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Installation and Configuration of Software for the Sound Blaster Live! and 512 Sound Cards under the OS/2 Operating System

By Jason R Stefanovich © August 2001

This document covers the steps needed to install and configure the drivers and software which support the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! and Sound Blaster 512 under the OS/2 operating system. The method described in this document is designed for a typical installation on OS/2 Warp 4 (Merlin) or later. It is by no means a comprehensive description of the myriad ways this software can be installed but aims to provide the user with a simple and quick path to functionality. Use of the RTMIDI system and external MIDI synthesizers is specifically excluded. As always, documentation for each package should be reviewed before installation.

Currently, there are eight separate packages that need to be downloaded and installed to fully utilize these cards. Once these packages are installed and correctly configured, the user will have access to nearly all the functionality of the card. Notably, support for sound under DOS sessions is still lacking although John Gow has stated that he is working on adding this into the Generic Win-OS/2 Audio Driver.

#### Part I: Gathering Resources

1. Download the following packages into a temporary directory:

Product: MMPack
Author: Thetaband
URL: http://www.thetaband.com/download/index.html

Product: SBLive Driver
Author: Sander van Leeuwen
URL: http://www.xs4all.nl/~sandervl/sbliveos2.070.zip

Product: Timidity MCD (Media Control Device)
Author: Darwin O'Connor
URL: http://www.reamined.on.ca/doconnor/timidity.html

Product: GUS (Gravis Ultra Sound) Patches
Author: Various
URL: http://www.reamined.on.ca/doconnor/dgguspat.zip

Product: EMX Runtime Library
Author: Various
URL: http://ftp-os2.nmsu.edu/pub/os2/dev/emx/v0.9d/emxrt.zip

Product: Generic Win-OS/2 Audio Driver
Author: John Gow
URL: http://home.wanadoo.nl/~rwklein/download.htm
(requires WarpIN installer)
http://www.xworkplace.org/proj_warpin.html

Product: LBMix
Author: Lesha Bogdanow
URL: http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming/lbmix007a.zip
URL: http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/os2/apps/mmedia/util/mixers/lbmix007a.zip

Product: Enhanced Joystick Device Driver
Author: Vesa Jääskeläinen
URL: http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/incoming/joy_driver_v02.zip

#### Part II: Backing up Critical Files

2. Make backup copies of the following files:

> X:\CONFIG.SYS
> X:\MMOS2\MMPM2.INI
> X:\OS2\MDOS\WINOS2\SYSTEM.INI
> X:\OS2\MDOS\WINOS2\MIDIMAP.CFG
> X:\NETSCAPE\PROGRAMS\PLUGINS\NPOS2MID.DLL (only if NS Plugin Pack is installed)
> X:\MMOS2\GAMEDD.SYS
> X:\MMOS2\GAMEVDD.SYS

### Part III: Preinstallation Preparation

3. Reboot the system and enter into the BIOS configuration menu. If the system BIOS contains a "PnP OS" parameter, set it to "OFF" and reboot the system (terminology may differ depending on BIOS).

4. Open the X:\Config.sys file in a text editor and REM out all references to previous sound card drivers. Append the line "`SET TIMIDITYDIR=X:\TIMIDITY`" to the end of the file. Add "`;X:\EMX\BIN`" to the PATH and "`;X:\EMX\DLL`" to the LIBPATH. (skip this step if the emx runtime is already installed)

5. Unzip the EMX runtime archive to X:\EMX. (skip this step if the emx runtime is already installed)

6. Unzip the MMPack and run the INSTALL.CMD script from the MMCheck directory. Open the newly created MM Pack folder on the desktop and run the MM Check program. If any errors are displayed refer to the MM Check Documentation and attempt to resolve the problem.

7. Go to the X:\MMOS2 directory and open up the MMPM2.INI file with an INI or text editor.
Remove all statements referring to previous sound cards.

8. Run the MM Check program again. Repeat the steps in Part II until no errors are detected.

#### Part IV: Installation of the Base Driver

9. Unzip the SBLive driver and run the INSTALL.CMD script. Select "SoundBlaster Live! Wave Audio" and "1" for the number of devices. After installation is complete, reboot the system

10. During the reboot process, note the address in the statement " SB Live! joystick at :" reported by the SB Live driver. Save this information for later.

11. Wave output/input should now be enabled in PM and VIO sessions. Wave output can be tested by opening up the folder "X:\MMOS2\SOUND BITES" , choosing a .wav file and double clicking on it or typing "play foo.wav" from the command line. If no sound is heard, recheck the steps in Parts II and III and ensure that all hardware is properly installed and connected and that the volume is set at an audible level.

#### Part V: Installation of the MIDI Driver

12. Unzip the Timidity MCD archive to X:\TIMIDITY. Unzip the Dgguspat archive to X:\TIMIDITY\PATCH.

13. Open the file X:\TIMIDITY\TIMIDITY.CFG with a text editor. Replace line 30 "`# dir /usr/local/lib/timidity`" with "`dir /timidiy`". Append the lines "`dir x:\timidity\patch`" and "`source default.cfg`" to the end of the file beginning at line 82.

14. Copy the file X:\TIMIDITY\NPOS2MID.DLL to X:\NETSCAPE\PROGRAMS\PLUGINS, overwriting the existing file. (only if NS Plugin Pack is installed)

15. Open an OS/2 VIO window and go to the X:\TIMIDITY directory. Run "minstall" from the command prompt. Step through the Multimedia Application Install. After the installation, reboot the system.

16. Open the Multimedia Setup object and select the new TiMidity tab. Ensure the "Default Sequencer device" box is checked. Go to the second TiMidity page and ensure that the association extentions "MOD" and "MID" exist. Close the Multimedia Setup object. If changes were required, reboot the system.

17. TiMidity should now be the default sequencer for the system. MIDI files can be tested by running the MID files in X:\TIMIDITY\MIDI. If the files do not play, or do not play correctly, open the Multimedia Setup object and ensure there are no other devices associated with the MOD and MID file types. Check all hardware connections, that the volume is set at an audible level, and ensure that all steps in Part V have been followed correctly. Note: After installation of TiMidity, MMCheck will always detect an error on the sequencer name in the MMPM2.INI file.

#### Part VI: Installation of the Win-OS/2 Driver

18. Unzip the Generic Win-OS/2 Audio Driver archive.

19. From the \BIN subdirectory copy the files GENAUDD.EXE, VGENAUD.SYS, GWDTA.STS, GWACFG.EXE and GWACFG.HLP to the X:\MMOS2 directory.

20. From the \BIN subdirectory copy the files OS2WAVE.DRV, OS2MIDI.DRV and MIDIMAP.CFG to the X:\OS2\MDOS\WINOS2\SYSTEM directory.

21. From the .\ and \DOC subdirectories copy the files README.TXT, MANUAL.INF, BETANOTE.INF and BUGREP.TXT to the X:\MMOS2\HELP directory. Some files may have to be renamed.

22. Open the file X:\OS2\MDOS\WINOS2\SYSTEM.INI with a text editor. Find the section labeled "`[Drivers]`". If there are lines beginning with "`WAVE=`" and "`MIDI=`" comment them out by placing a semicolon in front of them. Add the lines "`WAVE=os2wave.drv`" and "`MIDI=os2midi.drv`".

23. Open the OS/2 System -> System Setup -> Win-OS/2 Setup notebook. Click on the "Win-OS/2 settings..." button. Select "DOS memory settings" and then click Ok. Select `EMS_MEMORY_LIMIT` and set the slider to zero. Click on Save and then close the Win-OS/2 Setup. Reboot the system.

24. Wave and MIDI should now be available in WIN-OS/2 sessions. The "ta-da" wave file should be heard when opening a WIN-OS/2 session. If the sound does not play, check to ensure that sounds are turned on in the WIN-OS/2 control panel, that the volume is set at an audible level, and ensure that all steps in Part VI have been followed correctly.

#### Part VII: Installation of the Mixer and Joystick Driver

25. Unzip the LBMix archive into a separate temporary directory. Open the file folder object for the directory and double click on the LBMIX.WPI object to begin installation, continue with the PIPEMIX.WPI object.

26. Unzip the Joy Driver archive in the X:\MMOS2 directory.

27. Open the X:\CONFIG.SYS file with a text editor. Add or update the lines "`DEVICE=X:\MMOS2\GAMEDD.SYS /P:ZZZ`" and "`DEVICE=X:\MMOS2\GAMEVDD.SYS`". (where `ZZZ` is the port address reported previously by the SBLive driver). Reboot the system.

#### Part VIII: Final Notes

28. The system should now have full access to sound in all sessions except DOS. Joystick access should be available in all sessions. Save all archives downloaded and all backup files. Delete all temporary files created during installation.

29. Enjoy!!

References: SBLive Driver - http://www.xs4all.nl/~sandervl/sbliveos2.070.zip MMPack - ">http://www.thetaband.com/download/index.html Timidity MCD (Media Control Device) - http://www.reamined.on.ca/doconnor/timidity.html GUS (Gravis Ultra Sound) Patches - http://www.reamined.on.ca/doconnor/dgguspat.zip EMX Runtime Library - http://ftp-os2.nmsu.edu/pub/os2/dev/emx/v0.9d/emxrt.zip Generic Win-OS/2 Audio Driver - http://home.wanadoo.nl/~rwklein/download.htm WarpIN installer - http://www.xworkplace.org/proj_warpin.html LBMix - http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-search?key=lbmix007a.zip Enhanced Joystick Device Driver - http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-search?key=joy_driver

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