ThinkPad microphone not working

[stan]

On Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:47:49 +0200
suvayu ali <fatkasuvayu+linux at gmail.com> wrote:

> I looked in /var/log/messages. I see no suspicious messages. But I do
> see the following:
> 
> pulseaudio[1455]: module-alsa-card.c: Failed to find a working
> profile. pulseaudio[1455]: module.c: Failed to load  module
> "module-alsa-card" (argument: "device_id="29"
> name="platform-thinkpad_acpi"
> card_name="alsa_card.platform-thinkpad_acpi" tsched=yes ignore_dB=no
> card_properties="module-udev-detect.discovered=1""): initialization
> failed.
> 
> Although I don't understand the error, I don't think this is related
> to my problem as I see this is also present in old log files (from
> the time when the mic worked).

This is a long shot, but it might be that alsa has sorted your sound
devices in a different order on boot.  It sounds like it thinks your
acpi might be a sound device.

Try 
aplay -l
to see if it has your actual sound device in position 0.  Everything
looks like it, but ...

Also try booting to an older kernel (from before the problem), if you
have one. 

Maybe check the install date of alsa-lib if it is possible? Should be
in the modification time for /usr/lib[64]/libasound*.  On my system
(F17), libasound package was compiled on Feb 1.

> I guess that means this is hardware failure. 

Yeah, that would be my conclusion, though your description of the
possible failure cause doesn't seem very damaging.

> Hopefully I won't have
> problems with warranty since I bought this in Canada, and now I am in
> Switzerland. :-|

Surely they handle this case gracefully in these days of peripatetic
workers.