VOGONS


First post, by muteKi

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

So I picked up a Gateway Solo 2500 a month or so ago after the LGR video on the stuff. Took some finagling but I eventually managed to get everything set up driver-wise, and now most stuff runs pretty well. At least stuff that doesn't use the EMS mode. For the record, the soundhardware is the NeoMagic MagicWave. For most DOS stuff I've had a lot of luck using the corresponding setup programs and manually entering IRQ, DMA, etc. for the card. However, the setup program for Blackthorne is giving me issues. When I run it with the right values in a window in 98 mode, it works successfully (if I give it intentionally wrong settings it throws up an error, but for the correct ones it doesn't). However, Blackthorne needs to be run in EMS mode and so can't be launched in a window. The problem is that when booting up Blackthorne in that mode, suddenly the sound driver settings don't work, and in order to play the game I have to completely disable sound effects.

This appears to be an issue specifically related the EMS mode -- I tried running Tyrian 2000 in it, which has sound effects when launched in 98, but not from the EMS mode. I'm not really sure how to fix this. Any advice or help is appreciated.

Reply 3 of 7, by muteKi

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie
Osprey wrote:

By EMS Mode, do you mean DOS Mode? If so, then maybe you don't have DOS drivers for the sound card installed.

Right. I was able to run other stuff from the DOS prompt in Windows, but to my knowledge there's no way to do that with stuff that requires EMS mode; those have to be loaded in DOS mode specifically.

I think that you're right that the sound drivers (or lack thereof) are the issue. I've been trying to install SBPro drivers, but all of them seem to produce errors when I try to run them. The installer can identify the address range and the IRQ just fine, but fails when it comes to DMA. Based on what I've seen in the BIOS, the MagicWave card has two DMA channels. I currently have them set to 0 and 1. When I try to install the SBPro drivers, neither DMA address seems to work (neither does the autodetection, naturally).

Reply 4 of 7, by Davros

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

No........
do not install sbpro drivers you dont have a sbpro
you have a NeoMagic MagicMedia 256A the neomagic setup program should create the correct set blaster line in autoexec.bat
and seeing as that card is pci it may only work in a dos window (not 100% sure of this)

Guardian of the Sacred Five Terabyte's of Gaming Goodness

Reply 5 of 7, by muteKi

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Ah. That might be likely. I don't know if NeoMagic even has DOS drivers for their sound stuff -- I just installed the Win 98 drivers using the Device Manager in 98. But I might mess around some more to see if I can find a solution. Thanks for your help! Might just mean I can't really use the laptop to play stuff like Blackthorne then. Ah well. Maybe I'll get an even older DOS-specific machine.

Reply 6 of 7, by Davros

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

did the drivers not come with a setup.exe ?
that would be a better way to install them
whats the contents of your autoexec.bat (both the dos window and real dos versions)

Read this post
1999 Dell CPI-A laptop SB MIDI emulation

NeoMagic NM2200/2360 Win9x Audio Driver Ver. 2.04.0053Q
Information and Installation Instructions
--------------------------
Click on the setup.exe
Click Yes on the security dialog box that appears
Click Next, then Yes on the following two boxes
Click Finish to Restart Computer and finish the Installation.

TO INSTALL SOUND BLASTER EMULATION FOR MSDOS BASED GAMES:
(NOTE: THIS DRIVER USES ADDITIONAL RESOURCES THAT CAN BE FREED UP BY UNINSTALLING WHEN FINISHED USING IT.)
Right click on My Computer, then click on Properties.
Click on the Device Manager tab.
Double click on Sound, video and game controllers.
Double click on NeoMagic MagicMedia 256 Audio.
Click on the Settings tab check the Enable Sound Blaster Emulation box.
Restart computer.
(NOTE: TO UNINSTALL SOUND BLASTER EMULATION FOLLOW STEPS 1-4 ABOVE, THEN IN STEP 5, UNCHECK THE Enable Sound Blaster Emulation BOX AND RESTART SYSTEM.)

Attachments

  • Filename
    NeoMagic2360snd.zip
    File size
    1.42 MiB
    Downloads
    124 downloads
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception

Guardian of the Sacred Five Terabyte's of Gaming Goodness

Reply 7 of 7, by muteKi

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Unfortunately the installer didn't seem to work quite right. I'm not sure the 3dx sound card has DOS sound drivers at all from what I've seen, since that installer didn't actually change anything on the DOS side. I didn't expect full DOS compatibility from a Pentium II without a turbo button anyway, so I'm not too upset. In any case I thank you all for your assistance.