Hi Olsen,

The Live Dos driver works great in MS-DOS 6.22. Just don't try to install Windows 3.1 on it, as it makes Windows burp for some reason. I don't know why Windows Me, however. The only advantage to that OS was System Restore, but make sure you get the Windows Update patch for that if you go that route. Windows 98 comes with fully functional DOS, whereas it is there, but castrated in Windows Me.

I found that on my SBLive, the Audigy2 ZS (anything from 402 on up) drivers caused problems with EAX and the Advanced (Parametric) EQ settings. I had to go into the EAX Control and manually tap the Parametric line, and its volume slider, each time I wanted to change the setting (from Rock to Disco, etc.). The 252's included in the Creative Live Uni-driver update are best for the Live in Windows XP. They don't include a 98 version in that package though. I believe the Audigy 1 253's (in the Creative Audigy 1 driver web update) do. The Creative website now has further updates for your Audigy 1, but I wouldn't know whether the same EAX buggyness exists on the Audigy, as it does on the Live.

Actually, I've now got my Santa Cruz on my box and find that the Vdmsound emulation on Windows XP is better than either the last vxd T-Beach offered, or their newer wdm 4193's with the wdm dos emulator (which, by the way, doesn't delay initializing for each charactor's lines in the Star Trek games like the Live does. The Santa Cruz handles it better, but still not as good as either real dos, the old SBLive vxd's, or vdmsound.)

Since vdmsound doesn't care what sound card you use, and since you're messing around with different OS's anyway, why not step into the present and install Windows XP? Very little doesn't work with it. It has a useful compatibility mode for 9x era games that do run funny. Almost all dos games run fine with it and vdmsound. For the rare ones that don't, there are users creating stuff like Dosbox, among others, that offer help with them. (I say that, as I wonder whether to Partition Magic out my small 98 partition.)