You should be able to enable SbPro emulation from the BIOS then.
V.

Unregistered wrote:

I too use win98 and want to ge VMDS or equivalent software for the sound card.

Universal SoundBlaster emulation for Win9x operating systems may be possible, but very unlikely. It would be very difficult and there is little reason for it.

Your sound card should have some form of SoundBlaster emulation, either natively, or by use of a software application.

Would SoundFX 2000 work in Windows 9x?

I don't think so.

Snover wrote:

Would SoundFX 2000 work in Windows 9x?

NT4 or 2000 only (XP counting as 2000).

Huh. That's dumb, since it just routes stuff through Windows to the sound card, right?

The first thing I did was try to change the settings in my bios--No luck.
Next I started searching the net for a dos driver for the sound card--since the driver I got only works in windows and does not even support a the win-dosbox.--No luck again

I checked the sound max web, It seems that it cant emulate sound blaster cards, so no chance of getting a straightforward dos dirver.

Finally I got a software called "DosBox" @ http://dosbox.zophar.net
This software runs the dos file like in an emulator and uses a sdl layer to play all the calls to the soundcard.
However this is an emulator for all things dos and thus the execution is very slow. Also some dos exe's cant be used.

So I was hopeing that their was some VMDS version for win9x or some software that solely emulates a soundblaster card for win9x.

Some other software I downloades include
Gusemu32 : ts@deinmeister.de -- emulates gravis ultrasound
Dodge : http://www.eliel.com
Boches : http://bochs.sourceforge.net/

All were only partially successfull.
Gusemu was the best bet as the others are dos emulators that also support soundblaster. However no mater what I have tried my dos games cant detect the virtual ultrasound card.

Hoping someone can point me in the right direction..
Kong

I've had programs detect a GUS card with GUSEmu, but never actually PLAY through it.

Unregistered wrote:

The first thing I did was try to change the settings in my bios--No luck.

It looks like "real-mode" DOS audio is impossible. Came across this:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The audio (and modem) hardware doesn't actually exist--it's all done in software. It's all virtual. The Integrated Audio-Codec 97 controller enables software audio and modem by using the processor to run sound and modem software.

Next I started searching the net for a dos driver for the sound card--since the driver I got only works in windows and does not even support a the win-dosbox.

There should at least be DOS-box level emulation, but I think it's a moot point. The way the chipset works isn't going to be very tolerant of any kind of DOS audio beyond the bare minimum, even if you could get it working.

Finally I got a software called "DosBox"...

Yes, it's only up to early un-protected mode 386 games right now. Still, it's very, very handy.

So I was hopeing that their was some VMDS version for win9x or some software that solely emulates a soundblaster card for win9x.

Like Vlad once said, "You want it? Start programming." (Actually he put it more politely than that...). A lot of effort for something that helps only a few and has no future (the DOS O.S.'s are now past tense).

Gusemu was the best bet as the others are dos emulators that also support soundblaster. However no mater what I have tried my dos games cant detect the virtual ultrasound card.

That is a mystery I've yet to figure out. Most demos, no problem. Have yet to see a single DOS game that would work with it.

I'm afraid the best answer is one that you won't like very much: Go get a good sound card. The built-in audio you have is apparently primitive and you should still be able to find a decent soundcard with true DOS support at a low price.
("Word of Warning" here, true DOS audio support is becoming more and more rare. A lot of cards are simply stopping at the "DOSbox" level).

If at all possible, try getting either a Sound Blaster Live! (any derivitive works fine, I've had both the 'original' and 'platinum' flavours) or an AWE64. (The only reason I suggest the Live! over the AWE64 is that it has more room for soundfonts -- granted, they only work in Windows, but it WILL be your all-around sound card.)

The thing is that there are on ISA slots on my mother board and I dont know whether the old dos games would be able to use a pci sound card...

Unregistered wrote:

The thing is that there are on ISA slots on my mother board and I dont know whether the old dos games would be able to use a pci sound card...

While there are some issues with DOS and PCI audio cards, you'll find that a card like SoundBlaster Live or just about any card that mentions support for real mode DOS should be OK. If it says nothing about support for DOS, stay away. Keep the receipt and test for DOS support immediately after you finish it's installation.

AFAIK, the SBLive! was the last generation that had support for DOS audio, and I'm not even sure that has an OPL chip.

Snover wrote:

...I'm not even sure that has an OPL chip.

That sounds right. However there are some other sound cards on the market to choose from:

http://www.aopen.com/products/sound/default.htm

AOpen has some decent cards at a decent price.

Note the wording for the support, though:
AW840
--------------------------------------
# DOS Legacy Mode Support:
Support DOS compatible modes: DDMA under Windows 95/98
Sound Blaster™, Sound Blaster Pro™ System compatible
# Drivers:
Support Windows 95/98/98SE
Windows Me
Windows NT 4.0
Windows 2000

See where it says DOS Legacy mode, yet there are no DOS drivers?
That translates to DosBox within Windows support only.

AW540
--------------------------------------
# FM Synthesizer
# Hardware Sound Blaster Pro compatibility
# Driver Support
- Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me VXD driver
- Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
- Microsoft Windows 2000 driver
- MS-DOS

So the AW540 is the kind of thing to look for. Wow, only 1 of 9 soundcards they have supports DOS. They really are getting rare.

It's usually not the sound card that doesn't support DOS, it's the drivers. (Sucks having to write stuff in assembly, I guess. 😉)

Unregistered wrote:

I too use win98 and want to ge VMDS or equivalent software for the sound card. I have an intergrated sound card 'Sound Max' on an i810 mother board.
Any suggestions.....?

Read this thread and good luck!
showthread.php?threadid=119

IOW, yes, you could buy a new i8xx-motherboard that uses the FM801, which should then work. Not a "nice" solution, though.

AFAIK, the SBLive! was the last generation that had support for DOS audio, and I'm not even sure that has an OPL chip.

Nope! It was emulated...

Huh. That's dumb, since it just routes stuff through Windows to the sound card, right?

It CAN, but it does have an emulator too. Have you ever looked at the product?