AudioDrive ES1878 OS/2 Driver
Version 1.00
Software Release Notes
June 14, 1996
About This Release
ESS Technology is providing OS/2 driver for the AudioDrive
ES1878 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: AudioDrive ES1878 OS/2 Device Driver,
Version 1.00
Drivers: ES1878 (with ESFM)
OS: OS/2 Warp 3.0
Release Date: June 14, 1996
Release Description
The AudioDrive ES1878 OS/2 Driver Software Release incorporates
the following features.
Version 1.00 Features
Full-duplex capability
The OS/2 driver supports playing and recording simultaneously 2
mono wave files with same sample rate.
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.
Hardware volume control support
The OS/2 driver supports hardware volume control. The volume
settings are passed to MMPM/2 via a daemon program,
ESDAEMON.EXE.
A /H:# parameter can be added to the device driver line in
CONFIG.SYS to specify the number of additional steps generated
by one hardware volume control interrupt. The default number is
zero. The maximum is 3.
Device sharing between OS/2 and WINOS2
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 WinOS2 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.
Known Problems
1. 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. 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. To be able to play and record wave files at the same time,
the enforcement of only one active wave file by MMPM/2 is
relaxed. Therefore, some problems or erratic behaviors may
pop up if two wave files are played.
5. 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.
6. 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.
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." The program first
runs ESDETECT.EXE to auto-detect the chip, then 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 AudioDrive ES1878 means that item is
already selected. To toggle selection, click the mouse on
the item. If WinOS2 is installed in the system, you can
select WinOS2/Windows Audio support also. If not, make sure
that item is not checked. Click the Install button to start
the installation. Once the drivers are installed, shutdown
OS/2 and reset the computer for the new ES1878 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. Since this version of 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.
5. If the MIDI plays are not smooth in WinOS2, 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.
Since ES1878 is a plug and play board, in a system with plug and
play support the optimal settings will be used instead of the
settings specified in CONFIG.SYS. If you change the ES1878
settings in a system with no plug and play support, be sure to
reset the computer for ES1878 to forget its previous settings.
These are the files copied to your hard disk:
\MMOS2
ES1878DD.SYS
VAUDDRV.SYS
ESDAEMON.EXE
\MMOS2\DLL
CARDINFO.DLL
ESSVSD88.DLL
WININST.DLL
WINRES.DLL
\MMOS2\HELP
ES1878IN.HLP
\OS2\BOOT
CLOCK01.SYS
CLOCK02.SYS
TIMER0.SYS
\WINDOWS
AUDDRIVE.HLP
AUDMPU.HLP
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
AUDMPU.DRV
ES1878WN.386
ES1878WN.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.