Author Topic: Guys, I'm at my wit's end... Sound cards and RW (Read 461 times)

Dux · « **on:** April 06, 2001, 01:01:00 AM »

Okay, I've tried everything. Bought one of the sound cards that Roger Wilco says works fine... the SoundBlaster PCI 512... Downloaded the latest drivers, get great sound out of it, Audio recording works fine.

When I launch RW, it tells me that it was unable to find a sound card of any kind...?

I've checked all the websites... Resounding, Creative, etc... no help there.

Any of you brain surgeons out there able to help me?

My system... HP Pavilion 8870, 1.2 GHz AMD Athlon Chip, Windows ME (have a feeling this is a potential prob... I used the drivers for win98 cuz they didn't have ME drivers)

Please help...*sob*... I really wanted RW for Hostile Shores!

Thanks in advance.

Dux out.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #1 on:** April 06, 2001, 08:35:00 AM »

POtential problems abound here.

First: Is RW certified to run under ME?
Second: Without sound card drivers for ME, you could have a lot problems.

Too many people beleive that ME and 98 are the same thing and that ME is just an update of 98.
ME actually shares a lot of W2K code, as Microsoft is trying to get to one common base code for all thier OS's.

While ME still has a lot of 98 code in it, the core OS code is based from W2K, not 98.

This makes it very important that drivers be certified for ME and W2K alike. The basic API's from 98 are still prevalent in ME, but those API's were modified to work with the core API's from W2K.
The result of this mixture causes a software compatibilty to reside somewhere between W2K and 98. Some things that will not run on W2K will work on ME, and some things that work on 98 will not work on ME.

Hope that helps.

------------------
Roy "Skuzzy" Neese
President, AppLink Corp.
http://www.applink.net
skuzzy@applink.net

Sky Viper · « **Reply #2 on:** April 06, 2001, 08:37:00 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Dux:

My system... HP ...Windows ME (have a feeling this is a potential prob... I used the drivers for win98 cuz they didn't have ME drivers)

I think you got it fingered out, just look at it again.

HP - OEM often = Problems with aftermarket upgrades. I'm gonna guess you had "ONBOARD" sound prior to adding a card.

WinME - I don't like anything I have heard about this OS, and trying to use drivers for another OS is probably the entire problem.

If you can get a refund/excange from the place of purchase, then I recomend the following:
Find a card that: 1. Falls within the RW supported list. 2. Has Drivers for WinME. & 3. Is available at Place of Purchase in case they only allow you to exchange (no refunds).

SB Live! is probably your best bet. ME Drivers and GREAT sound. But stay away from XGamer and all that other crap if you can. The guys in our Sq. that have that thing are always having problems.

Good Luck!

Viper

Dux · « **Reply #3 on:** April 06, 2001, 04:02:00 PM »

Thanks, guys. I'll try a couple more things before giving up completely.

<S>

Lephturn · « **Reply #4 on:** April 07, 2001, 09:34:00 AM »

WinMe is not using the NT kernel is it Skuzzy? I haven't played with it much, but I think you can still boot it to DOS if you want, it's just hidden really well. WinME does have a couple of 2k style subsystems. Windows Me uses the new driver model similar to Win2k, but it is still an OS that runs on top of DOS, still a 9X based OS. It is not based on the NT kernel, it is an evolution of Windows 98. WinME uses the new driver model that XP will use, and has a lot of XP/Win2k features in it, but it's basic OS is still Win9x in nature. I do believe they dumped the WOW (Win16 on Win32) and ditched the DOS model emulation stuff, but at the core this is still Win9x.

Where you run into problems with WinME is that they went to the new driver architecture that Win2k sort of uses, and that WinXP (Windows eXtra Pricey) uses. So from a driver point of view, you can't automatically have devices working the same in WinME as they would in 9x.

------------------
Sean "Lephturn" Conrad - Aces High Chief Trainer

A proud member of the mighty Flying Pigs http://www.flyingpigs.com

Check out Lephturn's Aerodrome for AH articles and training info!

[This message has been edited by Lephturn (edited 04-07-2001).]

BaneX · « **Reply #5 on:** April 07, 2001, 01:40:00 PM »

OK maybe I can help a little.. I've got a Pavilion xl844. I'm pretty sure your pavilion has onboard sound but like mine probably gets disabled when you insert another sound card. Also, you can disable it in the bios.

You should also try setting RW to wav recording instead od direct sound and see if that helps. Windows ME is just a pain in the butt and since you can't load 98 on a pavilion computer you'll have to stick with it.

Another thing you might try to find is maybe a beta driver or find an ME based one. check out http://www.driverguide.com. You'll have to register but its free and there's nothing to it.

Bane
13th TAS

Hope that helps a little

Dux · « **Reply #6 on:** April 07, 2001, 05:02:00 PM »

Thanks for all the great suggestions, guys.

Here's what finally worked (YES, IT WORKED!!!)... found a card that specifically said it supported ME, and voila!

Maybe all those other things would have worked too... I'm a happy camper now.

RW really makes a difference in the game too... it's like a whole new game to me now!

Thanks again all! <S>

Dux out.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #7 on:** April 08, 2001, 10:07:00 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Lephturn:
WinMe is not using the NT kernel is it Skuzzy? I haven't played with it much, but I think you can still boot it to DOS if you want, it's just hidden really well. WinME does have a couple of 2k style subsystems. Windows Me uses the new driver model similar to Win2k, but it is still an OS that runs on top of DOS, still a 9X based OS. It is not based on the NT kernel, it is an evolution of Windows 98. WinME uses the new driver model that XP will use, and has a lot of XP/Win2k features in it, but it's basic OS is still Win9x in nature. I do believe they dumped the WOW (Win16 on Win32) and ditched the DOS model emulation stuff, but at the core this is still Win9x.

Where you run into problems with WinME is that they went to the new driver architecture that Win2k sort of uses, and that WinXP (Windows eXtra Pricey) uses. So from a driver point of view, you can't automatically have devices working the same in WinME as they would in 9x.

Clarification Lephturn. The driver API is from W2K, which, in turn is from W2K code.
I did not mean to imply the kernel code was W2K, as it is not, but a lot of the core (not kernel) code which deals with the hardware API's is from W2K, which makes ME more W2K compatible than 98 compatible.
ME is an evolution of the 98 product designed to eventually get to a common code base. Microsoft has made no secret that they have a goal to get to a common code base and ME is a step in that direction.

Like W2K, which has an MS-DOS box available to it, ME uses the same mechanism to get to it from the desktop.

Anyway, the best non-technical description I was able to come up with, which may have lead to some confusion, is that ME's code base is between W2K and 98, but leans towards W2K more than to 98.
Most of the 98 API's, which are not in W2K, are still in ME, but have been changed to interface with the lower level API which is more W2K like.

Maybe a better way to say it would be, ME is the first step towards getting to a common API for all MS operating systems.

Better?

------------------
Roy "Skuzzy" Neese
President, AppLink Corp.
http://www.applink.net
skuzzy@applink.net