CMI8738 and Duke Nukem 3D \ VOGONS

CMI8738 and Duke Nukem 3D

Topic actions

First post, by Christiano

Posted on 2019-05-11, 04:01

Christiano Offline

Rank Newbie

Rank: Newbie
Posts: 11
Joined: 2018-03-12, 11:02

Hello there!

I have a big problem when running the game Duke Nukem 3D.
I own a classic CMI 8738 with DOS drivers installed ver 2.1 . Install folder is C:\PCIAUD

When I setup the sound I will get the same error: invalid or conflicting DMA channel.
I mention that only with the sound fx i have this problem. The music works, configured as ADLIB.

Has anyone managed to set the sound right ?

P.S. i attached a printscreen with my NSSI readings related to the sound card. Thanks,

Reply 1 of 6, by rasz_pl

Posted on 2019-05-11, 04:48

rasz_pl Offline

Rank l33t

Rank: l33t
Posts: 4208
Joined: 2017-06-04, 00:57

dma 0

https://github.com/raszpl/FIC-486-GAC-2-Cache-Module for AT&T Globalyst
https://github.com/raszpl/386RC-16 memory board
https://github.com/raszpl/440BX Reference Design adapted to Kicad
https://github.com/raszpl/Zenith_ZBIOS MFM-300 Monitor

Reply 2 of 6, by Christiano

Posted on 2019-05-11, 05:29

Christiano Offline

Rank Newbie

Rank: Newbie
Posts: 11
Joined: 2018-03-12, 11:02

I tried. DMA 1, DMA 0.
No luck!

Reply 3 of 6, by rasz_pl

Posted on 2019-05-11, 07:32

rasz_pl Offline

Rank l33t

Rank: l33t
Posts: 4208
Joined: 2017-06-04, 00:57

what is the dma number driver assigns to this card? I suspect NSSI just shows whats in te BLASTER string
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHKa-TE-U4Y

Reply 4 of 6, by Christiano

Posted on 2019-05-11, 15:38

Christiano Offline

Rank Newbie

Rank: Newbie
Posts: 11
Joined: 2018-03-12, 11:02

In autoexec.bat it gets loaded with SET BLASTER command, 1 for DMA low, 5 for DMA high.

Other games are working for me also, but with Duke Nukem I have this problem.

Reply 5 of 6, by ubercoder

Posted on 2025-09-08, 18:07

ubercoder Offline

Rank Newbie

Rank: Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: 2025-08-31, 09:11

I appreciate that this an ancient thread, but this may help someone else stumbling across this issue/scenario.

I have an onboard CMI 8738 (rather than as a plug-in card) and I found IRQ 5, 8-bit DMA 1 and 16bit DMA 5 worked for the FX sound. I couldn't get the music output to work, though.

Reply 6 of 6, by DudeFace

Posted on 2025-09-27, 09:02

DudeFace Offline

Rank Member

Rank: Member
Posts: 310
Joined: 2021-03-18, 17:42

ubercoder wrote on 2025-09-08, 18:07:

I appreciate that this an ancient thread, but this may help someone else stumbling across this issue/scenario.

I have an onboard CMI 8738 (rather than as a plug-in card) and I found IRQ 5, 8-bit DMA 1 and 16bit DMA 5 worked for the FX sound. I couldn't get the music output to work, though.

the problems with a plug in card is they dont work fully under pure dos on chipsets without DDMA , so you will only have fm synth (adlib OPL2/3) working, no sound fx,
with dos games in windows 98 the card is fully working even without DDMA support depending on the driver used (the latest drivers dont support fm synth, so you will only have sound fx and a midi soft synth)

the issues with plug in cards i assume doesnt apply to onboard 8738, though i dont own one i cant confirm, but if you use an older driver you might have more luck, version 2.37a has fm synth working as well as version 2.73, any after this ive found doesnt support fm synth.

Go to top of page Go to top of page

Back to Sound