Sound issue in EmulationStation

[Darius]

I have a problem that I can't solve in my RetroPie installation. The audio (via HDMI) works fine in games, but there's no way to make it work in EmulationStation. I've tried all the combinations of audio settings, but nothing seems to work. The volume remains at zero, and I can't hear the navigation sounds or the preview video sounds of the games. What could be causing this issue, and how can I fix it? If I exit EmulationStation and check the terminal, I find a series of errors like "Failed to attach to default card," so it seems there's some issue with the drivers. However, as I mentioned, the audio works fine in games.
These are the errors I can see on terminal.

ALSA lib control.c:1375:(snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL hdmi

lvl0: VolumeControl::init() - Failed to attach to default card!

ALSA lib control.c:1375:(snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL hdmi

lvl0: VolumeControl::init() - Failed to attach to default card!

ALSA lib control.c:1375:(snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL hdmi

lvl0: VolumeControl::init() - Failed to attach to default card!

ALSA lib control.c:1375:(snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL hdmi

lvl0: VolumeControl::init() - Failed to attach to default card!

ALSA lib control.c:1375:(snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL hdmi

lvl0: VolumeControl::init() - Failed to attach to default card!

lvl0: VolumeControl::init() - Failed to find mixer elements!

lvl0: VolumeControl::init() - Failed to find mixer elements!

How / where do I change the sound settings for EmulationStation to reflect those used for Retropie (in game sounds are perfectly working). No matter what I set in "Sound settings" EmulationStation doesn't output any sound and volume is always zeroed...

Using a Pi 4 Model B
RetroPie 4.8.6

[windg]

Let's try to set again the audio :

From RetroPie-Setup > audio > Hdmi .
and restart the EmulationStation.

Press the start button, while you are in Emulationstation menu, the sound settings must be:

Audio card : Default
Audio Device: HDMI.

By the way you didn't provide all the necessary info : https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first . How do you install RetroPie ?

[Darius]

@windg Thanks for your help!
I went through the RetroPie-Setup again and it was already set to HDMI.
In EmulationStation / Sound settings under Audio Device therès no "HDMI" option.
I can only choose between PCM, Speaker, Master, Digital, Analogue and none of these options works.
The only place where "HDMI" can be selected is under "OMX Player audio device".

This is a RetroPie image that I originally got a couple years ago (it came with ROMs) and then updated to the latest version of RetroPie.
Thanks again

[windg]

We can't provide support for 3rd party images. I recommend to backup your files and install the official iso: https://retropie.org.uk/download/

[Maverick42]

Hi Darius,
try following:

1. create a new conf-file called "99-retropi.conf"
   sudo nano /etc/alsa/conf.d/99-retropie.conf
2. enter two values and save it:
   defaults.pcm.card 1
   defaults.ctl.card 1
3. reboot the system

finally, my sound issues are gone.

[Darius]

@Maverick42 and @windg thanks for trying to help me. Unfortunately The 99-retropie.conf file didn't fix my sound issue. Ìll definitely try with a fresh install from the official ISO image.