Kahenraz wrote on 2025-03-25, 11:44:

You have to set the IRQ you the Solo-1 from device manager. There is a separate entry for DOS compatibility that gets installed along with the primary entry.

See here for a guide on how to configure the card.

Guide for configuring ESS PCI Audio cards for DOS (Solo, Maestro, Allegro, etc.)

Hello. I have seen this guide earlier and have some queries. Is the separate entry for DOS you are referring to the"DOS Emulation" for Solo 1 created under Device Manager? If so, yes, the IRQ was set at 5, port at 220 and DMA 1 using the Solo 1 VxD drivers. The issue is Windows doesn't allow me to modify any of these values. I get an error that the settings cannot be changed. Please let me know otherwise.

Now coming to the .sys and .com files, my understanding is that we need to use the ESSAUDIO.SYS under config.sys and ESSAUDIO.COM under autoexec.bat for the latest versions without renaming any of the files and disregard/remove the existing ESSOLO.COM under autoexec.bat and ESSOLO.SYS under CONFIG.SYS which are created while installing the Solo 1 card under Windows. Can you please confirm?

I followed the excellent guide for setting up an Audigy 2 ZS on Win 98SE with Audigy 1 drivers. Unfortunately pure DOS mode doesn't work. EMM386 causes a reboot.
Apologies in advance for the wall of text. I've already posted this to the Audigy drivers thread.

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

Running Jemmex I get this:

1 EPROM at c000, size 32.0 kB
2EPROM at c800, size 32.0 kB
3System memory found at c800-cfff, region might be in use
4System memory found at f000-ffff, region might be in use
5Using page frame e000
6Needed: 48 kB for monitor, 64 kB for UMBs, 64 kB for DMA buffer
732 kB to account for DMA buffer 64 kB alignment
8I15: largest free block 785280 kB, free memory 785280 kB
9potential/max. VCPI memory: 785072/122880 kB
1028 kB needed for VCPI and EMS handling
11XMS memory block for monitor: 110000-14b000, XMS highest=2fff0000
12Memory Map: R/S=system ram, G=graphics, E=rom/rsvd, P=page frame, U/I=umb
1300000: RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
1440000: RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
1580000: RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
16c0000: EEEEEEEERRRRRRRR UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
17Physical start address of EMS pages: 142000
18Total/available EMS memory: 2078/2048 pages (= 33248/32768 kB)
19JemmEx loaded

[EDIT] sbemu works with squeaky audio in IndyCar Racing 2, not at all in vQuake and very well in Nascar 2/1999.

My best guess is a resource conflict. Possibly with USB 2.0 ports, which seems to be very common with DOS memory problems on "newer" boards.

Kahenraz wrote on 2025-03-30, 06:41:

My best guess is a resource conflict. Possibly with USB 2.0 ports, which seems to be very common with DOS memory problems on "newer" boards.

Ah ok.

Try disabling the USB 2.0 ports, if that is an option, and see if that fixes the problem. It's always best to turn off everything that isn't needed in the BIOS to maximize DOS resources. Especially on newer boards where PnP BIOS configuration cannot be disabled, all of these extra features are allocating precious system resources that end up conflicting with add-on devices.

My theory is that motherboard manufacturers assume that the operating system will be a non-DOS OS and they can gobble up whatever they want without having to worry about other devices that aren't going to be configured until after the OS boots.

Kahenraz wrote on 2025-03-30, 15:53:

Try disabling the USB 2.0 ports, if that is an option, and see if that fixes the problem. It's always best to turn off everything that isn't needed in the BIOS to maximize DOS resources. Especially on newer boards where PnP BIOS configuration cannot be disabled, all of these extra features are allocating precious system resources that end up conflicting with add-on devices.

My theory is that motherboard manufacturers assume that the operating system will be a non-DOS OS and they can gobble up whatever they want without having to worry about other devices that aren't going to be configured until after the OS boots.

I'll try that, just as soon as I get hold of a couple of usb to p/s2 adapters.

sharangad wrote on 2025-03-30, 16:55:

Kahenraz wrote on 2025-03-30, 15:53:

Try disabling the USB 2.0 ports, if that is an option, and see if that fixes the problem. It's always best to turn off everything that isn't needed in the BIOS to maximize DOS resources. Especially on newer boards where PnP BIOS configuration cannot be disabled, all of these extra features are allocating precious system resources that end up conflicting with add-on devices.

My theory is that motherboard manufacturers assume that the operating system will be a non-DOS OS and they can gobble up whatever they want without having to worry about other devices that aren't going to be configured until after the OS boots.

I'll try that, just as soon as I get hold of a couple of usb to p/s2 adapters.

Didn't work. The USB ports are inactive, but powered. I wondered if it was the SATA controller and its mapping to IDE.

Disabled the SATA controller, the USB and the network adapter and tried booting off a FreeDOS USB flash drive with all the Creative files in place. Got a "Config error SBPort missing". MSD still reports a -32768 bytes of EMS. Tried MSD in Dosbox-Rendition and it reports -17,xxx bytes EMS RAM.

Well SBEMU works in some of the games I have, but not in others. For instance in Indy Car Racing 2 it's high pitched, almost as if it's playing too fast. Others like Whiplash don't detect it (probably because real mode support isn't enabled). Some of these DOS games don't work in Win98. vQuake doesn't either.

SBEInit at startup crashes the machine with an EMM386 error.

I've disabled everything except the smic controller and I don't know how to disable that.

Did you try IRQ 7 instead?

Kahenraz wrote on 2025-04-05, 13:12:

Did you try IRQ 7 instead?

I've reserved irq 5 in the bios and that's what the windows drivers set the blaster variable to.

If I don't do that sbeinit fails with an irq error.

Now it detects the audigy but reboots with an emm386 error. I'll try reservering 7.

The bios assigns irq 10 to the card. Does this have to be the same as the one sbeinit uses? I just assumed irq 5 was just for the emulation.

This card is Plug 'n Play. Reserving IRQs is generally something that is only needed for ISA cards. I believe that PCI cards need the IRQ to be "available" for it to be assigned correctly. You choose the IRQ through the driver configuration files. I think that by reserving IRQ 5 in the BIOS, you're actually blocking the Creative card from being able to request it. Maybe this is the source of your problem.

Try this, and also a combination of toggling the "PnP OS" option in the BIOS.

Kahenraz wrote on 2025-04-07, 04:34:

This card is Plug 'n Play. Reserving IRQs is generally something that is only needed for ISA cards. I believe that PCI cards need the IRQ to be "available" for it to be assigned correctly. You choose the IRQ through the driver configuration files. I think that by reserving IRQ 5 in the BIOS, you're actually blocking the Creative card from being able to request it. Maybe this is the source of your problem.

Try this, and also a combination of toggling the "PnP OS" option in the BIOS.

If IRQ isn't reserved, SBEInit complains that IRQ 5 is in use. If it is reserved, I get the EMM386 error.

Kahenraz wrote on 2025-03-30, 06:41:

I15: largest free block 785280 kB, free memory 785280 kB

The JemmEx log tells that your machine has 768 MB, not 256.
Might be worth a try to reduce memory to 256 MB - Emm386 maps all physical RAM in its address space, and, IIRC, SBEINIT intrudes into this space, so RAM size might indeed matter somehow...

Baron von Riedesel wrote on 2025-04-11, 02:17:

Kahenraz wrote on 2025-03-30, 06:41:

I15: largest free block 785280 kB, free memory 785280 kB

The JemmEx log tells that your machine has 768 MB, not 256.
Might be worth a try to reduce memory to 256 MB - Emm386 maps all physical RAM in its address space, and, IIRC, SBEINIT intrudes into this space, so RAM size might indeed matter somehow...

I have tried that. I've even tried limiting it to 64 MB using limitmem. I've swapped out the sticks, removed all but one including trying each stick individually in case it was bad/or had a timing incompatibilit. Nothing appears to work. They all fail in the exact same way with the same error message at the same address.

I've not had an awful lot of time to play around the past week and probably won't for the next two weeks.