* how do i get my soundblaster 16 card to work ?

[Pico]

hi there

i am having serious problems with getting my sound card to work.
my system is a p200mhz, 64 mb ram, 2mb video, 2.5 gb and that
sound blaster 16, which is on ISA.

i have just got my hands on this system and i did not install win 98.
but i've managed to copy the demo version of sam&max and it doesn't
find my soundcard when i run the setup. also i have installed sound club (an old software in which you compose music - did anyone hear of it ?) and it doesn't find my sound card there either.

any ideas if i should install any drivers or set up anything in bios ? i
have vague memories of a setup line in config.sys, something about
set blaster = irq 5 dma 1 ... do you know something of it ?

this is really nasty for me as i understand that the soundcards on ISA are very precious (mine almost has the side of my mainboard!) and i think it's original too.

another thing - i once heard of some emulating drivers in windows for dos - do you think that they could help me ?

thanks for reading, hope to get some ideas

[Unknown_K]

There are many versions of the soundblaster 16, some with jumpers that need set while others were PnP (plu and play).

Take the cover off your computer and find the model number on the soundblaster card.

http://www.computerhope.com/help/csound.htm#2
The following is a listing of how to identify the type of Sound Blaster card. This model number is generally on the card in the top left hand corner however can also be located on a IC chip on the card as well.

CT1320 - SB 1.0/1.5
CT1330 - SB PRO 1
CT1350 - SB 2.0
CT1600 - SB PRO 2
CT1680 - SB PRO 2 OEM
CT1690 - SB PRO 2 OEM
CT1730 - SB 16
CT 1740 - SB 16 CSP
CT 1750 - SB 16 MCD CSP
CT 1759 - SB 16 MCD
CT 1770 - SB 16 SCSI-2
CT 1779 - SB 16 SCSI-2
CT1780 - SB 16 OEM
CT1790 - SB 16 OEM
CT2230 - SB 16 MCD CSP
CT2230C - SB 16 CSP
CT2230S - SB 16 SONY
CT2239 - SB 16 MCD
CT2239S - SB 16 SONY
CT2239C - SB 16
CT2740 - SB 16 CSP
CT2749 - SB 16
CT2750 - SB EASY 16
CT2770 - SB 16 VALUE
CT2260 - SB 16 MCD OEM
CT2290 - SB 16 PRO CSP
CT2291 - SB 16 VALUE IDE
CT2299 - SB 16 PRO
CT2800 - SB 16 VALUE OEM
CT2810 - SB 16 VALUE OEM
CT2840 - SB 16 VALUE OEM
CT2860 - SB 16 VALUE OEM
CT2890 - SB 16 VALUE PNP OEM
CT2830 - SB 16 IDE CSP
CT2839 - SB 16 IDE
CT2910 - SB 16 PRO
CT2911 - SB 16 PRO VALUE
CT2919 - SB 16 PRO CSP
CT2929 - SB 16 VALUE PNP
CT2940 - SB 16 VALUE PNP OEM
CT2959 - SB 16 VALUE PNP
CT2960 - SB 16 VALUE PNP OEM
CT2961 - SB 16 BASIC PNP
CT2970 - SB 16 VALUE PNP OEM
CT2980 - SB 16 VALUE PNP
CT4171 - SB 16 WAVEFFECTS
CT4181 - SB 16 VALUE PNP
CT4380 - SB AWE64
CT4381 - SB AWE64
CT4390 - SB AWE64 GOLD
CT4500 - SB AWE64 VALUE
CT4501 - SB AWE64 VALUE
CT4520 - SB AWE64 VALUE
CT4620 - SB LIVE
CT4660 - SB LIVE
CT4670 - SB LIVE
CT5320 - SB MCV
CT5330 - SB PRO MCV


After you do this go on the internet and find the driver disk image and install it, all should be ok unless you have an irq or dma conflict.

http://www.soundcard-drivers.com/companies/967.htm has drivers

Username : driver
Password : all

[Wally]

SAm and max has a recommendation that you use VMD sound !

[Pico]

mr uknown...k (that sounds weird)

thanks for the tip. it helped out, as i've found i have a sb 16 value pnp (i've checked the number on the card). i'm now on the hunt for dos drivers (the site you recomanded only had win drivers, which is also ok). but i want the sound card to work in pure dos.

do you have any idea if the Creative Configuration Manager will set my card correctly ? i have heard it works in a good way, but don't know much about it.

also, do you know what ems and xms means ? how do i make more memory free for dos games ?

wally : i've tried it with vdm, it's ok, but i want to play it on my dos box
(not on my duron). anyway, thanks for the advice!

[486 player]

Expanded (EMS) or Extended (xms) memory. All memory after 1:st MB. There are more than enough memory freement topics in 'Get to work' forum. Read also FAQ from main site.

[johpower]

Interesting, I'd just done 2 installs of old 8-bit CT-1350's in Win95 and 98. The file I used was CT-1350.ZIP (1.17mb D/L from soundcard_drivers.com or driverguide.com). It worked great first time in both OS's and installed the DOS driver files via Config and Autoexec changes. I was able to run DOS game sound immediately on reboot (BTW: 1350's use a manual thumbwheel on the backplane for output volume, so some of your mixer controls won't work).

Now I know it's not the same one as your card, but these are pretty much the SB setup for most if the ISA decade. The sites also have the other cards drivers likewise availible (I've done a few of them.....), but these settings may be good enough for you to get going on any of the old ISA-based SB's. PCI,... don't know.

Config:
DEVICE=C:\SOUND\DRV\CTSB2.SYS /UNIT=0 /BLASTER=A:220 I:5 D:1
DEVICE=C:\SOUND\DRV\CTMMSYS.SYS
FILES=40

Autoexec:
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T3
SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E

BTW: U_K: excellent soundcard compendium!

I've just checked the ZIP file and the readme.txt had alot to say (pardon the length of this), and the DOS drivers portion should solve your problems:


ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º Sound Blaster Updates Disk º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ

This file contains the following sections:

1. Installation Requirements
2. Installation Instruction
3. INSTALL's Operation
4. DOS Drivers
5. Optimizing Memory Usage
6. List of updated Files


1. INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS

Before you update Sound Blaster drivers, please ensure that your
Sound Blaster card is functioning properly on your system. This Sound
Blaster Updates Disk will only update the latest drivers for you.

To install Sound Blaster Updates, you require INSTALL.EXE,
INSTALL.PVL and any additional files that are card dependent.
(Refer to the table below)

We recommend that you update both the DOS and Windows drivers.

ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
º Descriptions ³ FileName º
ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍØÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹
º Sound Blaster AWE32 DOS Drivers ³ AWEDOSD.PVL º
º Sound Blaster AWE32 Windows Drivers ³ AWEWIND.PVL º
º Sound Blaster 16 DOS Drivers ³ SB16DOSD.PVL º
º Sound Blaster 16 Windows Drivers ³ SB16WIND.PVL º
º Sound Blaster 16 Resident Mixer ³ SB16MIX.PVL º
º Sound Blaster Pro DOS Drivers ³ SBPDOSD.PVL º
º Sound Blaster Pro Windows Drivers ³ SBPWIND.PVL º
º Sound Blaster Pro 2 DOS Drivers ³ SBP2DOS.PVL º
º Sound Blaster Pro 2 Windows Drivers ³ SBP2WIN.PVL º
º Sound Blaster Pro and SB Pro 2 Windows Mixer ³ SBPMIXER.PVL º
º Sound Blaster 2.0 Windows Drivers ³ S2WINDRV.PVL º
º Sound Blaster 2.0 DOS Drivers ³ S2DOSDRV.PVL º
º Sound Blaster Windows Application ³ SOUNDOLE.PVL º
º Sound Blaster Voice Utilities ³ VOCUTIL.PVL º
º Sound Blaster Multimedia Player ³ MMPLAY.PVL º
º Sound Blaster Standard Interface Module ³ SBSIM.PVL º
ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÏÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ


2. INSTALLATION INSTRUCTION

To update your Sound Blaster software, follow the steps below:

a. Copy any of the files that you want to update (as shown in
section 1) onto a floppy disk or a directory in your hard
disk.

b. Run the program INSTALL.EXE.

c. The installation will detect the Audio card used and will not
extract that file if it is not meant for the correct Audio card.

d. Follow the program's instructions to complete the installation.

* Do NOT run INSTALL.EXE under Windows.

3. INSTALL's OPERATION

INSTALL will perform the following tasks:

a. Back-up all out-dated files from your Sound Blaster directory to
the BACKUP directory.

b. Install updated programs to your Sound Blaster directory.

c. Update the file OEMSETUP.INF if necessary.

If you choose to update the drivers in your Windows directory, the
program will perform the following tasks:

a. Remove all out-dated drivers from your Windows directory.

b. Install updated drivers to your Windows directory.

c. Verify that the file SYSTEM.INI contains the correct name of the
Sound Blaster driver(s).

At the end of the installation, a log file SBUPDATE.LOG will be
created in your Sound Blaster directory. You may use a text editor
to view this file. Alternatively, you may follow the steps below:

a. Change to your Sound Blaster directory.

b. Type "TYPE SBUPDATE.LOG" and press <Enter> to view the
contents of the file.


4. DOS DRIVERS

The installation program adds the following statements into CONFIG.SYS.

DEVICE=C:\[Path]\DRV\CT[SOUND].SYS /UNIT=0 /BLASTER=A:220 I:5 D:1 H:5
DEVICE=C:\[Path]\DRV\CTMMSYS.SYS


Note - [Path] refers to the directory path where the Sound Blaster
software is installed. We refer to this as the "Sound Directory".

[SOUND] is "SB16" for Sound Blaster AWE32 and Sound Blaster 16
cards, "SBPRO" for Sound Blaster Pro card, and "SB2" for Sound
Blaster 2.0 card.

/BLASTER specifies the base I/O address, interrupt number
and DMA channels set for the Sound Blaster card,

Where:
A Specifies the base I/O port
I Specifies the interrupt request line (IRQ)
D Specifies the Low DMA channel
H Specifies the High DMA channel

CT[SOUND].SYS and CTMMSYS.SYS are the low level drivers providing Wave
playback and recording for Creative's DOS applications. They are only
required by:

a. DOS utilities, PLAY.EXE and RECORD.EXE.

b. DOS Utilities QSDEMO.EXE and QSALIGN.EXE for SBAWE32 and SB16
with Advanced Signal Processor.

c. Third-party DOS applications developed according to Creative's
Sound Blaster Developer Kit 2nd Edition. These applications may
work with some of the high level drivers like CTWDSK.DRV,
CTWMEM.DRV, CTVDSK.DRV and CT-VOICE.DRV found in the \DRV
subdirectory under the Sound Directory.

Make sure that the two drivers are installed properly if you wish to
use the above software.

If you are running applications in Windows or playing computer games
that use their own sound driver, you do not need to install these two
drivers. You can delete the above two statements from the CONFIG.SYS
using a text editor.

If you discover that you need the low level drivers later (some
software or drivers use them), you can run DIAGNOSE.EXE with an
additional switch '/A' to have the low level device drivers added
into your CONFIG.SYS files.

(i.e., type DIAGNOSE /A and press <Enter>). DIAGNOSE will add the
lines required in the CONFIG.SYS file.

Note - Please refer to the following section on how to optimize your
memory with the low level drivers installed.

If your audio card comes with the Creative Advanced Signal Processor,
the installation program will add the following statement before the
two low level drivers.

DEVICE=C:\SB16\DRV\CSP.SYS /UNIT=0 /BLASTER=A:220

CSP.SYS is the resource manager for the Advanced Signal Processor. You
will need this driver for your DOS and Windows applications. Without
it, your audio card will not be able to support the hardware audio
compression and other additional software (like Text-to-Speech)
offered by Creative separately.


5. OPTIMIZING MEMORY USAGE

The low-level device drivers will take up some of your system memory.
In view of that, these drivers are designed to be able to load into
high memory. If you need to keep the low level drivers in your
CONFIG.SYS, you can optimize your memory usage in one of the following
ways.

a. If you are using Microsoft DOS 6.x, you can run the MEMMAKER to
optimize the memory. Please refer to your DOS 6 user manual on
how to use the MEMMAKER program.

b. If you have a memory manager like QEMM or 386MAX, please refer
to their respective user manuals on how to optimize the memory
and load the drivers to the high memory.

c. If you are using Microsoft DOS 6.x, you may create multiple boot
sessions. With multiple boot sessions, you can boot up the system
with the low level device drivers installed only when you need
it. In situations where you don't require the low level drivers,
your system will not have the drivers loaded into memory. Please
refer to your DOS 6 user manual on how to create multiple boot
sessions.


6. LIST OF UPDATED FILES

Note - BACKUP directory refers to the directory \BACKUP in your
Sound Blaster directory which will be created by the INSTALL
program.

For Sound Blaster AWE32 (with Advanced Signal Processor) users
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

DOS Drivers
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be updated:

CSP SYS WFM0001A CSP WFM0006A CSP WFM0007A CSP
WFM0200A CSP WI0006 CSP WI0007 CSP WI0200 CSP
WO0006 CSP WO0007 CSP WO0200 CSP WFM0202A CSP
WFM0203A CSP WFM0011A CSP


For all Sound Blaster AWE32 users
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

DOS Drivers
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be updated:

AWEUTIL COM DIAGNOSE EXE CT-VOICE DRV CTVDSK DRV
CTWDSK DRV CTWMEM DRV CTMMSYS SYS CTSB16 SYS
CTMIDI DRV AUXDRV DRV

Windows Drivers
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be updated:

VSBPD 386 CSPMAN DLL SB16AUX DRV SB16FM DRV
SB16SND DRV WFM0006 ACV WFM0007 ACV WFM0011 ACV
WFM0200 ACV WFM0202 ACV WFM0203 ACV MIDIMAP CFG
SBAWE32 DRV AWEGUI DLL AWEMAN DLL SYNTHGM.SBK
SYNTHGS.SBK SYNTHMT.SBK


For Sound Blaster 16 (with Advanced Signal Processor) users
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

DOS Drivers
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be updated:

CSP.SYS WI0006.CSP WI0007.CSP WI0200.CSP
WO0006.CSP WO0007.CSP WO0200.CSP WFM0001A.CSP
WFM0006A.CSP WFM0007A.CSP WFM0200A.CSP WFM0202A.CSP
WFM0203A.CSP

The following files will be moved to the BACKUP directory if they
exist:

ASP.SYS WO0200.ASP WI0200.ASP WO0006.ASP
WI0006.ASP WO0007.ASP WI0007.ASP


For all Sound Blaster 16 users
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

DOS Drivers
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be updated:

CTVDSK.DRV CTWDSK.DRV CSP.SYS WPLAY.EXE
WREC.EXE VREC.EXE VPLAY.EXE AUXDRV.DRV
SBFMDRV.COM

The following files will be added:

CTMMSYS.SYS CTSB16.SYS CTMIDI.DRV DIAGNOSE.EXE

The following files will be modified if necessary:

AUTOEXEC.BAT CONFIG.SYS

Windows Drivers
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be updated:

WFM0006.ACV WFM0007.ACV WFM0200.ACV VSBPD.386
CSPMAN.DLL SB16AUX.DRV SB16SND.DRV SB16FM.DRV
WINSETUP.EXE MIDIMAP.CFG

The following files will be added:

WFM0011 ACV WFM0202 ACV WFM0203 ACV

The following files will be moved to the BACKUP directory if they
exist:

WVFM0006.ACV WVFM0007.ACV WVFM0200.ACV ASPMAN.DLL
SBP16SND.DRV

The following files will be moved from the /ACV directory to the
/WINDRV directory:

WVFM0006.ACV WVFM0007.ACV WVFM0200.ACV


The following file will be modified if necessary:

OEMSETUP.INF

If you choose to update your Windows drivers:-

The following drivers in the \WINDOWS and \WINDOWS\SYSTEM
directories will be deleted if they exist:

SBP16SND.DRV ASPMAN.DLL

The following drivers in the \WINDOWS and \WINDOWS\SYSTEM
directories will be updated:

CTRES.DLL SB16SND.DRV SB16AUX.DRV CSPMAN.DLL
VSBPD.386 SB16FM.DRV MIDIMAP.CFG WFM0006.ACV
WFM0007.ACV WFM0200.ACV WFM0011.ACV WFM0202.ACV
WFM0203.ACV MIDIMAP.CFG

The following file will be modified if necessary:

SYSTEM.INI


For Sound Blaster Pro 2 users
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

Windows Drivers
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be updated:

SBPMIXER.EXE SBPSND.DRV SBPAUX.DRV VSBPD.386
SBP2FM.DRV MIDIMAP.CFG

If you choose to update your Windows drivers:-

The following drivers in the \WINDOWS and \WINDOWS\SYSTEM
directories will be updated:

SBPSND.DRV SBPAUX.DRV VSBPD.386 SBP2FM.DRV
MIDIMAP.CFG

DOS Drivers
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be added:

CTMMSYS.SYS CTSBPRO.SYS CTMIDI.EXE VPLAY.EXE
VREC.EXE CT-VOICE.DRV CTVDSK.DRV CTWMEM.DRV
CTWDSK.DRV AUXDRV.DRV DIAGNOSE.EXE SBFMDRV.COM

The following files will be modified if necessary:

AUTOEXEC.BAT CONFIG.SYS


For Sound Blaster Pro users
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

Windows Drivers
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be updated:

SBPMIXER.EXE SBPSND.DRV SBPAUX.DRV VSBPD.386

If you choose to update your Windows drivers:-

The following drivers in the \WINDOWS and \WINDOWS\SYSTEM
directories will be updated:

SBPSND.DRV SBPAUX.DRV VSBPD.386


DOS Drivers
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be added:

CTMMSYS.SYS CTSBPRO.SYS CTMIDI.EXE CT-VOICE.DRV
CTWMEM.DRV CTVDSK.DRV CTWDSK.DRV AUXDRV.DRV
DIAGNOSE.EXE SBFMDRV.COM

The following files will be modified if necessary:

AUTOEXEC.BAT CONFIG.SYS


For Sound Blaster 2.0 users
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following file will be updated:

SB20SND.DRV

If you choose to update your Windows drivers:-

The following driver in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory will be
updated:

SB20SND.DRV


DOS Drivers
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be added:

CTMMSYS.SYS CTSB2.SYS CTMIDI.EXE VPLAY.EXE
VREC.EXE CT-VOICE.DRV CTWMEM.DRV CTVDSK.DRV
CTWDSK.DRV AUXDRV.DRV DIAGNOSE.EXE SBFMDRV.COM

The following files will be modified if necessary:

AUTOEXEC.BAT CONFIG.SYS

For all Sound Blaster cards users (except Sound Blaster AWE32)
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

Windows Applications
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be updated:

SOUNDOLE.EXE CTCCW.DLL

Note that the CTCCW.DLL file should be copied to your \WINDOWS
directory.


DOS Applications
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

The following files will be updated:

SBSIM.EXE VOICE.EXE WAV2VOC.EXE VOC2WAV.EXE
VOCHDR.EXE VOCN2O.EXE MMPLAY.EXE

* Please note that there is no Mixer control for Sound Blaster 2.0.
Hence, the features available for controlling the volume will not be
supported for SBSIM.COM.

* Please note that WINSETUP.INF needs to be amended if it contains the
following lines (if it does not, please ignore this section):

[Windows.System]
windrv\aspman.dll

acv\wfm0006.acv
acv\wfm0007.acv
acv\wfm0200.acv

Please change the above to

[Windows.System]
windrv\cspman.dll ; This has to be change from ASPMAN.DLL to
; CSPMAN.DLL

windrv\wfm0006.acv
windrv\wfm0007.acv

windrv\wfm0200.acv ; These files are added
windrv\wfm0011.acv

windrv\wfm0202.acv ; For Sound Blaster 16 with Advanced
windrv\wfm0203.acv ; Signal Processor.


** Don't forget to reboot your system after updating the DOS drivers.

******* End of README *******

[Interon]

Something simple:

Put this in your AUTOEXEC.BAT:

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T1

If that doesn't help, try something else.

[CRMJB]

I have a "SB16 Value" ISA Card. I'm trying to play an older DOS game (Ravenloft: Strahd's Possesion). I can get the sound to work - but not the music? Should there be a "midi" listed in my device driver? (There isn't one.) I have Win 98se. Any suggestions?

Thanks

[Interon]

Yes there should.

Try using Add/Remove Hardware in Control Panel to see if Windows can find your MIDI interface.