Hi,

It is like polluting PicoGUS posts by picoMEM but Anyway 😀

I added Mindscape and Covox to the PicoMEM.
Couvox sound master, sound master 2 and multiple other rare boards could be added as well.
So, maybe Ian will take those code and add to the PicoGUS. 😉

What other kind of "not CPU intensive/Impossible with a Pico" can be nice to add ?

FreddyV wrote on 2025-11-08, 09:54:

Hi, […]
Show full quote

Hi,

It is like polluting PicoGUS posts by picoMEM but Anyway 😀

I added Mindscape and Covox to the PicoMEM.
Couvox sound master, sound master 2 and multiple other rare boards could be added as well.
So, maybe Ian will take those code and add to the PicoGUS. 😉

What other kind of "not CPU intensive/Impossible with a Pico" can be nice to add ?

IBM Music Feature? There's emulation for it in DOSBox, but i guess it needs to be ported to ARM. No idea if the RP2040 can do it, if not maybe the RP2350

I'm having an issue getting the CDRom drivers to load on my PicoGUS 2.0 on my 486 Machine.

Specs:
Motherboard: Freetech/Flexus 486F38X
CPU: 486DX2-66
RAM: 64MB
Video: QDI S3VGA PS805 (VLB)
Sound: Soundblaster AWE64 Value
I/O: DTC2278E (VLB)
OS: DOS 6.22
Driver: CDMKE.SYS from PicoGUS wiki

Autoexec.bat:
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $p$g
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\DOS
SET TEMP=C:\DOS
SET CTCM=C:\CTCM
SET SOUND=C:\SB16
SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 H7 P300 E620 T6
SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E MODE:0
LH C:\CTCM\CTCU /S
LH C:\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S
LH C:\SB16\AWEUTIL /S
LH C:\SB16\MIXERSET /P /Q
LH C:\CTMOUSE\CTMOUSE.EXE /S1
LH C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD000

Config.sys:
DOS=HIGH,UMB
FILES=40
BUFFERS=40
STACKS=9,256
LASTDRIVE=H
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF
REM DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM
DEVICEHIGH=DOSEIDE.SYS /2
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\CDMKE.SYS /P:250 /D:MSCD000 /Q
DEVICEHIGH=C:\CTCM\CTCM.EXE

All the other modes work fine on the PicoGus (I use it often with my MT-32Pi), I can see all the images on my USB stick, and I can switch between them. The problem is that when the CDMKE.SYS comes up to load during boot, it gives back an error that states "Interface Board or CD-Rom Drive is not ready". I tried different things with my AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files but nothing worked so far. I even tried the CDGOD disk with several different drivers, but none of them can detect the PicoGUS virtual CD. Anyone got any suggestions?

Isstanar wrote on 2025-11-08, 18:47:

All the other modes work fine on the PicoGus (I use it often with my MT-32Pi), I can see all the images on my USB stick, and I can switch between them. The problem is that when the CDMKE.SYS comes up to load during boot, it gives back an error that states "Interface Board or CD-Rom Drive is not ready". I tried different things with my AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files but nothing worked so far. I even tried the CDGOD disk with several different drivers, but none of them can detect the PicoGUS virtual CD. Anyone got any suggestions?

Try and move the port around (E.g. try 260 or 280), remember the port has to be changed in config.sys (/P:280 parameter) and also on the picogus (/cdport 280 /save). 250 may be blocked by another device.

NeoG_ wrote on 2025-11-08, 21:20:

Isstanar wrote on 2025-11-08, 18:47:

All the other modes work fine on the PicoGus (I use it often with my MT-32Pi), I can see all the images on my USB stick, and I can switch between them. The problem is that when the CDMKE.SYS comes up to load during boot, it gives back an error that states "Interface Board or CD-Rom Drive is not ready". I tried different things with my AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files but nothing worked so far. I even tried the CDGOD disk with several different drivers, but none of them can detect the PicoGUS virtual CD. Anyone got any suggestions?

Try and move the port around (E.g. try 260 or 280), remember the port has to be changed in config.sys (/P:280 parameter) and also on the picogus (/cdport 280 /save). 250 may be blocked by another device.

I cannot believe it was that simple. I switched to port 280 and now it works fine. Thank you sir.

I swear I did try to change the port, but I'm guessing I forgot the /save part.

Isstanar wrote on 2025-11-08, 21:43:

NeoG_ wrote on 2025-11-08, 21:20:

Isstanar wrote on 2025-11-08, 18:47:

All the other modes work fine on the PicoGus (I use it often with my MT-32Pi), I can see all the images on my USB stick, and I can switch between them. The problem is that when the CDMKE.SYS comes up to load during boot, it gives back an error that states "Interface Board or CD-Rom Drive is not ready". I tried different things with my AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files but nothing worked so far. I even tried the CDGOD disk with several different drivers, but none of them can detect the PicoGUS virtual CD. Anyone got any suggestions?

Try and move the port around (E.g. try 260 or 280), remember the port has to be changed in config.sys (/P:280 parameter) and also on the picogus (/cdport 280 /save). 250 may be blocked by another device.

I cannot believe it was that simple. I switched to port 280 and now it works fine. Thank you sir.

I swear I did try to change the port, but I'm guessing I forgot the /save part.

Question 1: "and also on the picogus (/cdport 280 /save)"
=> means that you added a line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT like this?
SET PICOGUS /cdport 280 / save

Question 2: currently I have a PicoGUS 2.0 + MT32 Raspberry board and an AWE64 value with 4 colors + SIMMconn 32MB PS/2
=> how do I connect them with a "sound cable" in order to enable this combination in Doom 1: General Midi on GUS and SB16 effects on AWE64
=> do I need to connect the line out of the GUS to the line in of the AWE64 (which one of the 4 colors shall I take?)

eliot_new wrote on 2025-11-08, 23:11:

Question 1: "and also on the picogus (/cdport 280 /save)"
=> means that you added a line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT like this?
SET PICOGUS /cdport 280 / save

Run: pgusinit /cdport 280 /save
This will set the port and then save the settings to the card so it will remember for future start ups. You need to do this so the settings are ready for the MKE driver in config.sys to be loaded, since any settings you change in autoexec.bat will be too late.

eliot_new wrote on 2025-11-08, 23:11:

Question 2: currently I have a PicoGUS 2.0 + MT32 Raspberry board and an AWE64 value with 4 colors + SIMMconn 32MB PS/2
=> how do I connect them with a "sound cable" in order to enable this combination in Doom 1: General Midi on GUS and SB16 effects on AWE64
=> do I need to connect the line out of the GUS to the line in of the AWE64 (which one of the 4 colors shall I take?)

Yes, connect to the line in of the AWE64, which should be the blue jack. Make sure to turn up the mixer volume for the line in to make sure you can actually hear it.

The mythical polpo has returned, does the prophecy say there is a new firmware version cometh?

NeoG_ wrote on 2025-11-09, 10:33:

The mythical polpo has returned, does the prophecy say there is a new firmware version cometh?

Not any time in the near future. I'm currently busy getting PicoIDE ready for launch: https://picoide.com/

Yes, connect to the line in of the AWE64, which should be the blue jack. Make sure to turn up the mixer volume for the line in to make sure you can actually hear it.

Ok, I will boot now Win98SE and look, whether I have this software "mixer" installed along with the AWE64 drivers. In case I don't find it, I will try these .exe files from Phil:

https://www.philscomputerlab.com/creative-labs-drivers.html

eliot_new wrote on 2025-11-09, 18:05:

Ok, I will boot now Win98SE and look, whether I have this software "mixer" installed along with the AWE64 drivers. In case I don't find it, I will try these .exe files from Phil:

https://www.philscomputerlab.com/creative-labs-drivers.html

I recommend using UNISOUND to init the AWE64 and set the mixer volume: UNISOUND - Universal ISA PnP Sound Card Driver for DOS v0.82a
It's a lot easier to get working than messing with the Creative drivers. Just set your BLASTER variable appropriately and run UNISOUND, adding the /VL99 option to set the line-in volume to 99 (adjust down if it's too loud, but the PicoGUS output is pretty quiet so you probably want it as high as possible).

Polpo, Hello! Could you please tell me, will picoide have the ability to control from dos?

Mr.Hunt wrote on 2025-11-11, 13:49:

Polpo, Hello! Could you please tell me, will picoide have the ability to control from dos?

Wondering about that too, if it is possible with some ATAPI commands or so change the loaded image. This way loading a game via a batch file becomes very convenient.

Mr.Hunt wrote on 2025-11-11, 13:49:

Polpo, Hello! Could you please tell me, will picoide have the ability to control from dos?

carlostex wrote on 2025-11-12, 21:42:

Wondering about that too, if it is possible with some ATAPI commands or so change the loaded image. This way loading a game via a batch file becomes very convenient.

According to polpo, a dos utility is planned.

polpo wrote on 2025-11-09, 14:31:

NeoG_ wrote on 2025-11-09, 10:33:

The mythical polpo has returned, does the prophecy say there is a new firmware version cometh?

Not any time in the near future. I'm currently busy getting PicoIDE ready for launch: https://picoide.com/

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Oh wow, so cool!

So, I got a few PC/104 PicoGUS's made using UzixLS's project Gerbers from GitHub: https://github.com/UzixLS/picogus104 - but now they've arrived, I'm not getting any life from them at all!

I understand it should be a case of connecting via USB with BootSel held down to initialise it as a USB drive, but nothing at all happens. With the USBPower jumper closed and connected to a USB socket, it only measures 0.02v across the fuse by the USB-C socket - so it isn't initialising at all? The ICs don't seem to get at all warm either.

I guess this means there is an error in my part selection, or an assembly error by PCBWay? I've never tinkered with anything this complex before, so any tips on where to start troubleshooting would be very much appreciated!

(PCBWay couldn't source the Dream wavetable chip and didn't have the PC104 headers in stock at the time, so I've done those myself. I also tried a fresh PCB from the batch without these, and get the same total lack of life. Hopefully that means I haven't created a new short from my own soldering?)

EDIT - Solved my own question! I wasn't getting anything using a full USB-C to USB-C cable, or cheap USB-C to USB-A cable, but I tried with a high quality USB-C to USB-A cable and it worked! Doh! So how I have the board programmed, next step is to test it ... gulp ...

FYI: A somewhat related project was just launched, called Picovox.

As the name implies, the Picovox is kind of like a PicoGUS, only it connects to a parallel port instead of an ISA slot, and it aims to emulate most parallel port sound devices. There is already partial support for the Covox Speech Thing, FTL sound adapter, Stereo-on-1, Disney Sound Source (DSS) and OPL2LPT. The developer, @jansakos, is working on this for his Bachelor's thesis, and aims to add support for additional devices as well. Help is welcome!

justin1985 wrote on 2025-11-19, 17:18:

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EDIT - Solved my own question! I wasn't getting anything using a full USB-C to USB-C cable, or cheap USB-C to USB-A cable, but I tried with a high quality USB-C to USB-A cable and it worked! Doh! So how I have the board programmed, next step is to test it ... gulp ...

The programming seemed to work fine in the end (it disconnected when complete). However now I've tried fitting to the PC/104 system (Cyrix MediaGX based), and PGUSINIT reports "No PicoGUS Detected". I've made sure the selected IRQ and DMA are reserved for legacy ISA in the BIOS. Can anyone think of any further troubleshooting steps?

EDIT - I've tried:

• Re-flowing the solder on the header pins (which I'd hand-soldered)
• Trying the PicoGUS on a second PC/104 system - but one with the same Cyrix MediaGX chipset
• Flashing and soldering a second PCB from the batch

But the same "No PicoGUS Detected" message every time. I'm pretty confident I've ruled out soldering issues, or damage from the extensive fiddling with the first board.

One thing that crosses my mind is that a few of the small ICs (U4, U5) were off-brand copies rather than the specified TI parts because of stock at the time of ordering. Could this make a difference? The pin-out of the TI part (https://www.lcsc.com/datasheet/C7803.pdf) and the off-brand one (https://doc.chipmall.com/datasheet/rev_250308 … d_c63245304.pdf) seem to be identical.

Might the Cyrix MediaGX chipset just be incompatible? I've tried two boards but both have the same chipset. I've noticed comments further up this thread about the Vortex86 and some other oddball chipsets being incompatible. Has anyone tested the PicoGUS with a MediaGX desktop board?

Would anyone who has an e.g. Intel chipset PC/104 system like to try out one of my boards?

Quick question on the PicoIDE: has it been tested with an ISA-based IDE adapter, either a strand alone card or one on a sound card? I've had trouble with newer IDE optical drives on ISA adapters, and I've considered going all solid state on my retro PC's instead of fighting with older drives. Thanks.

justin1985 wrote on 2025-11-19, 18:18:

The programming seemed to work fine in the end (it disconnected when complete). However now I've tried fitting to the PC/104 system (Cyrix MediaGX based), and PGUSINIT reports "No PicoGUS Detected". I've made sure the selected IRQ and DMA are reserved for legacy ISA in the BIOS. Can anyone think of any further troubleshooting steps?

PicoGUS uses ports 1D0-1D2 for configuration. Can you check if these addresses are accessible on the PC/104 bus?

I haven't seen a real MediaGX myself so I'm not sure, but I recall reading that MediaGX has something called VSA which the CPU traps certain I/O ports to emulate certain functionalities. It is possible that VSA might have captured the I/O cycles meant for PicoGUS...