Xfce Forum

gladi

Member

Registered: Yesterday

Posts: 1

sound card usage on 2010 Imac

Hello everyone,

I installed Linux Mint xfce on my old Imac and have problems to get a better audio output on this hardware.

Here the the latest system report concerning audio:

System:
  Kernel: 6.8.0-90-generic arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.3.0 clocksource: tsc
  Desktop: Xfce v: 4.18.1 tk: Gtk v: 3.24.41 wm: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 with: xfce4-panel
    tools: light-locker vt: 7 dm: LightDM v: 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 22.2 Zara
    base: Ubuntu 24.04 noble
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: Apple product: iMac11,3 v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required> Chassis:
    type: 13 v: Mac-F2238BAE serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Apple model: Mac-F2238BAE v: iMac11,3 serial: <superuser required>
    uuid: <superuser required> UEFI: Apple v: 99.0.0.0.0 date: 06/13/2019
CPU:
  Info: dual core model: Intel Core i3 550 bits: 64 type: MT MCP smt: enabled arch: Westmere rev: 5
    cache: L1: 128 KiB L2: 512 KiB L3: 4 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 3192 min/max: 1197/3192 cores: 1: 3192 2: 3192 3: 3192 4: 3192
    bogomips: 25536
  Flags: ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx

Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 5 Series/3400 Series High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:3b56 class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: AMD Redwood HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 5000 Series] vendor: Apple driver: snd_hda_intel
    v: kernel pcie: speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:aa60 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.8.0-90-generic status: kernel-api
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.5 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active
  Server-2: PulseAudio v: 16.1 status: off (using pipewire-pulse)

Who can give me hints for this probelm?
Best wishes for 2026 and greetings!

gladi

mint4all

Member

From: off the map

Registered: 2018-08-21

Posts: 296

Re: sound card usage on 2010 Imac

Greetings to you, and welcome to this forum!

Around 2021, a friend gave me this very same iMac mdel (11.3) to refurb it with Linux Mint Xfce4. It operated fine for about 3 years until it overheated around mid-2024 (it always ran very hot, especially with videos, so I removed the RAM-cover at the bottom of the bezel to improve airflow). Originally tested and built with LM19, then upgraded to LM20, and later to LM21 (5.15 Kernel).

For now, I would suggest you try Clem's audio-issue workaround per the release notes for LM22.2/LM22.3b, namely to purge pipewire and revert back to the old audio-system/-support. There may also be an issue with the 6.8 kernel (I have no way of testing), so you might try the 5.15-series kernel instead that came with LM21. Yes, it is a somewhat outdated spin, but still in support.

Good luck, and a Happy New Year!
Cheers, m4a

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