Fixing PulseAudio configured for per-user sessions … (warning) in Kali Linux and Debian

PulseAudio is a sound system for POSIX OSes, meaning that it is a proxy for your sound applications. PulseAudio LogoIt allows you to do advanced operations on your sound data as it passes between your application and your hardware. Things like transferring the audio to a different machine, changing the sample format or channel count and mixing several sounds into one are easily achieved using a sound server.

It is an integral part of all relevant modern Linux distributions (Debian, Kali Linux etc.) and used in various mobile devices by multiple vendors.

Features

The main features includes:

  1. Per-application volume controls
  2. An extensible plugin architecture with support for loadable modules
  3. Compatibility with many popular audio applications
  4. Support for multiple audio sources and sinks
  5. Low-latency operation and latency measurement
  6. A zero-copy memory architecture for processor resource efficiency
  7. Ability to discover other computers using PulseAudio on the local network and play sound through their speakers directly
  8. Ability to change which output device an application plays sound through while the application is playing sound (without the application needing to support this, and indeed without even being aware that this happened)
  9. A command-line interface with scripting capabilities
  10. A sound daemon with command line reconfiguration capabilities
  11. Built-in sample conversion and resampling capabilities
  12. The ability to combine multiple sound cards into one
  13. The ability to synchronize multiple playback streams
  14. Bluetooth audio devices with dynamic detection
  15. The ability to enable system wide equalization

Related (ALSA)

ALSA provides a software mixer called dmix, which was developed prior to PulseAudio. This is available on almost all Linux distributions and is a simpler PCM audio mixing solution. It does not provide the advanced features (such as timer-based scheduling, and network audio) of PulseAudio. On the other hand, ALSA offers, when combined with corresponding sound cards and software, low latencies. There’s a different issue in Kali Linux where sound is muted at boot. You can follow some simple 2 line instructions to fix sound mute in Kali Linux on boot time.

The Warning Message during boot

My Kali throws me this warning:

[warn] PulseAudio configured for per-user sessions ... (warning).

Debian variants also throws similar warning during boot.

To fix this do

leafpad /etc/default/pulseaudio

Find this line:

PULSEAUDIO_SYSTEM_START=0

Replace 0 with 1

PULSEAUDIO_SYSTEM_START=1

Where,
0 = don’t start in system mode, 1 = start in system mode

reboot

That should fix the warning. However

Should you do it?

I get this error when I run PULSEAUDIO on system start:

Oct 14 11:43:27 kali pulseaudio[2703]: [pulseaudio] main.c: Running in system mode, forcibly disabling SHM mode!
Oct 14 11:43:27 kali pulseaudio[2703]: [pulseaudio] main.c: Running in system mode, forcibly disabling exit idle time!
Oct 14 11:43:27 kali pulseaudio[2746]: [pulseaudio] main.c: OK, so you are running PA in system mode. Please note that you most likely shouldn't be doing that.
Oct 14 11:43:27 kali pulseaudio[2746]: [pulseaudio] main.c: If you do it nonetheless then it's your own fault if things don't work as expected.
Oct 14 11:43:27 kali pulseaudio[2746]: [pulseaudio] main.c: Please read http://pulseaudio.org/wiki/WhatIsWrongWithSystemMode for an explanation why system mode is usually a bad idea.

so maybe, this is one of the warning you should let go .. Ideas? Suggestions?

However, here’s another solution from a reader:

zoro

Dear Blackmoreops
i had the same issue
solved this way:
alsamixer’ in a terminal and unmuted the ‘Line’ column (with the M key).

Other info:

I also made sure to unmute the Master, Headphone, Front, Surround, Center and LFE columns, but it’s only when I unmuted Line that sound got out.

So there you go, few things to try and think about, ultimately the decision is yours. Enjoy.

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9 comments

  1. Give me an error when saving tell me can’t open this file

    • You’re probably not root.

      • I was looking at a tutorial on how to fix the mute volume on start up and i did wha it sais in the tutorial and one command was this : ” sudo killall pulseaudio” and than i did the rest but the tutorial did not work for me .. :( So now i cant find the volume icon on kali and i cant turn up the volume with my keyboard how do i get it back ?? plzzzz help me :(

  2. Converted To LINUX

    Hi, The tweak above did not fix the issue. I have to turn sound ON at every startup. Kali 107

    • Dear Blackmoreops
      i had the same issue
      solved this way:
      alsamixer’ in a terminal and unmuted the ‘Line’ column (with the M key).

      Other info:

      I also made sure to unmute the Master, Headphone, Front, Surround, Center and LFE columns, but it’s only when I unmuted Line that sound got out.

  3. WARNING! This is disabled deliberately as a security feature! PulseAudio exploits can remotely record anything your audio device registers.

  4. i write this command
    leafpad /etc/default/pulseaudio

    but there is nothing in that.
    please guide me

    • I also don’t have this folder/file when I run vi/nano/leafpad on /etc/default/pulseausio

      Should I be making a new file with vim and create it? and also whats the default contents and/or what should copy into it? My second non-root user CAN use the audio functions of my HDMI monitor from pulseaudio. Its only when I log into root thats there no sound, and no output options in the sound manager from SETTINGS>[the wrench and screwdriver]>SOUND>OUTPUT DEVICES[There isnt any output devices listed here on root-user, however on non-root-user there is my HDMI monitor to select]

      What do I do from here?

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