notarget137 wrote:

The problem is I can't make PCM playback work in DOS and any DOS games run under Win98.

Hi, may I ask what kind of games you did try ? 😀
I suppose protected-mode games are causing issues with PCM playback mainly (those with dos4gw).
FM/OPL requires just a port write that also works with PCI cards often, since it's not so thightly related to ISA.

Anyway, also have a look at NSSI. It shows a sound card's capabilities.
http://www.navsoft.cz/products.htm

I've tried Duke 3d, Duke Nukem 2, Doom, Blood, Wolf 3d. I would guess Wolf 3d isn't really in protected-mode? But still. It detects OPL but does not detect Sound Blaster. Gotta check out NSSI though.

NVM. Wolf3d works flawlessly.

Ok, I've run NSSI and it does report it as AdLib/SB 2.0/ SB Pro compatible.
Port 220h, IRQ 5, DMA 1, HDMA n/a, MIDI Port n/a.
Features: Stereo, ESS 1938/41/46 Solo-1, FM Synthesis, 16-bit DAC/ADC, 4-48kHz, PCI, DirectSound, DSound 3d.

Update: I've started Descent 2 for a test and it actually detects ESS 488/688 Audiodrive as my sound card but still no sound is getting out even if I configure it as a Sound Blaster Card with corresponding IRQ and DMA values ignoring 16-bit DMA.

notarget137 wrote:

I've looked through and tried to use a PCISET tool with a batch script provided somewhere on this forum but, again, no luck.

Have you enabled the WBDMA mode in the batchfile instead of the standard TDMA in pure DOS? Without it it'll be configured just as the standard ESSOLO.COM driver. Refer to this screenshot for more info.

Since you have an i815/ICH mobo, the (digital SFX) sound compatibility is going to be significantly limited out of the box. I use a similar setup with the same chipset, and the only way I found is to force the WBDMA mode in pure DOS with the batchfile/PCISET commands, and to use the standard in-built WDM driver in Windows Me in order to make most DOS games I know of playable with sound effects. Forcing IRQ 5 in BIOS for the card is also a good idea.

TDMA is the ESS' method of providing ISA DMA capability and emulation. It works wonderfully on pre-ICH Intel- and on most pre-VT8251 VIA-made southbridges, but on other platforms the games in this list will not output digital sound effects. Hence the need for the WBDMA mode.

The VxD drivers also use TDMA and essentially the same driver for DOS games running under Windows. That's why a more compatible, but less stable WDM driver is required (however, it does not support FM output - only MIDI).

So basically, using ESS Solo-1 on those unsupported chipsets is one big workaround 😀 While I enjoy the result in my particular case, if you want maximum DOS audio compatibility from PCI - I'd recommend looking for a PC/PCI-capable motherboard (QDI made some S370 models) or even a VIA one, or just using several different PCI cards.

Oh, that makes a lot of sense, to be honest!
I was thinking of going with the easiest using native Sigmatel AC' 97 to emulate SB PCM playback (which it does completely fine) under win98 and just physically mix down both of the inputs. I think even "line in" on one of the cards can handle it.

Yes, definately looking into forcing the card to work under WBDMA mode. Also, it was IRQ5 from the start.
I was kinda suspecting that this is a hardware conflict/issue rather than anything else.
Anyways, thank you for the reply.

Is there a good list of PC/PCI-capable motherboards so I could know what to look for?

notarget137, check this thread.