Can you post a picture of the card?

Hello, here are the images

Clean the contacts of the ISA connector. They look pretty crusty...

I would say your issues are causbed by the poor condition of the contacts- The dust usually isn't a problem but can be. The thing you need to do most is to clean up the ISA edge connector contacts. In that sort of condition I would use contact cleaner (aka deoxit) and melamine sponge (aka magic eraser)

I tried cleaned the contacts with the following results however the card is still not being detected.

Looks like there may be trace damage, at least where it says "Made in Taiwan R.O.C." just above R30 in the second image, the trace doesn't appear to meet the contact. There may be others but the quality of the photo isn't good enough to see in detail.

Sorry, these pictures should be better

Is the card detected in the BIOS?
If it's not listed, it probably not detected by Windows.

Note: Some motherboards show ISA cards at the beginning of the BIOS POST, others at the end.

It's also possible that the card is not detected due to a lack of -5V rail.
Although my noname ESS1868F was detected without -5V (modern PSU), but I haven't tested in Windows.

ott wrote on 2026-07-03, 01:50:

Is the card detected in the BIOS? If it's not listed, it probably not detected by Windows. […]
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Is the card detected in the BIOS?
If it's not listed, it probably not detected by Windows.

Note: Some motherboards show ISA cards at the beginning of the BIOS POST, others at the end.

It's also possible that the card is not detected due to a lack of -5V rail.
Although my noname ESS1868F was detected without -5V (modern PSU), but I haven't tested in Windows.

Hello thanks for the answer. The card does not seem to be detected by bios, even if the listing display happens very fast. Not sure about the -5V rail, the PSU is a molex/ide only psu.

It looks to me like there is 4 damaged traces so I doubt this card will work without repairing them. Some others are corroded and may be impaired, hard to say.

yes , the traces have rotted out.

just buy a new one on ebay , should be no more than 30 quid/dollars or so.

I got one for 20 quid , looks like brand new...

still , why do u need the isa? if you use the isa version you will need to stop another device on the IRQ bus.

get a ESS solo 1 on PCI , it has DDMA and works in dos like a isa card.

but if adamand on the isa , just looked on ebay , 25 to 40 quid for ones in great condition.

Unfortunately the pictures of the sound card in question shows that it is in rough condition. I suspect physical damage beyond just broken traces.

You may have to be on the lookout for a new sound card.

I reccomend avoiding PCI bus sound cards if you want DOS compatibility. While there are a few out there with decent compatibility. All of them usually require extra effort to setup.