Need HP Dragonfly Pro Soundcard Driver for Linux? Heres a Simple Solution.

Today, I messed around with my HP Dragonfly Pro and tried to get the sound card driver working on Linux. It was a real pain in the ass, but I finally figured it out. So, for anyone else who’s struggling with this, here’s how I did it.

First off, I got my hands on this new HP Dragonfly Pro laptop. I wiped Windows off ’cause who needs that, right? And installed the latest Ubuntu LTS version. Everything seemed fine until I noticed the sound was totally messed up.

The audio from the internal speakers was crap – crackling and super quiet. I mean, it worked perfectly fine on Windows, but on Linux, it was a no-go. I was scratching my head, thinking, “What the heck is going on here?”

Then, I tried switching to Arch Linux, thinking maybe it was just an Ubuntu thing. I installed the latest version, and guess what? Same issue. No sound, from either the speakers or the microphone. I was like, “Seriously?”

Finding Clues Online

So, I hit up the internet, looking for some answers. I found a bunch of other people with the same problem. Seems like the HP Dragonfly series just doesn’t play nice with Linux when it comes to sound. Some folks were talking about Fedora, others about Mint, but the problem was the same – crackling audio or no sound at all.

I stumbled upon a few posts talking about how everything else worked fine, even the fingerprint reader, but the sound was a stubborn little issue. One person mentioned they couldn’t remember what they did to fix it – not very helpful, huh?

There were also posts about other Linux flavors like Manjaro, but still the same sound problems. It was looking pretty grim. I even found out that the standard HP Dragonfly Pro lets you run Linux apps with the Windows Subsystem for Linux, but that wasn’t what I was after.

Trial and Error

After reading through tons of forum posts and articles, I started trying out different things. I was basically just poking around in the dark, hoping to stumble upon a solution. I tried updating kernels, messing with ALSA and PulseAudio settings, and even considered sacrificing a goat to the Linux gods.

I spent hours, maybe even days, on this. It was frustrating, to say the least. But I wasn’t about to give up. I’m not one to back down from a challenge, especially when it comes to tech stuff.

Success

Finally, after all the trial and error, I found something that worked. I can’t remember the exact steps, as I tried so many things, but I remember it involved some detailed configuration and command line stuff. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, but boy, was it satisfying.

I rebooted my laptop, crossed my fingers, and played a song. And there it was – clear, crisp sound coming from the speakers. I almost jumped out of my chair. I did it! The sound card was finally working on Linux.

So, if you’re out there struggling with your HP Dragonfly Pro’s sound on Linux, don’t give up. It’s a tough nut to crack, but it’s definitely possible. Just keep digging, keep trying different things, and you’ll get there. Trust me, if I could do it, so can you.