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First post, by Intel486dx33

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Does anyone know anything about this Sound Blaster 16 card ?
It is a CT1770 with Adaptec SCSI.

What driver package should I use to install in DOS/Win3.11 ?
It has a Yamaha OPL3 too.

Do I need a driver for the SCSI CDROM to work ?
Or do I just need to configure the onboard SCSI jumpers ?

Last edited by Intel486dx33 on 2019-08-13, 16:07. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 1 of 17, by derSammler

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Similar to an IDE CD-ROM, you need a driver in your config.sys. For SCSI, that is an ASPI CD driver. For that to work, you also need to load the ASPI interface driver for the SCSI chipset. You also need to load MSCDEX like with any other drive. Problem is, since you need more stuff to load (ASPI layer), an SCSI CD-ROM will eat up more precious memory under DOS.

ps: you can use the Win9x boot floppy to grap all files you need, it has support for SCSI CD-ROM drives.

pps: why is this in "Sound"?

Reply 2 of 17, by Intel486dx33

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derSammler wrote:

Similar to an IDE CD-ROM, you need a driver in your config.sys. For SCSI, that is an ASPI CD driver. For that to work, you also need to load the ASPI interface driver for the SCSI chipset. You also need to load MSCDEX like with any other drive. Problem is, since you need more stuff to load (ASPI layer), an SCSI CD-ROM will eat up more precious memory under DOS.

ps: you can use the Win9x boot floppy to grap all files you need, it has support for SCSI CD-ROM drives.

pps: why is this in "Sound"?

Because it is a sound card ?
I think it came with Adaptec EZ SCSI install diskette for DOS.
Which SB16 install package has support for the Yamaha OPL3 and Win3x apps ?
I don’t have these install diskettes but this is the software it came with.

Reply 3 of 17, by derSammler

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Because it is a sound card ?

But your question was mainly about SCSI.

You really don't need the Adaptec software, it installs lots of unneeded crap anyway. As wrote before, grab the files from a Win9x boot disk. You need aspi4dos.sys and aspicd.sys (file names may differ).

Reply 4 of 17, by skitters

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I bought one of these ct1770 cards along with a compatible SCSI CD drive over 10 years ago from a guy on eBay.
I finally got it working using a set of DOS drivers on driverguide, but that was over 10 years ago.

Anyway, if it's at all helpful, here are the autoexec.bat and config.sys from the computer that show the names of the SCSI drivers that were loaded.

autoexec.bat

@ECHO OFF SET SOUND=C:\SB16 SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6 SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E C:\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S C:\SB16\MIXERSET /P /Q […]
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@ECHO OFF
SET SOUND=C:\SB16
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6
SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E
C:\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S
C:\SB16\MIXERSET /P /Q
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $p$g
PATH C:\DOS;C:\SB16
SET TEMP=C:\DOS\TEMP
LH C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MYCD /M:8 /V
CTMOUSE2.COM

config.sys

DEVICE=C:\SCSI\ASPI2DOS.SYS /D /Z rem DEVICE=C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS DOS=HIGH,U […]
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DEVICE=C:\SCSI\ASPI2DOS.SYS /D /Z
rem DEVICE=C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS
DOS=HIGH,UMB
REM ** FILES=30
FILES=40
DEVICEHIGH=C:\SCSI\ASPICD.SYS /D:MYCD

Last edited by skitters on 2019-08-05, 18:12. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 5 of 17, by SirNickity

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SCSI in DOS has always been really clumsy. You need either the specific driver disk for the hardware you have, or you can just install EZ-SCSI and be done with it. The installer is really good about finding all the supported chipsets and installing the right driver in config.sys. Far easier to do that, than to go and figure out which aspiX driver goes with which chip, and then figure out what parameters the driver supports and whether you need to supply any of them. I use version 5. Good for DOS, Win 3.x, Win95.

Aside from that, any SB16 package will cover the hardware north of the SCSI chipset.

Reply 6 of 17, by RiP

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Does anyone have all of the latest CT1770 drivers for Dos, Win3.x, Win9x ? 😕

Reply 8 of 17, by jaZz_KCS

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Anonymous Coward wrote:

CT1770 with ASP is the king of SB16.

So basically, a CT1740 (ASP soldered down out of the box) is the king of SB16 (if SCSI is not of interest) 😀

RiP wrote:

Does anyone have all of the latest CT1770 drivers for Dos, Win3.x, Win9x ? 😕

See attachments.

Reply 9 of 17, by RiP

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Thanks a lot.

I saw no ROM at startup for CT1770. Is it normal?
I thought it should have BIOS ROM =/

I have also noticed that its volume control in the back panel makes no difference at all 😕

Reply 10 of 17, by jaZz_KCS

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It doesnt have a BIOS rom that hooks on boot-up.
And you probably have the jumper that controls whether the Speaker-Out is amplified or not set to "no". Which results in it becoming a Line-Out that is not amplified and doesn't adhere to the volume knob.

Reply 11 of 17, by RiP

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jaZz_KCS wrote:

It doesnt have a BIOS rom that hooks on boot-up.
And you probably have the jumper that controls whether the Speaker-Out is amplified or not set to "no". Which results in it becoming a Line-Out that is not amplified and doesn't adhere to the volume knob.

You're right, thanks 😎

It has AMAZING sound quality o.0

Reply 12 of 17, by Intel486dx33

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jaZz_KCS wrote:
So basically, a CT1740 (ASP soldered down out of the box) is the king of SB16 (if SCSI is not of interest) :) […]
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Anonymous Coward wrote:

CT1770 with ASP is the king of SB16.

So basically, a CT1740 (ASP soldered down out of the box) is the king of SB16 (if SCSI is not of interest) 😀

RiP wrote:

Does anyone have all of the latest CT1770 drivers for Dos, Win3.x, Win9x ? 😕

See attachments.

Thanks, My IBM PS/1 multimedia edition originally came with the CT-1740 and creative/Matsushita 2x CDROM.
The CT-1740 has a Panasonic interface built in. It's NOT IDE.

Reply 13 of 17, by RiP

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Well, I tried many things but couldn't get the SCSI interface of CT1770/CT1779 to work 😢
Windows 98 doesn't detect the DMA channel (default:0) of the SCSI too 😕

Reply 14 of 17, by greg2002

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OK, I received a Sound Blaster 16 CT1700 today, and was successful with the installation !

This was a DOS only installation.

First I ran the SB16 install program with all the defaults, then I ran Adaptec EZ-SCSI install program and it found the identified the Adaptec chip as:

Adaptec AIC-6360 Family Adapter Port 340h

I let the install program do the rest and it added these lines to my startup files:

config.sys

device=c:\scsi\ASPI2DOS.sys /D /Z /Q9
device=c:\scsi\ASPICD.sys /D:ASPICD0

autoexec.bat

c:\scsi\mscdex.exe /D:ASPICD0 /M:12 /L:G

Just FYI for those searching for answers !

Greg

Reply 15 of 17, by aries-mu

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Anonymous Coward wrote on 2019-08-15, 00:39:

CT1770 with ASP is the king of SB16.

Yes!
I remember very well, when my ears were the young ones of a teen, after having used the SB Pro for a long while and then, with the same speakers (cheap TRUST 20 Watts PMPO speakers) I swapped it with a SB 16 ASP, I noticed a TREMENDOUS difference in audio quality, in games and other stuff.
I remember the immediate feeling I had, very impressed. Tangible difference.
I never understood whether it was the ASP processor or the fact that while with the SB Pro I was setting / using stuff mostly at 22 KHz, with the SB 16 ASP I used mostly 44 KHz... (but I don't remember more details on this sub-topic).

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Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you

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Reply 16 of 17, by mkarcher

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derSammler wrote on 2019-08-03, 16:34:

You need aspi4dos.sys and aspicd.sys (file names may differ).

Sorry for necro-posting, I want to correct/add some info to this thread.

File names do differ. The SCSI on the CT1770 is a derivative of the AHA-1520A controller card. This one needs aspi2dos.sys. aspi4dos.sys is exclusively for the AHA-1540 series (including all the 1542 variants and the MCA 1640) and IIRC also for the AHA-1740/1742 in compatibility mode.

RiP wrote on 2019-08-18, 19:06:

Windows 98 doesn't detect the DMA channel (default:0) of the SCSI too

The Adaptec AHA-1520 series (in fact, the AIC-6260, -6360 and -6370 chips) do not implement bus master DMA, just standard ISA 3rd-party DMA. DMA provides no tangible performance advantages over PIO on those cards in 16-bit systems, and the limitations of ISA 3rd-party DMA are a pain in the neck for any modern operating system. The only configuration in which ISA DMA is supported on an 1520-kind card with Adaptec drivers is in OS/2 on an EISA-compliant main board. While the card does not connect to any EISA signals, the EISA DMA controller has a lot of technological improvements over the ISA DMA controller, and many of them can be used with ISA cards as well. So it is completely normal that the AHA-1520 family (including the CT1770) do not use the configured DMA channel in any standard system configuration.

aries-mu wrote on 2024-04-01, 19:45:

I never understood whether it was the ASP processor or the fact that while with the SB Pro I was setting / using stuff mostly at 22 KHz, with the SB 16 ASP I used mostly 44 KHz... (but I don't remember more details on this sub-topic).

Unless you use one of the rare utilities that have dedicated support for the ASP, that chip operates in pass-through mode does nothing except forwarding the digital audio signal between the bus interface unit and the DAC/ADC chip. In case the ASP is not installed, you need to install the jumpers labeled IFSD and APSD, which just forward the digital audio signal bypassing the ASP chip alltogether.

Any sound quality improvement will be due to the higher supported sample on the SB 16 or the improved analog circuitry on that card. Specifically, the SB Pro has a quite characteristic low-pass filter to eliminate high-frequency artifacts that can be produced due to aliasing at low sample rates. The SB16 does not have this kind of filter, and thus has better high-frequency response.

Nevertheless, the presence of SCSI and the ASP add to the collectibility of the CT1770.

Reply 17 of 17, by aries-mu

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mkarcher wrote on 2024-04-02, 08:47:

Unless you use one of the rare utilities that have dedicated support for the ASP, that chip operates in pass-through mode does nothing except forwarding the digital audio signal between the bus interface unit and the DAC/ADC chip. In case the ASP is not installed, you need to install the jumpers labeled IFSD and APSD, which just forward the digital audio signal bypassing the ASP chip alltogether.

Any sound quality improvement will be due to the higher supported sample on the SB 16 or the improved analog circuitry on that card. Specifically, the SB Pro has a quite characteristic low-pass filter to eliminate high-frequency artifacts that can be produced due to aliasing at low sample rates. The SB16 does not have this kind of filter, and thus has better high-frequency response.

Nevertheless, the presence of SCSI and the ASP add to the collectibility of the CT1770.

Oh finally! You answered my very old question! Thanks!!

Oh but mine wasn't the SCSI one. It was the SB 16 ASP Multi CD model, I guess IDE.

They said therefore to him: Who are you?
Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you

Computers should be fun inside not outside! 😉 (by Joakim)