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First post, by Joseph_Joestar

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0.0 Disclaimer:

This guide is provided "as is" and free of charge. There is no warranty or support of any kind. By using this guide, you acknowledge and agree that you do so at your sole risk. The author is not liable for any damages and claims arising from the use of this guide.

0.1 Introduction:

This guide will help you install VxD drivers for Audigy cards under Windows 98SE or Windows ME, including proper support for DOS gaming. It has been successfully tested on retail Audigy 1 (SB0090), Audigy 2 (SB0240) and Audigy 2 ZS (SB0350) cards. However, it isn't suitable for LX/LE/SE and other cut down versions of Audigy cards, nor will it work on Audigy 4 cards. For reference, by using this guide, you get the following features from your Audigy card under Win9x:

  • EAX 1, 2 and 3 support for Win9x games
  • Sound Blaster 16 emulation for DOS games
  • FM Synthesis emulation for DOS games
  • General MIDI emulation for DOS games
  • Soundfont support for DOS games running under Windows 98SE/ME

Note that soundfonts only work when DOS games are running from within Windows 98/ME. If you go to pure DOS (by choosing Start > Shutdown > Restart in MS-DOS mode) then the card will use the (worse sounding) ECW sets instead. To my knowledge, there is no way to use .SF2 based soundfonts in pure DOS with an Audigy card.

Before starting the installation you need to determine whether your Audigy is made by Creative (retail version) or by an OEM company such as Dell or HP. For example, Dell Audigy 2 ZS cards have three, large white stickers on the back side and their serial number contains the string "SB0358". Creative cards don't have those white stickers and their serial number contains the string "SB0350". This guide is aimed at retail Audigy cards made by Creative. I'm not sure whether this method will work on OEM cards, since I don't own one of those, and they are known to be picky when it comes to driver packs.

1.Hardware and software requirements:

Before proceeding to the next section of this guide, make sure that the following hardware and software requirements are met. If they are not, the driver installation may fail.

1.1 Certain chipsets have compatibility issues with VxD drivers and Creative's SB16 emulation. If you have a motherboard based on an Nvidia nForce chipset or an Intel ICH10+ chipset, then your system might not be compatible with this guide. Additionally, certain motherboards based on VIA chipsets may have compatibility issues with Audigy 1 cards specifically (Audigy 2 and ZS cards should work fine on VIA chipsets)
1.2 Upon booting up your system, enter the BIOS and disable all COM and LPT ports in order to free up additional resources. If your motherboard has an integrated sound card, network card or any other integrated device that you are not using, disable it in the BIOS as well. Lastly, if you are not using USB, disable that too
1.3 During the driver installation process, the Audigy should be the only sound card in your system. Using a second sound card may cause the driver installation to fail
1.4 This guide has only been tested on Windows 98SE and Windows ME. A clean install of Windows must be performed before attempting the driver installation procedure. Do not use any "unofficial service packs". Only install the drivers for your motherboard and graphics card until you complete all the steps in this guide
1.5 An Audigy card requires two free IRQs, one for the card itself and a second one for the FireWire port. The values assigned to those IRQs vary from system to system, but they should not be the same as the IRQ assigned to the SB16 emulation device. Additionally, the SB16 emulation device requires three I/O ports, one IRQ and two DMA channels. The default values are: I/O ports 220, 330 and 388, IRQ 5, DMA 1 and DMA 5. If any of those resources are not free, the driver installation may fail. To determine if your system has enough free resources, under Windows 98SE click Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Information > Hardware Resources and check the IRQ, DMA and I/O sections

2. Preparation:

2.1 Download the modified Audigy 2 ZS driver CD image, and burn it to a disc
2.2 Place the disc in the CD-ROM drive on your Win98SE/ME machine, and cancel the autorun installer in case it starts
2.3 This guide assumes that your CD-ROM drive resides at D: (default location). If it's using a different letter, simply substitute that letter each time you come across D: in this guide

3. Windows Driver Installation

3.1 Run D:\CTShared\LaunchApp\SysInfo\Setup.exe which will install the Creative System Information utility and update the InstallShield Engine (important later)
3.2 Run D:\DirectX\dxsetup.exe which will install DirectX 9.0a and restart your computer (if you already have a newer version installed, skip this step)
3.3 Run D:\Audio\Drivers\CTZAPXX.exe and select "Driver Installation" and "VXD Drivers" then click Ok
3.4 Driver installation will take several minutes, don't interrupt the process until you are prompted to Restart then click Ok
3.5 After the restart, wait until the installer finishes, then go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Multimedia > Audio > Playback > Advanced Properties > Performance > Sample Rate Conversion Quality > move the slider to "Best"
3.6 Start > Run > sndvol32.exe > Ok. Note that all the volume sliders are currently at 50% which is fairly quiet. You might want to move the sliders to a higher value and also mute any unused inputs

4. Installing Creative Utilities

4.1 Run D:\Audio\AudioHQ\Setup.exe and install Creative's AudioHQ (if you get an InstallShield Engine error here, repeat step 3.1)
4.2 Run D:\Audio\EaxCon\Setup.exe and install Creative EAX Console
4.3 Run D:\Audio\SpkSet\Setup.exe and install Creative Speaker Settings
4.4 Run D:\Audio\Restore\Setup.exe and install Creative Restore Defaults
4.5 Run D:\Audio\SurMixer\Setup.exe and install Creative Surround Mixer
4.6 Run D:\Audio\SFBMgr\Setup.exe and install the SoundFont Bank Manager
4.7 Start > Programs > Creative > Creative Speaker Settings and select the speaker setup that you are using, then click "Channel" in the Speaker Test section (in the screenshot below I'm using 5.1 speakers)
4.8 Start > Programs > Creative > EAX Console > CMSS 3D. I suggest turning CMSS off if you are using speakers and leaving it on if you are using headphones

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5. DOS Driver Installation

5.1 Run D:\DOSDRV\SB16.REG and answer Yes > Ok when prompted (without this registry change, the SB16 Emulation driver will not install correctly on Audigy 2 ZS cards)
5.2 Run D:\DOSDRV\Setup.exe and restart when prompted
5.3 Wait until the Creative SB16 Emulation drivers are fully installed (this may take a few minutes) then restart again when prompted
5.4 During the boot process you might see a "Config file is incomplete" error. If this happens, restart your computer one more time and it should disappear
5.5 Copy the contents of D:\DOSDRV\AUDIGY12 to C:\AUDIGY12
5.6 On Audigy 2 (SB0240) models, you might get a non-functional Creative SB16 Emulation device (yellow exclamation mark) in Device Manager. If this occurs, follow steps 5.7, 5.8 and 5.9. Otherwise, skip them
5.7 Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add New Hardware > Next > Next > No, the device isn't in the list > Next > No, I want to select the hardware from a list > Next > Sound video and game controllers > Next > Creative Technology, Ltd. > Creative SB16 Emulation > Next > Finish
5.8 Restart your computer when prompted
5.9 Do not remove the Creative SB16 Emulation device with the yellow exclamation mark. Leave both devices as they are, otherwise, your DOS compatibility may cease to function

If the installation was successful, you should now have the following under Device Manager:

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Important: if you want to use an Audigy 2 or ZS card in pure DOS you will need to run C:\AUDIGY12\AUDIGY12.EXE each time you choose Restart in MS-DOS mode. This is only necessary in pure DOS, do not run that executable when playing games from within Win98SE/ME. Lastly, this step is not needed for Audigy 1 cards.

6. Using a higher quality soundfont

6.1 Go to the D:\DOSDRV\SF2 folder and copy all the .SF2 files from there to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
6.2 Go to the D:\DOSDRV\ECW folder and copy all the .ECW files from there to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
6.3 Start > Programs > Creative > SoundFont Bank Manager
6.4 Click on "Bank" then click on the default soundfont (2GMGSMT) to select it, then click Replace, select C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CT8MGM.SF2 wait a few seconds until it loads then click Ok
6.5 Open C:\WINDOWS\CTSYN.INI in Notepad and change this line: Waveset=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\default.ecw to this: Waveset=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\EAPCI8M.ECW
6.6 Save the changes you just made to CTSYN.INI then restart your computer
6.7 Run your favorite DOS game and in setup choose General MIDI for music

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For reference, here's how your games will sound with Creative's CT8MGM soundfont (Audigy and SBLive cards sound identical when the same soundfont is loaded). Essentially, with this step complete, you can now select any soundfont that you like for General MIDI playback in DOS games. For example, if you want to use a soundfont which more closely resembles a Roland Sound Canvas see this post. Alternatively, if you want to play games which use GS instruments, see this post.

7. Getting MT-32 compatibility in pure DOS (optional for Win98SE, not applicable for WinME)

7.1 Start > Shutdown > Restart in MS-DOS mode
7.2 C:\AUDIGY12\AUDIGY12.EXE (this unmutes the card in pure DOS)
7.2 C:\Progra~1\Creative\DOSDrv\sbemixer.exe
7.3 Make sure that the MT-32 option is checked, then click Save and press ESC to exit
7.4 Run your favorite DOS game that supports MT-32 (like Monkey Island for example)

Note that MT-32 emulation doesn't sound too great on this card, but I'm including it for completeness sake. That said, these drivers also allow your Audigy card to emulate FM Synthesis, should you want that. Of course, this sounds different from a genuine OPL3 chip, but it may still be somewhat usable, depending on the game that you're playing.

Last edited by Joseph_Joestar on 2024-03-07, 18:44. Edited 40 times in total.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 1 of 228, by Joseph_Joestar

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This post is reserved for listing the Audigy models that were confirmed to work with this guide:

  • SB0090 (retail Audigy 1) - confirmed working by me
  • SB0240 (retail Audigy 2) - confirmed working by me
  • SB0250 (retail Audigy 2 ZS) - confirmed working by me
Last edited by Joseph_Joestar on 2023-11-05, 05:11. Edited 1 time in total.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 2 of 228, by crvs

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For those who have several sound cards installed, it's also possible to setup SB16 emulation with non-default settings
I have patched VxD from Audigy2 ZS driver CD ISO in order to modify MPU-401 and Adlib ports

  • Input/Output Range: 0330-0331 => 0320-0321
  • Input/Output Range: 0388-038B => 0288-028B

Other parameters of the driver can be changed in Windows Device Manager; this should resolve all conflicts

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Reply 3 of 228, by Joseph_Joestar

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crvs wrote on 2020-06-14, 09:15:

I have patched VxD from Audigy2 ZS driver CD ISO in order to modify MPU-401 and Adlib ports

I don't think this is necessary.

Using the original drivers, right click on My Computer > Properties > Device Manager > Sound, Video and Game Controllers > Creative SB16 Emulation > Properties > Resources and uncheck "Use automatic settings". Then, choose "Basic Configuration 0002" > Change Setting.

This will allow you to manually change any settings except for the Adlib port (0388-038B). If you already have a different Adlib device installed (from a second sound card) it will show a conflict, but that won't affect the playback of the secondary sound card in any way.

You can also choose "Basic Configuration 0004" which will completely disable the Adlib port on the Creative SB16 Emulation device while leaving the MPU-401 available for General MIDI via soundfonts.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 4 of 228, by crvs

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Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2020-06-14, 09:53:

I don't think this is necessary.

Depends on what you wished to achieve. I wanted both cards fully functional, including possibility to use MPU / Adlib of Audigy 2.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2020-06-14, 09:53:

Using the original drivers, right click on My Computer > Properties > Device Manager > Sound, Video and Game Controllers > Creative SB16 Emulation > Properties > Resources and uncheck "Use automatic settings". Then, choose "Basic Configuration 0002" > Change Setting.

This will allow you to manually change any settings except for the Adlib port (0388-038B).

Any settings besides Adlib (0388-038B) and MPU-401 (0330-0331).

Reply 5 of 228, by Joseph_Joestar

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crvs wrote on 2020-06-14, 15:14:

Any settings besides Adlib (0388-038B) and MPU-401 (0330-0331).

I can change the MPU-401 settings without any issues.

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Did you follow the steps I posted above? Like I said, you need to use "Basic Configuration 0002" for this to work.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 7 of 228, by Joseph_Joestar

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SilverHawk wrote on 2020-08-07, 12:40:

Excellent write up, thank you for this.

You're welcome!

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 8 of 228, by undeon

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Thanks Joseph, your guide worked, somehow, to install my Audigy 2ZS on my Windows Millenium PC. The only however was the DOS Driver Installation. The step 4.3 wont worked, because the setup refused to go saying that I'm not using an Win9x OS.... But it didn't matter because after that, even with an error, the Creative SB16 Emulation showed on my Device List as expected...

Reply 9 of 228, by Joseph_Joestar

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undeon wrote on 2020-08-26, 12:21:

Thanks Joseph, your guide worked, somehow, to install my Audigy 2ZS on my Windows Millenium PC.

Unexpected, but nice to hear that this works on WinME as well!

The only however was the DOS Driver Installation. The step 4.3 wont worked, because the setup refused to go saying that I'm not using an Win9x OS.... But it didn't matter because after that, even with an error, the Creative SB16 Emulation showed on my Device List as expected...

Interesting. I think the error occurred because WinME does not process AUTOEXEC.BAT and the SB16 emulation needs to add the DOS portion of the driver (SBEINIT.COM) to it.

DOS games might still work under the Windows prompt, even without SBEINIT.COM, but some issues may arise especially in older titles. Let us know how it turns out.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 10 of 228, by Renaissance 2K

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Thanks for posting such a detailed guide. I'm trying to see if it's feasible to use the Audigy 2 in Pure DOS using AUDIGY12.EXE, and I've been splicing tips and hints from different posts, but it's really helpful to have all the info in one place.

Currently, AUDIGY12.EXE hangs after telling me that it found the device. Cursor continues to blink, but it doesn't respond to any keyboard inputs, and I can't do anything other than restart. Going to try again tomorrow with OP's guide and see if I have better luck.

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Reply 11 of 228, by Joseph_Joestar

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Renaissance 2K wrote on 2020-09-06, 05:48:

Currently, AUDIGY12.EXE hangs after telling me that it found the device. Cursor continues to blink, but it doesn't respond to any keyboard inputs, and I can't do anything other than restart.

I remember trying to get the Audigy2 ZS to work in DOS 6.22 one time and failing with similar issues. Not sure why this happens, as the card works perfectly fine in pure DOS 7.1 using the "Restart in MS-DOS mode" shutdown option from Win98. I didn't experiment with DOS 6.22 any further though.

That said, the main goal of this guide was to get that awesome soundfont-based General MIDI music in DOS games, which is only possible when you run them under the Win98 DOS prompt. In pure DOS, you cannot load soundfonts on this card, so you're stuck with ECW sets for General MIDI music or Creative's FM emulation for FM synth music. Neither of those two sound particularly good.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 12 of 228, by crvs

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Renaissance 2K wrote on 2020-09-06, 05:48:

Thanks for posting such a detailed guide. I'm trying to see if it's feasible to use the Audigy 2 in Pure DOS using AUDIGY12.EXE

YES. Audigy 2 ZS works in DOS 6.22 like a charm. I fixed similar issues pretty quickly so don't remember exact steps, try the following:

  1. Verify that PCIIRQ value in "CTSYN.INI" (basing on screenshot, in your case it's 10) equals to IRQ assigned to the card by BIOS
  2. Check same IRQ isn't shared with other devices - in particular mass storage or LAN - in true DOS it may cause instant freeze
  3. Like other SB PCI cards, Audigy needs EMM386 or alternative (I also succeeded with JEMM386) - make sure it's properly configured, parameters like for SB Live! will fit

+ If you have more than one sound card in your system, there could be also other conflicts.

Reply 13 of 228, by Renaissance 2K

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Thank to both of you for your replies. I wiped my Windows 98 partition and reinstalled everything from scratch, following Joseph's instructions in the OP to the letter. At least in Device Manager, I got the end result I wanted - including the dual SB16 emulation devices, one of which has a conflict - but I'm starting to wonder if there's something more fundamental wrong with my hardware or its configuration.

AUDIGY12.EXE runs in Windows 98 MS-DOS mode without hanging, which is great. Unfortunately, the system hangs instead - blank empty screen, except for a blinking cursor - when I try to start a game. Someone in a Retro PC Discord said this means that I misconfigured the sound hardware during the game's setup, but one of the games I tested - One Must Fall 2097 - doesn't offer any configuration other than the hardware type (I chose "Sound Blaster 16") and audio quality; no need to specify IRQ, DMA, etc. To make matters worse, as the afternoon wore on, Windows 98 suddenly stopped booting into MS-DOS mode, getting stuck on the same empty screen with a blinking cursor after the Windows desktop disappears.

Gonna table that for a moment, since @crvs inspired me to try MS-DOS 6.22 again.

After disabling all vestigial devices in my BIOS, the Audigy was auto-assigned IRQ 11. The only device that it shares the IRQ with is one of the Serial Bus Controller devices. I've disabled all the serial ports, and if I force an IRQ for a PCI slot in my BIOS, the same SBC device adopts the new IRQ as well. I don't know if this is just an alias for one of the I/O devices on the Audigy itself, or if there's some other IRQ black magic going on, and this is actually why I'm getting the insta-freeze behavior.

I ran MSD, and it confirmed that IRQ 11 belongs to the Audigy. Or, at least, that's how it looks.

I edited the two PCIIRQ lines in CTSYN.INI, ran SBECFG, and double-checked AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS. Unfortunately, I got the same result when I ran AUDIGY12 again. Hmm.

If I can't figure out why Windows 98 MS-DOS mode isn't booting, I might try to wipe and reinstall again and see if I can triple check that the audio config for some of these DOS games is indeed correct. Otherwise, it might be less trouble (though more money) to get an AWE64 for these DOS titles. My motherboard does have an ISA slot, and juggling multiple sound cards doesn't sound like much trouble if I just disable the AWE in Windows and use it only in Pure DOS.

Again, many thanks for the detailed posts.

Reply 14 of 228, by Joseph_Joestar

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Renaissance 2K wrote on 2020-09-07, 05:12:

Someone in a Retro PC Discord said this means that I misconfigured the sound hardware during the game's setup, but one of the games I tested - One Must Fall 2097 - doesn't offer any configuration other than the hardware type (I chose "Sound Blaster 16") and audio quality; no need to specify IRQ, DMA, etc.

I would try with a simpler game, like Doom or Descent for example. Both of them allow you to select address, IRQ and DMA in setup.

Before that, right click on My Computer > Properties > Device Manager > Sound, Video and Game Controllers > Creative SB16 Emulation > Properties > Resources and check which values are assigned. By default, it should be Address = 220, IRQ = 5, low DMA = 1, high DMA = 5, FM synth = 388 and MPU-401 = 330. If those values are different, then the card has a resource conflict with something else on your system.

After disabling all vestigial devices in my BIOS, the Audigy was auto-assigned IRQ 11. The only device that it shares the IRQ with is one of the Serial Bus Controller devices. I've disabled all the serial ports, and if I force an IRQ for a PCI slot in my BIOS, the same SBC device adopts the new IRQ as well. I don't know if this is just an alias for one of the I/O devices on the Audigy itself, or if there's some other IRQ black magic going on, and this is actually why I'm getting the insta-freeze behavior.

It could be the Audigy's own FireWire port, but you seem to have a lot of devices on that system so it's hard to say. To ensure that you have no IRQ or DMA conflicts, under Win98 go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Information. Once there, click on Hardware Resources and then check the IRQ and DMA sections.

This should show you if any of the IRQ or DMA values used by your sound card are shared with other devices. If they are, try turning off those devices and see if it helps. Specifically, turning off the serial and parallel ports in BIOS is helpful, unless you use them. Same for the integrated USB controller.

Since installing the Audigy drivers is difficult enough even without any hardware conflicts, I would also suggest physically pulling out any cards from your motherboard other than the Audigy and your GPU. You can add them back later, one by one, after successfully configuring the Audigy and see which one causes the conflict.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 15 of 228, by crvs

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Renaissance 2K wrote on 2020-09-07, 05:12:

I edited the two PCIIRQ lines in CTSYN.INI, ran SBECFG, and double-checked AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS. Unfortunately, I got the same result when I ran AUDIGY12 again. Hmm.

Here is my minimal config that 100% works in MS-DOS 6.22, at least in my machine, maybe it will give you a clue. Just note that "SET BLASTER" values (and respective parameters in "CTSYN.INI") are non-standard, as I have 2 soundcards in this setup.

PS: An idea to disconnect all other extension boards while testing is really good. You can also try to put Audigy into a different PCI slot, sometimes it helps. By the way, which motherboard/chipset are you using?

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Reply 16 of 228, by Renaissance 2K

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Motherboard is an Asus P3B-F, which is the 440BX chipset. I had the sound card in a different slot originally, but my BIOS seems to give PCI 1 and 2 a dedicated IRQ, while 3/6 and 4/5 share IRQs, so I moved the sound card to PCI 2. I also disabled the serial and parallel ports, but had to leave USB intact since none of my USB-to-PS/2 adapters seem to work, and my dedicated PS/2 peripherals are en route.

The device sharing an IRQ with the Audigy was an USB 2.0 expansion card, which I removed. Still, even with a clean install and a near-empty motherboard, I still ran into the same issues. In Windows, the Audigy was showing non-standard IRQ and DMA assignments, DOS 6.22 would freeze upon running AUDIGY12.EXE, and DOS 7.1 would freeze upon starting a game (if it made it to DOS Mode at all).

And then something crazy happened...

After installing a new game, I ended up on the Windows 98 boot menu, which defaulted to Command Prompt mode. I was about to reboot into Windows, but then I saw the SB-related AUTOEXEC commands in the console, so I figured... why not try to boot up a game. I ran AUDIGY12.EXE successfully, booted OMF, and - BOOM - heard that game-starting thunder crack in all its 16-bit glory. Needless to say, I'm thrilled.

Not quite the route I expected to take, but it works. I have SB16 emulation in Pure DOS if I launch it from the Windows 98 Boot Menu. Still not sure why I suddenly can't use "Restart into MS-DOS Mode" but that's a question for another day, I guess.

Thanks again, everyone.

Reply 17 of 228, by crvs

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Renaissance 2K wrote on 2020-09-07, 22:28:

Motherboard is an Asus P3B-F, which is the 440BX chipset

I have the same MB, rev 1.03 🤣 You should definitely try my package for DOS "as is".
Install Audigy2 into the 5th PCI slot (counting from processor) and assign to it IRQ 10 in BIOS, I believe all should just work.

Reply 18 of 228, by Renaissance 2K

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crvs wrote on 2020-09-08, 19:26:
Renaissance 2K wrote on 2020-09-07, 22:28:

Motherboard is an Asus P3B-F, which is the 440BX chipset

I have the same MB, rev 1.03 🤣 You should definitely try my package for DOS "as is".
Install Audigy2 into the 5th PCI slot (counting from processor) and assign to it IRQ 10 in BIOS, I believe all should just work.

Well, hot damn!!
7o0of2C.jpg

Reply 19 of 228, by Renaissance 2K

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I think I'm in pretty good shape now. I adopted @crvs' interior decorating skills and moved my sound card to PCI 5, forced IRQ 10 for it in the BIOS, and DOS 6.22 booted up without a hitch. I heard glorious, glorious sound in Doom and OMF without issue. After adding back my Voodoo 2s and my PCI expansion card, everything was still working perfectly. I'm ecstatic. Thank you so much.

I did try to get sound working in Windows 3.11 as well, but that might be a bridge too far. We'll see.

Looking forward to finally screwing the cover back on my case and enjoying the new machine.