AudioLinux and NUC Troubleshooting and Tuning

[mourip]

I am running in ramroot. I would like to try Extreme Boot but when I choose it in alconf I get an error "Boot default is not set to Extreme".

 

I figure that I missed a step?

[mourip]

26 minutes ago, hifi25nl said:

Sorry, it is a typo in 0.5. Not instead of now.... It will be corrected soon.

 

You can check status... rebooting

 

Ah...

When you say "You can check status... rebooting" do you mean that I should reboot for it to take effect or does it take effect immediately and show status the next time I reboot??

[mourip]

Thanks Piero. It makes a huge difference in the sound. Much clearer and better depth.

[mourip]

When in headless mode and I run alconf and chose option #1 "Save system (If in ram mode)" does this mean that if I run that script it will save my settings if my USB drive is still in place?

 

So what happens if I am in ram mode, pull the USB drive and then make a change? Is that something that basically only affects that session and is gone when I reboot?

 

I assume that if I am not in ram mode and I make a change it will always be saved to my USB drive for the next boot?

[mourip]

25 minutes ago, lmitche said:

Hi David,

 

We can help but need a bunch of details first. As you know there are a lot of knobs to set. Do you want to keep exploring options or are you done with the NUC?

 

I see you use a DDC for USB to spdif conversion. Do you know if the schitt eitr uses a XMOS USB chipset?

 

It would also be good to know how you are powering your NUC.

 

Thanks,

 

Larry

 

From the website looks like C-Media CM6631A USB 2.0

[mourip]

On 12/5/2018 at 11:31 AM, ray-dude said:

 

On the mother thread, @Narcissus asked about Ramboot:

 

 

It does "auto yes"  For convenience when running headless, I made the following change:

 

Edit /usr/bin/ramroot and change
LOAD_TIMEOUT_DEFAULT=15

 

to 

 

LOAD_TIMEOUT_DEFAULT=3

 

That changes the wait time at the "Y/N" prompt from 15 seconds to 3 seconds

  

 

 

Thanks for this. Anything that speeds up booting up ramroot is welcomed. I also cloned my USB2 drive to a USB3 drive to move things along a bit.

 

One issue that I have encountered is the need to periodically connect a monitor to my NUC, especially if it becomes unavailable due to a configuration change that I make that renders SSH(Putty) useless. Previously for my HDPlex Bridge I could just hook up my old VGA-only monitor but the NUC just has HDMI, plus my monitor is a bit bulky to drag out. For the NUC I would have to move it to my desk which has an HDMI input. I found a cool solution to avoid moving my computers around or crawling behind my cabinets a lot. I bought a cheap 7" HDMI monitor on Amazon. It is very convenient to move and store, uses HDMI, and has a clear screen. I disconnect it when not in use.

 

Here it is hooked up to my HDPlex headphone system.

 

[mourip]

2 hours ago, austinpop said:

What is the proper way to update my system to 0.6 while preserving all customizations? I did this - downloaded the 3 files below:

-rwxr-xr-x 1 audiolinux users 70295236 Dec  6 17:32 linux-rt-bfq-4.19.1.3-2-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz

-rwxr-xr-x 1 audiolinux users 16020220 Dec  6 17:33 linux-rt-bfq-docs-4.19.1.3-2-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz

-rwxr-xr-x 1 audiolinux users 18297092 Dec  6 17:33 linux-rt-bfq-headers-4.19.1.3-2-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz

 

I then ran 

 

pacman -U linux-rt-bfq-4.19.1.3-2-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz linux-rt-bfq-headers-4.19.1.3-2-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz linux-rt-bfq-docs-4.19.1.3-2-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz 

 

I rebooted, but when I login, I still see 0.5 on the login screen. And, if I type alconf I still get the old menu. 

 

Finally, what is the command for the new monitor menu?

 

All of this is on headless.

 

Did you use your login information from your original email to get to the new version?

 

My login no longer works even for the old version...

[mourip]

2 hours ago, afrancois said:

Same here, I've updated the kernel, but the menu stays the same.

There must be some extra steps involved to update to 0.6

 

I contacted Piero. He said that he changes the passwords periodically. He sent me a new one and I downloaded the new install file.

 

This will not be much fun for him as his user base grows. It also does seem that this will produce a fresh install since you will be using RUFUS again to re-image your USB drive. I like lmitche's idea of creating a document with all of your previous configuration changes listed so that you can quickly run through them...again.

 

The good news is that I changed my CA profile yesterday to list Audiolinux with Roon as my new system. Pretty remarkable.

[mourip]

8 minutes ago, LTG2010 said:

and again.......and again.......and again...... etc.....etc.... thats why I'm stil on 0.3

In any event if you hear a difference between 0.3 and 0.6 its down to expectation bias ??

 

Not sure that I expect an SQ improvement but I do like some of the menu changes. I had suggested adding the shutdown and reboot commands.

 

If he added menu driven scripts with prompts for changing timezone, hostname, IP static address, time and NTP service that would be cool. Actually NTP service could be on by default.

[mourip]

25 minutes ago, afrancois said:

Don't know if this has been mentioned before, but you can monitor the CPU temperature from within AL headless by simply typing: sensors.

I'm running 0.5 on a stock unit NUC7i7DNHE in RAM using extreme mode.  72 C° seems quite high.

 



 

Do you know what the "high" and "critical" values represent? Are these bios settings for warning or are there historical values that have been previously reached... or none of the above?

 

My two endpoints running in extreme mode show different measured values. My NUC reads ~60 and my HDPlex ~47.

[mourip]

6 minutes ago, afrancois said:

Have others that have AL + REF10 noticed that it takes up to an hour before the REF10 gives it maximum potential?

This only came to my attention after installing AL.

 

I know that some of you let the REF10 always ON.

 

I leave my front end always on and my tube equipment gets turned off. I have a REF10 and I am pretty sure that it takes a while for it to reach thermal equilibrium. I could not say how long it takes before it no longer affects SQ...

[mourip]

4 minutes ago, Monge said:

After Ramboot Enable In Al Headless 0.6 with Putty then I need to reboot. But whats the reboot command and where should I be.

Thanks Monge

 

Reboot with the command:
sudo reboot

 

I now have a Word document with all of the commands and tips from Piero's web site and the two threads here on CA. Very useful.
 

[mourip]

1 hour ago, afrancois said:

It has also been a while since I have used WinSCP. My previous linux endeavors are far back in the past.

 

No problem copying files from my NAS to the NUC's memory (running AL in ramboot)

 

 

Have also successfully mounted audiolinux/home/audiolinux/music in Roon.

Then I searched in Roon after Hells Bells and of course, I found two entries. Be right clicking on the icon right of the title you can query the file location. Take the one that's in memory and compare with the one coming from the NAS.

I haven't done the comparison yet. Perhaps put something more audiophile into the folder ?

 

 

Can you open a file, edit it and then save it back to AL?

[mourip]

2 hours ago, sam1000 said:

Thinking of jumping in with  NUC7CJYH when it becomes available at BH or some other places. As Rajiv  has stated, large part of the SQ depends upon which LPSU is being used. Since the best SQ was achieved with SR-7, are there any other alternatives since SR-7 is almost impossible to get in a short term? (I'm aware of LPS 1.2 and  sbooster). Are there any other choices? If I choose sbooster, shall I opt for 18v to go with NUC7CJYH?

 

HDPlex now uses Linear Technology 3045 regulators. Their 200w version has 4 outputs and two are adjustable. At about $500 shipped they are a very good value and readily available. I have found their customer support to be excellent.

[mourip]

2 hours ago, greenleo said:

....when two PCs are connected through LAN ports, plastic connectors at the end of the cable rather than metal connectors should be used.

 

I am curious about that. Is it because of ground currents?

[mourip]

8 hours ago, greenleo said:

I tried to set up a WiFi bridge (as in the OG ) but failed in AL.  However, enentually, I managed to connect through wifi to my router with Piero's help (many thanks Piero) and the reading.

 

To setup a WiFi link is relatively straight forward but still pretty laborious for a Window guy.  Basically you need to install the driver for the WiFi adapter 1st.  Then follow the WPA_supplicant web page (which is manageable but not easy, at least I found it not too easy).  I would not go into the details.  Complications may  still arise like the adapter may not be able see all the APs, difficulty in using 802.11x, ...etc.   No intention to frighten you but as a friendly reminder/warning.

 

If money is not a concern, using a switch may provide equal or better SQ, my speculation.  I recall Larry mentioned he may try the EtherRegen which I'm eagerly waiting as well.  For great switches already available, search Roy's or Rajiv's posts may help.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I remember several years ago when the dedicated audio server articles came out it was always suggested that WiFi transmitters be kept a good distance from the server/endpoint due to radio noise. It also seems to me that running an internal WiFi or an external USB WiFi dongle will increase power requirements and heat.

 

One way to get around this could be to use even a modest router set to bridge mode and connect it to your existing ethernet port. You could use a 10 foot or longer ethernet cable to keep the router at a significant distance from the NUC/PC. The only gotcha would be the possibility of ground currents and noise coming through the ethernet cable from the distant SMPS of the router.

 

Another experiment!

[mourip]

For Roon Bridge running in AL ramroot, once you have enabled ramroot and rebooted you can just pull the USB drive.

[mourip]

Question. In alconf any ideas what it means if I get the error “Unable to Determine Root UUID” when I try to enable ramroot?

 

How to fix that?

 

Thanks!

[mourip]

45 minutes ago, mourip said:

Question. In alconf any ideas what it means if I get the error “Unable to Determine Root UUID” when I try to enable ramroot? 

 

I should add that I cloned my USB drive from a USB2 to USB3 drive...

[mourip]

17 minutes ago, LTG2010 said:

Did you clone a drive with ramroot already enabled? sounds like it's enabled.

 

If I run "ramroot status" it shows as not enabled. Also the reason I know that it is not enabled is that my when I pulled my USB drive after booting up the endpoint crashed..

[mourip]

4 minutes ago, hifi25nl said:

Cloning is different from copying files... you cannot make from "inside" the OS you are cloning and you should use a dd command, since you must copy the files and the partitions.

 

 

I made an ISO file from the USB2 drive and used RUFUS as DD to "clone" that to a new USB3 drive. Is that correct?

 

Sounds like a perfect time to upgrade to headless .6 ?

 

[mourip]

Anyone here tried booting Audiolinux from an SD card with 7 series NUC?

[mourip]

4 hours ago, hifi25nl said:

If you want to update from last version you can install the new menu with these commands (as root)

 

pacman -S lftp sysstat
lftp -e 'mirror https://www.audio-linux.com/ftp/packages/menu /tmp; bye'
cd /tmp
tar -xvpf almenu.tar.gz
cp -prf scripts /opt/
cp -prf sudoers /etc/sudoers
ln -s /opt/scripts/alconf.sh /usr/bin/alconf
ln -s /opt/scripts/almon.sh /usr/bin/almon
ln -s /opt/scripts/alupdate.sh /usr/bin/alupdate
ln -s /opt/scripts/menu.sh /usr/bin/menu

 

If you want also the web interface (as user):
yaourt -S shellinabox-git

 

As root:

cd /tmp
lftp -e 'get https://www.audio-linux.com/ftp/temp/webinterface.tar.gz; bye'
tar -xvpf webinterface.tar.gz
cp -prf shellinabox /etc/
cp -prf [email protected] /etc/systemd/system/[email protected]
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable [email protected]
systemctl start [email protected]

 

After you can connect from a browser with
http://ipaddress:8500

 

 

Piero this is excellent , especially for us Linux newbies. Thanks for listening to our grumbling and ramblings...

 

You must be peddling pretty fast these days!

 

I assume that we either have to exit ramroot and then reboot(with the USB drive inserted) in order to make these changes ...or else in ramroot, with the USB drive in place, choose "Save System" from the alconf menu?

 

 

[mourip]

6 hours ago, hifi25nl said:

If you want to update from last version you can install the new menu with these commands (as root)

 

pacman -S lftp sysstat
lftp -e 'mirror https://www.audio-linux.com/ftp/packages/menu /tmp; bye'
cd /tmp
tar -xvpf almenu.tar.gz
cp -prf scripts /opt/
cp -prf sudoers /etc/sudoers
ln -s /opt/scripts/alconf.sh /usr/bin/alconf
ln -s /opt/scripts/almon.sh /usr/bin/almon
ln -s /opt/scripts/alupdate.sh /usr/bin/alupdate
ln -s /opt/scripts/menu.sh /usr/bin/menu

 

If you want also the web interface (as user):
yaourt -S shellinabox-git

 

As root:

cd /tmp
lftp -e 'get https://www.audio-linux.com/ftp/temp/webinterface.tar.gz; bye'
tar -xvpf webinterface.tar.gz
cp -prf shellinabox /etc/
cp -prf [email protected] /etc/systemd/system/[email protected]
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable [email protected]
systemctl start [email protected]

 

After you can connect from a browser with
http://ipaddress:8500

 

 

In version .6 as root, when I type in:

 

                    ln -s /opt/scripts/alconf.sh /usr/bin/alconf

 

I get an error: "ln: failed to create symbolic link '/usr/bin/alconf' : file exists"

 

 

 

 

 

[mourip]

45 minutes ago, hifi25nl said:

If in some version the link is already there, no problem, type the other commands.

 Thanks. I have the menus now. Very helpful.

 

Installing the browser access seems to need some help. I got through the scripts without issue but cannot seem to connect using http://ipaddress:8500