How to set up creative sound cards in Ubuntu. - Overclock.net

Suilenroc · 11-08-08

There's been a few people around the net who have been looking for a tutorial on how to install the new creative drivers in Ubuntu. I decided to make one myself, rather than wait for someone else to. I'll be pointing people to this, feel free to do the same yourself.

First off, you'll need to download the new creative driver set off of the creative wesbite.

http://support.creative.com/

From that site, navigate to your sound card. Mine is the "x-fi elite pro."

Click "Download" below the driver, currently version 1.00, and accept the license. It will download a package in the .tar.gz format. When prompted by the download manager, click "open file." Extract the folder to your desktop.

Now, open up a Terminal. (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal), and type in:

Code:

 cd Desktop

That cd's you, or moves you, into the selected folder, in this case, the Desktop.

Then, type in:

Code:

ls

That displays all files on your desktop. You will then have to type in:

Code:

 cd *yourfilenamehere*

for me, it was:

Code:

 cd XFiDrv_Linux_Public_US_1.00

that takes me into that folder.

Now, you will have to run this as root. If you haven't yet set a root password, or if you don't know what a root password is, do this:

Code:

 sudo passwd

This then asks you for your user password. Put that in. It then asks for a "New Unix Password." Type in whatever password you want, I have it the same as my user password. Enter it a second time when promped.

Now, back to the installation.

You gotta get into the superuser mode, which is easy enough. Type in:

Code:

su

Then, type in your superuser password, which we just set.

Now, just type this in:

Code:

 make

This will compile the program. Give it a sec to a few minutes.

Waiting... Waiting... Waiting...

DONE!

Now, just type in:

Code:

 make install

This should take a moment. After that, you're done! The drivers are installeD!

All that awaits now is to change your sound options to use the new driver. Go to: System -> Preferences -> Sounds.

Change all the entries there to your sound card. Mine looks like this: "Creative ALSA Driver X-Fi WaveOut/WaveIn (OSS)"

After that, enjoy your card.

-Suilenroc

Post any questions to this thread, and I'll try to answer them.

Suilenroc · 11-09-08

Sorry for the self-bump, but I was wondering if a Mod could change the title of this to include a [Tutorial] tag? I was rushed when I wrote this, and forgot about that.

mystica · 11-10-08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suilenroc

Now, you will have to run this as root. If you haven't yet set a root password, or if you don't know what a root password is, do this:

Code:

 sudo passwd

This then asks you for your user password. Put that in. It then asks for a "New Unix Password." Type in whatever password you want, I have it the same as my user password. Enter it a second time when promped.

Now, back to the installation.

You gotta get into the superuser mode, which is easy enough. Type in:

Code:

su

Then, type in your superuser password, which we just set.

Orrrr you could just eliminate this totally unneeded step and

Code:

sudo su

to immediately gain access to a root shell. I've done this for years.

Explanation: sudo runs any command as root. By default, your initially created user in Ubuntu has sudoer access.
"su" by itself, if run as root, simply opens a new shell.

Just my $0.02 (which after the markets go south should end up being close to $0.00002 in the next year or so..)