VOGONS


First post, by dulu

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In short: for the best compatibility, I want both the DOS (dosbox) and Win98 soundcard to be set to Sound Blaster Pro compatibility mode.

So far I have learned how to set the card to be compatible with DOS games.
- I place the folder with the "PCM12" drivers on the C:/
- I set variables in the "SOUNDCFG.INI" configuration file - SBPRO mode (default mode is Windows Sound System), 220/5/1 adress/irq/dma
- I set variables in autoexec.bat:
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4
SET PCM20INIT=C:\PCM12
Second line intialize card at startup. The above configuration ensures that all DOS games I tested work flawlessly - in windowed dos. The problem is that I have no sound in Windows 98 - because the drivers are not installed.
Now, when I install the drivers for the card for Win98, problems begin. It seems that they only work properly when the card is in WSS mode (although proper is an exaggerated word...). The win98 driver works independently and completely bypasses the configuration in sndindos. For example, when I start Doom:
- there is no sound at the settings I set (220/5/1).
- Resources in hardware properties are 240/7/1. When I select this in doom - there is still no sound.
- When I try to change it to 220/5/1 - the card stops working in Windows.
- When I turn SNDINDOS with my settings (SBPRO, 220/5/1) back on after Windows starts - the sound in every game is distorted and crackling.

What else i can do?

Reply 1 of 2, by Joseph_Joestar

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While I don't have that exact card, I've got one based on the slightly newer OPTi 82C930 chip. From my experience, these OPTi cards are very nice for DOS and Win 3.1, but making them work under Win9x can be problematic. Worst of all, even when I finally got mine running, it lacked any DirectSound acceleration, making the audio crackle in some games from 1997 and onward.

If it helps, I needed to manually install my card via the "Add New Hardware Wizard" (since it's not PnP) and then point it to the folder which contained the card's Win95 drivers. This would then set up all of the relevant entries in Device Manager, including proper DOS gaming support.

It looks like Dosdays still hosts the manual for your card here so maybe check that out too, if you haven't already. Also, the manufacturer's page with Win9x drivers is still up: http://www.mirosupport.de/sound/pcm1/pcm1pro.html

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Reply 2 of 2, by dulu

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ok, it looks like most of the things I wrote above weren't true. I did everything again. After installing the drivers in win98, the default mode is sbpro, not WSS. The only thing I had to do was change the card address in the hardware properties because there was a conflict, and... turn up the volume 😀