[GnomeMeeting-list] Re: Ekiga and sound card in use issue

[Stephan Bourgeois <strangelv lycos co uk>]

> Does anyone have a fix for this issue. For me, it happens neally every 
> time I use Ekiga, it complains when
> trying to connect, of sound-card being in use. I can see no other 
> programs that could be using the card, [...]
>  
I can see a number of things:
a. You are running a sound deamon with your desktop like esd (Gnome) or 
artsd (KDE). You can check that by typing
ps -ax | grep esd or ps -ax | grep artsd in a console.
b. You are running a messenger application (eg. Gaim) with the sounds 
enabled

> Does anyone have a method of working around this issue? Or do I just go 
> back to Skype, at least that works.
>  
This will be an issue with Skype as well. The difference is: Skype 
doesn't warn you about it when you log in. However, when you try to 
place a call, Skype will complain that the sound device is not 
available. I don't believe that the problem is any different between 
Skype and Ekiga as both applications use ALSA.

What you can do:
a. [killall esd || killall artsd] before using Ekiga. Or even disble the 
"sound events" in Gnome, or its equivalent in KDE.
b. disable sounds in Gaim, Gadu-Gadu, etc.
c. try to use dmix in .asoundrc 
http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/doc-php/asoundrc.php