Finally registered 😀 I´ve installed Pandora and with Unirefresh it is now running at 100 Hz. After fidling with the config files I have also a good sound. Tex 4 is changed (thanks Nicht) and VDMSound applied on Pandora.bat.

I have now:
Sound Blaster Pro - 16 Bit Stereo
MPU 401 General Midi

On VDMSound is disabled Midi emulation + Adlib and Sound Blaster is set as follows:
Base Port 0x220, IRQ 7, 8 bit DMA 1
3.02 (SoundBlaster Pro2) 16-bit DMA 5

-----------------------
Pandora.bat:

@echo off
unirfrsh
set dos4gvm=

tex4.exe %1 %2 %3 %4

----------------------
config ini:

[DIGI_CONFIG]
BoardNum=2
IoAddr=0x220
DMA=1
Int=5
Volume=97
ReverseStereo=No

[MIDI_CONFIG]
BoardNum=12
IoAddr=0x330
DigiDrums=No
Volume=100

[SYSTEM]
LastPlayer=JIRI
Pass=1
ChainInt8=Yes
ChainInt1C=Yes
WinMemReserve=0
Label=PANDORA

---------------------
sound inf:

[DIGI_BOARDS]
1) Sound Blaster 1.0 = 0xe000,0,1,1
2) Sound Blaster Pro = 0xe001,3,2,1
3) Sound Blaster 16 = 0xe018,3,3,1
4) Sound Blaster AWE32 = 0xe018,3,5,1
5) Microsoft Sound System {Microsoft Sound Sys} = 0xe00e,3,6,1
6) Ensoniq Soundscape = 0xe020,3,7,1
7) Pro AudioSpectrum = 0xe005,1,8,1
😎 Pro AudioSpectrum 16 {Pro AudioSpect 16} = 0xe006,3,9,1
9) Adlib Gold = 0xe008,3,11,1
10) ESS AudioDrive = 0xe01c,3,18,1
11) Gravis Ultrasound = 0xe025,2,19,1
12) Gravis Ultrasound Max = 0xe029,2,20,1
13) Roland RAP-10 = 0xe022,2,17,1
14) Sound Galaxy Nova16 = 0xe00e,3,21,1
15) SB 1.0 (No Verify) = 0xe000,0,1,1,1
16) SB Pro (No Verify) = 0xe001,1,2,1,1

Thanks a lot Jiri! Now I got it finally running 'eye-caring' on my PC with Geforce 2 MX. On the machine with Geforce 4 it still doesn't work. But that's normal I think, because in the readme of unirfrsh it's mentioned that such new graphic chipsets aren't supported.

Never mind, it's running with 100Hz! 😀

Malko wrote:

Thanks a lot Jiri! Now I got it finally running 'eye-caring' on my PC with Geforce 2 MX.

You are welcome. 😀 And it works not only with shareware Unirefresh but also with freeware VBEHz, I´ve just tested it.

Malko wrote:

On the machine with Geforce 4 it still doesn't work. But that's normal I think, because in the readme of unirfrsh it's mentioned that such new graphic chipsets aren't supported.

You mean probably this passage (that VBE 3.0 is neded):

VBE 3.0 is supported by all the cards with the following chipsets:
* all NVIDIA chips starting with RIVA 128:
RIVA 128/TNT/TNT2/GeForce/GeForce2.
* all 3dfx chips starting with Banshee:
Banshee/Voodoo3/Voodoo4/Voodoo5/Voodoo6.
All other video cards do NOT support VBE 3.0.

I think that VBE 3.0 is the only limitation (so it shouldn´t be the problem of all new graphic chipsets because readme is rather old: "October 11 2000") but I´m not sure if your Geforce 4 supports it.

Well, I think it definitely doesn't work. With the same settings in the config tool of unirfrsh I'm still having 60Hz in Testing Mode (and in the game) instead of 100Hz. Is unirfrsh limited in time concerning how long I can use it?

Malko wrote:

Is unirfrsh limited in time concerning how long I can use it?

Author writes: UniRefresh is shareware. You may use this fully working version for an evaluation period of up to 21 days. If you decide to use this software after this period you have to register it for $15 (USD).

So I would recommend VBEHz - it´s free and no registration is needed.

Bzzz...next problem. VBEHz doesn't completely work. It sets the refresh-rate as I wish and in the first seconds after I start the the game all seems to work fine. But then: The screen gets more more and more bright that I suppose my monitor to explode. Can't regulate it anymore and the screen is totally unsharp and blurry. Don't know what's the reasen. Assumed I set the KHz rate too high in vbehzcfg but it's ok.

Any idea Jiri or the others?

Malko wrote:

Bzzz...next problem. VBEHz doesn't completely work. It sets the refresh-rate as I wish and in the first seconds after I start the the game all seems to work fine. But then: The screen gets more more and more bright that I suppose my monitor to explode. Can't regulate it anymore and the screen is totally unsharp and blurry. Don't know what's the reasen. Assumed I set the KHz rate too high in vbehzcfg but it's ok.

Any idea Jiri or the others?

What kind of monitor do you have?

CRT 17"

Malko wrote:

CRT 17"

Could you be more specific (manufacturer and model of your monitor)?

Terra Wortmann Magic 1795F. Never heard of it, huh? 😀

Malko wrote:

Terra Wortmann Magic 1795F. Never heard of it, huh? 😀

Never, but it has similar parameters as my monitor. Did you try - vbehzcfg - 23 - 80kHz - 100Hz?

--------------------
pandora.bat:

@echo off
vbehz
set dos4gvm=

tex4.exe %1 %2 %3 %4

These kinds of responses are what I meant by "unclear":

on my computer it works just fine. Unirefresh it is now running at 100 Hz. Doesn't work on my computer ...with Unirefresh it is […]
Show full quote

on my computer it works just fine.
Unirefresh it is now running at 100 Hz.
Doesn't work on my computer
...with Unirefresh it is now running at 100 Hz.
...it's running with 100Hz!
...works not only with shareware Unirefresh but also with freeware VBEHz, I´ve just tested it.
Well, I think it definitely doesn't work.
VBEHz doesn't completely work.

In the future, I'll refer to it as a "possible solution" with no promises.

I think that this really is a serious problem, because it is about health of the eyes. I agree with you that Unirefresh and VBEHz are only POSSIBLE solutions with no promises and I´ve always emphasized that it works on MY computer. But I have an experience with some friends who thought that it doesn´t work just because they didn´t have all properly set (as Malko with UniRefresh). I think it would probably be useful if more people tested it on different computers and sent reports if and how these utilities work. Also some tutorial for beginners then could possible be placed on this site (I don´t know where, maybe in Deep Thought?). If you would like to help with that and for example test it on your computer I would really appreciate it. I´m personally interested in it since I consider to upgrade my computer (but don´t want to buy LCD) and I´m curious if it works with some new cards.

Originally posted by Jiri I think that this really is a serious problem, because it is about health of the eyes.

*heh* In all honesty, if your eyes are starting to hurt, you probably need to take a break from playing games.

I think it would probably be useful if more people tested it on different computers and sent reports if and how these utilities work. Also some tutorial for beginners then could possible be placed on this site (I don´t know where, maybe in Deep Thought?).

Anyone who wants to start a new thread for compatibility tests would be welcome to do so.

While a guide would be a good idea, it's competing for time with two other ideas. One is that our hands are pretty full trying to get old DOS and Windows games running in 2000/XP...at all. The other is that, as you've already found, the results aren't very consistent. A good guide would need a lot of testing to be effective.

Nicht Sehr Gut wrote:

*heh* In all honesty, if your eyes are starting to hurt, you probably need to take a break from playing games.

Yes, and not only from playing games but generally from using computer (Oh no, I really need it, it´s more important to me than blanket to Linus 😀 ). But seriously - I would say that even for the occasional game players is much better to play with the high refresh rates.

Nicht Sehr Gut wrote:

*...as you've already found, the results aren't very consistent. A good guide would need a lot of testing to be effective.

You are right - according to Malko it doesn´t work with GeForce4 Ti. I´ve just tried it with GeForce4 MX 440, also without a success (good results were only with GeForce2). So it seems that these utilities cannot work with the new Nvidia cards (I don´t know why, they support VESA VBE 3.0). The problem is that the webpages and readme files for Unirefresh and VBEHz are not updated and it is hard to tell which current cards can work with them (maybe none?). And a lot of testing is impossible without many volunteers, so for the present everybody can try it, but with no guarantee and at his/hers own risk.

Hi... my os is xp. I have tried to change the config and sound files. while i can get PD to run okay... the sound is absolutely horrible! even after i downloaded VDMsound, the sound is echoy... what is happening? can someone pls help??
sharon

Hi Sharon. This thread is full of all the information you need. You just have to read it through 😉

i read em... these r the things i did...
in file config ini:

[DIGI_CONFIG]
BoardNum=2
IoAddr=0x220
DMA=1
Int=5
Volume=97
ReverseStereo=No

[MIDI_CONFIG]
BoardNum=12
IoAddr=0x330
DigiDrums=No
Volume=100

[SYSTEM]
LastPlayer=JIRI
Pass=1
ChainInt8=Yes
ChainInt1C=Yes
WinMemReserve=0
Label=PANDORA

---------------------
sound inf:

[DIGI_BOARDS]
1) Sound Blaster 1.0 = 0xe000,0,1,1
2) Sound Blaster Pro = 0xe001,3,2,1
3) Sound Blaster 16 = 0xe018,3,3,1
4) Sound Blaster AWE32 = 0xe018,3,5,1
5) Microsoft Sound System {Microsoft Sound Sys} = 0xe00e,3,6,1
6) Ensoniq Soundscape = 0xe020,3,7,1
7) Pro AudioSpectrum = 0xe005,1,8,1
😎 Pro AudioSpectrum 16 {Pro AudioSpect 16} = 0xe006,3,9,1
9) Adlib Gold = 0xe008,3,11,1
10) ESS AudioDrive = 0xe01c,3,18,1
11) Gravis Ultrasound = 0xe025,2,19,1
12) Gravis Ultrasound Max = 0xe029,2,20,1
13) Roland RAP-10 = 0xe022,2,17,1
14) Sound Galaxy Nova16 = 0xe00e,3,21,1
15) SB 1.0 (No Verify) = 0xe000,0,1,1,1
16) SB Pro (No Verify) = 0xe001,1,2,1,1

plus i downloaded tex4

it worked but only with the echoy sound...
then i dowloaded VDMsound... i dun really know what 2 do w it except to choose run with VDMS when i choose the prog...
the sound didnt change...
is it becuz i m using SB live!?
thanks for your help
sharon

You forgot to adjust the settings in vdmsound. And again: How the settings should be, is written in this thread.

Originally posted by Malko You forgot to adjust the settings in vdmsound. And again: How the settings should be, is written in this thread.

Actually there's been one notable glitch throughout all the posted configs in this thread. They all point to using 5 as the IRQ for sound. Unless you've reconfigured VDMSound to use that IRQ (the default is 7), that means the game will use XP's built-in SoundBlaster emulation.

Presuming that your VDMSound is still configured to use IRQ 7, I recommend you use these settings:

[DIGI_CONFIG]
BoardNum=2
IoAddr=0x220
DMA=1
Int=7
Volume=100
ReverseStereo=No

[MIDI_CONFIG]
BoardNum=12
IoAddr=0x330
DigiDrums=Yes
Volume=68

Note that I lowered MIDI audio substantially as it was drowning out the digital audio.

Also, note that you have to modify the TEX4.EXE file to get smooth operation and that some people have been unable to get good results from the hack. You can try the modified TEX4.EXE file here, but that has no guarantees either.