The Audio State Saver
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) is the core audio framework for the Linux kernel. In Ubuntu, ALSA manages the lowest-level audio hardware drivers. Because ALSA configuration can be complex, Ubuntu runs a background service called alsa-restore.service. When your machine shuts down, this service saves the current volume levels and mute states of your audio hardware to a file (usually /var/lib/alsa/asound.state). When the machine boots back up, it restores those exact volume levels.
While this is useful for a desktop PC, it is entirely unnecessary on a headless cloud server or a strictly text-mode database machine that has no speakers, no sound card, and no graphical user interface. If your server never plays audio, running a daemon to save and restore audio state variables across reboots is a waste of initialization time. You should disable it to streamline your boot process.
How to Disable the ALSA Restore Service
You can stop the audio state daemon using systemctl.
Warning: Do not do this on a desktop PC or media server, or your volume settings will reset to zero every time you reboot the computer.
- Open your Ubuntu Terminal or connect via SSH.
- Stop the currently active service (if it is running):
sudo systemctl stop alsa-restore.service- Disable the service so it does not attempt to read or write state files during the boot or shutdown sequences:
sudo systemctl disable alsa-restore.serviceThe audio state manager is now permanently disabled. Your headless server will boot slightly faster, no longer attempting to configure non-existent sound hardware.