Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
@RetroTechChris
Mar 2, 2024 • 13 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
A few weeks back, we talked about PCI sound card compatibility in Windows 3.1x. And then I went and purchased an Aureal Vortex AU8820 sound card for like $10 bucks. Let's find out how well it works in DOS, Windows 3.11, and a few other OSes in a thread here!



Image
Image
Image
Image
First, you'll be pleased to know that this sound card works with Hannah Montana Linux. Okay, enough of that already... for now 😂. Gosh, that color scheme is beyond atrocious and hurts my eyes. Image
How about Windows XP? Yep, detected and good to go! Image
Okay, off to Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Install was a cinch, but.. all I get in the program group is an uninstaller? Really?? No mixer? Yeah.. more on that in a minute.

Image
Image
Image
Things are looking good in the MIDI mapper, nothing to do there! All set. Image
If we look at installed drivers, we'll see there is a mixer. It just has no GUI. Fortunately, we can control the sound settings via system.ini. Under [Config\MixerSettings], I just changed all values from 32767 to 65535 to give "full volume" everywhere!

Image
Image
Image
Oh, and for the drivers, for the interested, I downloaded them from here! vogons.org/viewtopic.php?…
Alright, how about DOS? Fortunately there is a TSR you can use to make things work, included in the drivers above. However, it will probably lock up with newer systems. You can pull the "asp4dos" file from Win9x drivers to fix it though, details here: vogons.org/viewtopic.php?…
So, running asp4dos from the command line, we can see the card get detected. PRO TIP: If you install the Win3.1 drivers, you'd best take asp4dos out of autoexec.bat before you reboot, or replace it under the C:\WINDOWS directory before you do if you have a newer system! Image
So, for the most part, we are done. But there are two more problems to solve. The first is setting audio levels. I think with a vortex.ini file, this can be done with the asp4dos driver. But that was giving me trouble. So I downloaded SBMIX and it worked perfectly! Image
The next problem? If you run Win3.1x, the real mode DOS driver will uninstall. So after you exit Win3.1x, you need to reload it again. See this post I made today on Vogons that talks about the fix I used with a batch file! vogons.org/viewtopic.php?…
Anyway, there you have it. Now we can do fun things like play MIDI, MP3, and WAV files in Win3.x... using a PCI sound card. Thanks for following along! I'll leave you with a post I just did where we play an MP3!
@threadreaderapp unroll

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with RetroTech Chris

RetroTech Chris Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @RetroTechChris

RetroTech Chris Profile picture
May 25
I made it through testing the rest of the ISA and PCI interface cards that I talked about yesterday... erm... at least as well as I could. I'd say things went pretty well! Let's talk about it in a 🧵 here! Image
Image
Image
Image
We'll use Windows 98 SE for the testing again. And I'm starting out with a "freshly" copied partition again. It's for the best when installing a bunch of drivers. Image
So, first up, I tested out the Sound Blaster Audigy 2! It works okay, it does have some "static" occasionally. Probably needs a recap. Muting CD Audio and Line In seems to help. But otherwise it sounds pretty good! Image
Image
Image
Read 20 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
May 24
A few weeks ago, I purchased a group of 17 ISA and PCI cards of all different types! I've had a chance to test out some of them and the results have been PRETTY good, despite an issue here and there. Let's talk about the first round of testing in a 🧵 here! Image
So, first, this is the shipping box for the card. Eek! And, naturally none of the cards were in ESD bags. Oh well. Annnnyway, moving on, I stacked and sorted. 6 NICs (plus 2 bonus ones I bought), 5 sound, 1 IDE, 1 video capture, 3 misc interface, and... 1 MODEM 😂😂 Image
Image
We'll use the Rustbucket PC to do the testing. It has both ISA an PCI slots, which is what we need! I'll make a backup of the Windows 98 install on here first before we start shoving a bunch of cards and drivers at it! Image
Image
Image
Read 15 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
May 24
I finally got around to testing out all of my new hard drives! Let's see how it went. Time for a 🧵 Image
Image
So, I decided to start testing with all of the Western Digitals. My eMachines is PERFECT for testing drives, I can pop them into the HDD cage like a piece of toast 😂. The BIOS picks up the drive, I give it a quick partition and format, and then it's SpinRite 6.1 time! Image
Image
Image
Image
Testing went pretty well for most drives. The Caviar 21600 drive had some bad sectors on first run, but looks like they relocated. The 13GB Caviar drive had lots of bad sectors though, so it is a goner. Image
Image
Image
Image
Read 8 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
May 22
Several days ago, I started a journey of exploring a very unique CPU in my "new" 486 system. It's a Green CPU U5S-SUPER33, and it is REALLY cool... and FAST. Let's talk about it, and why it took me so long to get this thread out, in a 🧵 here! Image
Image
So, first, if you aren't familiar with the UMC Green CPUs, it might be because they were not available in the US (and perhaps other countries) after a lawsuit with Intel. The CPU itself has the marking "Not for US sale or import". Good thing I didn't buy this CPU 😂 Image
Image
Let's get it installed. My Shuttle HOT-443 (Ver 4.0) motherboard has native support for it. I set the jumpers, powered up the system, and it got detected! This CPU detects as a UMC 486 "SX" CPU, but don't let that fool you... it's FAST! Let's talk about that. Image
Image
Image
Image
Read 14 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
May 15
I decided to try and retr0brite the Rustbucket PC a bit. I think it looks a little bit better now! Let's have a quick 🧵 to look at the method used! Image
Image
I removed the front panel and separated out the drive blanks and gave them a wash. PC looks a little funny without its face 😂 Image
Image
Image
From there, it was more 40 volume developer applied with a paintbrush and into the retr0brite bin! I applied the 40 volume developer yesterday afternoon, last night, and then again this morning.. and finally took the pieces out around midday. Image
Read 4 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
May 14
A few days back, I ordered a bunch of hard disk drives. The first one, a Seagate ST32342A (Medalist) 4.3 GB IDE drive, arrived today. Let's check it out in a 🧵 here! Image
Image
First thing I did was create a 2.0 GB DOS partition and format it. No issues so far! Image
I then fired up SpinRite 6.1. For some reason, it didn't want to run on this 486DX4/100, it froze on the intro screen. So I swapped that out for the Rustbucket Pentium II 350 MHz, and it fired right up! Image
Image
Image
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(