The autoexec.dos has a line calling viaudio.com. That doesn't sound like a creative/soundblaster file. Did you have a different card in there once before? The only thing I can think of would be to install the old drivers and make a note of autoexec.bat and dosstart.bat. Make copies of any files called from autoexec or dosstart in a separate folder in case you need them later. Then install the update and edit autoexec and/or dosstart back to the way they were before the update. If installing the update removed any files, you'd have the copies you made in the other folder.

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That old file is from my onboard audio (VIA chipset). I tried that thing with making copies of the files and folders then restoring after. After I go into my DOS game, it no longer shows there is a soundblaster card installed, whereas before these changes it shows the card, but it cant use it. What else can I do?

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Sometimes when you exit to dos, dos sound drivers don't load if PnP OS is enabled in cmos. That's assuming dosstart.bat is configured to load the drivers anyway. I really thought that manually configuring the files would work. At this point you can: Look for other drivers that may work, either on creative's site or someplace like driverguide. Or Buy a new card that has dos support. Or Use the old drivers even though you get some noise in windows. Sorry I don't have a specific answer to your problem.

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I don't actually go into DOS mode to run the game, I always just run a shortcut to the exe of the game. Thing is though, at the moment I'm on the latest drivers, and in my game it says it found a soundblaster. When it tries to use sound, I get some, just corrupt and bad. But when I use those autoexec lines, it no longer says it has found a card. Could it just be that those lines are incorrect, and changing the setting on them may cure it?

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I'm not sure how windows configures a sound card for a dos game. I'd think it'd need the: SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 P330 in autoexec.bat since the dos configuration would need to be specified before windows starts rather than after you exit, as with dosstart.bat. A220 is the card address (220), I5 specifies the IRQ (5), and D1 is the DMA (1). I think P330 is the port address for a cdrom connection. Only the first three should be needed for successful setup in dos. A220 I5 D1 is pretty standard for soundblaster setup. But if adding that line causes the card not to be seen in windows then the line is wrong or interferring with the way windows is configuring the card. Or I wonder if that line is from the VIA setup and only applies to that. Most non-soundblaster cards will emulate soundblaster since it's pretty much a dos standard. Maybe the new drivers have better configuration for dos games from a dos box and the autoexec.bat setting aren't needed. But that wouldn't explain why you have lousy sound in dos when using them. You may want to check this: http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winme/n1054169147 It applies to ME but the configuration should be the same. In that case the IRQ was 7 and DMA was 3. I think you can go to device manager--sound, video and game controllers--and look at the setting for sound blaster emulation or legacy support to see what the setting are there. You might try editing the line in autoexec.bat to match the numbers.

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When I add that line to the autoexec.bat file, it's the DOS game that no longer sees the card. And that tab in device manager doesnt exist now as there are no DOS drivers installed. Finally, that thing about ME I cant do, because I have no setup.exe file. Earlier today I installed the original drivers, then made a copy of all the files that were modified including autoexec, and a copy of the 'dosdrv' folder. I installed the update, replaced all the files, and it STILL doesn't work. Doesn't this suggest its something to do with the windows drivers (the new ones are WDM)

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Probably so, especially since you're running it from windows and not exiting to dos. I included that link because it showed how editing the SETBLASTER line could sometimes fix a dos sound problem. If you can, post back the contents of autoexec.bat that the original drivers used.

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Sure, here's the autoexec.bat file from the old drivers: SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 H7 P330 T6 SET SBPCI=C:\PROGRA~1\CREATIVE\AUDIO\DOSDRV mode con codepage prepare=((850) C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\ega.cpi) mode con codepage select=850 keyb uk,,C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\keyboard.sys What can be done then?

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Edit in the first 2 lines from the old autoexec.bat to the new one after you install the new drivers. Make sure the c:\progra~1\creative\audio\dosdrv folder is there and contains all the files. If you made a copy of the folder elsewhere on the hard drive you could change the path to it in autoexec.bat. For example, if you copied it to c:\dosdrv you would change the line in autoexec.bat to: SET SBPCI=C:\DOSDRV Usually there would be a line to load a dos driver rather than just specifying the folder. You might look through the folder for a likely .exe candidate. Then you could add it to autoexec.bat. You would need to specify the path also. So if you had copied the files to c:\dosdrv the line to add would be: c:\dosdrv\filename where 'filename' would be the name of the file. If you're unsure you could post back the contents of the dosdrv folder. Include the file extensions--.exe, .com, etc. This is all speculation, and you may have already tried it, but it doesn't hurt to try.

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Ok, heres the list of files: Mt32.exe Sbcfg.exe Sbinit.com Sblegacy.exe Sbload.exe Sbmixer.exe Sbpci.bin Sbpci.ini Sbtest.exe Im guessing its the Sbload.exe file... I tried using the same autoexec.bat as is made when I use the old drivers, and the same sound folder, with no luck at all. Unless there is something else Im missing (other than the folder and autoexec.bat file), it seems it just wont work. I havent yet tried the running of the file though. Do you think that may work?

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It won't hurt to try them. You can always edit the line back out. Try sbinit.exe also. I recall that file being used for other soundblaster cards. And the sbtest may tell you something if you open a dos window and run it from the c:\> prompt.

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That didn't work still. The file was launched ok in autoexec.bat, because lines appeared showing the loading of the drivers. Although no sound in my game though. I think I may go back to my onboard actually. The only reason I bought a soundcard was so I would get sound in that game. Yesterday I found more problems even with the new drivers. The sound in Return To Castle Wolfenstein is really bad with the updated drivers - it lags about 2 seconds behind and is generally bad. This is the same in a couple of other games I play. Seeing as I dont seem to be able to get DOS sound working with decent windows drivers, I may as well go back to onboard. I cant remember having any problems with my onboard sound apart rom the DOS games of course. I havent played that game in a long time anyway, so it doesnt matter too much. Thanks for all your help anyway.

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You're welcome. I'm sorry we couldn't get it figured out.

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I read this topic throughout to get some help of a similar problem I have. I need to get those VIA drivers working in Dos 6,22, pure DOS mode. I have installed drivers correctly and set the VIA SBpro emulation using the settings shwon in BIOS. I could also run the SBdiagnose program that came with a creative driver pack. It recognises the VIA as SBpro2 and sets everything correctly except DMA channel. All DMAs seem to be occupied, although I think its not true. What is the problem?

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