Tiido wrote on 2022-11-24, 12:58:

It is 3.x that is rotten, 2.1 is the good one that won't cause bunch of issues from being a mismash of newer DLLs that often break something.

what things in 2.1 are worth installing?
the whole pack? will it mess up my win98SE install? i don't want to reinstall anymore 🤣.

I cannot really say anything certain anymore, it has been years since I last had to install things but I installed most options it gave on a frash install, after drivers had been installed. The "core updates" is the only thing that can really break anything as it updates a number of system components but almost all the updates it installes are ones you would have got from Windows Update anyway when it still worked.

derpmochump wrote on 2022-11-25, 05:07:

what things in 2.1 are worth installing?
the whole pack? will it mess up my win98SE install? i don't want to reinstall anymore 🤣.

I'll just point out that, if your main goal is retro gaming, then you don't need to add anything to Win98SE other than DirectX and the Windows Installer Update. Both of which can be applied as standalone updates. On the other hand, if you want to run some productivity software on your Win98 rig, that's a different story.

For people who absolutely must have Win98 up to date for whatever reason, I recommend using this official Security Update CD from Microsoft, rather than some cobbled together "unofficial service pack" of dubious quality.

That said, we're getting a bit off topic here, so feel free to open a new thread for tips on how to best set up Win98 for your use case.

Hi, I am having some trouble with this using an SB0060. When I install the VxD drivers from the CTZAPXX.exe file: the installer runs and I get the prompt to restart but after the restart nothing has changed and the drivers haven't seemed to be installed. The whole multimedia/audio window is greyed out and I have no sound. I have a clean 98SE install.

One thing I noticed is that there are already 2 entries for IRQ 5 in the system information panel (SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller and ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering) - could this be a problem?

Thanks for any help!

jaskamakkara wrote on 2023-01-07, 10:04:

One thing I noticed is that there are already 2 entries for IRQ 5 in the system information panel (SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller and ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering) - could this be a problem?

The driver installation may fail if the card is unable to allocate enough free resources.

See step 1.4 of the guide for more details.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-01-07, 10:32:

jaskamakkara wrote on 2023-01-07, 10:04:

One thing I noticed is that there are already 2 entries for IRQ 5 in the system information panel (SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller and ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering) - could this be a problem?

The driver installation may fail if the card is unable to allocate enough free resources.

See step 1.4 of the guide for more details.

OK, but is there something I can do to rectify the problem? I am currently trying to redo the process with all my COM and Parallel ports switched off from the BIOS, but the Hardware information is the same for the IRQs so I am not confident it will be different. Maybe I should try with the USB disabled but I rely quite heavily on it for KB/Mouse/file transfer.

jaskamakkara wrote on 2023-01-07, 11:14:

Maybe I should try with the USB disabled but I rely quite heavily on it for KB/Mouse/file transfer.

You could temporarily disable USB and use a PS2 mouse and keyboard until the sound card installation finishes. After that, you can try re-enabling USB again. Not sure if that will resolve your issue, but it should at least free up additional resources during the driver install process.

Another thing that comes to mind is to check if your chipset drivers are correctly installed (no exclamation marks in Device Manager) before trying to install the sound card drivers.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-01-07, 11:29:

jaskamakkara wrote on 2023-01-07, 11:14:

Maybe I should try with the USB disabled but I rely quite heavily on it for KB/Mouse/file transfer.

You could temporarily disable USB and use a PS2 mouse and keyboard until the sound card installation finishes. After that, you can try re-enabling USB again. Not sure if that will resolve your issue, but it should at least free up additional resources during the driver install process.

Another thing that comes to mind is to check if your chipset drivers are correctly installed (no exclamation marks in Device Manager) before trying to install the sound card drivers.

I tried everything with no luck. I think there might be something wrong with my hardware since I am sure I have done this process on that machine in the past. Maybe something has died... Probably best to pull it apart and see. Thanks for the help, anyway.

Yeah so I switched motherboards and now everything works just fine. Great guide, by the way.

jaskamakkara wrote on 2023-01-09, 06:37:

Yeah so I switched motherboards and now everything works just fine. Great guide, by the way.

Cheers!

Glad everything worked out for you with the new motherboard.

Guide updated to version 2.1.

This minor update slightly expands the "Disclaimer" section. No new features have been added.

Hi, if I want to install this on my 400LX Slot 1 motherboard that has integrated OPL3 and 4 on board. How should I go about installing this package? Windows automatically sees these Yamaha chips on a fresh installation.

Thank you for this guide.

V

Vanessaira wrote on 2023-01-11, 08:51:

Hi, if I want to install this on my 400LX Slot 1 motherboard that has integrated OPL3 and 4 on board. How should I go about installing this package? Windows automatically sees these Yamaha chips on a fresh installation.

Thank you for this guide.

V

I'm assuming you want to use the integrated Yamaha card for DOS games and the SBLive for Win9x games? In that case, it's pretty easy. Simply follow the steps as outlined in the first post, but stop right before section 5 - DOS driver installation. This will give you fully functional SBLive drivers under Windows, but without SB16 emulation for DOS games.

However, if you want to use both cards for DOS gaming, things get a lot trickier. That procedure is much more prone to failure, which is why I don't cover it in this guide, but it is nonetheless possible. If you want, I can give you some guidelines, but be advised that it's not very a straightforward process.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-01-11, 09:14:

Vanessaira wrote on 2023-01-11, 08:51:

Hi, if I want to install this on my 400LX Slot 1 motherboard that has integrated OPL3 and 4 on board. How should I go about installing this package? Windows automatically sees these Yamaha chips on a fresh installation.

Thank you for this guide.

V

I'm assuming you want to use the integrated Yamaha card for DOS games and the SBLive for Win9x games? In that case, it's pretty easy. Simply follow the steps as outlined in the first post, but stop right before section 5 - DOS driver installation. This will give you fully functional SBLive drivers under Windows, but without SB16 emulation for DOS games.

However, if you want to use both cards for DOS gaming, things get a lot trickier. That procedure is much more prone to failure, which is why I don't cover it in this guide, but it is nonetheless possible. If you want, I can give you some guidelines, but be advised that it's not very a straightforward process.

Well, yeah, more or less I wanted the option to showcase OPL4 outside of Windows, but I also want the ability to select and use OPL4 within Windows 98 as well. I have plenty of Audigy 2s to do in other builds, and while I would like to try both in DOS as well. It is not as critical as having both in Win98SE.

V

Vanessaira wrote on 2023-01-11, 09:26:

Well, yeah, more or less I wanted the option to showcase OPL4 outside of Windows, but I also want the ability to select and use OPL4 within Windows 98 as well. I have plenty of Audigy 2s to do in other builds, and while I would like to try both in DOS as well. It is not as critical as having both in Win98SE.

V

With the approach I mentioned above, the Yamaha card would remain fully functional under Windows as well. You would only lose the ability to run DOS games on the SBLive.

In Windows, you might need to select which of your cards should be treated as the "Preferred" sound device under Control Panel > Multimedia > Audio. Most Windows games will default to the card selected there, but you can change this at any time. You probably also want to select your default music device under the Control Panel > Multimedia > MIDI tab.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-01-11, 09:41:

Vanessaira wrote on 2023-01-11, 09:26:

Well, yeah, more or less I wanted the option to showcase OPL4 outside of Windows, but I also want the ability to select and use OPL4 within Windows 98 as well. I have plenty of Audigy 2s to do in other builds, and while I would like to try both in DOS as well. It is not as critical as having both in Win98SE.

V

With the approach I mentioned above, the Yamaha card would remain fully functional under Windows as well. You would only lose the ability to run DOS games on the SBLive.

In Windows, you might need to select which of your cards should be treated as the "Preferred" sound device under Control Panel > Multimedia > Audio. Most Windows games will default to the card selected there, but you can change this at any time. You probably also want to select your default music device under the Control Panel > Multimedia > MIDI tab.

Just out of curiosity. What is the "not so straightforward" approach to getting both to work in Win98SE and DOS?

V

Vanessaira wrote on 2023-01-11, 09:44:

Just out of curiosity. What is the "not so straightforward" approach to getting both to work in Win98SE and DOS?

V

You would need to temporarily disable the on-board Yamaha card in the BIOS (or via jumper, whichever is applicable). Then, install the SBLive drivers as outlined in the first post, including the DOS component. Assuming the driver installation goes through without any problems (it might not) you would then need to 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 0004" > Change Setting.

This will allow you to manually change any settings except for the SBLive's Adlib port which will be disabled. You then need to ensure that the SBLive's resources don't conflict with the Yamaha. Basically, select something like A240, I7 D3, H7 P300 for the SBLive while leaving A220, I5, D1 P330 free for the Yamaha. Lastly, you would need to re-enable the Yamaha card in the BIOS/via jumper, as applicable.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-01-11, 09:55:

Vanessaira wrote on 2023-01-11, 09:44:

Just out of curiosity. What is the "not so straightforward" approach to getting both to work in Win98SE and DOS?

V

You would need to temporarily disable the on-board Yamaha card in the BIOS (or via jumper, whichever is applicable). Then, install the SBLive drivers as outlined in the first post, including the DOS component. Assuming the driver installation goes through without any problems (it might not) you would then need to 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 0004" > Change Setting.

This will allow you to manually change any settings except for the SBLive's Adlib port which will be disabled. You then need to ensure that the SBLive's resources don't conflict with the Yamaha. Basically, select something like A240, I7 D3, H7 P300 for the SBLive while leaving A220, I5, D1 P330 free for the Yamaha. Lastly, you would need to re-enable the Yamaha card in the BIOS/via jumper, as applicable.

Yeah the Sony Vaio motherboard BIO has just a Legacy Sound option. Nothing via jumper and it looks like I will need to take it off the Use Automatic Settings for sure as to keep Win98SE from re enabling it after every reboot. Thank you again.

V

I seem to be stuck at the moment. I am to the part where you install CTZAPXX, but it only has WDM option selected. VXDs are greyed out. I am unsure where you want the VXD.cab file extracted. I extracted it all from the CD to the HDD in C: and made a folder where I put everything together including the CTZAPXX file and everything accompanying that on the CD into one location. I am using real hardware, real CDs etc.

V

Vanessaira wrote on 2023-01-15, 09:43:

I seem to be stuck at the moment. I am to the part where you install CTZAPXX, but it only has WDM option selected. VXDs are greyed out. I am unsure where you want the VXD.cab file extracted. I extracted it all from the CD to the HDD in C: and made a folder where I put everything together including the CTZAPXX file and everything accompanying that on the CD into one location. I am using real hardware, real CDs etc.

V

The contents of VXD.CAB should be extracted to this folder:

1C:\AU1\Audio\Drivers\VxD

After that, CTZAPXX.EXE should be able to pick them up during installation. The fully populated folder should look like this:

It's weird that Creative decided that VxD drivers were such low priority at that time that they never bothered to decompress the archive on the CD. Not like it was lacking storage space.