mattw wrote on 2023-01-29, 17:02:

@Ozzuneoj […]
Show full quote

@Ozzuneoj

indeed, very interesting result, according to this:

Re: SC8500 sound card - what does it do?

"94DINIT2" is Internet find and the source is unknown. I was not able to find the same file in my archives either. So, I guess real technical explanation could be given only if someone can modify the Linux open source SAM9407 drivers:

https://sam9407.sourceforge.net/

to work with 97PNP2 card - that can answer what other 94DINIT versions are missing/doing wrong. In any way, great findings from your side all the way through - from the card itself to the software solution.

[EDIT] I found another version of "94DINIT", I believe it's still untested by you. it comes from Hoontech driver update. I am attaching it and so you can try it - that one is closer in size to the currently known working one.

[EDIT2] I think it's good occasion we make a list of all "94DINIT" that are available, because otherwise could be very confusing. I used HashCalc (https://www.slavasoft.com/hashcalc/) to generate CRC32 hash for each of those EXE files I have and so we can easily ID them, @Ozzuneoj please edit the list if you have more or if I made a mistake. So, here it's "94DINIT from":

Copy code to clipboard

1Hoontech ST97 --> CRC32 e09c1a7b : NOK with 97PNP2
2Guillemot MaxiSound 64 Home Studio (SC8500) --> CRC32 e7a0a6dc: NOK with 97PNP2
3Hoontech Driver Update (attached to this post) --> CRC32 19899967: not tested yet with 97PNP2
4Unknown source version --> CRC32 0c157c13: OK with 97PNP2

is that the list or there are even more?

It's definitely a good idea to get a proper list of them made up. I'll test that one you found when I get a chance. I'm curious to know which one it behaves like. I have a feeling it will be similar to the unknown one that is so far the "best" version.

It is important to restate that the Hoontech SoundTrack 97 one does seem to work normally as long as the card hasn't been recently "messed up" by the broken Windows bank loader from the 97PNP2 CD. I will need to do more testing, but I think if people just avoid using that version of the program in Windows they will probably be able to use a card like this with any of the 94DINIT versions that at least work. The oldest one from the MaxiSound seems to just not work at all, regardless of the state of the card.

If someone has one of these cards and the MIDI music in DOS seems to be broken already, then it looks like they will need to run that newer one from the unknown source as it seems to FIX the issues caused by improper bank loading.

Okay, I'm taking a stab at uploading recordings. This isn't something I've really done in the past but I think I have a decent enough setup for it now.

By the way... the music corruption seems to change based on what was loaded or being loaded into the bank in Windows when the system crashed, and it most likely changes based on the bank being loaded in DOS afterward too. EDIT: Nope, new theory below! I will say, depending on the bank that is loaded it can be waaaaay waaaaaaaaaay worse than the recording below... but I am actually really glad I figured out how to do this again, because the insane effects the card creates are unlike anything I've ever heard, and it must be shared. 🤣

Without further ado, I present to you...
Descent Setup Music on the 97PNP2 with a 4MB GM bank... Messed up.

Enjoy! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

After several theories, I think I've finally figured out what is going on at least on a non-technical level. It appears that the music corruption comes from simply LOADING sound banks in Windows (and probably DOS too), then shutting down\rebooting and using the Hoontech 70kb 94DINIT to load a **different bank ** the next time in DOS. It doesn't seem to matter if it's the broken version of the Windows bank editor or not, and it does not matter if the system crashes or not. The effect of the corruption seems to change based on what was loaded into the bank when Windows shut down last time. This is why the default 1MB bank always worked... because it was the default one loaded in Windows each time.

I have noticed that the 70KB 94DINIT does in fact load the banks much more quickly than the others.

My theory is that it skips a step of making sure any leftover data has been wiped, at least on this particular card. So, when that version is used to initialize the card, there is leftover junk that breaks the MIDI playback.

This is why it works in Windows. The Windows driver likely clears this data before initializing the card and loading the sound bank. The 36KB 94DINIT apparently clears this data as well, which is why it takes 1-2 seconds longer to initialize.

So yeah... solved. 😀

And... here's a recording of the card with the same 4MB GM bank loaded without any corruption...

mattw wrote on 2023-01-29, 17:02:

[EDIT] I found another version of "94DINIT", I believe it's still untested by you. it comes from Hoontech driver update. I am attaching it and so you can try it - that one is closer in size to the currently known working one.

Also, I just tested this and it actually doesn't work at all! It acts like the bank is missing and says no such file or directory. Interestingly, if I run 94DINIT.EXE /? it shows that it is expecting the same exact switches - but it is looking for a .DFM firmware and .DMF sound bank! I don't know what the significance of this is, but that is very interesting indeed. I thought maybe they were just expecting the .BIN and .94B to be renamed (so that it appears proprietary to their brand), but that does nothing at all. Strangely, it only complains about the bank not existing and won't proceed or even mention the firmware.

So, this means that the 36KB "mystery" version of 94DINIT.EXE that elianda posted in 2009 is the only version that can properly work with this card without being screwed up by banks being loaded previously

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2023-01-29, 22:04:

.DMF sound bank

cannot tell anything about the rest, but yes DMF is 94B, those are the 2 extensions used and so you can "convert" between them just with renaming the extension of the file name. and yeah, so far the source of 94DINIT that elianda posted in 2009 remains a mystery - I cannot find it in any of the drivers/updates I have from Hoontech and Guillemot on my old hdd. I have somewhere I believe physical CD from Guillemot SC8600 card - need to check that, i.e. what is 94DINIT version on it. other than that, have no other ideas about finding the source of that 94DINIT, because if it's not Hoontech or Guillemot, then only Dream itself it left.

Can someone re-up the ISO please?

I have a MaxiSound ISIS card (with SAM 9707) as well as a Terratec EWS64S (with a SAM 9407). Great cards. Happy to test anything if people want.

FYI, MOD4WIN supports hardware accelerated MOD playback using the 9407. I haven't tested it on the 9707 though.

I uped it to archive.org

https://archive.org/details/97-pnp-2-v-50

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2023-01-29, 20:46:

Okay, I'm taking a stab at uploading recordings. This isn't something I've really done in the past but I think I have a decent e […]
Show full quote

Okay, I'm taking a stab at uploading recordings. This isn't something I've really done in the past but I think I have a decent enough setup for it now.

By the way... the music corruption seems to change based on what was loaded or being loaded into the bank in Windows when the system crashed, and it most likely changes based on the bank being loaded in DOS afterward too. EDIT: Nope, new theory below! I will say, depending on the bank that is loaded it can be waaaaay waaaaaaaaaay worse than the recording below... but I am actually really glad I figured out how to do this again, because the insane effects the card creates are unlike anything I've ever heard, and it must be shared. 🤣

Without further ado, I present to you...
Descent Setup Test Music on the 97PNP2 with a 4MB GM bank... after being messed up by the Windows bank editor

Enjoy! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

LoL! Sounds like a J-LO tune hahahaha. Glad you managed to get sound out of the card in the end! Great work.

Okay, I finally had some time to put together a proper .zip file for this card. This does not include the Windows drivers currently because it doesn't seem to have just one install file\package and pulls several files from different places on the CD. I would recommend just grabbing the 46MB CD image and using that for Windows installation. However, the .zip I've attached *does* include the Windows sound bank loader that actually works without crashing. You can probably just replace the updated (broken) one after installation.

Anyway, here it is. Please post your results here if you have a different SAM9x07 card and have found that this pack either works or does not work in DOS. Keep in mind, it is likely that you'll need a different firmware .BIN file for different cards, especially those that use the SAM9407.

---------------
Dream 97PNP2 SAM9707 DOS Software + Windows Bank Loader

This software package is intended to allow the Dream 97PNP2 (SAM9707 based) sound card to work as a stand-alone wavetable MIDI synthesizer in pure DOS mode. The SAM9707 does not appear to have any DOS compatible digital audio features, so another soundcard will be needed for SoundBlaster, WSS or other forms of DOS-compatible digital playback. This package does not include Windows drivers, but does include a working Windows bank loader.

Please note, this card requires a -5v (minus five volt) rail on your system's power supply and will output no audio in DOS or Windows without one.

Contents:

94DINIT.EXE
97PNP2.BIN
PNP97SET.EXE
STRACK97.INI
GMSBK040.94B
94WBANK.EXE
--More
94DHOON.EXE
EWSINIT.EXE

*94DINIT.EXE - 36KB initialization program for SAM9x07 from unknown source dated ~1997 (originally 94DINIT2.EXE); only known version to work properly with SAM9707.
Usage: 94DINIT F=97PNP2 S=GMSBK040 p=330 - Where F=Firmware (xxxxxxxx.bin) S=SoundBank (xxxxxxxx.94b) and P=Port (330) - Do not include file extensions.

*97PNP2.BIN - SAM9707 firmware file found on Dream S.A. "97PNP2" developer sample CD ~2001; Other 9x07 firmwares may work and have different features\characteristics, but this the latest version known to exist.

*PNP97SET.EXE - From Hoontech; Not required, but automates initialization and provides a simple GUI for changing sound banks; mixer portion is non-functional on Dream 97PNP2, so you will see a mixer error, this is normal.

Usage: PNP97SET /E (to see GUI and make changes); 97PNPSET (runs last config; stored in STRACK97.INI);

NOTE: Will only show banks that fit in memory on card. Interface glitch requires that you move the cursor betwen 4MB\16MB at least once to see banks larger than 4MB.

*STRACK97.INI - Config file for PNP97SET.EXE

*GMSBK040.94B - Basic 512KB GM sound bank from Hoontech SoundTrack97 for testing.

*94WBANK.EXE - Windows application for loading sound banks - Older stable version - Newer version from 97PNP2 CD caused frequent BSOD and is not included; To simplify loading of banks, run this from the folder where your .94B banks are stored.

--More - Additional Files (Interesting, but not necessary for operation)

*EWSINIT.EXE - From EWS64XL; Run EWSINIT /L to read the contents of the PNP EEPROM on the sound card to find Port, IRQ preferences.

*94DHOON.EXE - 70KB "94DINIT.EXE" program from Hoontech ~1998; Seems to not "clear" previous sound bank data when loaded in DOS, creating interesting\hilarious broken MIDI playback. Run proper 94DINIT.EXE (36KB) to fix broken MIDI playback. Make sure to upload recordings to share the hilarity. 😀

For more info about this card:
Dream 97PNP2 - Interesting SAM9707 prototype\sample ISA MIDI card from 2001!

ozzuneoj
February 2nd, 2023
-------------------

I tried to keep the file size down so that this could fit on a floppy when extracted, since this is mainly for DOS systems. 😀

02-02-2023 EDIT: Fixed typo in instructions, added some more info, updated .zip file, please delete the old one to avoid confusion.

Warlord wrote on 2023-01-30, 23:33:

I uped it to archive.org

https://archive.org/details/97-pnp-2-v-50

Thank you!

mattw wrote on 2023-01-24, 04:08:

@Ozzuneoj :
unfortunately, when in that old thread we actually cracked the encryption of all Roland GS ROMs SC-55, SCC-1, up to SC-88, etc. there was no any interest in helping me extracting the same sound from the 94B banks and compare them or even we make 94B bank with the sounds from SC-55 ROM ourselves - I just don't know enough, actually I know almost nothing about 94B (all I know I said in that old thread). So, I hope now there will be new interest in the topic. In any way, great find, that's no doubt priceless addition to your collection! and for the rest of us what is left is we just study the files on the CD in hope to get more information and understanding of 94b and its features.

I'd be super interested in this, the samples from the GSSBK320.94b file could help me make a better SoundFont since the actual decrypted samples have tuning problems. I've tried everything I could and acted on potential solutions to get it proper and it was a saddening failure. I also noticed the synth instruments in that bank aren't Sound Canvas accurate. Does it have the same stuff akin to the SoundFont 2 format?

Trevor0402 wrote on 2023-02-01, 17:55:

...since the actual decrypted samples have tuning problems...

I don't wanna we go here completely off-topic plus I am not sure what you mean exactly, but maybe it's related to this:

Re: Heads Up: Roland Sound Canvas VA VSTi Plugin!

in any way, there or in the Sound Canvas thread where the decryption was done is more appropriate place I guess for such discussion.

sorry for being late to this one so yeah

i have an drum sf2 which sounds similar to GSSBK320 (or GMS963200) but added drum sounds to it. is it fine for me to send this? since the whistles in all drum kits are cut short which sounds not prolonged enough