I am new to Linux but really love Elementary for its simplicity. After noticing that my sound was quite poor in Elementary, compared to Windows 8.1, I have tried updating the sound drivers. I ended up downloading one from here but after a reboot, my sound icon was gone from the toolbar and no sound can be heard. In the setting > sound I see Dummy Output and running alsamixer says cannot open mixer: No such file or directory. I have Googled around without any success and many suggest sudo alsa force-reload but that returnsUnloading ALSA sound driver modules: (none loaded).Loading ALSA sound driver modules: (none to reload).I have lost hope after posting in other places without any replies and I am hoping somebody here can help. I have uninstalled the driver I have previously downloaded from the link above (maybe there are pieces left behind?) and purged reinstalled both alsa-base and pulseaudio but I still can not see the sound icon or play sounds.sudo lshw:description: Portable Computerproduct: Inspiron 3537 (Inspiron 3537)vendor: Winbond Electronicsversion: A07serial: 2FN1402width: 64 bitscapabilities: smbios-2.7 dmi-2.7 vsyscall32configuration: administrator_password=disabled boot=normal chassis=portable family=00 frontpanel_password=disabled keyboard_password=disabled power-on_password=disabled sku=Inspiron 3537 uuid=44454C4C-4600-104E-8031-B2C04F343032*-core   description: Motherboard   product: 03JPPR   vendor: Winbond Electronics   physical id: 0   version: A00   serial: .2FN1402.CN129664280036.   slot: Type2 - Board Chassis Location *-firmware      description: BIOS      vendor: Winbond Electronics      physical id: 0      version: A07      date: 11/12/2013      size: 128KiB      capacity: 4032KiB      capabilities: pci pnp upgrade shadowing cdboot bootselect edd int13floppynec int13floppytoshiba int13floppy360 int13floppy1200 int13floppy720 int13floppy2880 int5printscreen int9keyboard int14serial int17printer int10video acpi usb biosbootspecification *-cpu      description: CPU      product: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4200U CPU @ 1.60GHz      vendor: Intel Corp.      physical id: 4      bus info: cpu@0      version: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4200U CPU @ 1.60GHz      serial: To Be Filled By O.E.M.      slot: U3E1      size: 759MHz      capacity: 759MHz      width: 64 bits      clock: 100MHz      capabilities: x86-64 fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf eagerfpu pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm ida arat epb xsaveopt pln pts dtherm tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid cpufreq      configuration: cores=2 enabledcores=2 threads=4    *-cache:0         description: L1 cache         physical id: 9         slot: L1 Cache         size: 32KiB         capacity: 32KiB         capabilities: synchronous internal write-back instruction    *-cache:1         description: L2 cache         physical id: a         slot: L2 Cache         size: 256KiB         capacity: 256KiB         capabilities: synchronous internal write-back unified    *-cache:2         description: L3 cache         physical id: b         slot: L3 Cache         size: 3MiB         capacity: 3MiB         capabilities: synchronous internal write-back unified *-cache      description: L1 cache      physical id: 8      slot: L1 Cache      size: 32KiB      capacity: 32KiB      capabilities: synchronous internal write-back data *-memory      description: System Memory      physical id: 23      slot: System board or motherboard      size: 6GiB    *-bank:0         description: SODIMM DDR3 Synchronous 1600 MHz (0.6 ns)         product: M471B5674QH0-YK0         vendor: Samsung         physical id: 0         serial: 98D205AC         slot: JDIMM1         size: 2GiB         width: 64 bits         clock: 1600MHz (0.6ns)    *-bank:1         description: SODIMM DDR3 Synchronous 1600 MHz (0.6 ns)         product: NT4GC64C88B1NS-DI         vendor: Nanya Technology         physical id: 1         serial: F85A1057         slot: JDIMM2         size: 4GiB         width: 64 bits         clock: 1600MHz (0.6ns) *-pci      description: Host bridge      product: Haswell-ULT DRAM Controller      vendor: Intel Corporation      physical id: 100      bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0      version: 09      width: 32 bits      clock: 33MHz    *-display         description: VGA compatible controller         product: Haswell-ULT Integrated Graphics Controller         vendor: Intel Corporation         physical id: 2         bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0         version: 09         width: 64 bits         clock: 33MHz         capabilities: msi pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom         configuration: driver=i915 latency=0         resources: irq:61 memory:b0000000-b03fffff memory:a0000000-afffffff ioport:4000(size=64)    *-multimedia:0 UNCLAIMED         description: Audio device         product: Intel Corporation         vendor: Intel Corporation         physical id: 3         bus info: pci@0000:00:03.0         version: 09         width: 64 bits         clock: 33MHz         capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list         configuration: latency=0         resources: memory:b0710000-b0713fff    *-usb:0         description: USB controller         product: Lynx Point-LP USB xHCI HC         vendor: Intel Corporation         physical id: 14         bus info: pci@0000:00:14.0         version: 04         width: 64 bits         clock: 33MHz         capabilities: pm msi xhci bus_master cap_list         configuration: driver=xhci_hcd latency=0         resources: irq:58 memory:b0700000-b070ffff    *-communication UNCLAIMED         description: Communication controller         product: Lynx Point-LP HECI #0         vendor: Intel Corporation         physical id: 16         bus info: pci@0000:00:16.0         version: 04         width: 64 bits         clock: 33MHz         capabilities: pm msi cap_list         configuration: latency=0         resources: memory:b0718000-b071801f    *-multimedia:1 UNCLAIMED         description: Audio device         product: Lynx Point-LP HD Audio Controller         vendor: Intel Corporation         physical id: 1b         bus info: pci@0000:00:1b.0         version: 04         width: 64 bits         clock: 33MHz         capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list         configuration: latency=0         resources: memory:b0714000-b0717fff    *-pci:0         description: PCI bridge         product: Lynx Point-LP PCI Express Root Port 3         vendor: Intel Corporation         physical id: 1c         bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.0         version: e4         width: 32 bits         clock: 33MHz         capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list         configuration: driver=pcieport         resources: irq:56 ioport:3000(size=4096) memory:b0600000-b06fffff ioport:b0400000(size=1048576)       *-network            description: Ethernet interface            product: RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller            vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.            physical id: 0            bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0            logical name: eth0            version: 07            serial: ec:f4:bb:87:45:0c            size: 10Mbit/s            capacity: 100Mbit/s            width: 64 bits            clock: 33MHz            capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix vpd bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation            configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=2.3LK-NAPI duplex=half firmware=rtl8106e-1_0.0.1 06/29/12 latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=MII speed=10Mbit/s            resources: irq:60 ioport:3000(size=256) memory:b0600000-b0600fff memory:b0400000-b0403fff    *-pci:1         description: PCI bridge         product: Lynx Point-LP PCI Express Root Port 4         vendor: Intel Corporation         physical id: 1c.3         bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.3         version: e4         width: 32 bits         clock: 33MHz         capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list         configuration: driver=pcieport         resources: irq:57 memory:b0500000-b05fffff ioport:9fb00000(size=1048576)       *-network            description: Wireless interface            product: QCA9565 / AR9565 Wireless Network Adapter            vendor: Qualcomm Atheros            physical id: 0            bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0            logical name: wlan0            version: 01            serial: 64:5a:04:ca:09:df            width: 64 bits            clock: 33MHz            capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list rom ethernet physical wireless            configuration: broadcast=yes driver=ath9k driverversion=3.8.0-39-generic firmware=N/A ip=192.168.1.5 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bgn            resources: irq:19 memory:b0500000-b057ffff memory:9fb00000-9fb0ffff    *-usb:1         description: USB controller         product: Lynx Point-LP USB EHCI #1         vendor: Intel Corporation         physical id: 1d         bus info: pci@0000:00:1d.0         version: 04         width: 32 bits         clock: 33MHz         capabilities: pm debug ehci bus_master cap_list         configuration: driver=ehci-pci latency=0         resources: irq:23 memory:b071c000-b071c3ff    *-isa         description: ISA bridge         product: Lynx Point-LP LPC Controller         vendor: Intel Corporation         physical id: 1f         bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.0         version: 04         width: 32 bits         clock: 33MHz         capabilities: isa bus_master cap_list         configuration: driver=lpc_ich latency=0         resources: irq:0    *-storage         description: SATA controller         product: Lynx Point-LP SATA Controller 1 [AHCI mode]         vendor: Intel Corporation         physical id: 1f.2         bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.2         version: 04         width: 32 bits         clock: 66MHz         capabilities: storage msi pm ahci_1.0 bus_master cap_list         configuration: driver=ahci latency=0         resources: irq:59 ioport:4088(size=8) ioport:4094(size=4) ioport:4080(size=8) ioport:4090(size=4) ioport:4060(size=32) memory:b071b000-b071b7ff    *-serial UNCLAIMED         description: SMBus         product: Lynx Point-LP SMBus Controller         vendor: Intel Corporation         physical id: 1f.3         bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.3         version: 04         width: 64 bits         clock: 33MHz         configuration: latency=0         resources: memory:b0719000-b07190ff ioport:4040(size=32) *-scsi:0      physical id: 1      logical name: scsi0      capabilities: emulated    *-disk         description: ATA Disk         product: Hitachi HTS54757         vendor: Hitachi         physical id: 0.0.0         bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0         logical name: /dev/sda         version: JE4O         serial: J2140054KYR1XB         size: 698GiB (750GB)         capabilities: gpt-1.00 partitioned partitioned:gpt         configuration: ansiversion=5 guid=0f7b0e6a-9fa4-449d-8fb3-524c80e127f4       *-volume:0            description: Windows FAT volume            vendor: MSDOS5.0            physical id: 1            bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,1            logical name: /dev/sda1            logical name: /boot/efi            version: FAT32            serial: 0e9a-917c            size: 495MiB            capacity: 499MiB            capabilities: boot fat initialized            configuration: FATs=2 filesystem=fat mount.fstype=vfat mount.options=rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro name=EFI system partition state=mounted       *-volume:1            description: Windows FAT volume            vendor: MSDOS5.0            physical id: 2            bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,2            logical name: /dev/sda2            version: FAT32            serial: 600d-e074            size: 15MiB            capacity: 39MiB            capabilities: precious readonly hidden nomount fat initialized            configuration: FATs=2 filesystem=fat name=Basic data partition       *-volume:2            description: Windows NTFS volume            physical id: 3            bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,3            logical name: /dev/sda3            version: 3.1            serial: 7214-8f07            size: 98MiB            capacity: 127MiB            capabilities: nofs ntfs initialized            configuration: clustersize=4096 created=2014-04-26 20:59:47 filesystem=ntfs modified_by_chkdsk=true mounted_on_nt4=true name=Microsoft reserved partition resize_log_file=true state=dirty upgrade_on_mount=true       *-volume:3            description: Windows NTFS volume            physical id: 4            bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,4            logical name: /dev/sda4            version: 3.1            serial: e012-cf26            size: 460MiB            capacity: 489MiB            capabilities: precious readonly hidden nomount ntfs initialized            configuration: clustersize=4096 created=2014-02-07 18:33:16 filesystem=ntfs label=WINRETOOLS name=Basic data partition state=clean       *-volume:4            description: Windows NTFS volume            physical id: 5            bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,5            logical name: /dev/sda5            version: 3.1            serial: 8e282093-121f-2e48-901e-b0cc0d3175aa            size: 201GiB            capacity: 201GiB            capabilities: ntfs initialized            configuration: clustersize=4096 created=2014-02-07 18:33:27 filesystem=ntfs label=OS name=Basic data partition state=clean       *-volume:5            description: Windows NTFS volume            physical id: 6            bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,6            logical name: /dev/sda6            version: 3.1            serial: 88bb-16a8            size: 433MiB            capacity: 449MiB            capabilities: precious readonly hidden nomount ntfs initialized            configuration: clustersize=4096 created=2014-04-27 21:10:23 filesystem=ntfs modified_by_chkdsk=true mounted_on_nt4=true resize_log_file=true state=dirty upgrade_on_mount=true       *-volume:6            description: Windows NTFS volume            physical id: 7            bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,7            logical name: /dev/sda7            logical name: /media/sda7            version: 3.1            serial: 3a09b668-4147-4c4a-8f39-e329be48fcbf            size: 341GiB            capacity: 341GiB            capabilities: ntfs initialized            configuration: clustersize=4096 created=2014-04-26 00:17:41 filesystem=ntfs label=Media modified_by_chkdsk=true mount.fstype=fuseblk mount.options=rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,user_id=0,group_id=0,default_permissions,allow_other,blksize=4096 mounted_on_nt4=true name=Basic data partition resize_log_file=true state=mounted upgrade_on_mount=true       *-volume:7            description: Windows NTFS volume            physical id: 8            bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,8            logical name: /dev/sda8            version: 3.1            serial: 70f2-defe            size: 12GiB            capacity: 12GiB            capabilities: precious readonly hidden nomount ntfs initialized            configuration: clustersize=4096 created=2014-02-07 21:44:42 filesystem=ntfs label=PBR Image modified_by_chkdsk=true mounted_on_nt4=true name=Microsoft recovery partition resize_log_file=true state=dirty upgrade_on_mount=true       *-volume:8            description: EXT4 volume            vendor: Linux            physical id: 9            bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,9            logical name: /dev/sda9            logical name: /            version: 1.0            serial: a6c40c87-72a3-4600-a9f5-4e2164d727ad            size: 135GiB            capabilities: journaled extended_attributes large_files huge_files dir_nlink recover extents ext4 ext2 initialized            configuration: created=2014-04-28 17:36:17 filesystem=ext4 lastmountpoint=/ modified=2014-05-21 20:44:45 mount.fstype=ext4 mount.options=rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro,data=ordered mounted=2014-05-21 20:55:17 state=mounted       *-volume:9            description: Linux swap volume            physical id: a            bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,10            logical name: /dev/sda10            version: 1            serial: 3cf35bdb-523c-4c09-8f2d-bed23767416c            size: 6023MiB            capacity: 6024MiB            capabilities: nofs swap initialized            configuration: filesystem=swap pagesize=4095 *-scsi:1      physical id: 2      logical name: scsi1      capabilities: emulated    *-cdrom         description: DVD-RAM writer         product: DVD+-RW GU90N         vendor: HL-DT-ST         physical id: 0.0.0         bus info: scsi@1:0.0.0         logical name: /dev/cdrom         logical name: /dev/cdrw         logical name: /dev/dvd         logical name: /dev/dvdrw         logical name: /dev/sr0         version: A100         capabilities: removable audio cd-r cd-rw dvd dvd-r dvd-ram         configuration: ansiversion=5 status=ready       *-medium            physical id: 0            logical name: /dev/cdrom *-scsi:2      physical id: 3      bus info: usb@1:1.7      logical name: scsi3      capabilities: emulated scsi-host      configuration: driver=rts5139    *-disk         description: SCSI Disk         product: xD/SD/M.S.         vendor: Generic-         physical id: 0.0.0         bus info: scsi@3:0.0.0         logical name: /dev/sdb         version: 1.00         serial: 3         capabilities: removable       *-medium            physical id: 0            logical name: /dev/sdb*-battery   description: Lithium-Ion Battery   product: DELL 4WY7C416   vendor: SANYO   physical id: 1   slot: Sys. Battery Bay   capacity: 28000mWh   configuration: voltage=14.8VAny help is greatly appreciated.
Elementary os no sound after alsa update
audio;pulseaudio;alsa
I have found this very useful and it helped me recover my sound. Don't forget to run sudo update-grub before each reboot.