Problem with Sound settings

[Jape Person]

On 01/23/2015 07:09 AM, Kai-Martin Knaak wrote:
> James Moe wrote:
>
>> My keyboard has mute and volume controls, which work as they should
>> in Gnome, do not in xfce. The mute button mutes, but does not
>> unmute.
>
> Same here. Unmute via the panel plugin does not work, either. What
> does work, though, is to open alsamixer and unmute all master and PCM
> manually. While mute applies consistently to master and PCM, unmute
> only unmutes master.
>
> I experience this on various different hardware, ever since I
> switched to XFCE about three years ago. I just live with it. If I
> accidentally press mute, I open alsamixer and unmute PCM.
>
>
>> The volume controls are useless.
>
> Volume control via keyboard works for me (provided I have unmuted
> all channels with alsamixer)
>
> ---<)kaimartin(>---
>

Your description describes precisely my experience with Xfce in the 
Debian testing environment on four very different systems. All were 
installed from different installation images (though all were netinst). 
One is an upgrade all the way from Lenny, the most recent install was 
from RC2 of the Jessie installer done last week. The other two systems 
fall in between insofar as original .iso image.

Three of the systems are notebooks with volume and mute-unmute keys and 
behave exactly as you say wrt those keys. Mute kills everything, unmute 
only unmutes the master setting. And unmuting from the panel applet only 
unmutes master, also. I have to open the mixer control to unmute 
headphone, speaker, PCM, whatever.

At least it's consistent!

;-)