Speaking of, I'm guessing the JEMM386 (FreeDOS version of EMM386) is still a no-go, eh? I might do a build for it, but it's been a long time since I attempted that.

I have a nice Win98SE machine:

P3B-F with latest firmware to allow 1.4GHz Celeron on Slot-1 Adapter
512MB RAM
Audigy 2 ZS (real SB0350) with the Control Unit and MIDI/Gameport bracket

Now, I built a few MT-32PI units utilizing the BulkyMIDI-32 project, and under windows, they work a treat. I've got the MT-32PI connected via a nice MIDI-DIN15 adapter, with a Gravis Analog Pro plugged in behind it. My Joystick works perfectly, so I know for a fact that the connection to the output bracket works fine, and I can select Audigy's MIDI under Windows 98SE and have the MT-32PI kick audio directly to my speakers, and it sounds and works beautifully.

Here's my problem - SoftMPU does not and cannot seem to recognize the Audigy in DOS. I've installed the correct Drivers, used the Audigy1-2 DOS patch, done the SB16 emulation trick, everything. I've got the Audigy set up to have IRQ9 in the BIOS, and SBEINIT.COM sees it recognizes it. If I don't use the patch, then SoftMPU will never seem to see that the card exists, regardless of what IRQ I tell it to use.

However, regardless as to whether I use MIDI input or try to connect my MT-32PI via a USB-Serial with a Null Modem Adapter, under DOS, I get no MIDI activity at all. I've even made sure to match SoftMPU's 38400 baud rate, with no effect. I'm tearing my hair out here - I'm quite the capable technophile, and I've been using Windows since the 3.1 days, but I'm at the point where I'm about ready to simply buy a PC-MIDI card (whenever the hell they're back in stock) or build a HardMPU card myself.

I see that my card is supposedly supported, and yet I get bugger all. I could use some help and advice, as the documentation seems to assume levels of success that simply don't exist in my use case.

bjwil1991 wrote on 2022-10-14, 01:36:

Speaking of, I'm guessing the JEMM386 (FreeDOS version of EMM386) is still a no-go, eh? I might do a build for it, but it's been a long time since I attempted that.

Pre-release versions of Jemm now include support for ISA DMA port trapping, as well as a loadable module that adds partial emulation of QPI, QEMM's API.

This was added for the SBEMU and VSBHDA projects, but since SoftMPU also supports QEMM, it might work with this as well.

At the time of writing, the most recent pre-release of Jemm is v5.84pre2.

I know the original argument against supporting Jemm was the fact that implementing SoftMPU as a JLM would require rewriting it in a substantially different way than what's currently needed to do port trapping through EMM386 and QEMM. But this new QPI emulation module for Jemm might pose a solution to that problem, since it would effectively make Jemm "compatible" with QEMM, at least as far as port trapping is concerned.

So what someone here could try:

• Update Jemm to version v5.84pre2 on your FreeDOS installation
• Make sure that either Jemmex or Jemm386 gets loaded on boot
• Load the QPI emulation JLM with the command
  Copy code to clipboard

  1JLOAD QPIEMU.DLL
  

• Try running and using SoftMPU, which will hopefully detect the presence of QPI and use it as it would if QEMM were loaded

I could set up a test system to try this on, but it's late. I might have more time for this during a weekend.

If anybody else reading this is willing to try this, I'm curious to read whether this works out of the box.

Even if not, maybe the SoftMPU developers could make the necessary improvements to make it work with Jemm with QPIEMU.DLL.

danyetman wrote on 2023-11-21, 01:24:

I have a nice Win98SE machine: […]
Show full quote

I have a nice Win98SE machine:

P3B-F with latest firmware to allow 1.4GHz Celeron on Slot-1 Adapter
512MB RAM
Audigy 2 ZS (real SB0350) with the Control Unit and MIDI/Gameport bracket

Now, I built a few MT-32PI units utilizing the BulkyMIDI-32 project, and under windows, they work a treat. I've got the MT-32PI connected via a nice MIDI-DIN15 adapter, with a Gravis Analog Pro plugged in behind it. My Joystick works perfectly, so I know for a fact that the connection to the output bracket works fine, and I can select Audigy's MIDI under Windows 98SE and have the MT-32PI kick audio directly to my speakers, and it sounds and works beautifully.

Here's my problem - SoftMPU does not and cannot seem to recognize the Audigy in DOS. I've installed the correct Drivers, used the Audigy1-2 DOS patch, done the SB16 emulation trick, everything. I've got the Audigy set up to have IRQ9 in the BIOS, and SBEINIT.COM sees it recognizes it. If I don't use the patch, then SoftMPU will never seem to see that the card exists, regardless of what IRQ I tell it to use.

However, regardless as to whether I use MIDI input or try to connect my MT-32PI via a USB-Serial with a Null Modem Adapter, under DOS, I get no MIDI activity at all. I've even made sure to match SoftMPU's 38400 baud rate, with no effect. I'm tearing my hair out here - I'm quite the capable technophile, and I've been using Windows since the 3.1 days, but I'm at the point where I'm about ready to simply buy a PC-MIDI card (whenever the hell they're back in stock) or build a HardMPU card myself.

I see that my card is supposedly supported, and yet I get bugger all. I could use some help and advice, as the documentation seems to assume levels of success that simply don't exist in my use case.

Is the card working with regular MIDI under DOS? ie. Forget SoftMPU for a minute, can you fire up Doom and get tunes?

danyetman wrote on 2023-11-21, 01:24:

I have a nice Win98SE machine: […]
Show full quote

I have a nice Win98SE machine:

P3B-F with latest firmware to allow 1.4GHz Celeron on Slot-1 Adapter
512MB RAM
Audigy 2 ZS (real SB0350) with the Control Unit and MIDI/Gameport bracket

Now, I built a few MT-32PI units utilizing the BulkyMIDI-32 project, and under windows, they work a treat. I've got the MT-32PI connected via a nice MIDI-DIN15 adapter, with a Gravis Analog Pro plugged in behind it. My Joystick works perfectly, so I know for a fact that the connection to the output bracket works fine, and I can select Audigy's MIDI under Windows 98SE and have the MT-32PI kick audio directly to my speakers, and it sounds and works beautifully.

Here's my problem - SoftMPU does not and cannot seem to recognize the Audigy in DOS. I've installed the correct Drivers, used the Audigy1-2 DOS patch, done the SB16 emulation trick, everything. I've got the Audigy set up to have IRQ9 in the BIOS, and SBEINIT.COM sees it recognizes it. If I don't use the patch, then SoftMPU will never seem to see that the card exists, regardless of what IRQ I tell it to use.

However, regardless as to whether I use MIDI input or try to connect my MT-32PI via a USB-Serial with a Null Modem Adapter, under DOS, I get no MIDI activity at all. I've even made sure to match SoftMPU's 38400 baud rate, with no effect. I'm tearing my hair out here - I'm quite the capable technophile, and I've been using Windows since the 3.1 days, but I'm at the point where I'm about ready to simply buy a PC-MIDI card (whenever the hell they're back in stock) or build a HardMPU card myself.

I see that my card is supposedly supported, and yet I get bugger all. I could use some help and advice, as the documentation seems to assume levels of success that simply don't exist in my use case.

As that is a PCI sound card, it’s never going to work fully, if at all, in DOS.

If you want DOS MIDI, I can definitely recommend The PC-MIDI cards, they work perfectly in DOS and Windows.

Eugh. I've been waiting for a PCMIDI in stock notification for a while.

Supposedly, the Audigy 2 ZS IS compatible with SoftMPU, according to the Github wiki. I'm at the point that I might just grab a cheap CT4520 or something...I just didn't want to eat up my only ISA slot in the motherboard with another sound card.

danyetman wrote on 2023-11-22, 03:24:

Eugh. I've been waiting for a PCMIDI in stock notification for a while.

Supposedly, the Audigy 2 ZS IS compatible with SoftMPU, according to the Github wiki. I'm at the point that I might just grab a cheap CT4520 or something...I just didn't want to eat up my only ISA slot in the motherboard with another sound card.

In that case, your best bet is to find a decent ISA sound card that doesnt suffer from the hanging note midi bug.

I managed to bag one of the Yamaha Audician 32 cards (OPL3 + SB support) a few years ago and it's been a great card for most things.

Just bought a YMF718 from ebay. I'm tired of screwing with the Audigy.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126192277090?mkcid=1 … emis&media=COPY

danyetman wrote on 2023-11-22, 03:52:

Just bought a YMF718 from ebay. I'm tired of screwing with the Audigy.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126192277090?mkcid=1 … emis&media=COPY

Nice, that has the same chip as the Audician 32 Plus that I have.

Which is precisely what I researched and what my criteria was. I didn't want a crippled Soundblaster, wasn't going to shell out for an AWE64 Gold, needed something that would fill in for the indeterminate availability of the PCMIDI, and was ABSOLUTELY BLOODY NARKED by the Audigy 2 ZS' seeming inability to function in complete contempt of what the Github repo claimed. I spent two weeks trying different settings. I'm done with that frustration.

IIRC, the software doesnt fire up a bunch of bloated TSR's either - it just runs a config util at boot.

At some point, I might wind up building a HardMPU-WT card, just for the hell of it. I built 5 BULKYMIDI32 systems, and I should probably pair them with HardMPU-WT cards before I offer them for sale.

Nice, I’m currently adapting the picoGUS design for the Tandy 1000 EX/HX computers and adding in multi-IO functionality while I’m at it.

I looked at the picoGUS, but while I have a bunch of picos on hand, I generally don't like the Gravis Ultra Sound, and my picos are mostly earmarked for Gamecube bootloader mods, anyway.

Yeah it’s not my first choice either. The main reason for using it in my case is it gives you Adlib sound and CMS / GameBlaster on an XT class machine.

The Tandy sound is great, but Adlib has better support.

...and of course, NOW I get a notification that the PCMIDI is in stock. Oh irony.

danyetman wrote on 2023-11-22, 23:50:

...and of course, NOW I get a notification that the PCMIDI is in stock. Oh irony.

🤣, I have one and there’s no noticeable difference between the midi capabilities of it and the Yamaha card.

Well except the PC MIDI card doesn't need SoftMPU. Buy it 😁

Pierre32 wrote on 2023-11-23, 02:03:

Well except the PC MIDI card doesn't need SoftMPU. Buy it 😁

I don’t recall needing SoftMPU on the Yamaha cards as they are MPU401 Compliant.

But to be honest it’s been a while since I used mine for MIDI.

https://youtu.be/2_L_1tvH1Ew

YMF718 is certainly not an intelligent mode MIDI chipset.. Depending on your use case you would need SOFTMPU with it.