Edit: I should have put this post under Sound. Happy for a mod to move it there 😀

My Maestro 32/96 finally arrived. I figured out the little quirks and got it working in both DOS and Windows. I really dig how FM sounds. It’s different 😉

There appears to be 2 revisions of this card with the only change being capacitors (the silk screen says VER 1.0 for both). The original version uses tantalums, and the newer version uses purple electrolytics. The original version requires the tantalum at C58 to be replaced so that the card doesn't lock up the BIOS when booting on faster machines. I'm running the newer version of this card (purple electrolytic) on a 850Mhz machine. It runs perfectly without any modification.

Original PDF from Terratec explaining the modification for the original version.

If you are having any issues with the card, here is a great FAQ resource http://www.ultron.info/Audio/Maestro/3296/FAQ … 3296_FAQ_GB.htm

How to install

1. Install card into machine. Make sure there are no resource conflicts (had to reserve IRQ9 for ISA in BIOS) for MIDI

2. Extract M32.zip to C:\M32

3. Add the following to AUTOEXEC.BAT (if you remove -E, Mix3296.exe will add the SET BLASTER for you with the correct values based on your setup)

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4
LH C:\M32\Mix3296.exe -I -E

3. In DOS run C:\M32\MIX3296.EXE and configure mixer settings then save (if your MIDI sound is too low, then enable the Amp option)

4. In DOS run TERRATEC.EXE -C to configure IRQ / DMA settings

5. When Windows 95/98 boots it will detect the card. Point it to the Windows drivers. I found a copy on DOS Days website https://www.dosdays.co.uk/topics/Manufacturers/terratec.php

Note: Windows will say MIDI device is not working if AUTOEXEC.BAT hasn't been configured (the card needs to be initialized for the MPU-401 to work) or if there is an IRQ conflict.
Note: MIX3296.EXE is a newer version of TERRATEC.EXE but I can only configure the cards resource with TERRATEC.EXE -C so that's why both are included.

Here are some things I haven't figured out. Hopefully someone knows the answer.

1. When the card is initialized, it says "Your Maestro 32/96 is not right configured, trying to reconfigure...done". I'm not sure how to fix this? The card works perfectly in DOS and Windows. Device Manager says everything is installed and working.

2. I cannot get the original software disks to install. I've tried v1.27 and v1.29. Tried Windows 95 and Windows 98. I've also put the disks on a Gotek and it still will not install. The manual mentions there is a CD version of the software but I cannot find it anywhere.