Reply 20 of 21, by andre_6
Finally solved it. For people eventually searching for CT4810 CT 5880 related troubles, this is what I did that ended up working:
0. Before this I tried installing the CT4810 drivers multiple times with no success, so then I installed the SB Live! CT4830 card that I was trying to get working to at least have something to build on, tried Win9x drivers through the CD installer, which didn't work (Device Manager had already failed to recognize the drivers/card too). So once more I:
1. Uninstalled everything Creative SB related, cleaned up "Creative" registry keys, deleted its folder in program files.
2. Once again booted up in safe mode and removed the Multimedia PCI Audio Device from Device Manager. Turned off the PC.
3. Removed the CT4830 Live! and moved the CT4810 card in again, changing PCI slot once again in the Vectra's riser card, even though I did it before more than once between all vacant slots.
4. Booting up entering Win95 it prompts the "Multimedia PCI Audio Device" plug and play window. In what was for me a last shot, I inserted once more the CD that contained the last group of drivers I assembled for the CT4810 CT5880, which I had tried before and worked (only once). As soon as it started reading the CD this time it identified these drivers, the "sb128_multi_OS" suggested by Horun, thank you:
Horun wrote on 2022-12-23, 04:40:Added: what is Hardware ID ? it could be same as ct1373 like DEV_1371.DeviceDesc%=DEV1371.Device,PCI\VEN_1274&DEV_5880
If so this may work (has DOS, Win9x, etc drivers) just a thought..: https://archive.org/details/sb128_multi_OS
But I wanted to try the "CT5880_9X.zip" ones that I quoted above that were mentioned as the complete and true main drivers for this card, and they were immediately recognized.
5. Proceeded with the install and this is what puzzles me: setting up the card Windows kept asking for particular driver files that weren't mostly present in the "sb128_multi_OS" or ""CT5880_9X" folders, so I had to keep browsing between different driver folders to assemble everything Windows wanted. The other driver folders were found using the Google search term "CT4810 CT 5880 Windows 95 drivers". Eventually it reached the end and demanded the Creative Joystick drivers that are contained in the Win95 CD / disks.
6. And there you go, SB Mixer installed just like that, full SB Legacy Emulation, actually not bad at all using SBlaster for Sound FX and General Midi for Music. Way better than the sluggish DOS / DOS Box emulation from the Live! CT4830 I had in this PC, something that even choosing General Midi couldn't solve. I always had the impression that Live! cards could be a perfect bridge between DOS and EAX games if only the drivers were less crappy. In a Win98 PC I would have tried the CT4830 using Joseph_Joestar's Audigy drivers in Live! cards tutorial for sure.
In conclusion, I still think there may be something happening related to installing the CT4830 first and uninstalling it completely, maybe there's something that is left there that is picked up later by the CT4810. I only managed to install the CT4810 right after I did that, along with changing PCI slots again, and it only happened successfully once (now twice) out of many tries. So going from that to driver files having to be plucked from many different driver folders during the plug and play install process, I'm not sure what to think. Perhaps it will be different for other people, but what I do know is that the "CT5880_9X" drivers attached here are the real deal, they're not the "Web Update" versions that exist all over for example. And it really is true, they are rarely listed if you're not aware to search for the file name specifically. So I would base my attempts on that file and "sb128_multi_OS" in the link in earlier posts, and then adapt based on what problems you find. Again, as a beginner, I can't say that I fully understand all of this but hey it's Christmas, I'll take this nice gift!
Thank you all for all your time and replies, happy holidays!