Windows 3.1X on Dosbox \ VOGONS

Windows 3.1X on Dosbox

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First post, by DOS_Boy

Posted on 2007-03-27, 01:34

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Hello folks. Here's the deal: I installed Windows 3.11 for Workgroups on Dosbox 0.70 following all the steps from Dominus guide. Installation went just fine, everything is ok. I'm having only this little problem with sound. I installed the drivers and software for the Sound Blaster 16 from the original install CD i got here. MIDI is ok and plays nice, but no wave sound. Whenever i try to play any wav file, says that the device is busy. My PC is a Core 2 Duo E6300, and the sound card is a Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

"But listen to me brother, you just keep on walking, 'cause you and me and sister ain't got nothing to hide..." - Scatman John

Reply 1 of 26, by Dominus

Posted on 2007-03-27, 22:20

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probably wrong irq set?

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Reply 2 of 26, by DOS_Boy

Posted on 2007-03-28, 01:04

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humm no Dominus, set it to irq 7 (Dosbox default). Tried everything, but still no wav sound, still the same problem...

"But listen to me brother, you just keep on walking, 'cause you and me and sister ain't got nothing to hide..." - Scatman John

Reply 3 of 26, by DOS_Boy

Posted on 2007-03-28, 02:10

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Here's a little update: if i start any game, like wolf3d for instance, and the quit it and start windows, there is choppy sound. MIDI is perftect and wave is choppy and all mute some times, but the device is avaliable. any ideas on how to get clear sb16 sound on windows? 🙁

"But listen to me brother, you just keep on walking, 'cause you and me and sister ain't got nothing to hide..." - Scatman John

Reply 4 of 26, by DosFreak

Posted on 2007-03-28, 02:25

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Start Windows with normal core and a very low cycle count. Manually adjust the cycles to get useable speed and see what that does.

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Reply 5 of 26, by DOS_Boy

Posted on 2007-03-28, 11:43

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No goal DosFreak. Still have to open any game to get choppy sound. If I start Windows just after starting Dosbox, it freezes completly.

"But listen to me brother, you just keep on walking, 'cause you and me and sister ain't got nothing to hide..." - Scatman John

Reply 6 of 26, by DOS_Boy

Posted on 2007-03-31, 03:04

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up! anyone??

"But listen to me brother, you just keep on walking, 'cause you and me and sister ain't got nothing to hide..." - Scatman John

Reply 7 of 26, by DosFreak

Posted on 2007-03-31, 03:29

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Try these SB drivers?
http://www.badongo.com/file/823568

I've never used the SB drivers from my SB16 CD with Windows 3.1 in DosBox. Only the drivers I've downloaded from the web.

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Reply 8 of 26, by DOS_Boy

Posted on 2007-03-31, 03:45

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I'll try it right away, and then I'll let you know. Thank you DosFreak!

"But listen to me brother, you just keep on walking, 'cause you and me and sister ain't got nothing to hide..." - Scatman John

Reply 9 of 26, by DOS_Boy

Posted on 2007-03-31, 03:55

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Glory!!! It works!!! I have sound on Windows 3.11 for Workgroups now!! Thanks to DosFreak!!! Aleluia!!!!

"But listen to me brother, you just keep on walking, 'cause you and me and sister ain't got nothing to hide..." - Scatman John

Reply 10 of 26, by DOS_Boy

Posted on 2007-03-31, 03:57

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Now here's another question: why doesn't the original sb16 drivers work on Dosbox? And why does Dosbox uses SB irq 7 instead of 5?

"But listen to me brother, you just keep on walking, 'cause you and me and sister ain't got nothing to hide..." - Scatman John

Reply 11 of 26, by DosFreak

Posted on 2007-03-31, 04:16

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DosBox uses IRQ7 because the sound code comes from VDMSound which used IRQ7.

VDMSound used IRQ7 because older SB sound cards used IRQ7 by default.

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Reply 12 of 26, by DOS_Boy

Posted on 2007-03-31, 04:19

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I see... Thanks in advance!

"But listen to me brother, you just keep on walking, 'cause you and me and sister ain't got nothing to hide..." - Scatman John

Reply 13 of 26, by leileilol

Posted on 2007-03-31, 22:13

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I thought older SB cards used IRQ 3?

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Reply 14 of 26, by DosFreak

Posted on 2007-03-31, 22:40

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IIRC, SB Pro had a default of 7. I don't remember seeing SB's with an default IRQ of 3. IRQ 3 was for COM2 I believe. Although you could use that value if you wanted to.

Last edited by DosFreak on 2007-04-01, 03:26. Edited 1 time in total.

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Reply 15 of 26, by wd

Posted on 2007-03-31, 22:42

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Hm think sb/sbpro used irq7 by default (not sure about sb though)
and sb16 irq5. But if now switching default irqs might cause much
more problems than it solves.

Reply 16 of 26, by eL_PuSHeR

Posted on 2007-03-31, 23:00

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My old SB Pro 2 card used IRQ5 by default.

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Reply 17 of 26, by DosFreak

Posted on 2007-04-01, 00:10

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Hmm, could try emailing vlad and see what he say's.

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Reply 18 of 26, by kruwi

Posted on 2007-04-01, 02:33

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My old SB pro 2 used irq 5, too ... . I'm pretty sure about this and have wondered for quite a long time why dosbox uses irq 7 by default.

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Reply 19 of 26, by DosFreak

Posted on 2007-04-01, 03:25

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http://www.oldskool.org/guides/oldonnew/sound

For example, when the Sound Blaster was introducted in 1989, its factory default settings were I/O port 220 and IRQ 7

It looks like older than SoundBlaster Pro used IRQ 7 by default. SoundBlaster's newer than Pro used IRQ 5 by default.

Re: A Vision of a Perfect PC

Remember that Creative designed the Sound Blaster to work on IBM PCs and 8-bit XT buses. Available IRQs were few and far between, and using a default of IRQ7 was preferable to IRQ5 (which was used by the XT Hard Drive Adapters.)

In DosBox.conf we have GUS enabled by default which is set to use IRQ 5....

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