Pretty sweet! Thanks.

i know you said "all x86 cpus" but there's support for 16 bit micros? (8088/86 and 286)

Interesting!

What about support Yamaha YMF744 and YMF754 chips? And specific cards like Roland Sound Canvas.

Wow this is very interesting, thanks for sharing!

MAZter wrote on 2020-03-13, 05:17:

And specific cards like Roland Sound Canvas.

Did you understand what this tool does? I don't see how this would be useful for a Roland Sound Canvas...

weldum wrote on 2020-03-13, 01:56:

i know you said "all x86 cpus" but there's support for 16 bit micros? (8088/86 and 286)

Yes! It supports 8088/8086/286 😀 I updated the first post to reflect this.
(some cards will work well in a 8-bit ISA slot, and some others will not, it depends on the card, if it uses 16 bit lines or not).

MAZter wrote on 2020-03-13, 05:17:

What about support Yamaha YMF744 and YMF754 chips? And specific cards like Roland Sound Canvas.

Yamaha YMF74x and 75x are PCI sound chipsets, so no, they are not supported. This tool works with ISA cards only.
About the Roland, there are not PnP Roland cards (at least, I don't know any), so, no.

This looks like a pretty interesting tool, I will try it at some point ~

Maybe you should consider building this as a device driver instead so it could be loaded from config.sys?

Very nice! I have always hoped for such a tool to exist! Thank you for making this, I'll try to remember that it exists when I configure software.

jmarsh wrote on 2020-03-14, 20:12:

Maybe you should consider building this as a device driver instead so it could be loaded from config.sys?

Where I grew up, if someone buys me a free lunch I'm not inclined to tell them if I don't like the way it tastes, rather I appreciate the gesture and the full belly that I didn't have to pay for. You are certainly free to do the research, learn how to code and develop a driver based solution for this issue, or pay someone to do so if you don't like the way this free utility works?

Anyway, the intent of this tool, as I understand it, is to invoke the PnP configuration parameters for a broad range of audio cards that are usually impossible to find the original PnP configuration utilities for. It was not uncommon for generic / OEM / budget cards to lack a "driver" component that can be loaded in CONFIG.SYS either (the wedge shaped Aztech ISA cards that HP pumped out in the thousands, for example). The Aztech cards require that you invoke a proprietary PnP configuration utility at boot to initialize the hardware and set configuration, and then a separate .EXE mixer file to set volume levels... exactly like this utility. Instead of having to track down card-specific utilities for the numerous unmarked ISA sound cards that are otherwise impossible to configure for use in DOS games, this utility has you covered. I have at least 3 currently "DOS unusable" OPTI / Crystal / Analog Devices PNP ISA audio cards sitting in a pile that I haven't been able to find compatible drivers/config utilities for, so I'm stoked to give this utility a try. Providing a low footprint, generic solution to initialize a broad range of PnP ISA sound hardware is incredibly useful, like the CuteMouse driver it's sure to become a staple for making hard to ID hardware useful again without the fuss and drama of tracking down original or "close enough" configuration and driver software for each card you find out in the wild.

Thank you OP, what a great contribution to the retro/DOS hardware gaming community!

Hi, I'm new to dos and I'm trying to use unisound to configure my pc's pnp soundblaster 16 card (CT2980).

How exactly do I install it? The .zip download contains unisound.com - okay - then I put it on a floppy disk and stick it into the pc - so far so good - but then what? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

EcoPeeko wrote on 2020-03-23, 21:13:

Hi, I'm new to dos and I'm trying to use unisound to configure my pc's pnp soundblaster 16 card (CT2980).

How exactly do I install it? The .zip download contains unisound.com - okay - then I put it on a floppy disk and stick it into the pc - so far so good - but then what? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

Hi,

Why are you putting the file on a floppy disk?
If you plan to use it to configure your SB16 permanently in your HDD, simply do this:

Copy UNISOUND.COM to your HDD (where you want, root, a folder..)

Edit your C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and put this two lines (assuming you put UNISOUND.COM in C:\ ):

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H1 P330
C:\UNISOUND.COM /V80

That's it. Card will be initialized on every boot, and will work perfectly if values are not in conflict with any other card. (/V80 parameter is optional, is the volume of mixer master output. If it is too loud, you can lower the value.. to 60, 50.. or what you want. Range is from 00 to 99).

Now the details:

If you have more cards in your system that could use any of the resources of the card equal to the ones i put in the SET BLASTER line (Base address 220h, IRQ 5 , DMA 1, HDMA 1) the you may change it to other values, example: A220 I7 D1 H5 P330)....

In addition, if your card has an IDE header and you plan to use a CD-ROM drive connected to it, you must do this:

- Download VIDE-CDD.SYS and DEVLOAD.COM from here: https://www.hiren.info/downloads/dos-files
- Copy them to your HDD
- The C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT modifications are now:

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H1 P330 C168
C:\UNISOUND.COM /V80
DEVLOAD VIDE-CDD.SYS /D:MSCD001
MSCDEX /D:MSCD001

That's all. (The new parameter in the BLASTER line C168 will enable the IDE port on the card, and set it to quaternary).

Tell us if you got it working well.

This is nice. I'll test my sb16 (CT2950) with it soon.

JazeFox wrote on 2020-03-23, 21:44:

Hi, […]
Show full quote

EcoPeeko wrote on 2020-03-23, 21:13:

Hi, I'm new to dos and I'm trying to use unisound to configure my pc's pnp soundblaster 16 card (CT2980).

How exactly do I install it? The .zip download contains unisound.com - okay - then I put it on a floppy disk and stick it into the pc - so far so good - but then what? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

Hi,

Why are you putting the file on a floppy disk?
If you plan to use it to configure your SB16 permanently in your HDD, simply do this:

Copy UNISOUND.COM to your HDD (where you want, root, a folder..)

Edit your C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and put this two lines (assuming you put UNISOUND.COM in C:\ ):

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H1 P330
C:\UNISOUND.COM /V80

That's it. Card will be initialized on every boot, and will work perfectly if values are not in conflict with any other card. (/V80 parameter is optional, is the volume of mixer master output. If it is too loud, you can lower the value.. to 60, 50.. or what you want. Range is from 00 to 99).

Now the details:

If you have more cards in your system that could use any of the resources of the card equal to the ones i put in the SET BLASTER line (Base address 220h, IRQ 5 , DMA 1, HDMA 1) the you may change it to other values, example: A220 I7 D1 H5 P330)....

In addition, if your card has an IDE header and you plan to use a CD-ROM drive connected to it, you must do this:

- Download VIDE-CDD.SYS and DEVLOAD.COM from here: https://www.hiren.info/downloads/dos-files
- Copy them to your HDD
- The C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT modifications are now:

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H1 P330 C168
C:\UNISOUND.COM /V80
DEVLOAD VIDE-CDD.SYS /D:MSCD001
MSCDEX /D:MSCD001

That's all. (The new parameter in the BLASTER line C168 will enable the IDE port on the card, and set it to quaternary).

Tell us if you got it working well.

I copied the UNISOUND.COM file from the floppy disk I had put it on into C:\ and edited C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT like you said, but now MS DOS fails to load properly.

Here is the entirety of my autoexec.bat file:

LH /L:0;2,45456 /S C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE /X
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $p$g
PATH C:\WINDOWS;C:\DOS
SET TEMP=C:\DOS
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H1 P330
C:\UNISOUND.COM /V80

The last two lines are what I added. Everything else is the same as before when it was working. As far as I'm aware there's only one sound card, and the pc has no CD ROM drive.

@EcoPeeko

Ok, let's do some checks...

First of all, when you say that MS-DOS fails to load properly, what do you mean exactly?
It throws any error? in that case, what error? the computer hangs? could you explain what happens with details?

And, if you can, download the great HWiNFO tool from HWiNFO for DOS resurrected !
and run it as: hwinfo -r
it should create a HWINFO.LOG file. Upload it here to see what can be interferring with the initialization.

If you can not work in DOS properly to run HWiNFO, edit autoexec and delete the unisound line. If you can not edit it properly, press F5 while booting, before MS-DOS boots, to avoid autoexec execution. Then edit the file.

Let us know when you have results.

Seems like a great tool! However, my AZT2320 card doesn't work with it (unknown pnp card, not compatible). It's actually reported as an AZT1008 by the tool (and other PNP stuff). It's this card: https://www.philscomputerlab.com/hp-mm-pro-16v-a.html and the chip does read 2320.

Also, support for the AZT2316 would be nice 😀

Edit: I hex-edited AZT1022 to AZT1008 in the .com file and that made it detect and initialize the card. Unfortunately games still can't play any sound (Duke3D setup complains about a possible DMA error), which is the same result I get with the Aztech PNP tool or Intel ICU, so it's 99% sure working fine and there's something else wrong.

@JazeFox

It says "Starting MS-DOS..." and then nothing happens and it won't respond to key presses. I guess hanging is the word.

About HWiNFO. Honestly, I barely know how to use MS DOS - Running HWiNFO feels equally as daunting as running Unisound, or any other program for that matter. I removed the Unisound lines from autoexec.bat, and I know enough to copy files into directories, but it's the "get the program running without breaking something" step that keeps tripping me up. If I try to run HWiNFO I worry I'll be back at square one troubleshooting why that too won't work. Like, say I copy the HWiNFO files into C:\, then what do I do with them ? Do I edit some file like config.sys or autoexec.bat to load it? Do I run hwinfo.exe? I hate to be difficult but you really need to go step by step or you'll lose me.

Ill try and check it out on the weekend. Will it enable more than one sound card? I have GUS PnP and AWE32 in one machine and I have to run iwinit and ctcu/diagnose..

Oetker wrote on 2020-03-24, 20:39:

Seems like a great tool! However, my AZT2320 card doesn't work with it (unknown pnp card, not compatible). It's actually reported as an AZT1008 by the tool (and other PNP stuff). It's this card: https://www.philscomputerlab.com/hp-mm-pro-16v-a.html and the chip does read 2320.

Also, support for the AZT2316 would be nice 😀

Edit: I hex-edited AZT1022 to AZT1008 in the .com file and that made it detect and initialize the card. Unfortunately games still can't play any sound (Duke3D setup complains about a possible DMA error), which is the same result I get with the Aztech PNP tool or Intel ICU, so it's 99% sure working fine and there's something else wrong.

I updated to version 0.65c with support for new vendor IDs for Aztech 2320 compatible cards (like your AZT1008).
About your problem with no sound... I don't know what could be happening, it works well with my AZT1022 card and other user tested it with a AZT1006 ID card and worked well too...
Are you sure you don't have conflicts with any other hardware? Are you sure your card is not faulty? did you test it in a different PC? is it working under windows9x?

EcoPeeko wrote on 2020-03-24, 21:02:

@JazeFox

It says "Starting MS-DOS..." and then nothing happens and it won't respond to key presses. I guess hanging is the word.

About HWiNFO. Honestly, I barely know how to use MS DOS - Running HWiNFO feels equally as daunting as running Unisound, or any other program for that matter. I removed the Unisound lines from autoexec.bat, and I know enough to copy files into directories, but it's the "get the program running without breaking something" step that keeps tripping me up. If I try to run HWiNFO I worry I'll be back at square one troubleshooting why that too won't work. Like, say I copy the HWiNFO files into C:\, then what do I do with them ? Do I edit some file like config.sys or autoexec.bat to load it? Do I run hwinfo.exe? I hate to be difficult but you really need to go step by step or you'll lose me.

I'm sorry, you're right, I'll try to explain everything with more detail in a new post later.

BloodyCactus wrote on 2020-03-24, 21:48:

Ill try and check it out on the weekend. Will it enable more than one sound card? I have GUS PnP and AWE32 in one machine and I have to run iwinit and ctcu/diagnose..

Yes! In fact, I use it just like you want. It is easy:

- Set the environment variables for both cards *first*: BLASTER and ULTRASND, remember to use different values to avoid conflicts. Example: BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H1 P330, and ULTRASND=240,3,3,11,11
- With both cards plugged, run: UNISOUND /CL , that will list the 2 cards and will show you the order, card #1 and card #2.
- Once you located each #, (let's assume GUS is card #1 and AWE is card #2) you have to run unisound 2 times, one for each card (/C2 is to init 2nd card):
UNISOUND
UNISOUND /C2

- Optionally if you want classic GUS Wavetable music support, you only have to add the ULTRADIR env variable pointing to a directory with 2 items:
the ULTRASND.INI file and the MIDI directory with the instrument patches inside. Remember that this tool disables GUS PnP SB emulation resources, MPU emulation resources and IDE port. It is centered in the classic GUS use. Remember to have RAM slots populated for it to work.