Likely IRQ conflict, or Bus conflict.

This card uses PnP to initialize, but panasonic cdrom interface uses port 340 by default. Ensure no network cards or other devices are trying to live there.

It could also be a symptom of a physical issue with your motherboard's ISA bus; eg, a bad slot. Try moving the card to another slot.

Suggested diagnostic process:

Remove all other cards, and disconnect the IDE ribbon.

Move the card to another slot.

Turn plug and play OS to ON, then use unisound to configure it.

Let me try to make a hypothesis, if you use an ATX power supply, and it doesn't have the -5V wire, could this cause the block?
If, however, you have -5V, because you use an AT power supply, it is obviously something else, to clear your doubts, you should try the ISA Audio card, in another PC, and see what happens, if the same problem happens, there could be something else defective, in that card.

PC@LIVE wrote on 2024-10-02, 10:28:

Let me try to make a hypothesis, if you use an ATX power supply, and it doesn't have the -5V wire, could this cause the block?
If, however, you have -5V, because you use an AT power supply, it is obviously something else, to clear your doubts, you should try the ISA Audio card, in another PC, and see what happens, if the same problem happens, there could be something else defective, in that card.

It was reported in the initial post that this soundcard works correctly in a different pentium 1 system. It seems implausible that there is an issue with the card itself in this set of circumstances.

-5v rail may be worth investigating. I'll google if this card needs it.

Nope, I see nothing on this. Typically, only very vintage cards need -5v. This card seems geared toward early pentium systems, which would be ATX, and thus, not have -5v rail.

It may be an issue with the bios plug and play. Vogon's wiki says it consumes a large number of resources once configured. (3 irqs, several DMAs, and 6 IO ranges!)
It also conveniently links to drivers for it.

https://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/Maestro_32/96

Are confident that this motherboard works otherwise?
Boots into Windows if you remove this card?
Does another card work in that slot?
Insert and remove the card a few times in case the slot (in the slot, as you say the card works elsewhere) contacts need rejuvenating?

Yes, the mainboard works fine with a PCI sound card.

I tried everything you suggested, with no success.
I assume something is wrong with the BIOS or with the slot itself phyiscally..
I don't have another ISA card sadly to rule out an hardware defect of the slot.
When booting into Windows ME, it shows this error, maybe it's somehow related? Can't figure out what it means.
In english, it reads:
"this device driver could not be loaded, because two ISA PNP .VXD Bustypes are present.
Request an updated BIOS from the vendor."

I tried 2 different BIOS already. I have installed the latest (beta) one (v 2.2b), only this one let's me use my IDE-to-SATA-adapter. With the earlier one (v 2.1), the HDD doesn't get recognized in BIOS. So it's a no-go for me.
Even so with the earlier BIOS, the system also gets stuck at post when installing the ISA card.

I found the cause here, it seems to be a hardware bug for systems above 166 MHz

http://www.amoretro.de/2011/09/terratec-maest … -soundcard.html

I have the same card. I tested it on a Pentium MMX 233 and while it does boot up, it will cause the system to lock up when attempting a soft reboot.

Apparently the issue can be corrected by replacing a capacitor (C58) with a 1uf, 16V capacitor. Haven't fixed mine yet, but I plan to try that at some point.

http://terratec.ultron.info/Audio/Maestro/3296/Helpfiles/
Found the documentation on the fix here.
Going to try it some time

File name for mirror search: M3296_Modifikation_DE.pdf or ..GB.pdf

peter_shaw wrote on 2024-10-29, 16:51:

http://terratec.ultron.info/Audio/Maestro/3296/Helpfiles/
Found the documentation on the fix here.
Going to try it some time

There's something odd about that documentation. The German version specifies a 3.3uF capacitor, while the English text says a 1uF capacitor.

I wonder which it's really supposed to be?

IF it was an official fix from the 90s, it might have been the difference in TUV testing vs UK GPO RF testing.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-10-29, 17:18:

peter_shaw wrote on 2024-10-29, 16:51:

http://terratec.ultron.info/Audio/Maestro/3296/Helpfiles/
Found the documentation on the fix here.
Going to try it some time

There's something odd about that documentation. The German version specifies a 3.3uF capacitor, while the English text says a 1uF capacitor.

I wonder which it's really supposed to be?

I finally found the time to fix this, lo and behold, it totally works!
Running a Maestro 32/96 on a Pentium III 800!