Superpuissant wrote on 2021-03-01, 19:07:

I have acquired recently a non working sound blaster 16 CT2230. The card is in perfect aesthetic condition but the card is not d […]
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I have acquired recently a non working sound blaster 16 CT2230. The card is in perfect aesthetic condition but the card is not detected when inserted in my trusty Pentium MMX 233 (tested with Unisound drivers).
I have thoroughly cleaned it and deoxidized it and not detected any short on the ISA connectors without success. I have also re-flown all of the surface components, including the chips and replaced half of the capacitors. No effect either, the card is simply not detected.
I'm starting to think that it is related to a core component of any sort, but I am not knowledgeable enough to identify it. I simply don't know which component is responsible for the card detection.
Any help here would be more than welcome!!

Isn't that card not actually Plug-And-Play ? AFAIK, Unisound only works with Plug-And-Play cards .

According to this My Sound Blaster 16 CT2230 Review , running Diagnose.exe /s is all you need . The review mentions "semi-PnP", but the description actually implies jumperless soft-config .

darry wrote on 2021-03-01, 19:15:

Isn't that card not actually Plug-And-Play ? AFAIK, Unisound only works with Plug-And-Play cards .

According to this My Sound Blaster 16 CT2230 Review , running Diagnose.exe /s is all you need . The review mentions "semi-PnP", but the description actually implies jumperless soft-config .

Not really, Unisound is perfectly able to detect semi plug and play cards. I have another CT2290 that is perfectly detected. Besides, I gave a shot to diagnose.exe and it did not detect the card. I really suspect something to be wrong with one of the component.

possible candidates in my opinion:
1) 74LS245 - buffer between ISA data bus and SB data bus;
2) Crystal oscilator, crystal generator
3) main SB chip

Superpuissant wrote on 2021-03-01, 19:22:

darry wrote on 2021-03-01, 19:15:

Isn't that card not actually Plug-And-Play ? AFAIK, Unisound only works with Plug-And-Play cards .

According to this My Sound Blaster 16 CT2230 Review , running Diagnose.exe /s is all you need . The review mentions "semi-PnP", but the description actually implies jumperless soft-config .

Not really, Unisound is perfectly able to detect semi plug and play cards. I have another CT2290 that is perfectly detected. Besides, I gave a shot to diagnose.exe and it did not detect the card. I really suspect something to be wrong with one of the component.

Thanks for the info regarding Unisound . Sorry to read about diagnose not working either .

Tronix wrote on 2021-03-01, 19:48:

possible candidates in my opinion: 1) 74LS245 - buffer between ISA data bus and SB data bus; 2) Crystal oscilator, crystal gener […]
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possible candidates in my opinion:
1) 74LS245 - buffer between ISA data bus and SB data bus;
2) Crystal oscilator, crystal generator
3) main SB chip

Interesting, any way to diagnose that (without an oscilloscope)?

Guys, sorry for necroposting. 😂 But I have got my hands on a sligthly newer SB16 with the same symptoms. Card simply not visible. Sad this post faded out. But 74LS of oscilator is a good hint - need to get a scope 🤨

H.W.Necromancer wrote on 2023-11-07, 18:05:

Guys, sorry for necroposting. 😂 But I have got my hands on a sligthly newer SB16 with the same symptoms. Card simply not visible. Sad this post faded out. But 74LS of oscilator is a good hint - need to get a scope 🤨

Can you post better quality photos?

Looking at the original post, do I see bulging caps or is that a photo quality artifact?

Are you testing on the same motherboard/slot, if so,try a different one if you can (as the issue might not be sound card related). Apologies for stating the obvious.

PS: The CT1747 looks like it has rework done (top row of pins)? Again maybe photo/light artifact.

PS2: It looks like there used to be a cap on L1 (under C25) as that doesn't look like factory empty pads to me. I was wrong looking at photos of other CT2230s.

Sorry for confusing post. But maybe there can be a common fault causing a good looking card not beeing detected. My version is a different SB16 but the same symptoms as the guy who have started this thread.
See photo - the card is looking as good as new!
- edge connector cleaned for sure
- power transistors seems to be delivering
- tested by 2 people - in my case in 286 and in a Celeron slot 1 - used original drivers and UniSound to confirms
- Unisound reported no card but in the same board it reported 2 other cards ( incl. one older sb16). Original drivers reported it could not find card
- the card is a PnP version and the PnP celeron board did not listed this card as a device on post
- all is pointing towards the PC does not know there is any card inserted...(?)
--

pan069 wrote on 2023-11-07, 20:43:

Can you post better quality photos? […]
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H.W.Necromancer wrote on 2023-11-07, 18:05:

Guys, sorry for necroposting. 😂 But I have got my hands on a sligthly newer SB16 with the same symptoms. Card simply not visible. Sad this post faded out. But 74LS of oscilator is a good hint - need to get a scope 🤨

Can you post better quality photos?

Looking at the original post, do I see bulging caps or is that a photo quality artifact?

Are you testing on the same motherboard/slot, if so,try a different one if you can (as the issue might not be sound card related). Apologies for stating the obvious.

PS: The CT1747 looks like it has rework done (top row of pins)? Again maybe photo/light artifact.

PS2: It looks like there used to be a cap on L1 (under C25) as that doesn't look like factory empty pads to me. I was wrong looking at photos of other CT2230s.