keropiwrote on 2024-03-16, 09:18:DOOM pretty much works out of the box if the card is configured with orphinit and ultrasnd.zip before running it
inside ultrasnd […] Show full quote
Is there a foolproof DOS game you folks use for testing your GUS sound configuration? By "foolproof", I mean it works out of the box without any patching, manual configuration, etc. You just enter the game's SETUP program, pick "Gravis Ultrasound", and go.
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DOOM pretty much works out of the box if the card is configured with orphinit and ultrasnd.zip before running it
inside ultrasnd.zip there are 2 TXT files: orpheus2.txt and games.txt , give them a read as they will explain how things work
the most you will have to do would be to run PREPGAME once before using Ultrasound option with an interwave/orpheus2 card
so for example if you want to run Jazz Jackrabbit with ultrasound you go to it's directory, run prepgame , run setup and select ultrasound and then run the game
game will be patched and you don't have to run prepgame patcher again in the future
some games even have their own GUS executable or instructions - you just follow these
and that's about it , assuming the card is fully initialized without issues then things will work like above
So, I missed the memo about a RAM module being required for some Gravis support. I ordered one from MemoryMasters like in LGR's video, popped it in, and the games that were silent before - OMF, Doom, etc. - are now working.
I am trying to install an Orpheus II on my Compaq Deskpro M computer (EISA) and would like to know if it would be possible to create an EISA config file for the Orpheus that would configure all the resources correctly.
Right now, my PC detects both a Sound Blaster and a Gravis Ultrasound and tries to put them in different slots (as the CFG files available are separate for each card).
For reference, I will copy here the content of both config files, in case it will help someone build a single file that would fit the Orpheus.
The config file for a Sound Blaster Pro (!ICU0190.CFG) contains the following information:
I am sorry, I have no experience at all with EISA systems - never owned one , never saw one in person...
can't you just use these config files one after another? the orpheus2 is a single PCB but in essence 3in1 : cs4237 + interwave gus pnp + pcmidi
also I am not sure if cs4237 will work with a config for a sbpro ... orphinit sends a bunch of programming info to 4237 to make it work the way it is supposed to work on the orpheus2 pcb
if you don't use orphinit you will most likely lose the YMF262 opl3 usage and only the internal CSFM will be used
You don't need to mess with the EISA configuration at all to use an ISA soundcard. I haven't put the Orpheus in the EISA VLB system yet, but I have an AWE32 CT2760 (the pre-PnP soft config one) in there now and it works fine.
The main reason to create dummy .CFG files is to prevent the EISA configuration tool from grabbing those hardware resources for other cards when doing an auto configuration. It is the equivalent to setting DMAs and IRQs in newer BIOS from "PnP" to "Legacy". When configuring your EISA cards, do it manually and be mindful of your soundcard's resource ranges. Let the Orpheus tools handle the rest.
The sample files you have above aren't even from any EISA tool. They were taken from Intel's Plug-n-Play Configuration Utility for DOS that happens to use the same file format.
keropiwrote on 2024-03-22, 19:01:I am sorry, I have no experience at all with EISA systems - never owned one , never saw one in person...
can't you just use the […] Show full quote
I am sorry, I have no experience at all with EISA systems - never owned one , never saw one in person...
can't you just use these config files one after another? the orpheus2 is a single PCB but in essence 3in1 : cs4237 + interwave gus pnp + pcmidi
also I am not sure if cs4237 will work with a config for a sbpro ... orphinit sends a bunch of programming info to 4237 to make it work the way it is supposed to work on the orpheus2 pcb
if you don't use orphinit you will most likely lose the YMF262 opl3 usage and only the internal CSFM will be used
I think I can still use orphinit despite using these cfg files. As mentioned by NJRoadfan, they are used to help avoid system resource conflicts.
What would be the right Soundblaster config to merge into a potential Orpheus II cfg file? The one for Sound Blaster 16? Sound Blaster 16 ASP?
You don't need to mess with the EISA configuration at all to use an ISA soundcard. I haven't put the Orpheus in the EISA VLB system yet, but I have an AWE32 CT2760 (the pre-PnP soft config one) in there now and it works fine.
The main reason to create dummy .CFG files is to prevent the EISA configuration tool from grabbing those hardware resources for other cards when doing an auto configuration. It is the equivalent to setting DMAs and IRQs in newer BIOS from "PnP" to "Legacy". When configuring your EISA cards, do it manually and be mindful of your soundcard's resource ranges. Let the Orpheus tools handle the rest.
The thing is that when going into the BIOS, my Compaq system always looks for this additional "file" because it keeps detecting the Orpheus as two separate cards. Then it tries to asign them to two different slots, and that's where the problem comes from... I assume it tries to route the SB sound through the ISA port that is free and it does not work properly.
The sample files you have above aren't even from any EISA tool. They were taken from Intel's Plug-n-Play Configuration Utility for DOS that happens to use the same file format.
I got these files from a Compaq EISA config file repository, but I guess it does not make a difference then? (didn't know they were format compatible)
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What would be the right Soundblaster config to merge into a potential Orpheus II cfg file? The one for Sound Blaster 16? Sound Blaster 16 ASP?
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if all that is needed is to reserve resources then the sbpro config will be fine - all you really need is to reserve A200 I5 D1 - then orphinit needs to be ran with the same resources to initialize the card
I'm guessing this is a later DeskPro with a Pentium and/or PCI slots? The EISA BIOS shouldn't be able to "see" installed ISA cards, only installed EISA cards. EISA is similar to PCI in that it has a configuration space where all installed cards report their IDs to the BIOS. Some ISA cards can be soft-configured to do this (ex: 3Com 3c509 NIC like you have installed), but those are pretty rare.
If it is a later PnP BIOS, its possible that Compaq's configuration tools try to manage detected PnP cards for some silly reason. The BIOS should be getting the resource configuration from the card's EEPROM if that is the case.
Alright, got it to work using the inbuilt CFG file creator in the BIOS. 😀
Now, I am facing a weird bug (?)
I don't seem to be getting any sound from the right channel for digital soundFX - the music seems to come out of both speakers without any issue.
What's even weirder is that in Duke3D's setup, when I select "Test Sound Fx Card", the "Center Channel" test plays on both speakers, but when it comes to the right speaker, I get silence.
Also, If I use the option to reverse stereo in the same setup, the right speaker works, but not the left.
Lastly, this happens both when I select Sound Blaster Pro or GUS.
I'll go out on a limb and say you are trying to use it as a SB16 instead of an SB Pro..
No, I wish it was that simple... I am selecting SB Pro from the menu... but the same is happening when I use the GUS, so the problem seems to be elsewhere (?)
I actually cannot think why this could happen if you don't select SB16 or something...
if it was a hardware fault then the output channel would not move L<->R depending on "stereo reverse" option
can you try on a normal ISA system?
I actually cannot think why this could happen if you don't select SB16 or something...
if it was a hardware fault then the output channel would not move L<->R depending on "stereo reverse" option
can you try on a normal ISA system?
Yeah, I agree... it is strange.
Unfortunately I do not have an ISA system to test, this is my only retro PC.
Is there any mixer software I can use in MS-DOS to check the volumes?
I'll go out on a limb and say you are trying to use it as a SB16 instead of an SB Pro..
No, I wish it was that simple... I am selecting SB Pro from the menu... but the same is happening when I use the GUS, so the problem seems to be elsewhere (?)
What is your SET BLASTER line in AUTOEXEC.BAT? If it is T6 then that might be the problem. (T6 = SB16)
After much troubleshooting on the PC, config changes and countless reboots, I decided to "follow the cables"... and although the cables were all good and well connected, that led me to the mixer I have on my desk, and I noticed it was set to mono (must have been the cleaning lady and I never noticed it).
It now seems obvious that I should have checked that, but I never in my life touched the Mono button in the mixer, and it never crossed my mind this could have been changed. Well... I feel stupid now 😁
Thanks for the support guys and apologies for the confusion.
I am a mixer enthusiast so your sins are absolved 🤣
I consider having an external mixer a must for any dos system with more than one sound outputs
now if only Serdashop would work on releasing an 5.25" mixer .... 😉
An external mixer would do nothing to alleviate the issue of the *software* mixer getting mucked with.
I've mentioned it before, but my trick is to use a dedicated card just for OPL, so that I can amplify and control it exclusively with the line-in slider of the software mixer. It's so frustrating how quiet FM synthesis can be at max volume, compared to digital sound, and it can be difficulty it is to get it well balanced with the rest of the environment. Sometimes it's also tied to the GM synthesizer volume, so you can't easily swap between the two without having to enter the mixer or change volume levels. Very frustrating!
I am a mixer enthusiast so your sins are absolved 🤣
I consider having an external mixer a must for any dos system with more than one sound outputs
now if only Serdashop would work on releasing an 5.25" mixer .... 😉
I agree. I could not live without my Mixer (I'm using a MAMX 1 from Moukey)... I have 4 sources from the same PC covering 6 different standards:
Adlib / Soundblaster / GUS
Roland MT-32
Roland SC-55
Covox
That covers most of the options of my favorite era.