digger wrote on 2020-05-12, 17:02:

Sound Blaster FM emulation […]
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Sound Blaster FM emulation

The TSR can now also intercept the Sound Blaster FM ports in addition to the standard Adlib ports. It won't however fake enough of a Sound Blaster to pass installation checks (that might happen in a future releast), so for now this is mostly useful if you already have a Sound Blaster.

For OPL2LPT this helps with games that use Creative's SBFMDRV and thus don't support Adlib cards.

For OPL3LPT this will often be necessary to get games to use their OPL3 sound track.

[emphasis added]

Yup, very good move indeed ! Real OPL3 for all good people 😀
I have a question about LPTOPLTSR, does it works in real mode for very old games ? I heard about some patches ?

Best regards
Philippe

Prez wrote on 2020-05-12, 17:35:

Yup, very good move indeed ! Real OPL3 for all good people :) I have a question about LPTOPLTSR, does it works in real mode for […]
Show full quote

digger wrote on 2020-05-12, 17:02:

Sound Blaster FM emulation […]
Show full quote

Sound Blaster FM emulation

The TSR can now also intercept the Sound Blaster FM ports in addition to the standard Adlib ports. It won't however fake enough of a Sound Blaster to pass installation checks (that might happen in a future releast), so for now this is mostly useful if you already have a Sound Blaster.

For OPL2LPT this helps with games that use Creative's SBFMDRV and thus don't support Adlib cards.

For OPL3LPT this will often be necessary to get games to use their OPL3 sound track.

[emphasis added]

Yup, very good move indeed ! Real OPL3 for all good people 😀
I have a question about LPTOPLTSR, does it works in real mode for very old games ? I heard about some patches ?

Best regards
Philippe

I assume with LPTOPLTSR you mean the ADLiPT TSR, right? It's literally a TSR for the OPL2LPT and OPL3LPT devices, so... 😉

Anyway, to answer your question: unfortunately, it indeed only works with real mode games. Like with pretty much every other purely software-based Sound Blaster emulation software, protected mode games won't work with it.

Alternatively to emulation, games with OPL2 or OPL3 FM support can be patched to support the OPL2LPT and OPL3LPT devices directly, through use of the ADPATCH tool. Since that doesn't involve any simulation, that works with protected mode games too. Only a limited (albeit growing) list of games are supported, though. Also, the patching approach might cause digital audio to stop working in some games.

See the list of supported games here: https://github.com/pdewacht/adlipt/wiki/ADPATCH-Tested-Games

Doesn't VIAFMTSR.COM have the same real mode limitation? Or does it rely on some kind of hardware-assisted emulation, similar to how the Gravis Ultrasound and the SBOS TSR worked back on the day, to support both real mode and protected mode games?

digger wrote on 2020-05-12, 18:06:

I assume with LPTOPLTSR you mean the ADLiPT TSR, right? It's literally a TSR for the OPL2LPT and OPL3LPT devices, so... 😉 […]
Show full quote

Prez wrote on 2020-05-12, 17:35:

Yup, very good move indeed ! Real OPL3 for all good people :) I have a question about LPTOPLTSR, does it works in real mode for […]
Show full quote

digger wrote on 2020-05-12, 17:02:

[emphasis added]

Yup, very good move indeed ! Real OPL3 for all good people 😀
I have a question about LPTOPLTSR, does it works in real mode for very old games ? I heard about some patches ?

Best regards
Philippe

I assume with LPTOPLTSR you mean the ADLiPT TSR, right? It's literally a TSR for the OPL2LPT and OPL3LPT devices, so... 😉

Anyway, to answer your question: unfortunately, it indeed only works with real mode games. Like with pretty much every other purely software-based Sound Blaster emulation software, protected mode games won't work with it.

Alternatively to emulation, games with OPL2 or OPL3 FM support can be patched to support the OPL2LPT and OPL3LPT devices directly, through use of the ADPATCH tool. Since that doesn't involve any simulation, that works with protected mode games too. Only a limited (albeit growing) list of games are supported, though. Also, the patching approach might cause digital audio to stop working in some games.

See the list of supported games here: https://github.com/pdewacht/adlipt/wiki/ADPATCH-Tested-Games

Doesn't VIAFMTSR.COM have the same real mode limitation? Or does it rely on some kind of hardware-assisted emulation, similar to how the Gravis Ultrasound and the SBOS TSR worked back on the day, to support both real mode and protected mode games?

VIAFMTSR does work all the time, it is hardware assisted luckily !

Thanks for your answer about OPL3LPT (in the right order ! 😁)

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

Prez wrote on 2020-05-12, 07:30:

Hi ! The official specs says : 'ADI1981HD High Definition CODEC; Integrated 16-bit Sound Blaster Pro compatible audio; 24-bit DA […]
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ragefury32 wrote on 2020-05-12, 00:32:

Prez wrote on 2020-05-11, 18:48:

Ok, great ! 😀

Oh yeah. I am pretty sure that the WTxxxxXL/XE (9455XL, 9650XE) series all use the same Via Epia motherboard underneath. Also, the t6720 is not a DOS friendly thin client - it's based on the ADI Soundmax which is an AC97 chip with no fallback silicon on pure DOS.

Hi !
The official specs says :
'ADI1981HD High Definition CODEC; Integrated 16-bit Sound Blaster Pro compatible audio; 24-bit DAC; Integrated stereo speakers; External volume up, volume down, and mute buttons; Stereo headphone/line out; Stereo microphone in'
But you're right, we don't know yet, i'm moving the T6720 so the "we don't know" section 😉

Best regards
Philippe

No, the ADI 1981 series absolutely does not have support for Soundblaster Pro - I had IBM ThinkPads (T42p, X41 Tablet) with the same chips, and even though IBM claims soundblaster support for their earlier literature, it simply does not contain any silicon for backwards compatibility. You can see the datasheet here yourself -> http://www.autex.spb.su/ad/AD1981HD.pdf

Also, the NS MediaGX 266 does have DOS sound support, but those are essentially very old processors (figure around the performance of a Pentium 90-100, and that's me being generous). I would not recommend those.

I guess I failed to post about this, but the Neoware Capio has basically perfect Sound Blaster 16 emulation, I used "SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6" and I installed the "Sound Blaster 16 Installation Disks - Alternative" drivers, I think that all the MediaGX based computer have this Sound Blaster emulation, that being said Wolfenstein 3D will not work on this computer, you just get a black screen, and I cant seem to fix that, but everything else I have tried seems to work, two problems with the Neoware Capio are, you can not boot from USB, and the video chip does does not do 3D and only has 4MB of memory, the Neoware Capio will run Windows 98SE but you can tell it's not the fastest, however Windows 3.11 runs pretty good on it, the Neoware Capio feels like a fast 486 or low end Pentium with a low end video card.

I forgot to add that the Neoware Capio units I have seen have ether "disk on a chip" in a chip socket or "disk on a module" connected to a 44 pin IDE connector on the system board , but they all have 44 pin IDE connectors installed and work with SD to IDE adapters.

Great !
Thanks you for your updates. I will update the file.
About the Capio, it shoudl be okay for Doom for example ? can you try on it ?
If its not able to run Doom at full speed, its a real problem i think 😀
You have sounds and music ?

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

Prez wrote on 2020-05-14, 08:22:

Great ! Thanks you for your updates. I will update the file. About the Capio, it shoudl be okay for Doom for example ? can you t […]
Show full quote

Great !
Thanks you for your updates. I will update the file.
About the Capio, it shoudl be okay for Doom for example ? can you try on it ?
If its not able to run Doom at full speed, its a real problem i think 😀
You have sounds and music ?

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

On the Neoware Capio:
Doom 1 works with sound and music.
Rise of the Triad works with sound and music.
Quake 1 works with sound but is only playable at 320x200, at 640x480 the frame rate is too slow.

BTW SciTech UniVBE does not work on the Neoware Capio.

will1384 wrote on 2020-05-14, 17:21:

On the Neoware Capio: Doom 1 works with sound and music. Rise of the Triad works with sound and music. Quake 1 works with sound […]
Show full quote

Prez wrote on 2020-05-14, 08:22:

Great ! Thanks you for your updates. I will update the file. About the Capio, it shoudl be okay for Doom for example ? can you t […]
Show full quote

Great !
Thanks you for your updates. I will update the file.
About the Capio, it shoudl be okay for Doom for example ? can you try on it ?
If its not able to run Doom at full speed, its a real problem i think 😀
You have sounds and music ?

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

On the Neoware Capio:
Doom 1 works with sound and music.
Rise of the Triad works with sound and music.
Quake 1 works with sound but is only playable at 320x200, at 640x480 the frame rate is too slow.

BTW SciTech UniVBE does not work on the Neoware Capio.

Great, thank you !

digger wrote on 2020-05-12, 18:06:

I assume with LPTOPLTSR you mean the ADLiPT TSR, right? It's literally a TSR for the OPL2LPT and OPL3LPT devices, so... 😉 […]
Show full quote

Prez wrote on 2020-05-12, 17:35:

Yup, very good move indeed ! Real OPL3 for all good people :) I have a question about LPTOPLTSR, does it works in real mode for […]
Show full quote

digger wrote on 2020-05-12, 17:02:

[emphasis added]

Yup, very good move indeed ! Real OPL3 for all good people 😀
I have a question about LPTOPLTSR, does it works in real mode for very old games ? I heard about some patches ?

Best regards
Philippe

I assume with LPTOPLTSR you mean the ADLiPT TSR, right? It's literally a TSR for the OPL2LPT and OPL3LPT devices, so... 😉

Anyway, to answer your question: unfortunately, it indeed only works with real mode games. Like with pretty much every other purely software-based Sound Blaster emulation software, protected mode games won't work with it.

Alternatively to emulation, games with OPL2 or OPL3 FM support can be patched to support the OPL2LPT and OPL3LPT devices directly, through use of the ADPATCH tool. Since that doesn't involve any simulation, that works with protected mode games too. Only a limited (albeit growing) list of games are supported, though. Also, the patching approach might cause digital audio to stop working in some games.

See the list of supported games here: https://github.com/pdewacht/adlipt/wiki/ADPATCH-Tested-Games

Doesn't VIAFMTSR.COM have the same real mode limitation? Or does it rely on some kind of hardware-assisted emulation, similar to how the Gravis Ultrasound and the SBOS TSR worked back on the day, to support both real mode and protected mode games?

It works on both real and protected mode (tested with Wolfenstein 3D, Test drive 3 and Simcity 2000, which is definitely a protected mode/DOS4GW game). However, it’s not going to work on all games. Monkey Island 1 and Space Quest 3 both either locks up the machine or bombs out with an error. Also, the TSR seems to mess with Cutemouse driver activation, so sometimes the mouse will simply not work.

The biggest issue is the size of the freaking TSR (32kb?!) so the most conventional memory I can squeeze out...seem to be roughly 587k. Good luck if you are trying to load Falcon 3.

Prez wrote on 2020-05-11, 18:48:

ragefury32 wrote on 2020-05-11, 15:56:

Expecting a Wyse WT9450XE to show up at my doorstep within the next few days - will try and provide feedback once it arrives.

Ok, great ! 😀

It works...the Via Epia board inside the thin client has the option to activate Soundblaster directly on BIOS, but viasbcfg does have the option to set device volume (which is rather low by default) - the VIA sound driver (viasound) does not do that.

Note that these thin clients are not really a DOS retrogaming "holy grail" as some might have considered them to be. The audio quality and compatibility is dependent on the game - some works just fine (Wolf3D engine stuff, MSFS/SS, Sim City 2000, Kyrandia series, F-15 III etc) but others will simply not work (Falcon 3, Legend of Monkey Island). If you activate the FM music TSR it’s also a ~35k hit, which might preclude you from playing certain games. Also keep in mind that the FM synthesis is “software assisted”, which means that if you use setmul to slow the machine down for classic gaming your audio will suffer for it.

If you are thinking of buying them to get into cheap gaming...you might be better off looking for an old IBM Thinkpad, Toshiba Satellite or Compaq Armada. Those old laptops have ESFM, YamahaYMFs and etc, and their DOS environment (size of the drivers/TSRs) might be easier to deal with.

Unless you are getting a great deal, those MSDOS thin clients (at least the ones with a RAM slot or 2 or a PCI slot) are not too cheap nowadays either. As of May 2020 US eBay prices for a Wyse Winterm 9450XE with a working power supply is around 50 USD with shipping factored in. Even the lowly HP t5300 runs for at least 30 USD (15 for the device and 15 for shipping). This might sound cheap, but a gently used t730 (a much more capable modern machine good for XP/W7 gaming) is around 90, so unless you are tight for space and want an old Via Epia to play with (most of the compatible devices are Epia boards underneath), it's only so-so.

ragefury32 wrote on 2020-05-17, 06:52:

It works...the Via Epia board inside the thin client has the option to activate Soundblaster directly on BIOS, but viasbcfg does […]
Show full quote

Prez wrote on 2020-05-11, 18:48:

ragefury32 wrote on 2020-05-11, 15:56:

Expecting a Wyse WT9450XE to show up at my doorstep within the next few days - will try and provide feedback once it arrives.

Ok, great ! 😀

It works...the Via Epia board inside the thin client has the option to activate Soundblaster directly on BIOS, but viasbcfg does have the option to set device volume (which is rather low by default) - the VIA sound driver (viasound) does not do that.

Note that these thin clients are not really a DOS retrogaming "holy grail" as some might have considered them to be. The audio quality and compatibility is dependent on the game - some works just fine (Wolf3D engine stuff, MSFS/SS, Sim City 2000, etc) but others will simply not work (The Legend of Kyrandia series, Space Quest 3, Legend of Monkey Island). I f you activate the FM music TSR it’s also a 35k hit to your conventional memory, which might preclude you from playing certain games. If you are thinking of buying them to get into cheap gaming...you might be better off looking for an old IBM Thinkpad, Toshiba Satellite or Compaq Armada. Those old laptops have ESS1688s, Yamaha YMFs and etc, and their DOS environment (size of the Soundblaster drivers/TSRs) might be smaller and easier to deal with.

Unless you are getting a great deal, most of those MSDOS thin clients (at least the ones with a RAM slot or 2 or a PCI slot) are not too cheap nowadays. As of May 2020 US eBay prices for a Wyse Winterm 9450 with a working power supply is around 50 USD with shipping factored in. Even the lowly HP t5300 runs for at least 30 USD (15 for the device and 15 for shipping). This might sound cheap, but a gently used t730 (a much more capable modern machine good for XP/W7 gaming) is around 90, so unless you are tight for spaces and want an old Via Epia to play with (most of the compatible devices are Epia boards underneath), it's only so-so.

Hi ! You're right to put some things in the right place. Its not a miraculous solution to play MS-DOS games, its just a cheap one, it might become the cheaper if you got lucky and are watching carefully to auctions or sells locally. I myself got an HP T5710 in a very good shape and complete with its power supply for just $23. I'm too watching for laptops and just found that my assocation has some Toshiba SP4200 wich contains a Yamaha DS-XG soundcard, which is great to play MS-DOS games of course !
Actually, as i can see on Ebay, if you're searching for an old PC of this era, it may cost you a lot more than acquiring a thin client. Its just a matter of choice. And the most important thing is to have the choice 😉

Best regards,
Philippe dubois

When you are talking about play on MS-DOS... are you talking about MS-DOS 6.22 or DOS mode of Win98?, because I have installed a MS-DOS 6.22 and FreeDOS 1.2 on a Thin Client T5000 (T5500 concretly) and i have too much problems with some games, and also with Roland UM-MK2 cable to use a MIDI module.

Any chances for this one being a dos/win9x compatible?
https://www.cnet.com/products/wyse-winterm-11 … or-none-series/
Teh Cpu is a AMD Geode.

MKT_Gundam wrote on 2020-06-09, 18:41:

Any chances for this one being a dos/win9x compatible?
https://www.cnet.com/products/wyse-winterm-11 … or-none-series/
Teh Cpu is a AMD Geode.

Yes it should be ! If you can try it, that would be great 😉
Thanks.

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

Apolonius wrote on 2020-06-09, 18:17:

When you are talking about play on MS-DOS... are you talking about MS-DOS 6.22 or DOS mode of Win98?, because I have installed a MS-DOS 6.22 and FreeDOS 1.2 on a Thin Client T5000 (T5500 concretly) and i have too much problems with some games, and also with Roland UM-MK2 cable to use a MIDI module.

Hi !
What problems do you have ? I can't say i have no problems at all, but very few.
Tell me more please.

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

Prez wrote on 2020-06-09, 19:47:

Hi ! What problems do you have ? I can't say i have no problems at all, but very few. Tell me more please. […]
Show full quote

Apolonius wrote on 2020-06-09, 18:17:

When you are talking about play on MS-DOS... are you talking about MS-DOS 6.22 or DOS mode of Win98?, because I have installed a MS-DOS 6.22 and FreeDOS 1.2 on a Thin Client T5000 (T5500 concretly) and i have too much problems with some games, and also with Roland UM-MK2 cable to use a MIDI module.

Hi !
What problems do you have ? I can't say i have no problems at all, but very few.
Tell me more please.

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

As I said, I have a T5500 with MS-DOS 6.22 and FreeDOS 1.2. I have some issues with some games when install VIASBCFG, Monkey Island crash before start, Legend of Kyrandia let me watch the intro but a few seconds after the game crash too, and many others. If I don't install de driver and use the pc speaker, the games works correctly.
Another big issue is the USBs, all works fine if I plug a keyboard, a mouse or a pendrive but, when I want to plug another device as the Roland USB to MIDI cable or a USB WiFi, simply don't work and I have to install drivers por them. I saw some drivers and all of them ends with the PC freezed. So for me, the use of a MIDI device is impossible. When I plug the cable without USB drivers there is no activity but when i install USBUHCIL for example, the light of activity turns on but the PC needs to be restarted.
Maybe I can use softMPU and a serial or parallel to MIDI cable but with a USB to MIDI, for me is impossible.

Have you tried to plug different of keyboard, mouse or a mass storage device?.

Regards.

Apolonius wrote on 2020-06-10, 12:15:

As I said, I have a T5500 with MS-DOS 6.22 and FreeDOS 1.2. I have some issues with some games when install VIASBCFG, Monkey Isl […]
Show full quote

Prez wrote on 2020-06-09, 19:47:

Hi ! What problems do you have ? I can't say i have no problems at all, but very few. Tell me more please. […]
Show full quote

Apolonius wrote on 2020-06-09, 18:17:

When you are talking about play on MS-DOS... are you talking about MS-DOS 6.22 or DOS mode of Win98?, because I have installed a MS-DOS 6.22 and FreeDOS 1.2 on a Thin Client T5000 (T5500 concretly) and i have too much problems with some games, and also with Roland UM-MK2 cable to use a MIDI module.

Hi !
What problems do you have ? I can't say i have no problems at all, but very few.
Tell me more please.

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

As I said, I have a T5500 with MS-DOS 6.22 and FreeDOS 1.2. I have some issues with some games when install VIASBCFG, Monkey Island crash before start, Legend of Kyrandia let me watch the intro but a few seconds after the game crash too, and many others. If I don't install de driver and use the pc speaker, the games works correctly.
Another big issue is the USBs, all works fine if I plug a keyboard, a mouse or a pendrive but, when I want to plug another device as the Roland USB to MIDI cable or a USB WiFi, simply don't work and I have to install drivers por them. I saw some drivers and all of them ends with the PC freezed. So for me, the use of a MIDI device is impossible. When I plug the cable without USB drivers there is no activity but when i install USBUHCIL for example, the light of activity turns on but the PC needs to be restarted.
Maybe I can use softMPU and a serial or parallel to MIDI cable but with a USB to MIDI, for me is impossible.

Have you tried to plug different of keyboard, mouse or a mass storage device?.

Regards.

Hi !
I didn't tried the first Monkey Island, but the 2 is working great.
Have you tried another archive for this game ? maybe yours is corrup when you activate sound using Soundblaster settings. It happens a lot of time.
As for USB devices such mouse and keyboards, you should consider not to use them under pure MS-DOS mode, they don't work very well and can cause crashes.

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

Prez wrote on 2020-06-10, 12:27:

Hi ! I didn't tried the first Monkey Island, but the 2 is working great. Have you tried another archive for this game ? maybe y […]
Show full quote

Hi !
I didn't tried the first Monkey Island, but the 2 is working great.
Have you tried another archive for this game ? maybe yours is corrup when you activate sound using Soundblaster settings. It happens a lot of time.
As for USB devices such mouse and keyboards, you should consider not to use them under pure MS-DOS mode, they don't work very well and can cause crashes.

Best regards
Philippe Dubois

I'll try for another versions of Monkey Island and the other games 😀
On the USB issue, the problem is that I don't have PS/2 ports on this model just USB so, there is no alternative.

Regards.

Apolonius wrote on 2020-06-10, 12:15:

As I said, I have a T5500 with MS-DOS 6.22 and FreeDOS 1.2. I have some issues with some games when install VIASBCFG, Monkey Isl […]
Show full quote

As I said, I have a T5500 with MS-DOS 6.22 and FreeDOS 1.2. I have some issues with some games when install VIASBCFG, Monkey Island crash before start, Legend of Kyrandia let me watch the intro but a few seconds after the game crash too, and many others. If I don't install de driver and use the pc speaker, the games works correctly.
Another big issue is the USBs, all works fine if I plug a keyboard, a mouse or a pendrive but, when I want to plug another device as the Roland USB to MIDI cable or a USB WiFi, simply don't work and I have to install drivers por them. I saw some drivers and all of them ends with the PC freezed. So for me, the use of a MIDI device is impossible. When I plug the cable without USB drivers there is no activity but when i install USBUHCIL for example, the light of activity turns on but the PC needs to be restarted.
Maybe I can use softMPU and a serial or parallel to MIDI cable but with a USB to MIDI, for me is impossible.

Have you tried to plug different of keyboard, mouse or a mass storage device?.

Regards.

Hi Apolonius, try disabling the network card and printer port in the BIOS before using viasbcfg.

Action Replay wrote on 2020-06-10, 16:04:

Apolonius wrote on 2020-06-10, 12:15:

As I said, I have a T5500 with MS-DOS 6.22 and FreeDOS 1.2. I have some issues with some games when install VIASBCFG, Monkey Isl […]
Show full quote

As I said, I have a T5500 with MS-DOS 6.22 and FreeDOS 1.2. I have some issues with some games when install VIASBCFG, Monkey Island crash before start, Legend of Kyrandia let me watch the intro but a few seconds after the game crash too, and many others. If I don't install de driver and use the pc speaker, the games works correctly.
Another big issue is the USBs, all works fine if I plug a keyboard, a mouse or a pendrive but, when I want to plug another device as the Roland USB to MIDI cable or a USB WiFi, simply don't work and I have to install drivers por them. I saw some drivers and all of them ends with the PC freezed. So for me, the use of a MIDI device is impossible. When I plug the cable without USB drivers there is no activity but when i install USBUHCIL for example, the light of activity turns on but the PC needs to be restarted.
Maybe I can use softMPU and a serial or parallel to MIDI cable but with a USB to MIDI, for me is impossible.

Have you tried to plug different of keyboard, mouse or a mass storage device?.

Regards.

Hi Apolonius, try disabling the network card and printer port in the BIOS before using viasbcfg.

Good idea ! very often the LPT printer port uses IRQ7 which is very annoying of course.

Best regards
Philippe Dubois