Hummtaro wrote on 2024-05-21, 20:15:
Hmm, in the unlikely the case some power fluctuations really reached the X16 and damaged some contents of the NAND, i wouldn't expect it to be just siilent with every installed soundbank. Either some of them must work partways or the firmware must be destroyed too.
Was is in bootloader mode (dip 0000) when you tried to upload the firmware? Did you also try to flash a soundbank?
It has been a few days, though I do believe that I had it in bootloader mode when trying to flash the firmware. I had the manual up on my main display and read it a bunch of times, hehe. I did not try to flash a sound bank, only switch between them. It is weird how it is detected in Windows and the green light blinks when a midi file is played yet no sound at all. When on the AWE32 and I play a game with midi set for music, the green light doesn't blink at all, which I think means that whatever is wrong with the original board is not totally affecting the USB, but is totally affecting the waveblaster connector, with one detecting midi data and the other one not detecting it, and with neither producing sound.
Serge emailed back and thinks that since the replacement is working on my main PC that I should be alright with the AWE32, but I haven't gotten over my worry, yet. I can use sound banks with the MP32L which I have been using with my main retro PC, so maybe I'll get a chill box enclosure and use the X16GS on my main PC for midi playback and emulators and what not. If I do connect the replacement to the retro PC and something bad happens, I'll just buy another X16GS when I can (I wouldn't dare ask for a 2nd replacement if it is determined that it is my PC - but I would report to Serge if it does happen to try to figure out what on earth could cause such a thing to happen) and not put it in the retro PC until I can figure out what is happening, but so far, the consensus is that nothing in my retro PC is the problem. I took close up pics of the AWE32 to make sure that the header pins weren't backwards or anything, and took other precautions before installing the first one, because I get paranoid with the retro stuff because of the difficulty in replacing any of it if a mistake is made, especially in my personal situation.
The retro PC is set up as follows:
K6-III+ OC'd to 600Mhx (a modded K6-2+ to a K6+III+)
128MB RAM
Voodoo5 in AGP slot
Audigy 2 ZS in 2nd PCI slot (I had a voodoo2 in there with the first board installation attempt and the Audigy 2 ZS was in the shared PCI/ISA slot)
AWE32 CT2760 in the 2nd ISA slot (with original daughterboards reinstalled to test that there are no problems with the AWE32 or the header after the initial X16GS installation attempt)
MPU-IPC-T in the last ISA slot
2 optical drives
1 3.5 floppy drive
1 5.25 floppy drive
1 dual slot CF-to-IDE drive
PSU is a Corsair AX860i with everything on one connector with splitters because I don't know what happened to my other PSU cables over the years..
Everything runs fine. I will probably put a Voodoo1 in there instead of the Voodoo2 for greater game compatibility and move the Audigy 2 ZS back to the shared slot. I will note that I have ALWAYS remained paranoid when using Live! and Audigy cards since I had those EPROMS scramble in one Live! and 1 Audigy in those two different computers that happened during a power-0n, and with every Creative card I have ever used since, I am always fretting that it is going to happen again due to my strange-(bad) luck. It is why I am wondering if something became scrambled on the origin X16GS and if so, if it is related to having two audio cards with one being in the Audigy family, and the AWE32 was set to default playback device when I booted the PC with the origin X16GS installed.