AudioDrive ES1868 OS/2 Driver
Version 1.04
Software Release Notes
April 23, 1996
About This Release
ESS Technology is providing updated OS/2 drivers for the
AudioDrive ES1868 chip in this Software Release. These drivers
are complete updates to prior ESS releases for OS/2 Warp 3.0.
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 ES1868 OS/2 Device Driver,
Version 1.04
Drivers: ES1868 (with ESFM)
OS: OS/2 Warp 3.0
Part Number:
Release Date: April 23, 1996
Release Description
The AudioDrive ES1868 OS/2 Driver Software Release incorporates
new changes done to the previous release, Version 1.03.
Version 1.04 Changes
Better hardware volume control support
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.
Wave files contention handling
The driver can handle some wave files contention if it is not
already handled by MMPM/2.
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 ES1868 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 ES1868 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 ES1868 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 ES1868
settings in a system with no plug and play support, be sure to
reset the computer for ES1868 to forget its previous settings.
These are the files copied to your hard disk:
\MMOS2
ES1868DD.SYS
VAUDDRV.SYS
ESDAEMON.EXE
\MMOS2\DLL
CARDINFO.DLL
ESSVSD88.DLL
WININST.DLL
WINRES.DLL
\MMOS2\HELP
ES1868IN.HLP
\OS2\BOOT
CLOCK01.SYS
CLOCK02.SYS
TIMER0.SYS
\WINDOWS
AUDDRIVE.HLP
AUDMPU.HLP
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
AUDMPU.DRV
ES1868WN.386
ES1868WN.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.