Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-03-13, 07:22:

Cheers! :) […]
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Mastran wrote on 2025-03-13, 04:04:

Just wanted to thank you for this guide Joseph_Joestar, I have used it to successfully install my Audigy2 (SB0240) with the DOS drivers and all, really cool stuff!

Cheers! 😀

Just wanted to ask… is EAX 4 supported with these drivers?

Not by default. From my testing, it looks like Creative never bothered with adding EAX 4.0 support to their VxD drivers.

If you need EAX 4.0 under Win9x, you can install WDM drivers from the official Audigy 2 ZS driver CD, and that will work fine. However, this will result in lower compatibility with some older EAX games like Need for Speed: High Stakes and Baldur's Gate 2. Also, DOS game compatibility will be far worse. In my opinion, EAX 4.0 games are too new for Win9x, and it's better to play them on a more powerful WinXP system.

Thanks! I think you are right, I´ll stick with XP for those games then. Also, what drivers do you recommend for installing the card on Windows XP 32? I am running a dual boot setup.

Mastran wrote on 2025-03-13, 22:58:

Thanks! I think you are right, I´ll stick with XP for those games then. Also, what drivers do you recommend for installing the card on Windows XP 32? I am running a dual boot setup.

Daniel_K's latest Audigy Support Pack.

I use it for all of my WinXP builds that have Audigy cards.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2020-01-18, 14:29:

This guide will help you install VxD drivers for Audigy cards under Windows 98SE or Windows ME, including proper support for DOS gaming. It has been successfully tested on retail Audigy 1 (SB0090), Audigy 2 (SB0240) and Audigy 2 ZS (SB0350) cards.

Thanks for detailed guide!
I have Audigy 2 ZS (SB0350) card, but S/PDIF input does not work in VxD driver.
I heard non-ZS Audigy 2 should support it. Is it possible to force VxD driver from non-ZS version? As far as I remember, they have same EMU chips.

ott wrote on 2025-03-27, 18:26:

Thanks for detailed guide!
I have Audigy 2 ZS (SB0350) card, but S/PDIF input does not work in VxD driver.
I heard non-ZS Audigy 2 should support it. Is it possible to force VxD driver from non-ZS version? As far as I remember, they have same EMU chips.

By SPDIF input, do you mean the CD_SPDIF connector for digital CD audio?

If so, I've tried everything I knew, including replacing some files, but was unable to get that working on a ZS card with VxD drivers. Maybe someone more experienced with driver tweaking could get it done.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-03-27, 18:32:

By SPDIF input, do you mean the CD_SPDIF connector for digital CD audio?

Yeah, it is! I'm trying to build my dream combo-setup with Vortex 2 SQ2500. Vortex doesn't have best DAC converter, so I wanted to use Audigy for this purpose.

I followed your awesome guide and set up an Audigy 2 ZS, but I'm having problems with pure DOS mode.

On this machine:
Pentium 4 (Prescott),
i865 chipset (GA-81G100MK),
256 MB RAM,
Creative 3D Blaster PCI (Rendition Verité V1000)
Onboard NIC enabled, almost everything else disabled.
Win98SE with 2004 security update installed.

I get this in pure DOS mode:

1EMM386 has detected error #39 in an application
2at memory address 3086:0160. To minimize the chance
3of data loss, EMM386 has halted your computer.
4For more information, consult your documentation.
5
6To restart your computer, press ENTER.

The Audigy works fine in Win98SE including the FMSynth in Win mode DOS console, but in pure DOS running SBEInit gets me this error, the machine won't boot with the emulator started up.

The board does support the right type of DMA (intel I865) as the video card runs in DMA mode. UMB PCI reports ISA-DMA(?) as working:
Config.Sys

1rem DEVICE=c:\DOS\LimitMem.sys 64
2DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:ON
3rem DEVICE=C:\UMB\UMBPCI.SYS
4DEVICEHIGH=C:\CD\OAKCDROM.SYS /d:MSCD001
5device=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\display.sys con=(ega,,1)
6Country=044,850,C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\country.sys
7rem DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE RAM I=B000-B7FF VERBOSE
8DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE RAM /I=B000-B7FF VERBOSE
9rem DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE VERBOSE
10REM DEVICE=C:\CD\OAKCDROM.SYS /d:MSCD001
11REM device=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\display.sys con=(ega,,1)
12REM Country=044,850,C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\country.sys

Autoexec.bat

1rem c:\windows\command\mouse.com
2C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 /L:D
3C:\Dos\CTMOUSE\ctmouse.exe /R2
4mode con codepage prepare=((850) C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\ega.cpi)
5mode con codepage select=850
6SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330
7SET CTSYN=C:\WINDOWS
8
9rem C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\DOSDRV\SBEINIT.COM

CTSyn.ini

1[ctsyn.drv]
2OPLPort=388
3MPUPort=330
4SBPort=220
5SBIRQ=5
6SBDMALO=1
7SBDMAHI=5
8SBEnable=true
9JOYEnable=true
10Waveset=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\default.ecw
11PCIPort=0
12PCIIRQ=3
13JOYPort=200
14
15[SBEINIT]
16CONFIG=SBESET.CFG
17
18[SBESET.CFG]
19SBPORT=220
20MPUPORT=330
21SBIRQ=5
22SBDMALO=1
23SBDMAHI=5
24OPLPORT=388
25SBENABLE=TRUE
26JOYPORT=200
27JOYENABLE=TRUE
28WAVESET=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DEFAULT.ECW
29PCIPORT=0
30PCIIRQ=3

Thanks for the guide!

sharangad wrote on 2025-03-28, 00:22:

I followed your awesome guide and set up an Audigy 2 ZS, but I'm having problems with pure DOS mode.

Cheers! And yeah, getting the card to work in pure DOS on later chipsets is often a lot more challenging. While ICH5 should work in theory, things aren't always as simple in practice. More info about that can be found here: PCI sound cards and Chipsets from various manufacturers...

If you haven't tried it already, I would suggest using HIMEMX to see if it might help. Other than that, I have no further suggestions, but maybe someone else can chime in.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-03-28, 04:32:

sharangad wrote on 2025-03-28, 00:22:

I followed your awesome guide and set up an Audigy 2 ZS, but I'm having problems with pure DOS mode.

Cheers! And yeah, getting the card to work in pure DOS on later chipsets is often a lot more challenging. While ICH5 should work in theory, things aren't always as simple in practice. More info about that can be found here: PCI sound cards and Chipsets from various manufacturers...

If you haven't tried it already, I would suggest using HIMEMX to see if it might help. Other than that, I have no further suggestions, but maybe someone else can chime in.

Running Jemmex I get this:
EPROM at c000, size 32.0 kB
EPROM at c800, size 32.0 kB
System memory found at c800-cfff, region might be in use
System memory found at f000-ffff, region might be in use
Using page frame e000
Needed: 48 kB for monitor, 64 kB for UMBs, 64 kB for DMA buffer
32 kB to account for DMA buffer 64 kB alignment
I15: largest free block 785280 kB, free memory 785280 kB
potential/max. VCPI memory: 785072/122880 kB
28 kB needed for VCPI and EMS handling
XMS memory block for monitor: 110000-14b000, XMS highest=2fff0000
Memory Map: R/S=system ram, G=graphics, E=rom/rsvd, P=page frame, U/I=umb
00000: RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
40000: RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
80000: RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
c0000: EEEEEEEERRRRRRRR UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Physical start address of EMS pages: 142000
Total/available EMS memory: 2078/2048 pages (= 33248/32768 kB)
JemmEx loaded

[EDIT] sbemu works with squeaky audio.

Have you tried using Phil Ms Dos Menu for DOS?

Mastran wrote on 2025-03-28, 21:42:

Have you tried using Phil Ms Dos Menu for DOS?

I don't know whether you're rplying to me, I generally use a single config and am fairly comfortable with config files. All the stuff in the files was just for testing.

sharangad wrote on 2025-03-28, 00:22:

I followed your awesome guide and set up an Audigy 2 ZS, but I'm having problems with pure DOS mode.

Fun fact, I also swapped a Live! for an Audigy 2 ZS on my Windows 98 machine few days ago... Luckily, it works perfectly on my side. Few observations and/or ideas:

• Autoexec is missing "DOS=HIGH,UMB"
• Have you tried running EMM386 without any custom settings. On my side, I am using "DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE 8192 RAM"
• Oh! I had to load CTmouse AFTER sbeinit to make it work...

Linoleum wrote on 2025-03-30, 13:19:

Fun fact, I also swapped a Live! for an Audigy 2 ZS on my Windows 98 machine few days ago... Luckily, it works perfectly on my s […]
Show full quote

sharangad wrote on 2025-03-28, 00:22:

I followed your awesome guide and set up an Audigy 2 ZS, but I'm having problems with pure DOS mode.

Fun fact, I also swapped a Live! for an Audigy 2 ZS on my Windows 98 machine few days ago... Luckily, it works perfectly on my side. Few observations and/or ideas:

• Autoexec is missing "DOS=HIGH,UMB"
• Have you tried running EMM386 without any custom settings. On my side, I am using "DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE 8192 RAM"
• Oh! I had to load CTmouse AFTER sbeinit to make it work...

I started out with dos=high, umb and vanilla emm386.

I did not try loading ctmouse after sbeinit.

sharangad wrote on 2025-03-30, 14:28:

Linoleum wrote on 2025-03-30, 13:19:

Fun fact, I also swapped a Live! for an Audigy 2 ZS on my Windows 98 machine few days ago... Luckily, it works perfectly on my s […]
Show full quote

sharangad wrote on 2025-03-28, 00:22:

I followed your awesome guide and set up an Audigy 2 ZS, but I'm having problems with pure DOS mode.

Fun fact, I also swapped a Live! for an Audigy 2 ZS on my Windows 98 machine few days ago... Luckily, it works perfectly on my side. Few observations and/or ideas:

• Autoexec is missing "DOS=HIGH,UMB"
• Have you tried running EMM386 without any custom settings. On my side, I am using "DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE 8192 RAM"
• Oh! I had to load CTmouse AFTER sbeinit to make it work...

I started out with dos=high, umb and vanilla emm386.

I did not try loading ctmouse after sbeinit.

Do you know after which command specifically you get the error? I usually include plenty of "pause" in autoexec and remove @echo off when that happens...

When booting from a floppy disk, everything works I assume?

Linoleum wrote on 2025-03-30, 14:43:

sharangad wrote on 2025-03-30, 14:28:

Linoleum wrote on 2025-03-30, 13:19:

Fun fact, I also swapped a Live! for an Audigy 2 ZS on my Windows 98 machine few days ago... Luckily, it works perfectly on my s […]
Show full quote

Fun fact, I also swapped a Live! for an Audigy 2 ZS on my Windows 98 machine few days ago... Luckily, it works perfectly on my side. Few observations and/or ideas:

• Autoexec is missing "DOS=HIGH,UMB"
• Have you tried running EMM386 without any custom settings. On my side, I am using "DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE 8192 RAM"
• Oh! I had to load CTmouse AFTER sbeinit to make it work...

I started out with dos=high, umb and vanilla emm386.

I did not try loading ctmouse after sbeinit.

Do you know after which command specifically you get the error? I usually include plenty of "pause" in autoexec and remove @echo off when that happens...

When booting from a floppy disk, everything works I assume?

None of those things worked. Sbeinit causes a dos bsod in emm386. Well not a blue screen, but black with an emm386 error.

I think someone on the dos compatibility thread said it's probably because of the mobo's usb controllers using memory sbeinit needs.

I'll buy some USB to p/s2 adapters and try disabling the usb. At the moment I'm using a USB keyboard and mouse. Thd vga to hdmi adapter is also USB powered, so that needs to be fixed as well.

i want to use an audigy 2 zs platinium pro on a system that will run everything from win98se to win10 (not simultaneously of course), and i wonder if i can run external midi modules via the platinium pro external box under win98se??

anyone have any experience? It won't work under pure dos, of course...

1st - Mr. Joestar thank you so much for this guide!

2nd - I can confirm that, following this guide, the SB Audigy 2 ZS is working perfectly on an ASUS P5N-D which has an nForce 750i chipset (under Win98 and XP)

DuckSocker wrote on 2025-04-04, 22:36:

1st - Mr. Joestar thank you so much for this guide!

2nd - I can confirm that, following this guide, the SB Audigy 2 ZS is working perfectly on an ASUS P5N-D which has an nForce 750i chipset (under Win98 and XP)

Cheers! And it's certainly interesting to hear that you got it working on an nForce motherboard.

Does the Audigy's SB16 emulation work properly in DOS games when they are played from within Win98 on your system?

I haven't had time to do some actual in-depth testing, but everything seemed to work without issue. I quickly tried DOOM, System Shock 1, Secret to Monkey Island and Harvester and had no problem.

The only abnormal behavior I could see is when Win98 is booting, there's an "EMM386 not installed - Unable to set page from base address." message
quickly followed by "EMM386 successfully installed." and "EMM386 Active."

I haven't had this message on non-nForce motherboards.

DuckSocker wrote on 2025-04-06, 02:11:

I haven't had time to do some actual in-depth testing, but everything seemed to work without issue. I quickly tried DOOM, System Shock 1, Secret to Monkey Island and Harvester and had no problem.

That's already better than I expected, to be honest. Usually, people have problems even installing the SB16 emulation component on nForce chipsets, let alone successfully running DOS games. Glad to hear that it's working for you!

DuckSocker wrote on 2025-04-06, 02:11:

The only abnormal behavior I could see is when Win98 is booting, there's an "EMM386 not installed - Unable to set page from base address." message
quickly followed by "EMM386 successfully installed." and "EMM386 Active."

You might be able to bypass this by using the NOEMS switch in CONFIG.SYS like so:

1DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS

That error usually occurs on systems with a lot of integrated components, like SATA/RAID controllers, on-board network adapters, USB 2.0 and so on. I don't think it will cause any problems for games that are played from within the Win98 DOS prompt, though running them in pure DOS might be a different story.

Cool, I'll give this a try.

P5N-D is a later model (2007 I think) so it's indeed pretty surprising how stable it seems to be with Win98.
Finding a good motherboard for a 98/XP build that doesn't suffer from the Caps plague is getting harder and harder.