Unable to automatically set snd_hda_intel power_save to 0

Ask Fedora
1

There has been a popping sound every time I start playing audio which seems to be caused by snd_hda_intel power_save being enabled.


cat /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save

By default this returns 10. If I set it to 0 manually using something like


echo "0" | sudo tee /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save

the popping sound stops. Obviously I want this set to 0 automatically though. However making a .conf file in /etc/modprobe.d with

options snd_hda_intel power_save=0

inside it, running dracut -f and rebooting doesn’t actually seem do anything since power_save is still set to the default value of 10. I’ve also tried doing


sudo grubby --update-kernel='ALL' --args='snd_hda_intel.power_save=0'

according to Speakers popping, how to make power save options permanent? - #3 by Espionage724 however that hasn’t worked either.

2

I just tried this and it worked for me. You mean you made a file with a name that ends in .conf right? (I named mine my-sound.conf.) Also, I didn’t need to run dracut. I did reboot though.

3

Yeah, I created a file that ends in .conf
I only tried using dracut after rebooting didn’t seem to work

4

Does your added kernel parameter show in the output of cat /proc/cmdline? That really should have worked as well.

Otherwise I guess something is resetting it back to 10. Maybe sudo dmesg | grep snd_hda_intel would provide some hints?

5

you may also want to take a look at
grep -r snd_hda /etc/modprobe.d/

1 Like
6

It does show that it’s been added to the kernel parameters
output of sudo dmesg | grep snd_hda_intel

[ 0.000000] Command line: BOOT_IMAGE=(hd1,gpt2)/vmlinuz-6.12.7-200.fc41.x86_64 root=UUID=d7806234-07d7-4f4e-befe-76f9368ccbf9 ro rootflags=subvol=root rhgb quiet rd.driver.blacklist=nouveau modprobe.blacklist=nouveau snd_hda_intel.power_save=0
[ 0.031337] Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=(hd1,gpt2)/vmlinuz-6.12.7-200.fc41.x86_64 root=UUID=d7806234-07d7-4f4e-befe-76f9368ccbf9 ro rootflags=subvol=root rhgb quiet rd.driver.blacklist=nouveau modprobe.blacklist=nouveau snd_hda_intel.power_save=0
[ 4.966927] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: enabling device (0000 → 0002)
[ 4.972510] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: bound 0000:00:02.0 (ops i915_audio_component_bind_ops [i915])
[ 4.973156] snd_hda_intel 0000:01:00.1: enabling device (0000 → 0002)
[ 4.973263] snd_hda_intel 0000:01:00.1: Disabling MSI
[ 4.973272] snd_hda_intel 0000:01:00.1: Handle vga_switcheroo audio client

7

output of grep -r snd_hda /etc/modprobe.d/

disable-audio-powersave.conf:options snd_hda_intel power_save=0

I only have it set once here

1 Like
8

It looks like it’s interacting with the i915 driver and that has its own power save settings:

$ modinfo -p i915 | grep power
enable_dc:Enable power-saving display C-states. (-1=auto [default]; 0=disable; 1=up to DC5; 2=up to DC6; 3=up to DC5 with DC3CO; 4=up to DC6 with DC3CO) (int)
disable_power_well:Disable display power wells when possible (-1=auto [default], 0=power wells always on, 1=power wells disabled when possible) (int)
edp_vswing:Ignore/Override vswing pre-emph table selection from VBT (0=use value from vbt [default], 1=low power swing(200mV),2=default swing(400mV)) (int)
enable_fbc:Enable frame buffer compression for power savings (default: -1 (use per-chip default)) (int)

Maybe you also need to disable power saving on your video driver? I don’t know. There are also power save settings for the whole PCI controller (pcie_aspm=off). That might work as a sort of “big hammer” approach.

9

Setting enable_dc to 0 didn’t do anything either

10

Are you using tuned and/or using the power profiles?

If so does changing the profile to performance help?

11

Double checking this on my laptop, and assuming it’s the same problem.

After installing tuned-ppd:
The power save and balanced profile set the power_save value to 10.
The performance profile uses what ever the kernel setting is.

If you want to utilize the kernel settings and leave tuned installed:
copy the profiles over to /etc/tuned/profiles

sudo cp -p -R /usr/lib/tuned/profiles/{balanced,powersave} /etc/tuned/profiles/

using your editor of choice with admin privileges modify:

/etc/tuned/profiles/balanced/tuned.conf
/etc/tuned/profiles/powersave/tuned.conf

remove:

[audio]
timeout=10

If you want to use the tuned profile settings.
copy the profiles over to /etc/tuned/profiles

sudo cp -p -R /usr/lib/tuned/profiles/{balanced,powersave,throughput-performance} /etc/tuned/profiles/

using your editor of choice with admin privileges modify:

/etc/tuned/profiles/balanced/tuned.conf
/etc/tuned/profiles/powersave/tuned.conf

Change 10 to 0

[audio]
timeout=0

/etc/tuned/profiles/throughput-performance/tuned.conf

Add

[audio]
timeout=0

I added it above the [video] section.

You could also uninstall tuned and tuned-ppd

2 Likes
12

Yep setting it to performance worked, thanks!

13

There is also a gui to modify things if you install tuned-gtk

edit: From my perspective this was easier to modify via the command line.