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Puppy Linux Blog Post:

How to use a Sewell USB Sound Box with Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2
6/20/2016

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6/20/2016 - How to use a Sewell USB Sound Box with Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2 (Puppy Linux)

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How to use a Sewell USB Sound Box with Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2
Monday, June 20th, 2016
00:45:34 GMT

Puppy Linux

I finally figured out how to get my Sewell USB Sound Box to work in Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2 with my Toughbook CF-C1.

I thought I might have to compile a driver, but luckily, that wasn't the case.

(Addition, June 28, 2016, 10:22 PM EDT. The below also works for Lucid Puppy Linux 5.2.8 version 004! The only big difference is, Step 4 - restarting X Windows - is required.)


Here's how to make it work. I assume Steps 3 and 6 might be slightly different if you have a different kind of computer.

I recommend, don't wear your headphones until after you're sure all the below steps worked properly and have enabled you to control the volume.


  1. Click on the Puppy Linux equivalent of the Windows "Start" menu.

  2. Go to the Setup menu and choose "Multiple Sound Card Wizard".


  3. In the window titled "Choose which sound card to make the default.", choose:

    card 1: Device [USB Sound Device], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]

    (Or whichever other choice says USB Sound Device.)

    It will then tell you to reboot your computer - but, fortunately, you actually don't have to reboot. At most, all you might have to do is restart X Windows.


  4. (Edit, June 28, 2016, 10:25 PM EDT. If you're using Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2, Step 4 isn't necessary.

    But, if you're using Lucid Puppy Linux 5.2.8 version 004, Step 4 is necessary.)


    Before you restart X Windows, make sure you have anything you're working on saved, because restarting X Windows will instantly close all of your open programs without even asking you if you want to save.

    And here's another reminder to take off your headphones, so you can avoid the Puppy Linux startup noise possibly blasting your ears.


    Then, to restart X Windows in Lighthouse 64, go to the Puppy Linux equivalent of the Windows "Start" menu, click Shutdown, and choose "Restart X" from the window that appears.

    Or, in Lucid Puppy Linux 5.2.8 version 004, go to the Puppy Linux equivalent of the Windows "Start" menu, go to the Shutdown menu, and choose "Restart X server" from the submenu.


  5. These next steps are to make the volume controls work with the USB sound box.

    After X Windows has restarted, right-click on the volume taskbar icon and choose "Config Window" from the menu.


  6. In the "Retrovol - Configuration" window, go to the Hardware tab.

    Near the top, in the "Sound Card" section, there will be a text box which says "hw:0".

    Change "hw:0" to "hw:1" (without quotes).

    (Or, you might have to change it to something different, if in step 3, you had to choose something other than "card 1: Device [USB Sound Device], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]".)


  7. Still in the "Retrovol - Configuration" window, click on the "Tray" tab.

    Then, in the "Tray Slider" section, select whichever dropdown menu item says "Speaker Playback Volume".

    In Lighthouse 64 Puppy Linux 6.02 Beta 2, select "7:Speaker Playback Volume".

    In Lucid Puppy Linux 5.2.8 version 004, select "6:Speaker Playback Volume".

    Then click the "Apply" button.


Now, it should be possible to adjust the volume!


Addition, Nov. 27, 2016, 1:35 AM EST. Today I had trouble getting these instructions to work with the desktop computer running Lucid Puppy Linux 5.2.8 version 004 which I had tested these instructions on in the first place. I was afraid maybe my soundbox had gotten at least partly broken from falling on the floor, but, it still worked fine with Windows 7.

Happily (and surprisingly), the soundbox started working again with my Lucid Puppy desktop computer when I plugged the soundbox into a different port on my USB hub!

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Note by Apollia on Nov. 8, 2023: Please join my Patreon if you'd like to support me and my work!

My main personal website is now Apollia.org. I'm still not sure what to do with Astroblahhh.Com, so it's mostly staying as-is for now.