I just realized I used the SB16 driver package instead of the Vibra one. I'm trying that now to see if it makes a difference.

Update:
That didn't make a difference 😀

Check this video by Phil.

You need to download SBBASIC.EXE and CTCMBBS.EXE from Phil's website and then follow the instructions in the second part of his video where he installs a PnP card. After the driver installation is complete, go to C:\SB16 and run DIAGNOSE.EXE to test the card.

I will try that and report back. Thank you.

Ed

I went through the video. Followed his steps, but came to the same results.

If I start up doom and crank the volume I can kind of make out some sound effects, but they are a garbled mess and very faint. Definitely in sync with the game though.

Diagnose still gives me no sound as well.

ArcadEd wrote on 2021-12-12, 06:56:

Diagnose still gives me no sound as well.

That's not a good sign.

If the card is properly detected by DIAGNOSE.EXE but you get no sound during the tests, then it might be damaged. Just in case, try hooking up a different pair of speakers/headphones to confirm that there is no issue on that end.

Regarding the faint/garbled/no sound: Do serial mice work on the computer? If not, the -12V supply on the ISA bus might be bad / missing. Try re-plugging the power supply to the mainboard, in case you have a bad contact.

Regarding the game port: Please double-check that you do not have more than one gameport enabled at the same time. Old multi-I/O card as well as mainboards with integrated I/O often have a game port on their own. If you have a second game port, you need to disable either by a jumper or in the BIOS setup.

Have you tried out Unisound yet? Just have a SET BLASTER statement with the ports you want, then run the Unisound executable.

I have it working great with a Vibra 16 in my DOS PC. It scans the ISA bus for cards it supports and is then able to initialize them and it then exits without leaving anything around in memory.

UNISOUND - Universal ISA PnP Sound Card Driver for DOS v0.81b

mkarcher wrote on 2021-12-12, 09:01:

Regarding the faint/garbled/no sound: Do serial mice work on the computer? If not, the -12V supply on the ISA bus might be bad / missing. Try re-plugging the power supply to the mainboard, in case you have a bad contact.

Regarding the game port: Please double-check that you do not have more than one gameport enabled at the same time. Old multi-I/O card as well as mainboards with integrated I/O often have a game port on their own. If you have a second game port, you need to disable either by a jumper or in the BIOS setup.

Hmm. Matter of fact I can't get dos to detect a serial mouse plugged into my IO card.
I am using an ATX power supply with one of those those little adapters to go to AT. I will do some voltage checks today.

Thanks

So I just pulled up a pin out of the ISA slot and checked some voltage. Sure enough I am getting 5v, -5v, -12v but on the 12v pin I am only getting around 4.2v.

I guess I need to do some digging to figure out if that is fixable or not.

I should mention I do get a good 12v at the molex connectors.

I just purchased a true AT power supply. I wonder if it's something to do with that ATX adapter I'm using.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EDGS0KI/ … e?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ArcadEd wrote on 2021-12-12, 16:03:

So I just pulled up a pin out of the ISA slot and checked some voltage. Sure enough I am getting 5v, -5v, -12v but on the 12v p […]
Show full quote

So I just pulled up a pin out of the ISA slot and checked some voltage. Sure enough I am getting 5v, -5v, -12v but on the 12v pin I am only getting around 4.2v.

I guess I need to do some digging to figure out if that is fixable or not.

I should mention I do get a good 12v at the molex connectors.

I just purchased a true AT power supply. I wonder if it's something to do with that ATX adapter I'm using.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EDGS0KI/ … e?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can check the voltages right at the connector that goes to the MB to rule out the adapter.

But I'd wager it's something up with the MB. Check for swollen capacitors or a transistor.

Yeah, found some corrosion that looks to be from an old barrel battery that was removed before I got the board. I had replaced it, but there was no noticeable damage on the top side. I have to removes the AT power plug on the motherboard and do some cleaning and testing.

closest one I found on mouser was this
Molex 416710034
https://www.mouser.be/ProductDetail/Molex/416 … FLsTVfNmSksg%3D

I wonder what other people come up with.

I found one from Phoenix Enterprises that I think will work. https://www.peconnectors.com/power-pc-connectors/hws13932/

AT-Style Power Connector
Power Latch Header 12 pin
.156" (3.96mm) spacing
Break-away polarizing keys
Straight PCB mount
Mounting Pegs

ArcadEd wrote on 2021-12-12, 18:30:

Yeah, found some corrosion that looks to be from an old barrel battery that was removed before I got the board. I had replaced it, but there was no noticeable damage on the top side. I have to removes the AT power plug on the motherboard and do some cleaning and testing.

Broken voltage traces for the "uncommon" voltages (i.e. everything except +5V) between the AT power connector and the ISA slots are a very common result of battery leakage. You can just solder a bodge wire from the +12V pin of the AT power connector (the pin itself won't be bad, it is solid metal) right to the first ISA slot to bridge the broken trace in the leakage area. No need to remove or replace the AT power connector just because of a broken +12V trace.

The 4.2V you are measuring on +12V are very likely cross-pollution from the +5V rail and show that there is no +12V input from the power supply getting to the slots.

mkarcher wrote on 2021-12-12, 23:19:

ArcadEd wrote on 2021-12-12, 18:30:

Yeah, found some corrosion that looks to be from an old barrel battery that was removed before I got the board. I had replaced it, but there was no noticeable damage on the top side. I have to removes the AT power plug on the motherboard and do some cleaning and testing.

Broken voltage traces for the "uncommon" voltages (i.e. everything except +5V) between the AT power connector and the ISA slots are a very common result of battery leakage. You can just solder a bodge wire from the +12V pin of the AT power connector (the pin itself won't be bad, it is solid metal) right to the first ISA slot to bridge the broken trace in the leakage area. No need to remove or replace the AT power connector just because of a broken +12V trace.

The 4.2V you are measuring on +12V are very likely cross-pollution from the +5V rail and show that there is no +12V input from the power supply getting to the slots.

Thanks. I already pulled the connector because I wasn't sure if there was any damage under it. It looks like there might be a little button CAP (mustard colored, circled in picture). I feel like the 12v passes through one of those, but I'm not entirely sure. If it does, would it be ok to bypass it? I assume not, but I'm not entirely sure here. 😀

ArcadEd wrote on 2021-12-12, 23:36:

Thanks. I already pulled the connector because I wasn't sure if there was any damage under it. It looks like there might be a little button CAP (mustard colored, circled in picture). I feel like the 12v passes through one of those, but I'm not entirely sure. If it does, would it be ok to bypass it? I assume not, but I'm not entirely sure here. 😀

I'm glad you asked. Your basic ideas are kind-of correct, but your conclusion is plain wrong. The "little mustard colord button CAPs" are in fact capacitors. To be more precise, they are a special kind of electrolytic caps called "tantalum caps", which can be seen as predecessor of modern low-ESR electrolytic caps. Your picture has three caps there, and it is very likely that the three caps are for the three "ISA-only" voltages +12V, -12V and -5V. There are enough caps on +5V distributed around the whole board, but there is only a single cap on each of those three voltages, and those are the caps you show. As the voltage comes from the power supply connector and only connects to the ISA slots (on some mainboards, +12V is used for some fringe purpose), this position between the AT power connector and the ISA slots is the ideal position to place these capacitors. So you are exactly right that one of them is related to +12V.

But you are wrong in assuming that +12V passes through the capacitor. It's exactly the opposite. Capacitors don't pass DC voltages. Capacitors help to stabilize DC voltages. One end of the capacitor is connected to the DC voltage you want to "stabilize", and the other end of the capacitor is connected to a "stable reference point". In case of most electronics, the stable reference point is called "ground", which is the level of the black wires in the Molex connectors and the level of the case. You do not want to "bypass" the capacitor (i.e. connect both legs using some wire). This would create a short circuit between +12V and ground, which is a really bad idea. In fact, tantalum caps from the early 80s are known to fail creating a short circuit, especially if they were unused for a long time. Many people trying to re-start their XT computers found one or more of these capacitor shorting out a supply voltage, getting overly hot, catching fire (just the cap, no big flames), and emitting some fume and bad smell. Usually no permanent damage is created by tantalum caps breaking down.

On an AT board, the +12V pin of the AT power connector is supposed to directly connect to the ISA slot, usually through a wide trace (like 0.1" / 2.5mm). It does not "go through" any components, although it is usually touches some components, especially the tantalum cap you identified. If you don't get +12V at the ISA slots, either your ATX/AT converter is broken and not forwarding the +12V to the board, or the trace on the board has been eaten away by battery leakage. You can easily use a continuity tester to test (with the computer powered off!) from the +12V on the molex connector to the +12V pin on the back of the board at the AT power connector. If you get a beep, your ATX/AT adapter is fine. You can continue to use the continuity tester to test the connection on the the board, from the power supply connector to the ISA slots. If there is no connection, the trace is interrupt. As a trace is just an electical connection, a wire to bridge over the "hole" in the trace is enough to fix the issue.

mkarcher wrote on 2021-12-13, 00:39:

I'm glad you asked. Your basic ideas are kind-of correct, but your conclusion is plain wrong. The "little mustard colord button […]
Show full quote

ArcadEd wrote on 2021-12-12, 23:36:

Thanks. I already pulled the connector because I wasn't sure if there was any damage under it. It looks like there might be a little button CAP (mustard colored, circled in picture). I feel like the 12v passes through one of those, but I'm not entirely sure. If it does, would it be ok to bypass it? I assume not, but I'm not entirely sure here. 😀

I'm glad you asked. Your basic ideas are kind-of correct, but your conclusion is plain wrong. The "little mustard colord button CAPs" are in fact capacitors. To be more precise, they are a special kind of electrolytic caps called "tantalum caps", which can be seen as predecessor of modern low-ESR electrolytic caps. Your picture has three caps there, and it is very likely that the three caps are for the three "ISA-only" voltages +12V, -12V and -5V. There are enough caps on +5V distributed around the whole board, but there is only a single cap on each of those three voltages, and those are the caps you show. As the voltage comes from the power supply connector and only connects to the ISA slots (on some mainboards, +12V is used for some fringe purpose), this position between the AT power connector and the ISA slots is the ideal position to place these capacitors. So you are exactly right that one of them is related to +12V.

But you are wrong in assuming that +12V passes through the capacitor. It's exactly the opposite. Capacitors don't pass DC voltages. Capacitors help to stabilize DC voltages. One end of the capacitor is connected to the DC voltage you want to "stabilize", and the other end of the capacitor is connected to a "stable reference point". In case of most electronics, the stable reference point is called "ground", which is the level of the black wires in the Molex connectors and the level of the case. You do not want to "bypass" the capacitor (i.e. connect both legs using some wire). This would create a short circuit between +12V and ground, which is a really bad idea. In fact, tantalum caps from the early 80s are known to fail creating a short circuit, especially if they were unused for a long time. Many people trying to re-start their XT computers found one or more of these capacitor shorting out a supply voltage, getting overly hot, catching fire (just the cap, no big flames), and emitting some fume and bad smell. Usually no permanent damage is created by tantalum caps breaking down.

On an AT board, the +12V pin of the AT power connector is supposed to directly connect to the ISA slot, usually through a wide trace (like 0.1" / 2.5mm). It does not "go through" any components, although it is usually touches some components, especially the tantalum cap you identified. If you don't get +12V at the ISA slots, either your ATX/AT converter is broken and not forwarding the +12V to the board, or the trace on the board has been eaten away by battery leakage. You can easily use a continuity tester to test (with the computer powered off!) from the +12V on the molex connector to the +12V pin on the back of the board at the AT power connector. If you get a beep, your ATX/AT adapter is fine. You can continue to use the continuity tester to test the connection on the the board, from the power supply connector to the ISA slots. If there is no connection, the trace is interrupt. As a trace is just an electical connection, a wire to bridge over the "hole" in the trace is enough to fix the issue.

Thank you for the amazing bit of information 😀.

I had actually done what you suggested using a continuity tester. Starting from the ISA slot and working my way back, which ends at the tantalum cap. From there I could get no continuity from the cap to the connector. I wasn't sure if the Cap was stopping the continuity or not. I did also test voltage at the on board power connector and the +12v was correct there so I ruled out the adapter. I really appreciate your input and I'll follow the steps closer this time around and do more testing. Once I replace the connector 😀. A few of the pins broke as I tried to get it out, so just waiting on a replacement. All the pads look good though.

Anyway, I can do some testing while it's out for continuity and make sure everything is lining up.
SO don't "skip" the Cap. If the trace is broken between the power connector and cap, I assume I bridge to the non Ground pin of the cap and not directly to the 12v on the first ISA slot? Or do I still just go directly from the power connector to the ISA?

Thanks so much.

ArcadEd wrote on 2021-12-13, 00:53:

If the trace is broken between the power connector and cap, I assume I bridge to the non Ground pin of the cap and not directly to the 12v on the first ISA slot? Or do I still just go directly from the power connector to the ISA?

Do whatever is easier to you. I guess the distance from the power connector to the cap is shorter, and the cap pin might be easier to reach with a soldering iron, so I agree that the cap is likely a good idea. Electrically, it won't make a significant difference.

Quick update, I found the broken trace and got it all fixed up. Now getting continuity to the 12v pin on all the isa slots from the power pins. Soon as my new connector comes in and I can solder it in, test and give it try.
Thanks again for the help!