"The specified MIDI device is already in use. Wait until it is free and try again". I get this message after opening a midi file in Media Player. I have a Soundblaster card with all software installed. Drivers look fine. I can play Windows sounds and WAVs just fine, but no MIDI. I've searched M$ KB. Any help would be appreciated. I'm *almost* ready to load my old DOS/win3.1 games! A clue perhaps: my Tetris for windows also has no sound.

Back again so soon ???

Have you checked the SET BLASTER statement in AUTOEXEC.BAT to ensure the parameters match the card, I believe the Driver Package includes neccessary tools!!

I guess I deserve the name "serial poster" ;)Yes, BLASTER statement was inserted by the driver package. I'll try another card/driver.

I found a web ref that indicated that some cards use wave synthesis in MIDI and that will cause this error. So I changed to SB16 Basic MIDI. Now, Media Player plays, but no MIDI sound. WAV sound is OK.

...is the midi interface supported on this card ?

oh s*** wrong advice......

...apart from the I/O settings being correct on the card you also0 need an Media Player which supports MIDI format playback.

Hope this helps and ignore previous advice.

The Windows Media Player has a device option for MIDI files, so I assume it supports MIDI. I don't know about the CT4170 card. Does the card have to be hardware configured for MIDI? I got 5 other cards from a local store for a few $, so I have lots to try out. My ISA sound card zoo: CT4170, CT2800, CT2940, CT4180, CT4390, ESS1869.

After a little experimentation, I got the CT4170 to work with both WAV sound and MIDI in windows 3.11. However, I have another nagging problem. When I start windows, I get this error: "Sound Blaster. A configuration or hardware problem has occurred. Use the drivers option in control panel to reconfigure the Sound Blaster driver." When I enter setup for Soundblaster 1.5 from the driver applet, it correctly shows port 220 and IRQ 5 (consistent with the SET BLASTER statement). But when I exit setup, I get a message saying: "The interrupt setting does not match those on the card. Check your hardware settings and then try again." I tried all possible settings - combinations of port and IRQ - with the same message.

What can I do to resolve this problem? Should I remove the Soundblaster 1.5 driver and then run the installation program again?

I removed the Soundblaster 1.5 driver and ran the SB16 installation again. Now all is well.
I'm really impressed with the quality of the Creative 4170 ISA card. Thanks to all for your advice.