VOGONS


First post, by T-Squared

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After messing about with my P3B-F build to get Windows 98 working and stable, I found a different problem to the one in the title (and fixed it); For some weird reason, the WMD drivers make Windows Media Player act weird (i.e. skipped frames and audio, as if it was in fast-forward.) I've found that using the VxD drivers not only works, but stops the odd behavior in Media Player.

However, here's where the main oddity starts:

I can get audio, but surround sound doesn't work, for some reason. (I even tried Speaker settings.)

I installed the drivers this way:

1. Used an Audigy 2 install CD (to install the VxD drivers)
2.Used an Audigy 2 install CD (to update them, because the CTZAPXX install utility does not allow you to choose VxD, despite being included in a CAB file.)

I know this is an odd way to do it, but it's the only way that worked with Windows 98. Is there any way to get it working? (It did work with the WDM drivers, but again, that makes Win98 MP act weird, so I'm not using them.)

Reply 1 of 7, by Joseph_Joestar

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Are your speaker cables connected to the correct ports on the card? Surround sound should work fine on an Audigy 2 ZS under Win98, provided that the game supports it.

I have a driver installation guide which might help you. It's primarily focused on DOS support, but it does also have some steps for enabling surround sound.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 2 of 7, by T-Squared

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Yes, they are connected correctly. But, I also have found out something about my card (a month or two ago); it's a Dell OEM 0358 version, so it seems to be picky. (I tried a long time ago to use the Creative install program, but it kept saying that it couldn't detect the card, so I used the CTZAPXX utility, and that worked. I did try using your method, to emulate a Sound Blaster 16, that you described, but that didn't work.)

I have an original 0350 on the way, because I'm tired of having to do roundabout ways of fixing stuff. I'm hoping going through the official installation will clear things up.

Reply 3 of 7, by Joseph_Joestar

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Indeed, there are several posts from people who were having various issues with these Dell OEM Audigy 2 ZS cards. It does seem to be more difficult to get Win9x drivers installed on those models, and I'm not sure my guide would be of much help there.

Anyway, I can confirm that using VxD drivers from the official installation CD will give you working surround sound on a Creative branded Audigy 2 ZS under Win98.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 4 of 7, by MrSmiley381

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So, I don't think you're going to like this response too much; when I was doing copious amounts of debugging with my Audigy 2 ZS and Diablo II the only way I could enable surround sound in-game was to use WDM drivers. The option was entirely grayed out otherwise. Maybe the VxD drivers don't allow for much more than basic audio. If there's a way to get surround sound with VxD drivers I'd like to know as well.

I spend my days fighting with clunky software so I can afford to spend my evenings fighting with clunky hardware.

Reply 5 of 7, by Joseph_Joestar

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MrSmiley381 wrote on 2022-11-17, 13:52:

If there's a way to get surround sound with VxD drivers I'd like to know as well.

I recently tested Diablo 2 + LoD + patch 1.10 and got full 5.1 surround on my Audigy using VxD drivers under Win98. Didn't have to do anything special, it just worked.

Maybe newer patches change how the game handles EAX, but with 1.10 everything was fine.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 7 of 7, by T-Squared

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I think one of the problems also may have been the card itself. The Dell-OEM model may have caused a glitch with the Creative-OEM drivers.
I installed the WDM drivers with the 0350 Audigy 2 ZS earlier this evening and it was as if I had installed the VXD drivers. No glitches, no skipping, no fast-forwarding. 😁
Plus, the Creative-OEM setup program detected it!