Red Book audio not working on my CT2230 \ VOGONS

Red Book audio not working on my CT2230

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First post, by Einherje

Posted on 2024-11-05, 11:46

Einherje Offline

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Hi all

I run a CT2230 SOUNDBLASTER 16 and an IBM 88G4919 4 speed SCSI CD-ROM drive. I'm pretty happy with my setup but I can't get Red Book audio to work in games (or in general). My CD-ROM drive is connected to the SB16 by audio cable. Do I need a specific driver or something? When I try to play an audio CD from qcd.exe the program freezes. When I play a game requiring Red Book audio, like the CD-ROM version of Loom, there's just no sound.

My config.sys:

1[MENU]
2MENUITEM=CDROM, DOS with SCSI CD-ROM
3MENUITEM=VCDROM, DOS with virtual CD-ROM
4MENUDEFAULT=CDROM,10
5
6[COMMON]
7DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF /Q
8DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM HIGHSCAN
9DOS=HIGH,UMB
10BUFFERS=11,0
11FILES=60
12FCBS=1,0
13STACKS=0,0
14BREAK=ON
15LASTDRIVE=E
16DEVICEHIGH=C:\SB16\DRV\CTSB16.SYS /UNIT=0 /BLASTER=A:220 I:5 D:1 H:5
17DEVICEHIGH=C:\SB16\DRV\CSP.SYS /UNIT=0 /BLASTER=A:220
18DEVICEHIGH=C:\SB16\DRV\CTMMSYS.SYS
19DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE
20DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\DISPLAY.SYS CON=(EGA,,1)
21COUNTRY=045,,C:\DOS\COUNTRY.SYS
22
23[CDROM]
24DEVICEHIGH=C:\SCSI\ASPI8DOS.SYS
25DEVICEHIGH=C:\SCSI\ASPICD.SYS /D:MSCD001
26
27[VCDROM]
28REM No additional device drivers needed but option seems not to work if section is empty

autoexec.bat:

1@ECHO OFF
2PROMPT $P$G
3PATH C:\DOS;C:\SB16
4SET TEMP=C:\DOS
5SET SOUND=C:\SB16
6SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6
7SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E
8LH C:\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S
9LH C:\SB16\SB16SET /Q
10LH C:\DOS\CTMOUSE.EXE
11MODE CON CODEPAGE PREPARE=((850) C:\DOS\EGA.CPI)
12MODE CON CODEPAGE SELECT=850
13KEYB DK,,C:\DOS\KEYBOARD.SYS
14
15GOTO %CONFIG%
16
17:CDROM
18REM LH C:\SHSUCD\SHSUCDX.COM /D:MSCD001 /L:E
19LH C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD001 /L:E
20LH C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE D 4096
21GOTO END
22
23:VCDROM
24REM Virtual CD-ROM mode
25LH C:\SHSUCD\SHSUCDHD.EXE
26LH C:\SHSUCD\SHSUCDX.COM /D:SHSU-CDH /L:E
27GOTO END
28
29:END

My mixer settings (sb16set.exe):

When I try to play an audio CD by means of qcd.exe, the program detects the audio tracks, but when I press play or change track, the program freezes:

The back of my CD-ROM drive (with audio cable disconnected):

Pictures of my rig because I love it to bits:

Last edited by Einherje on 2024-11-05, 11:54. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 1 of 10, by thp

Posted on 2024-11-05, 11:50

thp Offline

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Things to try:

- Use a different CD-ROM driver
- Use MSCDEX instead of SHSUCDX
- Make sure the mixer has CD-ROM unmuted

Reply 2 of 10, by Einherje

Posted on 2024-11-05, 11:53

Einherje Offline

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Location: Denmark

Thanks. Just tried MSCDEX.EXE with same results (autoexec.bat changed accordingly in original post). I think CD-ROM is unmuted but I'm not entirely sure. How does my sb16set.exe look?

Last edited by Einherje on 2024-11-05, 11:55. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 3 of 10, by Joseph_Joestar

Posted on 2024-11-05, 11:54

Joseph_Joestar Offline

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Einherje wrote on 2024-11-05, 11:46:

The back of my CD-ROM drive (with audio cable disconnected):

It looks like your CD-ROM drive has GLGR for the pinout, while Sound Blaster cards usually use RGGL on their primary connector.

Make sure that the cable is correct, and that the pinouts on the CD-ROM drive and the sound card match.

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Reply 4 of 10, by Einherje

Posted on 2024-11-05, 12:00

Einherje Offline

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Sounds plausible, but wouldn't I at least get sound from the right audio channel to my left speaker then?

Reply 5 of 10, by Joseph_Joestar

Posted on 2024-11-05, 12:09

Joseph_Joestar Offline

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Einherje wrote on 2024-11-05, 12:00:

Sounds plausible, but wouldn't I at least get sound from the right audio channel to my left speaker then?

To eliminate the cable as a potential cause of the issue, power down the computer and disconnect it entirely.

Then, turn the system back on and try playing CD audio again. You won't get any sound while the cable is disconnected of course, but if the system doesn't freeze, then there's a good chance that the cable is either defective or incompatible.

Reply 6 of 10, by Einherje

Posted on 2024-11-06, 09:30

Einherje Offline

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Location: Denmark

I rewired the cable and still get the same issue. Might be the cable itself, although it looks to be in good shape.

Reply 7 of 10, by thp

Posted on 2024-11-07, 06:15

thp Offline

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You could also try booting a live Linux CD (that loads completely into RAM) or a live Linux USB and see if that can play CD-Audio (make sure it uses analog playback and not digital extraction, which would work without the audio cable). Then, also cross-check with a different CD-ROM drive to exclude your current one as a source of the issue.

Also, since your CD-ROM drive still has a headphone jack and volume wheel at the front, connect some headphones to it and make sure the volume is set to something audible. This way, you can check if if's possibly the connector at the back of the CD-ROM (and it's otherwise playing back and decoding CDDA properly) or if it doesn't even get to the point where it's playing back the audio.

Reply 8 of 10, by weedeewee

Posted on 2024-11-07, 09:22

weedeewee Offline

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Have you tried playing an audio cd with headphones connected directly to the front of the cdromdrive ?

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Reply 9 of 10, by Einherje

Posted on 2024-11-08, 07:15

Einherje Offline

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@weedeewee

Good idea! I'll give it a go tonight.

Reply 10 of 10, by Einherje

Posted on 2024-11-12, 11:37

Einherje Offline

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Joined: 2021-09-06, 05:45
Location: Denmark

Not playing audio from headphone jack even when disconnected from soundcard. Guess I'm looking at a new CD-ROM drive.

Thanks for your inputs all.

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