cyclone3d wrote on 2020-06-23, 20:10:

The nForce chipsets do not have what is required for PCI sound cards to work under pure DOS. The most you will usually get is FM because it doesn't require an IRQ or DMA.

And DOS functionality on an Nforce2 in a Windows 9x DOS box does not seem to be that great either, according to what I've read .

darry wrote on 2020-06-23, 19:52:

For DOS programs, settings, such as port addresses of devices, as well as IRQs and DMA channels (when used), must match between the configuration of the hardware used and the configuration in the program that is used . DOS programs usually allows a choice from a limited range of settings that generally corresponds to what was possible on actual hardware . Using odd-ball addresses that an actual MPU-401 could not be configured to pretty much guarantees that setting the same address in a DOS program will not be possible . This concept in fundamental .

The main difference between LGR's setup and your's, as far as AU8830 functionality goes, is that he is not using an Nforce2 chipset board which, for some reason, you seem to discount as being inconsequential (at least that's the impression I get), while it is not .

As for using DOSBOX on Windows 98 SE and redirecting its MIDI output to the AU8830 synthesizer MIDI device under Windows, I see no reason why that would not work . My main concern would be the fact that performance of programs of software running under DOSBOX on a CPU of the vintage you have in your Windows 98 SE machine may not be satisfactory .

I understand how my board introduces problems, I just find the Aureal working partially and not ‘fully’ or ‘not at all’ to be pretty bizarre, this is why I said I doubted the ideas I put forward, as it’s pretty clear that the board is to blame.
I’d love an ISA board but they are hard to get for a good price online, as people have figured out their value (at least in the UK) - I got this board because it was pretty much mint condition and was on auction for a really low price, allowing me to pick up this build again.

I had a SiS board at the start of the build several months ago, again PCI only, I’ve heard it’s more compatible than other K7 boards of it’s day (probably not enough for DOS) - but long story short, it barely lasted two weeks before dying on me and I put this whole project off until now.

As you can understand it would be nice to not sideline this system after waiting nearly a year to put the build together, a similar board from the late 90s would probably solve the issue but at that point I might as well make a new system like a high-spec K6 for Pentium level of performance under DOS. If I go down the DOSBox rabbit hole, it will probably be with point and click games, I’ll use source ports where I can for things like Duke3D.

I do want to thank people who’ve replied for their help and advice, if I’ve come across as dismissive it isn’t my intention, it means a lot for anyone to give up their time to help me out.

You don't need an ISA board (for a reasonable amount of DOS sound compatibility), just get a VIA board with a chipset that supports DDMA and you'll be fine with your Vortex2. KT400/600 would be good choices, for example.

appiah4 wrote on 2020-06-23, 20:54:

You don't need an ISA board (for a reasonable amount of DOS sound compatibility), just get a VIA board with a chipset that supports DDMA and you'll be fine with your Vortex2. KT400/600 would be good choices, for example.

I’ll leave that for another time, I’m content working with what I have for now.

I understand your desire to get a working DOS audio setup . As Appiah said, an ISA sound card is not an absolute necessity, especially with later DOS games. Aureal, along with Yamaha and ESS made some of the better DOS compatible PCI sound chipsets . DOS compatibility wise, the Aureal AU8830 is a great choice (FM emulation is not quite authentic sounding, but it works), the issue is really the Nforce2 (something that I was not really aware of before trying to help in this thread).

If ever you do decide to go board shopping, you are always welcome to ask questions about specific board options, if you have multiple choices .

In the meantime, enjoy the Nforce2 for the good Windows 98 performance it provides.

Cheers!

darry wrote on 2020-06-23, 21:25:

I understand your desire to get a working DOS audio setup . As Appiah said, an ISA sound card is not an absolute necessity, espe […]
Show full quote

I understand your desire to get a working DOS audio setup . As Appiah said, an ISA sound card is not an absolute necessity, especially with later DOS games. Aureal, along with Yamaha and ESS made some of the better DOS compatible PCI sound chipsets . DOS compatibility wise, the Aureal AU8830 is a great choice (FM emulation is not quite authentic sounding, but it works), the issue is really the Nforce2 (something that I was not really aware of before trying to help in this thread).

If ever you do decide to go board shopping, you are always welcome to ask questions about specific board options, if you have multiple choices .

In the meantime, enjoy the Nforce2 for the good Windows 98 performance it provides.

Cheers!

I set up DOSBox and midi works perfectly now, wouldn’t notice the difference if I hadn’t set it up myself!

I’m finally able to play games from 90-96, which on top of the library I could play with 98SE and my XP rig, totals to about 20+ years of games to run

Thanks for all the help, time to play some games!

(Edit: just for fun I tried Duke3D and it runs fine at 320x240 with shadows and high detail. Don’t think I’ll bother with source ports!)

bionicle_159 wrote on 2020-06-24, 02:49:

I set up DOSBox and midi works perfectly now, wouldn’t notice the difference if I hadn’t set it up myself! […]
Show full quote

darry wrote on 2020-06-23, 21:25:

I understand your desire to get a working DOS audio setup . As Appiah said, an ISA sound card is not an absolute necessity, espe […]
Show full quote

I understand your desire to get a working DOS audio setup . As Appiah said, an ISA sound card is not an absolute necessity, especially with later DOS games. Aureal, along with Yamaha and ESS made some of the better DOS compatible PCI sound chipsets . DOS compatibility wise, the Aureal AU8830 is a great choice (FM emulation is not quite authentic sounding, but it works), the issue is really the Nforce2 (something that I was not really aware of before trying to help in this thread).

If ever you do decide to go board shopping, you are always welcome to ask questions about specific board options, if you have multiple choices .

In the meantime, enjoy the Nforce2 for the good Windows 98 performance it provides.

Cheers!

I set up DOSBox and midi works perfectly now, wouldn’t notice the difference if I hadn’t set it up myself!

I’m finally able to play games from 90-96, which on top of the library I could play with 98SE and my XP rig, totals to about 20+ years of games to run

Thanks for all the help, time to play some games!

(Edit: just for fun I tried Duke3D and it runs fine at 320x240 with shadows and high detail. Don’t think I’ll bother with source ports!)

I'm really happy that worked out well for you .

bionicle_159 wrote on 2020-06-22, 22:39:

Edit: I stand corrected, didn’t know merging made threads be reposted

It's more than just that: Adding any new reply to any thread puts it back on the first page of the subforum's index page and back into the list of Active Topics. Hence why I replied to the thread explaining my moderator actions and didn't just silently move it 😉

However, doing so by just replying to yourself and not to others, and especially with no new content, is known as "bumping" and is usually seen as "bad netiquette", so don't do that without reason.

Adding a reply to a thread a bunch of years old (my rule of thumb is roughly older than 3.5 years since last reply), even if a useful reply, is often known as "necroposting" - bringing a thread back from the dead, and is also generally speaking frowned upon. That is definitely a case-by-case thing though, and your mileage may vary depending on the moderator(s) involved.

Anyhow, that's all a sidebar. Congratulations on finding a solution that works for you.

Stiletto wrote on 2020-06-24, 04:03:

It's more than just that: Adding any new reply to any thread puts it back on the first page of the subforum's index page and bac […]
Show full quote

bionicle_159 wrote on 2020-06-22, 22:39:

Edit: I stand corrected, didn’t know merging made threads be reposted

It's more than just that: Adding any new reply to any thread puts it back on the first page of the subforum's index page and back into the list of Active Topics. Hence why I replied to the thread explaining my moderator actions and didn't just silently move it 😉

However, doing so by just replying to yourself and not to others, and especially with no new content, is known as "bumping" and is usually seen as "bad netiquette", so don't do that without reason.

Adding a reply to a thread a bunch of years old (my rule of thumb is roughly older than 3.5 years since last reply), even if a useful reply, is often known as "necroposting" - bringing a thread back from the dead, and is also generally speaking frowned upon. That is definitely a case-by-case thing though, and your mileage may vary depending on the moderator(s) involved.

Anyhow, that's all a sidebar. Congratulations on finding a solution that works for you.

That makes a lot of sense now, you deserve my thanks as well - without the post being revived, I would be stuck with no DOS support, something I definitely can't be without now 😄

(Main issue is finding floppy images online that haven't been tampered with!)