First post, by Huggybaby
DOSBox comes with Gravis Ultrasound support, but did you know that you might need THESE files to really make it work?
Read on, and discover...
The ULTRASND Directory, Demystified
How I Learned To Completely Install ALL Gravis Ultrasound (GUS) Files and Pro Patches Lite Upgrades, Including Windows 95, With No Errors
Bottom Line: GUS 4.10--->4.11, +Mega-EM 3.10, +Pro Patches Lite 1.50--->1.61 !
---------------------------------------------------------------------
PREPARING TO INSTALL, Part 1
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(YOU CAN SKIP THE INSTALL IF YOU WANT TO.
You can download this FULLY UPDATED ULTRASND FOLDER and just point DOSBox to one of the folders inside it.
It contains the stock GUS 4.11 and the updated Pro Patches Lite 1.61 folders. If you want to try something earlier you can learn to roll your own by continuing...)
To begin, DOWNLOAD THIS FILE someplace you can find it, like your desktop, then extract it with WinRar or 7-zip or equivalent.
The download contains six folders:
---GRAVIS DRIVERS---
a) GUS 4.10 (GUS410)
b) GUS 4.11 (GUS411)
c) Mega-Em 3.10 (MEGAEM310)
---PRO PATCHES LIGHT (LITE?)---
d) Pro Patches Light 1.5 (PPL150)
e) Pro Patches Light 1.6 (PPL160)
f) Pro Patches Light 1.61 update (PPL161)
which are all available via Gravis' ftp site or other internet locations like vogons.zetafleet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
PREPARING TO INSTALL, Part 2
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Now make a directory called C:\DOS.
! Make an empty text file in this new directory called C:\DOS\autoexec.bat. ! Ignore any file name extension warning, it is harmless.
This prevents an installation error later.
Copy the six folders you just extracted into C:\DOS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
PREPARING TO INSTALL, Part 3
---------------------------------------------------------------------
In DOSBox make sure your DOSBox hard drive C: is set to C:\DOS
Next make sure that DOSBox Gravis Ultrasound support is turned on, otherwise you won't be able to install because the GUS installer won't detect your Gravis card---because it's not being emulated by DOSBox!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
INSTALLING GUS 4.10
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Now you can set DOSBox to run C:\DOS\GUS410\INSTALL.EXE.
When you run Install.exe, FIRST choose Restore *.*
(DON'T choose Install first---you'll get a couple of extra files this way instead).
Choose Restore, not Install to get a few extra files
Restore everything with *.*
Accept the default drive
And default directory
When it works it looks like this:
Back at the main menu, now run Install. Since you Restored already, it goes rapidly.
Accept the defaults for drive and directory again.
When it can't find Windows, type in C:\ULTRASND\WINDOWS
(this nets you the Windows 95 files, not needed for DOSBox).
Success:
At the Setup screen, exit out. (Don't try to run Express or Custom Setup!)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
INSTALLING GUS 4.11
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Install with C:\DOS\GUS411\INSTALL.EXE, using the same steps as with 4.10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
INSTALLING Mega-Em 3.10
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Next copy all the files from your Mega-Em 3.10 folder into your newly created ULTRASND directory.
Then run MESETUP.EXE.
Press Enter once to get to the Main Menu
! Next select "Save and Exit" ONLY !
(Select ONLY "Save and Exit", the proper configuration files will still be written.)
NOTE: If your installation of Megaem is interrupted or goes badly, delete "megaem.cfg" before reinstalling. Otherwise you will receive the error message: "No VCPI interface found" and you won't able to run the megaem310 installer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
TESTING GUS 4.11
---------------------------------------------------------------------
In DOSBox GUS settings, set your ULTRASND directory (you have one now!) to C:\DOS\ULTRASND.
Run MIDIDEMO.BAT (in your C:\DOS\ULTRASND directory)
and you should hear smooth undistorted playback of tunes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SAVING GUS 4.11
---------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a good place to save your ULTRASND directory.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
INSTALLING PRO PATCHES LITE (LIGHT?) 1.50
---------------------------------------------------------------------
! Make sure drive C: is still set to C:\DOS !
! Set a DOS environment variable PROPATS=C:\PPL150 !
! Make sure your ULTRASND directory is set to C:\DOS\ULTRASND !
Run C:\DOS\PPL150\PATMENU\PATMENU.EXE (NOT "W"PATMANU.exe)
You should see a menu with 22 options (1-9, A-I, S,P,Q,R). Press "S" to install all the Propatches.
You should see patches being copied. Press "X" to select Exit when done.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
INSTALLING PRO PATCHES LITE 1.60 and 1.61
---------------------------------------------------------------------
! Here is where that blank autoexec.bat file comes in, you'll get an error without it !
! Make sure drive C: is still set to C:\DOS !
! Set a DOS environment variable PROPATS=C:\PPL160 !
! Make sure your ULTRASND directory is set to C:\DOS\ULTRASND !
Move the nine files from PPL161 into PPL160, overwriting. You've just updated!
From the now updated PPL160 folder, run C:\DOS\PPL160\INSTALL.EXE.
(Don't run PATMENU.EXE this time! It's redundant and won't extract all the files.)
You should see a red screen for the propatches lite v1.60 installer. Press "Y".
You should see a "Processing Patch Files" window.
! When finished, DON'T CTRL-ALT-DEL!, instead CTRL-F9 to close DOSBox. !
If this last update went properly, a new autoexec.bat file should have been created that says
@REM ===== PPLT INITIALIZATION ==========
@SET PROPATS=C:\PPL160
@REM ===== PPLT INITIALIZATION ENDS =====
and you should have a backup called AUTOEXEC.PPL.
You're Finished! The Entire updated ULTRASND directory size is less than 20 MB.
Now zip it up and save it somewhere! Also be sure to run Mididemo.bat again, and listen to the difference!
Another Procedure by Huggybaby, tested Using DOSBox 0.72 and Windows XP
How it was done: I slowed DOSBox way down to expose certain error messages. There was at least one place I received different error messages randomly. I used D.O.G., and that caused some corruption problems too, but I know what to look for now. I read all the posts on this forum, wondering why I was seeing errors not reported. I read all the text files available looking for clues.
I went to bed several nights sure I had the procedure nailed down. The next day, starting over from scratch, dammit another error.
I think I've made redundant everything you should check at each step. This procedure has been through a lot of revisions and took a long time to understand and finalize. I hope you find it useful.
I used WinMerge to compare my before and after ULTRASND directories to learn how each change in procedure was rendered. I used Hoversnap to grab images, xs.to for image hosting and mediafire for file hosting.
Huggybaby
