georgel wrote on 2021-09-21, 04:27:

What error do you get with UMBPCI? Nothing specific about the EMM -- just checking if the CPU is in V86 mode upon starting.

No error it just refuses to load due to thinking that an expanded memory manager is loaded. UMBPCI keeps the CPU in real mode.

1DOS32AWE fatal (0008): Please run DOS32AWE under Real Mode DOS only (remove EMM)

Also SimCity 2000 is currently being on sale in GOG.com, so don't put that link. 😦 Can't help you there for legal reasons.

In particular, “abandonware” is not allowed on VOGONS.

This is from the "Terms of use" on this forum.

Detection bug corrected -- you can download the latest version from the first message.

digger wrote on 2021-09-20, 22:34:

Could something like SoftMPU (or even Sound Blaster emulation) be integrated into DOS32A as well?

I second this question. Such a feature could be a solution for many sound devices that lack SB compatibility.

Bondi wrote on 2021-09-21, 08:07:

digger wrote on 2021-09-20, 22:34:

Could something like SoftMPU (or even Sound Blaster emulation) be integrated into DOS32A as well?

I second this question. Such a feature could be a solution for many sound devices that lack SB compatibility.

What would you use SOFMPU for had it worked with a DOS Extender? Redirect MIDI via serial port to an external device? Then what about the rest of the sounds?

@Kamerat
@Gmlb256
I switched many many times levels. The problem is extremely rare (under my configuration) and is not level dependent. Investigating further. Black screen remains just before displaying the intro of the chosen new level, is this the same situation you experience?

georgel wrote on 2021-09-21, 08:16:

I switched many many times levels. The problem is extremely rare (under my configuration) and is not level dependent. Investigating further. Black screen remains just before displaying the intro of the chosen new level, is this the same situation you experience?

For me it was after the intro screen of a level in Warcraft II, doesn't always happen. I will check again and also test with the "Beyond The Dark Portal" expansion.

Warcraft 2 (and other Miles based games) can be prone to running out of stack space while handling interrupts, particularly when a mouse is being used at the same time as music playback. Using STACKS=9,256 in config.sys sometimes helps but I would recommend switching to a private stack in any interrupt handlers, if you don't already.

georgel wrote on 2021-09-20, 19:00:

Well, I downloaded a version of SC2000 and it appears to crash even with the original unmodified DOS/32A V 9.1.2 Dos Extender...Obviously these problems are inherited from there. Can you make it run just for testing without sound but with the DOS/32A DOS extender? I couldn't run the game even for one time and even with its built-in DOS4G/W 1.95 DOS Extender... It reports insufficient RAM (less than 4M) while running the game's setup. Now about to test the other game.

Only the EMM check is added in V1.3.

Can confirm that plain DOS/32A v9.1.2 crash Sim City 2000 even without sound and music configured. Just start a new game or load a city and the game would crash instantly if I use the "zoom in" button.

Edit: The issue with DOS/32A were reported back in 2010:
DOS32A + Sim City 2000 = Fail when Zoom In?
DOS32A + Sim City 2000 = Fail when Zoom In?

Gmlb256 wrote on 2021-09-21, 12:29:

georgel wrote on 2021-09-21, 08:16:

I switched many many times levels. The problem is extremely rare (under my configuration) and is not level dependent. Investigating further. Black screen remains just before displaying the intro of the chosen new level, is this the same situation you experience?

For me it was after the intro screen of a level in Warcraft II, doesn't always happen. I will check again and also test with the "Beyond The Dark Portal" expansion.

Here it always crashes at the same levels after the intro screen.

jmarsh wrote on 2021-09-21, 12:56:

Warcraft 2 (and other Miles based games) can be prone to running out of stack space while handling interrupts, particularly when a mouse is being used at the same time as music playback. Using STACKS=9,256 in config.sys sometimes helps but I would recommend switching to a private stack in any interrupt handlers, if you don't already.

I did try to add STACKS=9,256 to CONFIG.SYS but it didn't solve the issue.

Kamerat wrote on 2021-09-21, 17:50:

Gmlb256 wrote on 2021-09-21, 12:29:

For me it was after the intro screen of a level in Warcraft II, doesn't always happen. I will check again and also test with the "Beyond The Dark Portal" expansion.

Here it always crashes at the same levels after the intro screen.

Yeah, I should have stated this properly. It doesn't happen on every levels.

But does it happen every time ? I don't have a mouse installed so far but I doubt this to be of relevance.

georgel wrote on 2021-09-21, 08:16:

Bondi wrote on 2021-09-21, 08:07:

digger wrote on 2021-09-20, 22:34:

Could something like SoftMPU (or even Sound Blaster emulation) be integrated into DOS32A as well?

I second this question. Such a feature could be a solution for many sound devices that lack SB compatibility.

What would you use SOFMPU for had it worked with a DOS Extender? Redirect MIDI via serial port to an external device? Then what about the rest of the sounds?

That's why I included the part "(or even Sound Blaster emulation)" in my initial question. 🙂

So could it work? Or is there something inherent in AWEUTIL that makes it possible to integrate in a DOS extender like DOS32A, which wouldn't work with SoftMPU or a Sound Blaster emulator?

georgel wrote on 2021-09-21, 18:13:

But does it happen every time ? I don't have a mouse installed so far but I doubt this to be of relevance.

With DOS32AWE 1.4, I tested Warcraft II once again with the expansion pack and v1.50 patch installed. It worked much better but will eventually freeze with a black screen on some occasions when starting a new level.

New version released -- you can download the latest version from the first message.

Could you make a spreadsheet so we could list the compatibility with protected mode games? So no one has to read the entire thread for this.

The last version 1.5 was a warcraft fix. This is a free non-profit software and is designed to be generally compatible with all software that DOS32/A is compatible with. I did the hard job. The list can be done by anyone, likewise the documentation. When one is available I can include it in the archive if you agree. Keep in mind also that these games I am running for the first time now and I am much more interested in the games that expose some incompatibility than vice versa.

georgel wrote on 2021-09-21, 08:16:

What would you use SOFMPU for had it worked with a DOS Extender? Redirect MIDI via serial port to an external device? Then what about the rest of the sounds?

As for MIDI, yes, output to serial port.
But what's more interesting is Sound Blaster emulation, if that's possible at all. This would allow to use non SB compatible devices. Like PCI sound cards, AC'97 codec and so on.

georgel wrote on 2021-09-22, 07:42:

The last version 1.5 was a warcraft fix. This is a free non-profit software and is designed to be generally compatible with all software that DOS32/A is compatible with. I did the hard job. The list can be done by anyone, likewise the documentation. When one is available I can include it in the archive if you agree. Keep in mind also that these games I am running for the first time now and I am much more interested in the games that expose some incompatibility than vice versa.

Unfortunately both my systems with Sound Blaster 32 still crashes when loading certain levels in Warcraft II with v1.5.

Kamerat wrote on 2021-09-22, 14:47:

georgel wrote on 2021-09-22, 07:42:

The last version 1.5 was a warcraft fix. This is a free non-profit software and is designed to be generally compatible with all software that DOS32/A is compatible with. I did the hard job. The list can be done by anyone, likewise the documentation. When one is available I can include it in the archive if you agree. Keep in mind also that these games I am running for the first time now and I am much more interested in the games that expose some incompatibility than vice versa.

Unfortunately both my systems with Sound Blaster 32 still crashes when loading certain levels in Warcraft II with v1.5.

Does it happen every time when you jump to these levels? Do you have to stay certain time at previous level in order to trigger the problem?

georgel wrote on 2021-09-22, 16:12:

Does it happen every time when you jump to these levels? Do you have to stay certain time at previous level in order to trigger the problem?

Yes, happens every time I jump to certain levels. Tried with regular DOS32/A and no AWEUTIL and the game didn't crash loading the same levels.

What is the crash type? System freeze? Reboot? Screen corruption? I don't have such problem. Will try now changing configuration to reproduce it. Warcraft 2X RETAIL v1.3 is what I see when game exits. The WAR2.EXE is 900539 bytes long. Do you experience the problem with the same version?

georgel wrote on 2021-09-22, 16:42:

What is the crash type? System freeze? Reboot? Screen corruption? I don't have such problem. Will try now changing configuration to reproduce it. Warcraft 2X RETAIL v1.3 is what I see when game exits. The WAR2.EXE is 900539 bytes long. Do you experience the problem with the same version?

System freeze, sometimes you can do an ALT+CTRL+DEL to reboot, sometimes you have to hit the reset switch. This is v1.0.

Also tried v1.3 now and it dosn't seem to have this issue. Haven't done any extended testing yet, but I can jump between all the Orc levels without any crashes. Thank you for the suggestion.