How do I install new Intel HDA sound drivers?

Following these instructions will give you the latest ALSA driver, but only for internal "HDA Intel" sound cards (if your computer is from 2005 or newer, you almost certainly have a "HDA Intel" sound card for handling internal speakers, headphone jacks and microphones). USB or Bluetooth sound will not be affected.

1. Go to this page
2. Under the "Source label", check which DKMS package that is corresponding to your current distribution series (Maverick, Natty, Oneiric etc) and click the leftmost arrow to expand that section.

3. Under the new section "Package files", click the file ending with ".deb", download and install it:

   • You can either do this by selecting "open with", which will take you to the Ubuntu Software Center, where you can click "Install", or
   • Save the file to disk, open a terminal window, change to the right directory and execute "sudo dpkg -i "

4. Reboot.

Reference:

• https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Audio/UpgradingAlsa/DKMS