Add Enabling Audio in Arch Linux

1 files changed, 49 insertions, 1 deletions

diff --git a/source/_posts/enabling_sound_in_arch_linux.md b/source/_posts/enabling_sound_in_arch_linux.md
index 3f5ba8c..c65faff 100644
--- a/source/_posts/enabling_sound_in_arch_linux.md
+++ b/source/_posts/enabling_sound_in_arch_linux.md
@@ -2,7 +2,55 @@
 extends: _layouts.post
 section: content
 title: Enabling Audio in Arch Linux
-description: 
+date: 2020-08-31
+description: Learn how to unmute your speakers in Arch.
 tags: [Arch]
 ---
 
+If you have recently installed [Arch Linux](/posts/installing-arch-linux-on-a-x220-thinkpad/) you may have found that there is no sound when playing media. This is because by default ALSA has all channels muted.
+
+## Installing the ALSA Utilities
+
+The Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) is the part of the Linux kernel that manages the sound devices on your system. In addition to this the project also provides several command-line utilities that allow you to configure these devices. These can be installed with *pacman*.
+
+```shell
+$ sudo pacman -S alsa-utils
+```
+
+## Unmuting The Channels
+
+Channels can be unmuted with *amixer*.
+
+```shell
+$ amixer sset Master unmute
+$ amixer sset Speaker unmute
+$ amixer sset Headphone unmute
+```
+
+You can test that the speakers are working with the *speaker-test* command.
+
+```shell
+$ speaker-test -c 2
+```
+
+If you are still getting no sound then it could be that the volume has been set to zero. Use *amixer* again to increase the volume.
+
+```shell
+$ amixer sset Master 100%
+$ amixer sset Speaker 100%
+$ amixer sset Headphone 100%
+```
+
+## Unmute with Alsamixer
+
+If you prefer a more intuitive *ncurses* interface you can use *alsamixer*.
+
+```shell
+$ alsamixer
+```
+
+Channels that are muted will have the *MM* label below them. Unmuted channels have *00*.
+
+Use the ← and → keys to scroll to the muted channel and press *m* to unmute it.
+
+The volume can be increased and decreased with the ↑ and ↓ keys.