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Sound Blaster AWE64 CT4500 Synth not working

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First post, by Theodinator

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Hi everyone,

I've bought this card recently:

The attachment IMG_20220322_140710.jpg is no longer available

It's an AWE64 (Value?) PnP model.

The driver installation went fine, however this card seems to have some issues:
- Synthesizer music will not play correctly (only right channel, garbage sound). Tested in Duke3d setup, both in DOS mode and in DOS box on Windows 95/98 SE.
- AWE Control Utility detects no RAM on the card for storing sound fonts.
- Diagnose.exe utility in DOS mode doesn't seem to do a RAM test and freezes after detecting address, IRQ and DMA values. The main menu where sound and music can be tested is never reached.
- MIDI files won't play correctly in Windows 95/98 SE.

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Test systems:
- Compaq Deskpro 2000, Pentium 1 200MHz, 64MB RAM
- Dell OptiPlex GX1, Pentium II 400MHz, 192MB RAM

Config.sys line:
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\CTCM.EXE

Autoexec.bat line:
C:\WINDOWS\CTCM.EXE

That should be sufficient for a PnP model right? I've also tried with manual SET BLASTER line and AWEUTIL, no difference.
Is the card broken or am I having software/driver issues? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Reply 1 of 2, by Theodinator

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Sorry to necro this old thread but 3 years later I've given it another shot and have managed to fix the card.

I was quite sure the card had a hardware defect because it should under no circumstance cause the DIAGNOSE tool to hang. Since 3 years ago I've acquired much better tools (a soldering microscope, a hot air station and a decent soldering iron) so this time I was more confident I could fix the card myself.

First I replaced the 512k chip by a 2MB chip of an 8MB EDO 72-pin SIMM. This procedure is well documented in other threads on this forum.
But it made no difference:
- AWE Control reported 0KB of RAM
- DIAGNOSE tool hanged after detecting the address of the card
- Also the card would keep outputting noise/static after playing .wav files or any other non-MIDI sounds.

I inspected the card thoroughly but found no visual damage or shorts anywhere. None of the chip legs were loose but some were a little corroded. So I've reflowed the AWE chip and the 1MB ROM chip. After that the card works fine again! No static noise, DIAGNOSE recognizes the 2MB and it tests good.

And AWE Control is happy again:

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So for anyone reading this and having similar issues with their AWE card, try reflowing the AWE chip's legs. I would highly recommend using a generous amount of flux and magnification for this. With the right tools, it's an easy job.

Reply 2 of 2, by Horun

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Good work !

Hate posting a reply and then have to edit it because it made no sense 😁 First computer was an IBM 3270 workstation with CGA monitor. Stuff: https://archive.org/details/@horun

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