Using Soundscape Under Windows '95 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This document contains important information regarding the installation and use of the Soundscape driver under the Windows 95 operating system. We recommend that you print this document and keep it for later reference. What this document contains We have included information on the following topics: * Properly installing the drivers. * Updating the drivers. * Accessing the driver configuration. * Changing hardware settings. * Changing volume and balance levels. * MIDI distortion problems. * DMA Channel information. * Win95 autodetection. * Missing multimedia services. * TV and Modem sliders. * Microphone problems. * Full Duplex sound. * CD Audio problems. * Games in DOS Mode. If you have a previous version of the Soundscape Win95 driver currently running on your Win95 system, skip to the section titled Updating your Win95 Soundscape Drivers. If you have a non-Win95 driver currently installed under Win95, continue. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Uninstall Windows 3.xx versions of Soundscape software before installing Win95 drivers Here's why: when Windows 95 boots up, it keeps a log of all the different Base Ports (base I/O addresses), IRQs, and DMA Channels that each device is using. With Soundscape installed, the system allocates these values as in use. When you install the updated drivers, Windows 95 sees that these values are in use, and installs the new drivers with other values. These new values will not work, especially the new Base Port value. Base Port changes require a jumper change. So, the rule of thumb is to always uninstall the Soundscape drivers before updating. Here is how: Please Note: If a Joystick driver is installed, it does not need to be removed. 1. Insert Disk #1 from the older Windows 3.xx software 2. Run UNINST.EXE from the A: drive 3. Follow the instructions on the screen Soundscape is now totally removed from your system, so you can start from scratch. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Installing the Windows 95 Soundscape Software for the first time If you already have a Win95 Soundscape driver installed, please skip to the section titled Updating your Win95 Soundscape Drivers 1. Open the Control Panel. 2. Open the Add New Hardware applet. 3. On the first page of the Add New Hardware Wizard select Next. 4. When prompted to auto detect hardware, select No. 5. When asked the type of hardware you want to install, select Sound, video and game controllers. Then, select Next. 6. When asked for the Manufacturer and Model of your hardware, click on Have Disk. Do not select ENSONIQ. (If you choose ENSONIQ from the list of manufacturers, you may be installing an older version of the driver). 7. When prompted for the installation disk, enter the full path name of the driver diskette (e.g.,C:\SSCAPE95\ or A:\). 8. When asked to select the installed device, select ENSONIQ Soundscape. 9. You will then be presented with the hardware settings that Windows would like to configure the driver. These settings are based on the hardware settings that the board is capable of along with the ones that are free in your system. Write these values down and make sure they match the jumpers on your Soundscape card. For more information refer to pages 15 and 16 of your Soundscape hardware manual. If you have not already done so, you should install the Win95 multimedia applications. These include: a mixer, Media Player, Sound Recorder, and a CD Player. Consult your Windows 95 manual for installation instructions. At this point, you can test your card simply by playing a WAV file and a MIDI file using the Media Player program included with Windows 95. If these files are unable to play, please refer to the section titled Driver Configuration. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Updating your Win95 Soundscape Drivers If you already have a version of the Native Win95 Soundscape drivers installed, the procedure to update the drivers is very simple. Access the driver configuration page as follows: 1. Right click on My Computer and select Properties. 2. Select the Device Manager tab. 3. Double-click on Sound, Video, and Game Controller. This will expand that tree branch, allowing you to see the ENSONIQ Soundscape driver. 4. Select the ENSONIQ Soundscape branch and click Drivers. 5. Click on Change Driver and the Have Disk. 6. Point the path for the drive to where you have placed the updated driver and click on OK 7. Choose ENSONIQ Soundscape and click on OK. It will then copy the needed files to your hard drive and update your system That's all that there is to it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Driver Configuration To access the driver configuration page: 1. Right click on My Computer and select Properties. 2. Select the Device Manager tab. 3. Double-click on Sound, Video, and Game Controller. This will expand that tree branch, allowing you to see the ENSONIQ Soundscape driver. 4. Select the ENSONIQ Soundscape branch and click Properties. 5. You can obtain help on the various Property Page options. Click on the (?) in the title bar and then select the option for which you wish help. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Questions The following questions and answers can serve as a guide when using your Soundscape card in the Windows 95 operating environment. Read through all of them, even if you don't have the same question or situation. Please note: If your soundcard came pre-installed in your PC, you should contact with your manufacturer to make sure that you have the correct drivers for you soundcard. Using drivers distributed by ENSONIQ may be different from OEM (original equipment manufacturer) drivers and might void your warranty or forfeit your technical support through your computer's manufacturer. Some of the configurations below may not pertain to your system. How do I change the Soundscape hardware settings in Windows 95? With Windows 95, there is no longer any need to use SSINIT. You can make all hardware configuration changes using the Soundscape driver. The Soundscape driver is located in the control panel. To change IRQ and DMA Values 1. Go into System Properties, and select the Device Manager. 2. Scroll down to the Sound, Video, and Game Controller selection and double click it. It will expand into more subsets, one of which says ENSONIQ Soundscape. 3. Click on ENSONIQ Soundscape, then click the Properties button at the bottom of the window. 4. At the top of the properties menu, select the page titled Resources. 5. About halfway down on the page, there is a selection for use automatic settings. Remove the check mark from the box. 6. Scroll up and down in the resource setting window to select an IRQ or DMA to change. 7. When the desired setting is highlighted, click on the Change Setting box just below the resource setting window. You can now choose a new setting for this parameter. How do I change volume and balance levels in Windows 95? To make adjustments to Soundscape's volume settings and balance levels, use the Windows 95 mixer. To view the mixer, click through the hierarchy of pop-up menus, beginning with the Start button of the task bar. From there, click on Programs, Accessories, Multimedia, and Volume control (the mixer). Since you will probably change these settings often, it is a good idea to place the mixer in the taskbar. Here's how: 1. Open the Control Panel. 2. Double click on the Multimedia icon. The Multimedia Properties page appears. 3. In the playback section, check the box marked Show volume control in task bar. The mixer can now be invoked by double-clicking on the speaker icon located on the right side of the taskbar. MIDI doesn't sound right on my ELITE card. Why? When installing our Win95 drivers in conjunction with our Soundscape ELITE the version of the drivers must be at least version 4.00.30 or newer. Here's how to check your driver version: 1. Open the Device Manager, located in the System icon in the Control Panel. 2. Once in the Device Manager, find the Sound, Video, and Game Controller selection and double-click it. It will expand into more subsets, one of which says ENSONIQ Soundscape. 3. Click on ENSONIQ Soundscape, then click the Properties button at the bottom of the window. 4. At the top of the Properties menu, select the page titled Drivers. This list presents you with a list of installed drivers. 5. Scroll down the list to find the driver titled SNDSCP95.DRV and click on it. The bottom of the windows contains a box revealing the version number of this driver. It should read 4.00.30 or newer. The last 2 digits (i.e. 30) indicate that this is build 30. Build 26 (4.00.26) will not work correctly with the Soundscape ELITE card. Symptoms would be either no MIDI output during Win95 sessions or while playing games running from within Win95, or a very distorted and out-of-tune MIDI playback. Why are there now two DMA Channels? Under Windows 95, the Soundscape card is capable of full duplex. This means that the card can play back 2 simultaneous WAV files, or can playback one while recording another. In order for this to happen, the sound card must dedicate 2 DMA channels. How does the Autodetect feature of Windows 95 affect my card? When installing our Win95 drivers onto the system, the Hardware Wizard will ask you if you would like Windows to search for your new hardware. The answer is NO. Windows will not be capable of detecting our cards since they are not plug-and-play. Answering YES to this question will result in windows detecting an unknown device, and thus the drivers will not be installed correctly. Why are some of the Multimedia Services missing? At the time Win95 is installed, it is possible that Windows will not install the sound utilities that you would expect to find. Features such as the Audio CODEC, the Media Player, and the Microsoft Mixer may not be present. This may cause your sound card to not respond properly, or not respond at all, when our drivers are installed. If this is the case, these applications must be installed onto the system from the Windows 95 CD-ROM. Here's how: 1. Go to the Control Panel and select Add/Remove new programs. 2. Go to the Windows Setup menu. 3. Scroll down to Multimedia and highlight it. 4. Click on Details, and choose the components that you would like to install. The TV and Modem sections of Audiostation aren't working right. Why? The mixer utility in the Audiostation provided with the Win95 Software Apps can be used under Windows 95. However, there are selections (TV and Modem) that will not function properly unless used with a plug-and-play card. The mixer provided with Win95 should also work well. This is located in the task bar next to the current time. It is represented by a small speaker icon. If this is not present, first make sure it is installed. See the preceding section for instructions on how to install the Microsoft mixer volume control. Why does my Microphone record at very low levels or not at all? For ease of installation, we recommend that you use a dynamic microphone. These require the least amount of setup. Do the following steps to be sure that your software is set up correctly for mic input: 1. In your toolbar, next to the clock, double click on the speaker icon. 2. Go to the Options menu, and select Advanced Controls. 3. Go to the Options menu, and select Properties. 4. Under adjust volume for playback, make sure the Mic/Line box is checked. 5. Hit the OK button. 6. Make sure the Mic/Line slider is all the way up, and that the mute button is not checked. 7. Click on the Advanced button located beneath the Mic/Line slider. 8. In Other Controls, make sure the 1 Mic/Line Switch has a check mark next to it. 9. Close down the volume control and test the microphone. Why isn't my sound card working in Full Duplex? The Soundscape card is capable of full duplex operation. To check and make sure that the software settings are correct: 1. Go to the Control Panel and select the Multimedia icon. 2. You should be on the Multimedia Properties audio page. 3. If the Playback Device and the Record Device are set to the same address, this is only Half Duplex. 4. Change the Playback Device so it is different from the Record Device. 5. Hit the Apply button, then hit the OK button. 6. You should now be in Full Duplex mode. Why doesn't my CD audio work? First, check to make sure that you are using the newest versions of the Applications designed for Win95. The old Audiostation for Win 3.1 will not work correctly. Next, be sure that your CD volume is turned up to maximum in the Audiostation mixer. On the back of your sound card, be sure that there are NO connectors plugged into the CD/AUX input as this will override your internal connection. If you still aren't getting music, you will need to verify that the internal patch cable is connected between your CD ROM drive and the Soundscape card. This is typically a small connector with four wires coming out of it. If it is connected but not working, try unplugging it and re-connecting it to another connector (there are three to choose from). If this does not work, there is a chance that the patch cable is broken or defective. Another tip is to obtain a 1/8" stereo patch cord and connect one end to the headphone out on the front of the CD-ROM drive, and the other end to the CD/AUX input on the back of the Soundscape card. Make sure the headphone volume dial on the CD-ROM drive is at maximum, and try playing a CD. You should hear the music playing. If your internal patch cable is missing or defective, contact your CD-ROM manufacturer for information on how to obtain another cable. Can I still play my DOS games? Some games may require that Win95 reboot into DOS Mode in order to play properly. If this is the case, the Win95 Software Apps must be installed on the system to obtain sound support for the game. After the Apps are installed, the following modifications must be made to your system: 1. Load an editor and edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file that Windows 95 uses to boot up. 2. Enter the following 3 lines at the top of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET BLASTER=A220 Ixx Dx T1 SET SNDSCAPE=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM 3. Save this file. 4. Edit the DOSSTART.BAT file located in the WINDOWS directory. 5. Enter the following line at the top of the DOSSTART.BAT file: C:\SNDSCAPE\SSINIT /I 6. Save this file and reboot the system. 7. Once Windows 95 is restarted, go to the START menu button in the toolbar. 8. Choose Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode. 9. You should now be able to play your games in this DOS session with sound support. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1995 ENSONIQ Corp 155 Great Valley Parkway, PO BOX 3035 Malvern, PA 19355-0735 Voice (610) 647-3930 FAX (610) 647-8908 Last updated 01/26/96 by BLH/SBC