dionb wrote on 2020-11-01, 11:43:

Can definitely confirm Ultima6 works with SoftMPU. I spent a horrific percentage of my early teenage years playing U6 (with PC […]
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Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-01, 08:13:

[...]

Thanks for the list i will study this

looks like softmpu does not support ultima 6 🙁 and will need to install my awe 64 to get f117 working, cool now i know what to look out for

Can definitely confirm Ultima6 works with SoftMPU. I spent a horrific percentage of my early teenage years playing U6 (with PC sound only) and it's nostalgic enough that it's one of the games I test any old hardware with, now with all the sound options.

If SoftMPU isn't helping you with U6, I suspect that it's not configured correctly, which means that either the addresses or IRQ are incorrect (or conflicting), or that you forgot the /OUTPUT:SBMIDI needed if you have a 'real' Sounblaster Pro withouth MPU-401.

Tbh, I'd recommend NOT adding a second card until you have the first one completely running properly. Two cards never simplify configuration, and a PnP card (like the AWE64) also risks confusing matters. Fix the SBPro2 first.

yes i have it on output SBmidi in settings,
Are there dip switches on the sound card? i think my sbpro is set for irq 5 ,

ok which irq should i set it too? 7 or 5

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-01, 18:19:

[...] […]
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[...]

yes i have it on output SBmidi in settings,
Are there dip switches on the sound card? i think my sbpro is set for irq 5 ,

ok which irq should i set it too? 7 or 5

The commonest settings for an SBPro2 are Address 220, IRQ 5, DMA 1, MIDI 330. That address, IRQ and MIDI are also needed for SoftMPU. You can set them to different values, but then you need to adjust SoftMPU too: it needs to point to wherever you configured your card.

Note that IRQ 7 was used by older games (because on an XT, IRQ 5 was used for the hard disk controller, that lives on 13+14 on an AT), but that potentially conflicts with the printer port (LPT1). If you want to use IRQ 7, make sure the printer port is disabled.

dionb wrote on 2020-11-01, 20:41:

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-01, 18:19:

[...] […]
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[...]

yes i have it on output SBmidi in settings,
Are there dip switches on the sound card? i think my sbpro is set for irq 5 ,

ok which irq should i set it too? 7 or 5

The commonest settings for an SBPro2 are Address 220, IRQ 5, DMA 1, MIDI 330. That address, IRQ and MIDI are also needed for SoftMPU. You can set them to different values, but then you need to adjust SoftMPU too: it needs to point to wherever you configured your card.

Note that IRQ 7 was used by older games (because on an XT, IRQ 5 was used for the hard disk controller, that lives on 13+14 on an AT), but that potentially conflicts with the printer port (LPT1). If you want to use IRQ 7, make sure the printer port is disabled.

ah no wonder thanks for the write up. I noticed these cards are on irq 7 via dip switch should i move it to 5? I will be sure to disable the printer port as well

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-02, 02:28:

[..]

ah no wonder thanks for the write up. I noticed these cards are on irq 7 via dip switch should i move it to 5? I will be sure to disable the printer port as well

7 or 5 are both equally valid, just make sure there's no conflict (like printer port) and that you give SoftMPU the same IRQ as the card is actually set to.

can someone tell me the auto exec.bat sound blaster settings or how I get midi sound to work?

i keep jacking this up but finally figured out how to output sound in regular games.. mt32 display shows it is playing each sound per the game scene just no sound. i uninstalled my drivers and just using my auto exec commands

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/DEBaqLu25bhN

ok here is a photo of my sb card

i am prettu sure it is set to irq 5 what is the other jumpers set too?

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-02, 08:44:

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/DEBaqLu25bhN

ok here is a photo of my sb card

i am prettu sure it is set to irq 5 what is the other jumpers set too?

Take a look here:
https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/sound-cards-mult … R-PRO-2-CT.html

Comparing that to your pic (very fuzzy, so can't be 100% sure):

JP5/6/7: 6 DRQ 1
JP15/16/17: 16 DACK 1
JP18/19/20/21: 20 IRQ5
JP11: 2-3 DMA sharing Enabled
JP4: on Game Port Enabled
JP13/14: 13 - A220

That is pretty much the default setting I'd expect on a CT1600.

Then in autoexec.bat you need corresponding settings:
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4
SOFTMPU .EXE /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /MPU:330 /OUTPUT:SBMIDI

Finally in your games you need to select MIDI IRQ 2 or 9 (NOT 5), Address 330.

That should work - although I can't test it for you as I don't have a CT1600.

dionb wrote on 2020-11-02, 09:03:

Take a look here: https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/sound-cards-mult … R-PRO-2-CT.html […]
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Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-02, 08:44:

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/DEBaqLu25bhN

ok here is a photo of my sb card

i am prettu sure it is set to irq 5 what is the other jumpers set too?

Take a look here:
https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/sound-cards-mult … R-PRO-2-CT.html

Comparing that to your pic (very fuzzy, so can't be 100% sure):

JP5/6/7: 6 DRQ 1
JP15/16/17: 16 DACK 1
JP18/19/20/21: 20 IRQ5
JP11: 2-3 DMA sharing Enabled
JP4: on Game Port Enabled
JP13/14: 13 - A220

That is pretty much the default setting I'd expect on a CT1600.

Then in autoexec.bat you need corresponding settings:
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4
SOFTMPU .EXE /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /MPU:330 /OUTPUT:SBMIDI

Finally in your games you need to select MIDI IRQ 2 or 9 (NOT 5), Address 330.

That should work - although I can't test it for you as I don't have a CT1600.

thanks i like your data base..

great source of info

I am still having issues with ultima 6 not working and wing commander. I am getting no sound or barley coming out from my speakers. Cables are setup correctly... I did have sound coming out of IRQ7 DMA1 , 220 ,
sound works fine in regular dos games though. I know phils computer lab mentioned you have to set sound in drivers using sbproset or mixer software to turn up the midi
MT-32 shows playback working in each game scene on display.

No drivers are installed and used the settings above for autoexec.bat.

what the heck am i doing wrong? Thanks

photos of my dip switches. Only thing installed is this sound card.

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/LeJF97yDBtVN

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-02, 15:15:

thanks i like your data base.. […]
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dionb wrote on 2020-11-02, 09:03:

Take a look here: https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/sound-cards-mult … R-PRO-2-CT.html […]
Show full quote

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-02, 08:44:

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/DEBaqLu25bhN

ok here is a photo of my sb card

i am prettu sure it is set to irq 5 what is the other jumpers set too?

Take a look here:
https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/sound-cards-mult … R-PRO-2-CT.html

Comparing that to your pic (very fuzzy, so can't be 100% sure):

JP5/6/7: 6 DRQ 1
JP15/16/17: 16 DACK 1
JP18/19/20/21: 20 IRQ5
JP11: 2-3 DMA sharing Enabled
JP4: on Game Port Enabled
JP13/14: 13 - A220

That is pretty much the default setting I'd expect on a CT1600.

Then in autoexec.bat you need corresponding settings:
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4
SOFTMPU .EXE /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /MPU:330 /OUTPUT:SBMIDI

Finally in your games you need to select MIDI IRQ 2 or 9 (NOT 5), Address 330.

That should work - although I can't test it for you as I don't have a CT1600.

thanks i like your data base..

great source of info

I am still having issues with ultima 6 not working and wing commander. I am getting no sound or barley coming out from my speakers. Cables are setup correctly... I did have sound coming out of IRQ7 DMA1 , 220 ,
sound works fine in regular dos games though. I know phils computer lab mentioned you have to set sound in drivers using sbproset or mixer software to turn up the midi
MT-32 shows playback working in each game scene on display.

No drivers are installed and used the settings above for autoexec.bat.

what the heck am i doing wrong? Thanks

photos of my dip switches. Only thing installed is this sound card.

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/LeJF97yDBtVN

I assume you are routing the MT32's out to the SB Pro's line-in. If so, you need to enable the line-input using sbp-set.exe

Running SBP-SET /M:15,15 /VOC:15,15 /CD:15,15 /FM:15,15 /X:0 /LINE:15,15 should do it .

- Each channel (left and right) is controlled independently and goes from 0 (quietest) to 15 (loudest)
- This assumes that you are using CD audio input as well, otherwise set CD to 0,0 . Adjust to taste .
- "X" is for the mono microphone in, hence the sing digit .
- This is largely from memory, with a little help from Google, so if this is not 100% accurate, I suggest check your card's docs to very syntax .
EDIT : If this does not work as expected, I can always check on my retro rig, but I do not currently have an actual CT1600 .

AFAICR, some games RESET mixer settings , including muting inputs, but Ultima 6 is too old to even know what an SB Pro is . It is something to keep in mind for other games .

darry wrote on 2020-11-02, 16:31:

I assume you are routing the MT32's out to the SB Pro's line-in. If so, you need to enable the line-input using sbp-set.exe […]
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Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-02, 15:15:

thanks i like your data base.. […]
Show full quote

dionb wrote on 2020-11-02, 09:03:

Take a look here: https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/sound-cards-mult … R-PRO-2-CT.html […]
Show full quote

Take a look here:
https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/sound-cards-mult … R-PRO-2-CT.html

Comparing that to your pic (very fuzzy, so can't be 100% sure):

JP5/6/7: 6 DRQ 1
JP15/16/17: 16 DACK 1
JP18/19/20/21: 20 IRQ5
JP11: 2-3 DMA sharing Enabled
JP4: on Game Port Enabled
JP13/14: 13 - A220

That is pretty much the default setting I'd expect on a CT1600.

Then in autoexec.bat you need corresponding settings:
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4
SOFTMPU .EXE /SB:220 /IRQ:5 /MPU:330 /OUTPUT:SBMIDI

Finally in your games you need to select MIDI IRQ 2 or 9 (NOT 5), Address 330.

That should work - although I can't test it for you as I don't have a CT1600.

thanks i like your data base..

great source of info

I am still having issues with ultima 6 not working and wing commander. I am getting no sound or barley coming out from my speakers. Cables are setup correctly... I did have sound coming out of IRQ7 DMA1 , 220 ,
sound works fine in regular dos games though. I know phils computer lab mentioned you have to set sound in drivers using sbproset or mixer software to turn up the midi
MT-32 shows playback working in each game scene on display.

No drivers are installed and used the settings above for autoexec.bat.

what the heck am i doing wrong? Thanks

photos of my dip switches. Only thing installed is this sound card.

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/LeJF97yDBtVN

I assume you are routing the MT32's out to the SB Pro's line-in. If so, you need to enable the line-input using sbp-set.exe

Running SBP-SET /M:15,15 /VOC:15,15 /CD:15,15 /FM:15,15 /X:0 /LINE:15,15 should do it .

- Each channel (left and right) is controlled independently and goes from 0 (quietest) to 15 (loudest)
- This assumes that you are using CD audio input as well, otherwise set CD to 0,0 . Adjust to taste .
- "X" is for the mono microphone in, hence the sing digit .
- This is largely from memory, with a little help from Google, so if this is not 100% accurate, I suggest check your card's docs to very syntax .
EDIT : If this does not work as expected, I can always check on my retro rig, but I do not currently have an actual CT1600 .

AFAICR, some games RESET mixer settings , including muting inputs, but Ultima 6 is too old to even know what an SB Pro is . It is something to keep in mind for other games .

Thats it , i will download sbp-set. I had this working earlier but forgot where to find it , i will google it

my issue is the sound blaster drivers are not working , i get low device memory driver error. I cannot download and use the vogon drivers because the disk image requires each disk to have drive labels and my gotek wont do it. I have to flash it eventually another project 🙁

What does this do?
SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E MODE:1

ok fixed the issue with sbp-set entering those commands in autoexec.

getting alot of static though , have pretty good speakers .. I could not set CD to 15/15 because maybe no cd is installed? Came back as an error on bootup

will double check . Any idea how to reduce the static ?

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-02, 17:39:

ok fixed the issue with sbp-set entering those commands in autoexec.

getting alot of static though , have pretty good speakers .. I could not set CD to 15/15 because maybe no cd is installed? Came back as an error on bootup

will double check . Any idea how to reduce the static ?

I imagine that what you are hearing is the result of clipping .
Try lowering the volume levels on the line-in or the master input .
If the static is only on the MT-32's audio, try lowering the volume on the MT-32 itself .

Do also take into account that a CT1600 is not even close to being high fidelity, so noise is to be expected . They did not call them noise blasters for nothing .

darry wrote on 2020-11-02, 19:44:

I imagine that what you are hearing is the result of clipping . Try lowering the volume levels on the line-in or the master inpu […]
Show full quote

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-02, 17:39:

ok fixed the issue with sbp-set entering those commands in autoexec.

getting alot of static though , have pretty good speakers .. I could not set CD to 15/15 because maybe no cd is installed? Came back as an error on bootup

will double check . Any idea how to reduce the static ?

I imagine that what you are hearing is the result of clipping .
Try lowering the volume levels on the line-in or the master input .
If the static is only on the MT-32's audio, try lowering the volume on the MT-32 itself .

Do also take into account that a CT1600 is not even close to being high fidelity, so noise is to be expected . They did not call them noise blasters for nothing .

will do thanks!

Also quick question since I think you are the master of sound card knowledge 🤣.

I see a 2 pin pc speaker output on the sound blaster pro however my speaker is a modern type with 4 pins where the positive is on pin 1 and ground on pin 4 . I tried using the speaker with just positive connected but would not work.

Do i have to have 2 pin speaker or is there a config i am missing to enable this function?
Thanks man

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-02, 21:20:

will do thanks! […]
Show full quote

darry wrote on 2020-11-02, 19:44:

I imagine that what you are hearing is the result of clipping . Try lowering the volume levels on the line-in or the master inpu […]
Show full quote

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-02, 17:39:

ok fixed the issue with sbp-set entering those commands in autoexec.

getting alot of static though , have pretty good speakers .. I could not set CD to 15/15 because maybe no cd is installed? Came back as an error on bootup

will double check . Any idea how to reduce the static ?

I imagine that what you are hearing is the result of clipping .
Try lowering the volume levels on the line-in or the master input .
If the static is only on the MT-32's audio, try lowering the volume on the MT-32 itself .

Do also take into account that a CT1600 is not even close to being high fidelity, so noise is to be expected . They did not call them noise blasters for nothing .

will do thanks!

Also quick question since I think you are the master of sound card knowledge 🤣.

I see a 2 pin pc speaker output on the sound blaster pro however my speaker is a modern type with 4 pins where the positive is on pin 1 and ground on pin 4 . I tried using the speaker with just positive connected but would not work.

Do i have to have 2 pin speaker or is there a config i am missing to enable this function?
Thanks man

Thank you for compliment, but though I may have been playing with this stuff for over 25 years, I still have a lot to learn and am vastly less knowledgeable than the folks around here who actually design and build sound cards (and write software for them) . 😀

Just to be clear, that connector on the sound card is an input, not an output. You do need both pins connected between the motherboard and the sound card for the PC speaker sound to be routed through the CT1600 and then to your speakers, instead of the actual PC speaker . You will need a separate cable to connect the PC speaker header on your motherboard to the proper PC speaker signal input on the CT1600 ( you will likely need to make your own cable by splicing together 2 cables with the proper connectors) .

See Sound Blaster Pro2 PC speaker connector for a bit more info .

darry wrote on 2020-11-02, 22:27:

Thank you for compliment, but though I may have been playing with this stuff for over 25 years, I still have a lot to learn and […]
Show full quote

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-02, 21:20:

will do thanks! […]
Show full quote

darry wrote on 2020-11-02, 19:44:

I imagine that what you are hearing is the result of clipping . Try lowering the volume levels on the line-in or the master inpu […]
Show full quote

I imagine that what you are hearing is the result of clipping .
Try lowering the volume levels on the line-in or the master input .
If the static is only on the MT-32's audio, try lowering the volume on the MT-32 itself .

Do also take into account that a CT1600 is not even close to being high fidelity, so noise is to be expected . They did not call them noise blasters for nothing .

will do thanks!

Also quick question since I think you are the master of sound card knowledge 🤣.

I see a 2 pin pc speaker output on the sound blaster pro however my speaker is a modern type with 4 pins where the positive is on pin 1 and ground on pin 4 . I tried using the speaker with just positive connected but would not work.

Do i have to have 2 pin speaker or is there a config i am missing to enable this function?
Thanks man

Thank you for compliment, but though I may have been playing with this stuff for over 25 years, I still have a lot to learn and am vastly less knowledgeable than the folks around here who actually design and build sound cards (and write software for them) . 😀

Just to be clear, that connector on the sound card is an input, not an output. You do need both pins connected between the motherboard and the sound card for the PC speaker sound to be routed through the CT1600 and then to your speakers, instead of the actual PC speaker . You will need a separate cable to connect the PC speaker header on your motherboard to the proper PC speaker signal input on the CT1600 ( you will likely need to make your own cable by splicing together 2 cables with the proper connectors) .

See Sound Blaster Pro2 PC speaker connector for a bit more info .

thanks just made this cable
https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/R7jZjzm3hRkN

the static from the pc speaker cable mod was awful.

there is no way to adjust it?

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-02, 23:54:

the static from the pc speaker cable mod was awful.

there is no way to adjust it?

Not that I am aware of, unfortunately . SBP-SET.EXE does not seem to have options for the PC Speaker input . If the problem is due to clipping (level is too for the input on the CT1600), adding a trimpot (trimmer potentiometer ) to the cable to allow for attenuation of the signal from the motherboard would likely help .

There may be better solutions to this issue that are beyond my skill set .

So found a few issues but figured out what needed to be done to fix my static issue.
I installed these http://vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fileid=62&menustate=0 and completely fixed my static issues with my sound card. It added some lines to my config.sys and autoexec then just using set blaster.

sounds really good and bass is amazing.

I had issues running on IRQ 5 in two games and not sure if JP 11 DMA sharing was the issue but my issue is that might and magic world of xeen , intro , speech would just cut out on IRQ 5 , f117 stealth fighter 2.0 speech was super low and could not be fixed with sbp-set. Not sure what is going on there but I put it back on IRQ 7 and everything works great . However on F117 stealth fighter using soft mpu MT32 sound is perfect but now speech comes out of my PC Speaker 🤣.

Before speech was low and massive clipping started with sound. Maybe I just need to get a real MPU 401 card to fix these issues? The static and speech was horrendous with just using set blaster commands in the autoexec.bat.. Everything is alot clearer and louder. I dont even find static or speech an issue.
Also the sound works in Ultima VI now for mt-32 and sounds good. I thought this game had sound effects with MT32 I guess it doesnt? Everything is PC speaker except music even on adlib/sound blaster too.

I guess with any system build people on here have to learn which settings work best for each hardware addition to work with each game. Especially older games , I do not think IRQ 5 works good for those two games unless my JP11 on the sound blaster is on sharing now for DMA? I am talking out of my ass maybe you know something i dont
thanks

Unrealcpu wrote on 2020-11-03, 02:16:

So found a few issues but figured out what needed to be done to fix my static issue. I installed these http://vogonsdrivers.com/ […]
Show full quote

So found a few issues but figured out what needed to be done to fix my static issue.
I installed these http://vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fileid=62&menustate=0 and completely fixed my static issues with my sound card. It added some lines to my config.sys and autoexec then just using set blaster.

sounds really good and bass is amazing.

I had issues running on IRQ 5 in two games and not sure if JP 11 DMA sharing was the issue but my issue is that might and magic world of xeen , intro , speech would just cut out on IRQ 5 , f117 stealth fighter 2.0 speech was super low and could not be fixed with sbp-set. Not sure what is going on there but I put it back on IRQ 7 and everything works great . However on F117 stealth fighter using soft mpu MT32 sound is perfect but now speech comes out of my PC Speaker 🤣.

Before speech was low and massive clipping started with sound. Maybe I just need to get a real MPU 401 card to fix these issues? The static and speech was horrendous with just using set blaster commands in the autoexec.bat.. Everything is alot clearer and louder. I dont even find static or speech an issue.
Also the sound works in Ultima VI now for mt-32 and sounds good. I thought this game had sound effects with MT32 I guess it doesnt? Everything is PC speaker except music even on adlib/sound blaster too.

I guess with any system build people on here have to learn which settings work best for each hardware addition to work with each game. Especially older games , I do not think IRQ 5 works good for those two games unless my JP11 on the sound blaster is on sharing now for DMA? I am talking out of my ass maybe you know something i dont
thanks

Glad you found the root cause of your issue .

My choice for and SB or SB Pro in a retro system is always port 220 DMA1 IRQ7 (I always disable the parallel port, just in case) . This works with older games, some of which are hard-coded for IRQ7 . All newer games allow selecting the actually used IRQ, DMA and port address .