As soon as I can boot the computer and it goes straight to windows instead of grub, I'll consider it safe to format the linux partitions

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:28 AM

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So where are you now?

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Download windows 11 iso and rufus

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:31 AM

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I'm currently booted to windows, already have rufus, going to free up the linux partitions now and make a new bootable USB with linux mint 22
This part should be fine, I'm pretty sure I've got this handled.

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:36 AM

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You should have fat32 512mb partition on disk with linux

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Its grub

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Can you delete it?

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You probably can't

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:40 AM

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I think I was able to delete it

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I have 350 GB free space now, which is exactly as much space I had free before I installed linux, so I think I've removed everything I installed

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:42 AM

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Reboot system

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If you get into Windows, that means you deleted grub

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:43 AM

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I already changed boot order to windows, so I think I'll have to check the UEFI firmware settings if the "ubuntu" boot option is gone to see if I deleted grub

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I'll do that now

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:44 AM

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Okay

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:47 AM

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Right, so I haven't deleted grub. I can still boot into "ubuntu", it just doesn't boot linux, it goes into a grub terminal

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I'm assuming it's that 687 mb partition all the way to the right

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:47 AM

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You need to boot from Windows iso

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To fix boot properly

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:48 AM

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Right, what will I do in that ISO? Delete that partition?

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:48 AM

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No, you will type some commands in command prompt

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What are you doing now?

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:51 AM

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downloading a windows 11 iso

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:51 AM

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Okay

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Tell me when you're done

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 11:57 AM

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Currently burning the windows 11 ISO to a usb with rufus

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 11:58 AM

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Okay, good

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Boot from it then, go to recovery option and choose command prompt

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Commands are:
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 12:03 PM

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This iso burning is taking longer than expected, it's at 45% atm

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right right, I'll get around to it eventually!

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Ran the commands now, they don't seem to have changed much

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 12:17 PM

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What happened?

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 12:18 PM

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It said "command completed successfully" or something along those lines for both commands

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but ubuntu is still a boot option

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 12:18 PM

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Yes

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Just boot your pc and see if you're booting into Windows instantly, but not into grub

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 12:19 PM

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Oh, it was already doing that

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As I said, I changed the boot order, so it's booting into windows by default anyway

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ubuntu is an option, but not the default

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 12:19 PM

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Okay, now you can install Linux Mint

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 12:20 PM

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Right, time to rufus again

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 12:20 PM

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Install iso from official site, Mint 22

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 12:20 PM

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Yeah, already downloaded it, burning it now

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 12:20 PM

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Oh, okay then

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 12:21 PM

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I saw linux mint 22 changes default audio option to pipewire, so at least there's some audio changes. I hope all of this works and I won't have to troubleshoot the audio any more 😛

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 12:21 PM

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I hope so

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 12:52 PM

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How are you doing?

pure glacier Jul 28, 2024, 1:11 PM

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Just finished reinstalling

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And holy shit, good news, it works!!

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I have sound!

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It was worth the time and effort, woohoo!

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Thanks a lot for the help and patience, man

balmy python Jul 28, 2024, 1:12 PM

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Youre welcome

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🥰

#Can't get sound from speakers through fiber optic S/PDIF TOSLINK connection