As long as the heat doesn't go above around 90C (the point where semiconductors aren't very happy, and well above the point where you can burn yourself at) you should be alright.

There are OEM versions of the AWE64 that lack all MIDI and OPL (CQM) compatibility, and are simply the AWE64 DAC on a card. I was tricked into buying one on EBay for my 486 build (yeah, AWE64 for a 486 isn't the most time accurate in hind sight) and it only worked using PCM sound, which would explain why the windows sound plays, but nothing else. One way to tell if you have one of these cards is if there is no header soldered on for the memory expansion. If there are a lot of chips missing (around the same area as the memory expansion) then it's probably one of those.

The heat could be anything. My AWE32 (CT3670) which I bought to replace my AWE64 does run noticeably warm, but no where near hot enough to burn. If you are really concerned (and if you want to keep the card) feel free to get a cheapie heatsink kit with a thermal glue pad, or a tube of thermal interfacing glue to secure it. Just remember, once it's on, it will NEVER come off if you are using the right glue.

I also suggest throwing DOS on that box real quick and using the SBAWE64 diagnosis program to test the card. If it's only the 8 and 16 bit digitized sounds working, and FM/AWE sounds are not working right, AND If AWEUTIL fails to load on startup, then I would wager that you have one of the not totally uncommon OEM cards.

Perhaps try a different AWE64 to see if it also is overly hot. If two cards have the issue, then perhaps there is an issue with the motherboard, or PSU voltages.

Ampera wrote:

As long as the heat doesn't go above around 90C (the point where semiconductors aren't very happy, and well above the point wher […]
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As long as the heat doesn't go above around 90C (the point where semiconductors aren't very happy, and well above the point where you can burn yourself at) you should be alright.

There are OEM versions of the AWE64 that lack all MIDI and OPL (CQM) compatibility, and are simply the AWE64 DAC on a card. I was tricked into buying one on EBay for my 486 build (yeah, AWE64 for a 486 isn't the most time accurate in hind sight) and it only worked using PCM sound, which would explain why the windows sound plays, but nothing else. One way to tell if you have one of these cards is if there is no header soldered on for the memory expansion. If there are a lot of chips missing (around the same area as the memory expansion) then it's probably one of those.

The heat could be anything. My AWE32 (CT3670) which I bought to replace my AWE64 does run noticeably warm, but no where near hot enough to burn. If you are really concerned (and if you want to keep the card) feel free to get a cheapie heatsink kit with a thermal glue pad, or a tube of thermal interfacing glue to secure it. Just remember, once it's on, it will NEVER come off if you are using the right glue.

I also suggest throwing DOS on that box real quick and using the SBAWE64 diagnosis program to test the card. If it's only the 8 and 16 bit digitized sounds working, and FM/AWE sounds are not working right, AND If AWEUTIL fails to load on startup, then I would wager that you have one of the not totally uncommon OEM cards.

It's not an OEM Card it's a normal card (I think? since it has all the normal headers that a normal AWE64 would feature) I tried DIAGNOSIS in DOS 8 and 16 bit digitized sounds worked but the Synthesised music test didn't work the card was also hot not sure what's going on. (AWEUTIL won't launch it would just say AWE32 not found so that's why I went with DIAGNOSIS)

feipoa wrote:

Perhaps try a different AWE64 to see if it also is overly hot. If two cards have the issue, then perhaps there is an issue with the motherboard, or PSU voltages.

It's my one and only sound card that I currently have I don't have any other soundcards to test I tried resetting the BIOS options back to their default settings and again same results

Sounds awfully like one of the OEM cards to me.

It's entirely possible in this case you just have a mank card. Rotten luck.

The CT4380 is the normal AWE64 card, not OEM. If it gets hot and does not play music even with the diagnose tool, chances are high that the card is simply broken.

Ampera wrote:

Sounds awfully like one of the OEM cards to me.

It's entirely possible in this case you just have a mank card. Rotten luck.

I guess we could assume it's dead and also I might get a new sound card later do you know any alternatives to the AWE64?

AWEUTIL won't launch it would just say AWE32 not found

Sounds like maybe you need a later version of AWEUTIL.

You could also check the output of the 7805 regulator at the front of the card and make sure it is outputting the correct voltage.

Terrible sounds and oddities do happen with the incorrect version of AWEUTIL. I blew out my eardrums with crazy static on an SB32 once after running the wrong version.

Alternatives? Depends on what you want to do with it. Do you need the wavetable synth, or would FM be sufficient?

I like the Yamaha Audician32 (YMF718, IIRC) and ESS Audiodrive variants (ES1868 and ES1869) for DOS. If you don't need DOS compatibility, try the Audigy2 ZS - it's pretty easy to come by, was sold for a long time, and modern Windows and Linux comes with drivers, so folks still use them in modern machines with standard PCI. (Creative has a PCI-e version now, even.)

Since the card seems to sorta function, might try inspecting the card for a short, even nearly invisible minuscule tin whiskers can cause a short.

Alkhatri wrote:

Ampera wrote:

Sounds awfully like one of the OEM cards to me.

It's entirely possible in this case you just have a mank card. Rotten luck.

I guess we could assume it's dead and also I might get a new sound card later do you know any alternatives to the AWE64?

I personally bought an AWE32 CT3670 which I think is the best all in one no fuss cheapest option for ISA sound. It's NOT the best, having CQM OPL emulation instead of real OPL, and no wave table header, but if you just want pretty much on par OPL sound, full PCM sound, and damn good General MIDI synth ESPECIALLY on Windows (DOS has a few issues with it on some programs) it's the best option if you can find one for cheap, about as good as an AWE64.

You can also go up from there in price and function, but honestly that rig deserves something like a Sound Blaster Live! unless you are going to be doing a lot of DOS gaming.