5a796d wrote on 2025-09-18, 05:04:

My current system (sblive/a7v600-x/win98) with unfortunate does not detect the sound card in the DOS games started by Win98, des […]
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My current system (sblive/a7v600-x/win98) with unfortunate does not detect the sound card in the DOS games started by Win98, despite having everything in place (Drivers, IRQ, conflicts etc.
) I know the problem is the KT600 chipset (a7v600-x) that no longer supports nmi.

I have an audigy 2 ZS, reading in the first post, reference is made to the advice to use the audigy instead of the release because the latter has compatibility problems.

Now I wonder: My Audigy 2 ZS on the KT600 and the sb16 emulation is detected?

I have an A7V600 with 98se and an Audigy 2 ZS and I can tell you it works.
But it's hugely resource dependant and you have to fiddle with different PCI slots.

GeorgeMan wrote on 2025-09-18, 05:07:

5a796d wrote on 2025-09-18, 05:04:

My current system (sblive/a7v600-x/win98) with unfortunate does not detect the sound card in the DOS games started by Win98, des […]
Show full quote

My current system (sblive/a7v600-x/win98) with unfortunate does not detect the sound card in the DOS games started by Win98, despite having everything in place (Drivers, IRQ, conflicts etc.
) I know the problem is the KT600 chipset (a7v600-x) that no longer supports nmi.

I have an audigy 2 ZS, reading in the first post, reference is made to the advice to use the audigy instead of the release because the latter has compatibility problems.

Now I wonder: My Audigy 2 ZS on the KT600 and the sb16 emulation is detected?

I have an A7V600 with 98se and an Audigy 2 ZS and I can tell you it works.
But it's hugely resource dependant and you have to fiddle with different PCI slots.

Thank you so much! Can you tell me which slot did you put the audigy? Because at the moment I put the sblive on the third PCI slot from above to not have conflicts. I have only GPU and Sound Card

5a796d wrote on 2025-09-18, 05:04:

I have an audigy 2 ZS, reading in the first post, reference is made to the advice to use the audigy instead of the release because the latter has compatibility problems.

You have that backwards.

The advice is to use Audigy 2 and ZS cards on VIA chipsets since they are less susceptible to the VIA latency bug.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-09-18, 05:23:

5a796d wrote on 2025-09-18, 05:04:

I have an audigy 2 ZS, reading in the first post, reference is made to the advice to use the audigy instead of the release because the latter has compatibility problems.

You have that backwards.

The advice is to use Audigy 2 and ZS cards on VIA chipsets since they are less susceptible to the VIA latency bug.

Thanks for the clarification 👍🏻

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-09-16, 04:05:

This seems to be a hardcoded limitation of Creative's drivers which only affects Audigy 2 ZS cards. Older models such as the regular Audigy 2 (SB0240) and Audigy 1 (SB0090) are unaffected.

Indeed.

I installed VXD driver from Audigy 2 CD (using CTZAPXX.EXE) on Audigy 2 ZS and it partially worked!

Notes:
- Onboard analog outputs have NO SOUND. Seems these cards have different i2s mapping or something.
- Headphone output works on 5.25" panel.
- Some Creative apps crash when errors occur.
- Control Mixer now has S/PDIF inputs (CD Digital/SPDIF-in), but I haven’t tested them yet, and they are fully functional.

ott wrote on 2025-09-19, 05:23:

I installed VXD driver from Audigy 2 CD (using CTZAPXX.EXE) on Audigy 2 ZS and it partially worked!

The reverse is also true, meaning if you install ZS drivers (VxD version) on a regular Audigy 2 (SB0240) the "CD Digital" slider will be visible and functional in the mixer.

For some reason, Creative specifically chose to disable it on ZS cards only. I've looked into this a while back and it might be somehow tied to the hardware ID of those cards. Also, I think Dolby Digital decoding is entirely missing on ZS cards when using VxD drivers, while that works just fine on regular Audigy 2 cards.

I checked Vortex 2 with S/PDIF out as second card, and yes, Audigy 2 ZS S/PDIF inputs are fully functional in Audigy 2 VXD driver.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-09-19, 06:09:

The reverse is also true, meaning if you install ZS drivers (VxD version) on a regular Audigy 2 (SB0240) the "CD Digital" slider will be visible and functional in the mixer.

I downloaded about 15 Audigy's Installation CDs (ISO images) for analysis, I wouldn't be surprised if later Audigy2 and A2ZS disks have similar driver files.

ott wrote on 2025-09-19, 07:53:

I checked Vortex 2 with S/PDIF out as second card, and yes, Audigy 2 ZS S/PDIF inputs are fully functional in Audigy 2 VXD driver.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-09-19, 06:09:

The reverse is also true, meaning if you install ZS drivers (VxD version) on a regular Audigy 2 (SB0240) the "CD Digital" slider will be visible and functional in the mixer.

I downloaded about 15 Audigy's Installation CDs (ISO images) for analysis, I wouldn't be surprised if later Audigy2 and A2ZS disks have similar driver files.

Btw I can confirm the guide works great on my Gigabyte 775 motherboard. I used your files to get my Audigy 2 ZS sound on the Win 98 se system. However it seems the sound card itself has to be on the first PCI slot for it to work. Otherwise I get no sound or the video card stops working. Also most of the unneeded ports and onboard audio/usb had to be disabled from the BIOS.

Thanks again.

I followed the procedure and it worked, but I have two problems.

Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro SB0360 on a KT600 A7V600-X motherboard

1. The gameport doesn't work. It's not a big problem since I also have it on my motherboard, but I would have preferred it on the Audigy 2.

2. The audio often makes strange noises or disappears for a fraction of a second.

If you could resolve this, I would be grateful.

5a796d wrote on 2025-09-25, 17:01:

I followed the procedure and it worked, but I have two problems. […]
Show full quote

I followed the procedure and it worked, but I have two problems.

Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro SB0360 on a KT600 A7V600-X motherboard

1. The gameport doesn't work. It's not a big problem since I also have it on my motherboard, but I would have preferred it on the Audigy 2.

2. The audio often makes strange noises or disappears for a fraction of a second.

If you could resolve this, I would be grateful.

At a guess, it seems like your motherboard has an integrated sound card which might not be turned off, since you mentioned the on-board gameport. Try completely disabling integrated audio, either in the BIOS (if the option exists) or via the relevant jumper on the motherboard (if available).

Aside from that, do a search on VIA chipset latency issues with Creative sound cards. In theory, that shouldn't affect Audigy 2 and ZS cards, but in practice things could be different.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-09-25, 19:24:

5a796d wrote on 2025-09-25, 17:01:

I followed the procedure and it worked, but I have two problems. […]
Show full quote

I followed the procedure and it worked, but I have two problems.

Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro SB0360 on a KT600 A7V600-X motherboard

1. The gameport doesn't work. It's not a big problem since I also have it on my motherboard, but I would have preferred it on the Audigy 2.

2. The audio often makes strange noises or disappears for a fraction of a second.

If you could resolve this, I would be grateful.

At a guess, it seems like your motherboard has an integrated sound card which might not be turned off, since you mentioned the on-board gameport. Try completely disabling integrated audio, either in the BIOS (if the option exists) or via the relevant jumper on the motherboard (if available).

Aside from that, do a search on VIA chipset latency issues with Creative sound cards. In theory, that shouldn't affect Audigy 2 and ZS cards, but in practice things could be different.

The integrated sound card is disabled. Gameport is internal to the motherboard with an expansion module and can be activated exclusively via BIOS, thus leaving the sound card disabled. I'm aware of the latency patch for sound cards, so I'll give it a try but seems vt8237 not work with patch.

Regarding the audigy gameport it is detected correctly in windows but the controller is not detected

Via patch does not work on my a7v600-x kt600 and the creative patch does not find the registry key, evidently this is also not compatible with audigy 2

Edit:
The slightly distorted audio problem occurs with F1 GP2. Other games work perfectly (e.g., Doom, Alone in the Dark, GP Circuits). Others, however, have no audio at all (Wolf3D). Another game crashes if I use audio (Who Shot Johnny Rock).

I am not an expert on this but for people having issues, you can try switching the card around the PCI slots. I had issues with the installation and sound in general when the card was in PCI slot 2 and 3. When I switched it to 1 after getting a PCIE graphics card, my problems went away.

5a796d wrote on 2025-09-26, 04:50:

The slightly distorted audio problem occurs with F1 GP2. Other games work perfectly (e.g., Doom, Alone in the Dark, GP Circuits). Others, however, have no audio at all (Wolf3D). Another game crashes if I use audio (Who Shot Johnny Rock).

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but be advised that the SB16 compatibility of SBLive/Audigy cards isn't perfect. It simply wasn't a priority for Creative at that time. Older games in particular may have issues with it.

This is true for most PCI sound cards with regards to DOS gaming. Ideally, you want an ISA sound card if you're serious about DOS.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-09-26, 17:20:

5a796d wrote on 2025-09-26, 04:50:

The slightly distorted audio problem occurs with F1 GP2. Other games work perfectly (e.g., Doom, Alone in the Dark, GP Circuits). Others, however, have no audio at all (Wolf3D). Another game crashes if I use audio (Who Shot Johnny Rock).

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but be advised that the SB16 compatibility of SBLive/Audigy cards isn't perfect. It simply wasn't a priority for Creative at that time. Older games in particular may have issues with it.

This is true for most PCI sound cards with regards to DOS gaming. Ideally, you want an ISA sound card if you're serious about DOS.

Okay, thanks.
As for DOS mode, is there a way to get it to work? I've read various posts and followed all the guides. The card boots up and detects itself perfectly, but it doesn't produce any sound.

5a796d wrote on 2025-09-27, 06:25:

Okay, thanks.
As for DOS mode, is there a way to get it to work? I've read various posts and followed all the guides. The card boots up and detects itself perfectly, but it doesn't produce any sound.

You need to run AUDIGY12.EXE each time you boot into pure DOS if using an Audigy 2 or ZS card.

It's mentioned under step 5.9 of this guide.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-09-27, 06:38:

5a796d wrote on 2025-09-27, 06:25:

Okay, thanks.
As for DOS mode, is there a way to get it to work? I've read various posts and followed all the guides. The card boots up and detects itself perfectly, but it doesn't produce any sound.

You need to run AUDIGY12.EXE each time you boot into pure DOS if using an Audigy 2 or ZS card.

It's mentioned under step 5.9 of this guide.

I did that but it doesn't work, I mean it loads but I have no audio

5a796d wrote on 2025-09-27, 06:41:

I did that but it doesn't work, I mean it loads but I have no audio

No idea then. Maybe there's some other issue on your system, or possibly the SB0360 model is too new for the utility. Also, if you're using SPDIF out, that won't work in pure DOS.

For reference, the last sound card where Creative officially included DOS drivers and SB16 emulation was the original Audigy (SB0090). In comparison, Audigy 2 and ZS cards had no DOS support at all. The utilities and workarounds included in this guide were made by various community members (e.g. AUDIGY12.EXE was created by user @PDSoft) to enable that functionality on Audigy 2 and ZS cards. But it's possible that this approach won't work on some of the newer models of those cards.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-09-27, 06:56:

5a796d wrote on 2025-09-27, 06:41:

I did that but it doesn't work, I mean it loads but I have no audio

No idea then. Maybe there's some other issue on your system, or possibly the SB0360 model is too new for the utility. Also, if you're using SPDIF out, that won't work in pure DOS.

For reference, the last sound card where Creative officially included DOS drivers and SB16 emulation was the original Audigy (SB0090). In comparison, Audigy 2 and ZS cards had no DOS support at all. The utilities and workarounds included in this guide were made by various community members (e.g. AUDIGY12.EXE was created by user @PDSoft) to enable that functionality on Audigy 2 and ZS cards. But it's possible that this approach won't work on some of the newer models of those cards.

I replaced the Audigy 2 with the SB Live and kept the same drivers. DOS mode still doesn't work with SB Live, but at least now I have a working gameport, and thanks to these drivers, I can play DOS games on Windows, F1 gp2 same problem but that's ok . Unfortunately, not all of them, but it's fine. Thanks so much for your help.

5a796d wrote on 2025-09-27, 07:49:

I replaced the Audigy 2 with the SB Live and kept the same drivers.

While these drivers will work on SBLive cards, some of the accompanying Creative utilities will not (e.g. EAX Console, Speaker Setup etc).

I have a slightly different guide for SBLive cards which has fully functional utilities, if those are of interest to you. They mostly come into play if you're using surround speakers or if you want to fine tune EAX settings.