Jump to content

exist a Sound Blaster emulator for win9x?


Joaquim

Recommended Posts


First of all I want ask few questions

1 hour ago, Joaquim said:

exist a Sound Blaster emulator for Win9x?

sound blaster emulation under MS-DOS mode to DOS games?

1 hour ago, Joaquim said:

i'm using the Win98 on a more modern hardware

define "more modern hardware". I want technical information about sound card, mainboard etc. Creative had driver for win9x compatible pci soundcards to emulate it, VIA audio cards got sb emulation too, fortemedia got sb emulation and ESS audio had sound blaster emulation too.

So which soundcard you got now?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Device Properties:
      Driver Description                                PCI Multimedia Audio Device
      Hardware ID                                       PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_266E&SUBSYS_00661025&REV_04
      PCI Device                                        Intel 82801FB(M) ICH6(-M) - AC'97 Audio Controller [B2]

i have the driver installed, but not the emulation drivers...

maybe win9x have it's own sound blaster emulation, but i can't execute some DOS games..... only reboot the pc by MS-DOS way.

that's why i'm asking for another emulator

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, MERCURY127 said:

win9x have integrated SB emulation for own dos vm. 

HKR,,NTMPDriver,,"sbemul.sys"
HKR,Drivers,SubClasses,,"wave,midi,mixer"

What are the "hkr" lines?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

open any driver inf in notepad...

HKR
Relative root, in which keys that are specified by using this abbreviation are relative to the registry key associated with the INF section in which this AddReg directive appears, as indicated in the following table.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/install/inf-addreg-directive

Edited by MERCURY127
Link to comment
Share on other sites

YES

now i can execute the game using sound blaster...

i can create a bat file(on game folder) with these 3 lines:

@ECHO OFF
@break off
DosGameName sb

i don't know if uppercase is need on 1st line..

thank you so much.. now i can play DOS games with all sound

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Does this work with an AC-97 audio card?

 

Edit: I was able to verify that it works partially, the sound of the games is heard with a slight noise and it does not work with all the games like Fatal Racing, in which the music does not work.

Edited by vicokoby
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

When using WDM Audio Drivers in 98SE/ME, the manufacturers of audio drivers will always use builtin sbemul.sys SB emulator driver for the MS-DOS window inside Windows. That's what Microsoft told audio driver manufacturers to do.
The sbemul.sys emulator driver is far from perfect, having many, many issues like those described above. I was never satisfied with its capabilities. 
This only applies to DOS window inside Windows, not real DOS mode where you need to provide proper DOS audio drivers if they are available.

When using VXD Audio Drivers in 95/98SE/ME, manufacturer of the audio driver will provide their own SB emulator driver, which you can usually see as an additional device in Device Manager.
They should have better SB emulation, but it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. 
VXD drivers are usually called Windows 95 and Windows 98 non-SE/Gold drivers.

With AC'97 cards, you can try Realtek Windows 95 (VXD) drivers if the device ID is supported by it: https://soggi.org/drivers/realtek.htm
There are also VIA VXD drivers available on the internet if you have a VIA AC'97 device.
Sadly, Joaquim's device ID is not available in those so he can't use them. I've checked it.

If you want somewhat adequate DOS sound support under Windows 98 SE, ditch WDM and go for VXD drivers if available. Not in this case.
If you want better DOS sound support, ditch Windows all together and find real-mode DOS drivers for your audio card if available. Not in this case.
If you want the best DOS sound support, get a real ISA Sound Blaster card :) He can't since he's using a laptop.
His best option, if his laptop had a printer port, would be to use OPL3LPT (expensive) https://www.serdashop.com/OPL3LPT.
His laptop (Acer Aspire 1690) sadly doesn't have one.


I know Joaquim is very determined to get the maximum out of his laptop under Windows 98, and I admire his dedication, but he must understand that his laptop has too many issues that can;t be resolved and that his laptop is not suitable for DOS gaming, especially with regards to sound. It's just too new for these things. 

If you have the budget, get a cheap Pentium 4 Socket 478 PC and put a cheap Sound Blaster Live SB0100/SB0060 PCI card there and follow this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x6T_OWT0WU You'll be happy.
If you want a laptop, get one that is older and has a DOS compatible sound card (basically anything that is NOT AC'97 or HD Audio!)

I myself also would like for everything to work under Windows 98, but even I have to draw a line somewhere, and believe me, I was as determined as Joaquim! 

 

Edited by MrMateczko
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

This is probably the least desired option, for most people. Mostly because it defeats the essence of escaping modern operating systems. But in a worst case senario, there is Dosbox. Now even for Win95 and Winnt. Maybe not an option for graphically hungry games.

Note: The Dosbox version I am talking about is not an official build. So you can't download it from the Dosbox homepage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
On 8/9/2021 at 9:48 PM, MrMateczko said:

get a cheap Pentium 4

Are AMD Athlon XPs not compatible or too expensive for whatever reason? I mean, gotta think about OP's legs (or his desk) getting scorched by the processor's heat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I've recently had luck with "VDMSound.win9x.bin.alpha3.zip", when using WDM drivers. Probably works with VxD drivers, too.

It is just stitched together enough to work. There is some reg addition needed to kill the tip of the day.

Once you understand how it is put together, you can fix it up to your needs.

I've never tried the original VDMSound. It is for Win2k and up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...