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Broken or harvested AWE32 CT2760

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First post, by Aebtdom

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Hi all,

I have a question about my recently aquired AWE32.
As written in the title, this is a non PNP, 1994 CT2760.

First of all, it is missing 4 capacitors.
The C100, C131, C156 and the C159.

Next to that, when plugged in, the card gets warm.
Like 40C
It is not recognized by Diagnose.exe on 220 (where it is set to)

Should it be able to be recognized at all?

I figured out that i need a 1uF 50v, 10uF 16V, and 2x 470uF 16v respectively for the harvested sockets.

But is it worth my time?
See pics below.

Builds:

Xp3000+ radeon 9600XT + vd2 SLI 12MB + 512MB + SB live @ WinXP & 98 Dualboot.

AMD K6-3+ 600Mhz+ Geforce 3 Ti 500 + 3Dfx Voodoo 2 12MB SLI + Sound Blaster 32 + 128MB SDR @ msdos / win98.

Reply 1 of 5, by rasz_pl

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those caps are in audio section, I would be very surprised if putting them back fixed the card
you can solder any, even used bug still good >=470uf 16v lowser caps temporarily to verify

Last edited by rasz_pl on 2026-08-23, 01:05. Edited 1 time in total.

https://github.com/raszpl/sigrok-disk FM/MFM/RLL decoder
https://github.com/raszpl/FIC-486-GAC-2-Cache-Module (AT&T Globalyst)
https://github.com/raszpl/386RC-16 ram board
https://github.com/raszpl/Zenith_ZBIOS Zenith Z-386 MFM-300 ZBIOS disassembly

Reply 2 of 5, by Shponglefan

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I agree that missing caps in the audio section of the board probably won't stop it from being detected. It's also odd those caps were removed in the first place. Perhaps someone was trying to fix the card and didn't know what was wrong with it, so they were going to try a recap?

You could try replacing them and see if that changes anything. If it doesn't, I would try the following as next steps:

  • Check all the ICs for loose pins. I've had cases where pins have become loose over time causing sound cards to fail detection.
  • Test for shorts/continuity
  • Test voltages
  • Test resistances on all resistors
  • Test clock crystals to make sure they are outputting the correct signals

Pentium 4 Multi-OS Build
486 DX4-100 with 6 sound cards
486 DX-33 with 5 sound cards

Reply 3 of 5, by Aebtdom

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Thanks for the replies.

I will first take the time for a recap and after that a thorough check for loose pins, thing is 32years old after all.

Builds:

Xp3000+ radeon 9600XT + vd2 SLI 12MB + 512MB + SB live @ WinXP & 98 Dualboot.

AMD K6-3+ 600Mhz+ Geforce 3 Ti 500 + 3Dfx Voodoo 2 12MB SLI + Sound Blaster 32 + 128MB SDR @ msdos / win98.

Reply 4 of 5, by Many Bothans

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If this is one of the cards with an EEPROM, take a peek at this thread, specifically the post by Tronix- SB2AWE EEPROM flasher utility.

I had a CT3600 that refused detection with DIAGNOSE or UNISOUND. Reflashing the card resolved the issue and it will soon be part of a new Socket 7 build I'm working on.

  • Zenith Z386SX-20, 8MB FPM, Video 7 1024i, Unhoused
  • AOpen AP43, Am5x86-133@160, 1MB L2, 128MB FPM, Stealth III S540 32MB Savage4, SB32
  • ITX-Llama, 3Dfx V3
  • Asus CUV4X-E, P3-933, 512MB PC133, Hercules 3D Prophet II MX 32MB, SB Live!

Reply 5 of 5, by ElTentakel

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Yes, I can confirm, that this card has sometimes issues with currupted EEPROM data, since I fixed one two years ago. I've also checked voltages, removed the EEPROM IC and flashed it with one of my other CT3670 and it works even now perfectly. Don't inject 5V with a programmer - disconnect the Vcc pin or better remove the whole chip.

I have the feeling that the EEPRom data curruption is caused by using the Creative tools - I would double check the eeprom after setting something there. Windows on the other hand does'nt change it.

> But is it worth my time?
Thats on you - but if not, you wouldn't be here 😁

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