SoundPiper 32 OS/2 Driver
Version 2.08
Software Release Notes
February 12, 1997
About This Release
ESS Technology is providing OS/2 driver for the SoundPiper 32
ES1688 AudioDrive chip in this Software Release.
This document provides:
- a description of the changes to the drivers
- installation notes
Please read this document completely before you upgrade your
system, and follow the instructions carefully.
Release Information
Product: SoundPiper 32 OS/2 Device Driver,
Version 2.08
Drivers: ES1688 (with ESFM and wavetable)
OS: OS/2 Warp 3.0 and 4.0
Release Date: February 12, 1997
Release Description
The SoundPiper 32 OS/2 Driver Software Release incorporates
the following features.
Version 2.08 Features
ES938 support
An application, ES938.EXE, is provided to control ES938 3D
Stereo Processor.
ES689/ES690 wavetable support
A /W:1 parameter can be added to the device driver line in
CONFIG.SYS to utilize ES689/ES690 wavetable for MIDI output.
ESFM support
The OS/2 driver supports ESFM, ESS's advanced FM music synthesis
technology.
APM support
The OS/2 driver supports Advanced Power Management (APM). It is
recommended that users stop audio applications before putting
the system into suspend mode.
Device sharing between OS/2 and WIN-OS/2
The audio device can be shared between Windows applications and
OS/2 under an exclusive sharing arrangement. If the device is
not currently being used by an OS/2 application, when Windows
runs an audio application, Windows will own the audio device
until the Windows application (or session) is terminated. Then
ownership will pass to the next application requesting it (OS/2
or Windows). This all occurs while maintaining the state of the
device for all applications.
Limited MPU-401 support
If MPU-401 is enabled, the OS/2 driver will send out MIDI data
when MIDI files are played. If MPU-401 interrupt is enabled,
MIDI in data can be received. A MIDI file has to be opened for
the MIDI in data to be sent to the FM synthesizer. MIDI record
is not supported. In WIN-OS/2 only MIDI out is supported, but
the driver requires a MPU-401 interrupt to start. In OS/2 if a
MIDI file is played while MIDI in is receiving, the MIDI file
has priority. After a stop command is sent to the MIDI file,
MIDI in will continue generating FM music. Note that the stop
command is only sent when the MIDI file play is completed or
rewound or there are switching between two MIDI files.
Input monitoring
Input source monitoring during non-recording time is
implemented. However, there are some limitations to this
feature due to the design of MMPM/2. When Digital Audio comes
up, the default microphone input source is used. If you want to
switch to line in, you must start recording to send the
information down to the driver. After then if the input source
is switched back to the default microphone because a wave file
is opened, you have to turn monitor off and then on to switch
back to line in.
Wave files contention handling
The driver can handle some wave files contention if it is not
already handled by MMPM/2.
Known Problems
1. For OS/2 Warp 3.0, opening too many MIDI files makes the
OS/2 system unstable. This problem is related to MMPM/2 and
depends on system resource. On systems with 8 Mbs memory,
the limit is 3; 16 Mbs, 6.
2. Tempo in MIDI files may not be 100% accurate due to timing
delay and MMPM/2 architecture.
3. For OS/2 Warp 3.0, running MCI commands "seek wave to #" and
then "play wave" to a 16-bit wave file sometimes generates
very loud static noise. Likewise using "record wave from #"
to record a 16-bit wave file may generate wrong file. It
all depends on the seek position.
4. The OS/2 driver allows sharing of audio and MPU-401
interrupts, but it is not recommended. If both are shared,
occasionally too much MIDI in data will lock up AudioDrive's
interrupt processing when a wave file is played or recorded.
To get out of this situation, stop the wave file, stop the
MIDI in source, close all MIDI files, and restart the wave
file to re-initialize AudioDrive's interrupt processing.
5. Due to the nature of MIDI music, turning MIDI in on while the
MIDI in data are coming may not generate the right sounds.
It is recommended to stop the MIDI in source first before
enable MIDI in.
6. The Sound Blaster test program, TEST-SBP.EXE, cannot detect
the DMA channel used after any OS/2 or WIN-OS/2 sound is
played. And checking other DMA channels will completely lock
up the machine requiring hard boot. This implies that some
DOS programs with audio capability will not work.
Installation Notes
To install the new drivers successfully the following steps must
be taken:
1. Open an OS/2 Window and run the EINSTALL.EXE program on the
installation disk by typing "A:\EINSTALL SP32." The program
first calls ESUNINST.EXE to remove old drivers. That program
will create a backup of CONFIG.SYS named CONFIG.ESS and
remove the audio device lines from CONFIG.SYS. It also
creates a backup of MMPM2.INI named MMPM2.ESS and removes the
audio drivers information from MMPM2.INI. In addition, it
removes any other ESS driver information in COMPLIST.INI.
After then, the installation program calls Multimedia
Application Install program, MINSTALL.EXE.
2. When Multimedia Application Install program brings up, a
check mark beside SoundPiper 32 means that item is already
selected. To toggle selection, click the mouse on the item.
Click the Install button to start the installation. Once the
drivers are installed, shutdown OS/2 and reset the computer
for the new ES1688 drivers to take effect.
3. If the installation cannot be completed, read the logs
EINSTALL.LOG in \MMOS2\INSTALL subdirectory and MINSTALL.LOG
in \MMOS2\INSTALL subdirectory or root directory to find out
the problem.
4. If WIN-OS/2 is installed in the system, start WIN-OS/2 and
run "A:\SETUP" to install WIN-OS/2 drivers. Change the
WIN-OS/2 settings to the following if necessary:
AUDIO_ADAPTER_SHARING = Required
INT_DURING_IO = On
5. Since OS/2 Warp 3.0 MINSTALL.EXE changes the icons of MIDI
player and Digital Video player to that of Digital Audio
player in the Multimedia folder, you may want to change them
back to the originals. To change the icon of MIDI player,
right click MIDI player to bring up the menu. Select
Settings, select General, and click the Find... button. In
the Start Folder window, enter \MMOS2\INSTALL. Click the
Find button and a window of all found icons appears. Select
MIDIPLAY.ICO and click OK. Close the MIDI player Settings
notebook. For Digital Video player, repeat the above steps
but select VIDPLAY.ICO instead.
6. If the MIDI plays are not smooth in WIN-OS/2, you need to
change the timer resolution. Edit SYSTEM.INI in your Windows
directory. Under [timer.drv] are TIMERMax386Res and
TIMERMax286Res. You need to change the values to less than 8
from the default of 10.
These are the files copied to your hard disk:
\MMOS2
SP32.SYS
VAUDDRV.SYS
\MMOS2\DLL
CARDINFO.DLL
ESSVSD88.DLL
\OS2\BOOT
CLOCK01.SYS
CLOCK02.SYS
TIMER0.SYS
\WINDOWS or \OS2\MDOS\WINOS2
AUDDRIVE.HLP
AUDMPU.HLP
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM or \OS2\MDOS\WINOS2\SYSTEM
AUDMPU.DRV
ES1688WN.386
ES1688WN.DRV
MIDIMAP.CFG
MSMIXMGR.DLL
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.