Sound Getting Started Quick Start for INTERNETed Audio Tools Plug and Play Install Tips Notes for WaveSynth/WG Users ® TM with Advanced WavEffects Synthesis and Creative WaveSynth/WG
Getting Started Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Creative Technology Ltd. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the license agreement. It is against the law to copy the software on any other medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement. The licensee may make one copy of the software for backup purposes.
Compliance This product conforms to the following Council Directive: ❑ Directive 89/336/EEC, 92/31/EEC (EMC)
Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................... vii Before You Begin .......................................................................................... viii Checking System Requirements....................................................... viii Using This Guide............................................................................... viii Getting More Information.........................................................
Appendices A General Specifications B Understanding the Installation Understanding the Software-Configurable Settings.................................... B-1 Input/Output (I/O) Addresses........................................................... B-2 Interrupt Request (IRQ) Lines ......................................................... B-3 Direct Memory Access (DMA) Channels....................................... B-3 Understanding the Environment Variables.................................................
Introduction Welcome to the exciting world of Advanced WavEffects synthesis! You are now the owner of a Creative Sound Blaster® AWE64 Gold, a 16-bit audio card, which comes with the state-of-the-art Creative WaveSynth/WG software. Your Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold audio card allows you to achieve realistic and three-dimensional (3D) acoustic reproduction through a wide range of digitized sound samples and Creative 3D Stereo Enhancement technology.
If you do not want to use WaveSynth/WG, you can disable it through the WaveSynth/WG Control Panel. Then, your MIDI and audio tasks will be handed back to the appropriate hardware in your computer. The combination of these features, along with our award-winning EMU8000 hardware wavetable synthesizer, will allow you to enjoy hours of fun listening to and creating music on your PC. Read this simple Getting Started manual to find out how to install and begin making the most of your new audio card.
Windows 95 and Windows 3.1x, respectively. For general specifications, installation background information, settings changes, and troubleshooting tips, see the appendices. Getting More Information Refer to the online User’s Guide for MIDI specifications and connector pin assignments, as well as instructions on how to use the various applications found in your package. Document Conventions This manual follows certain conventions to help you locate and identify the information that you need.
Icons In this manual, icons are used to highlight areas of text that require extra attention (see Table ii). Table ii: Icons. Icon Use Tip or useful information. Warning.
1 Setting Up Your Audio Card This chapter is organized as follows: ❑ Knowing Your Audio Card ❑ Installing the Card and Related Hardware Setting Up Your Audio Card 1-1
Knowing Your Audio Card Your audio card has the following jacks and connectors which allow you to attach other devices to your card: PC Speaker connector Connects your motherboard’s speaker connector (refer to “Redirecting PC Sounds to External Speakers” in the online User’s Guide for details).
SPDIF Out jack (on separate metal bracket) Connects an external digital device that uses a SPDIF connector, such as a Digital Audio Tape (DAT) machine, for playback or recording. SPDIF connector (on audio card) Connects the SPDIF Out jack to transfer digital audio signals from your audio card to a device that also uses a SPDIF connector, such as the DAT machine. Figure 1-2: Connection of SPDIF Out jack to SPDIF connector.
Installing the Card and Related Hardware If you want to install this Plug and Play (PnP) card in a non-PnP environment such as DOS/Windows 3.1x or Windows 95 MS-DOS Mode, you must first install a PnP configuration manager. For more details, refer to the documentation that comes with your PnP configuration manager. To install the card and related peripherals: 1. Switch off your system and all peripheral devices, and unplug the power cord from the wall outlet. 2.
6. Align your card’s 16-bit slot connector with the expansion slot and gently lower the card into the free slot as shown. 7. Secure the card to the expansion slot with the screw that you removed from the metal plate. Metal plates Audio card 8-bit slot 16-bit slot Figure 1-4 8. Connect powered speakers or an external amplifier to the Line Out jacks. Figure 1-5 shows you how to connect various devices. CD-ROM drive Cassette and CD player, synthesizer, etc.
To test your DRAM upgrade: 1. Make sure you have installed the audio card’s software. (The installation of the software will be covered in the next two chapters.) 2. Start the AWE Control Panel and download SoundFont banks. From the memory status bar, you should be able to see the changes in the available memory onboard. 3. Play your SoundFont banks to make sure your DRAM Upgrade daughterboard is working properly. Refer to the online User’s Guide for detailed information on how to use the AWE Control Panel.
2 Installing Software in Windows 95 This chapter shows you how to install the audio software in Windows 95 after installing your card. It comprises the following sections: ❑ Setting Up the Audio Card Drivers ❑ Installing the Applications ❑ Testing the Installation ❑ Uninstalling the Applications Setting Up the Audio Card Drivers Proceed to “Installing the Applications” on page 2-3 if your audio card’s drivers are already set up.
❑ If a dialog box similar to Figure 2-2 appears, click the second option, and then click the OK button. Figure 2-2: Driver installation dialog box in which the Windows default driver option is NOT available.
❑ If the Install From Disk dialog box appears 1. Insert the installation CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive and select the drive. 2. Click the Browse button and look for a .INF file in the root directory. If you cannot find it, select the folder Language\WIN95\DRIVERS, where Language is the language of the software that you want to install. 3. Click the OK button. The required files are copied to your hard disk.
3. Click the Windows Setup tab. The Windows Setup tabbed page similar to Figure 2-3 appears. Figure 2-3: The Windows Setup tabbed page. 4. Select the Multimedia check box and click the Details button. 5. In the Multimedia dialog box, select the Media Player checkbox, then Volume Control, Audio Compression and Sound Recorder, and click the OK button. 6. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.
1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Multimedia, and then click Media Player. The Media Player appears as shown in Figure 2-4. Figure 2-4: The Media Player interface. 2. On the Device menu, click Sound. 3. In the Open dialog box, select a sound from the list, and then click the Open button. 4. On the Media Player, click . You should hear the selected sound being played. If you encounter any problems, see Appendix D, “Troubleshooting”.
To uninstall the applications: 1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. 2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. The properties sheet similar to Figure 2-5 appears. Figure 2-5: The Add/Remove Programs Properties sheet. 3. Select Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold and click the Add/Remove button. 4. Follow the instructions on the screen to uninstall.
3 Installing Software in DOS/ Windows 3.1x This chapter shows you how to install the audio software in DOS/Windows 3.1x after installing your card. It comprises the following sections: ❑ Installing the Software ❑ Testing the Installation ❑ Optimizing Memory Usage Installing the Software To install the software: 1. Insert the installation CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. 2. If you are in Windows, exit to DOS. The installation will not work if you install from the DOS prompt in Windows. 3.
In order to use your AWE64 Plug and Play using DOS/Windows 3.x, you must install the Creative Configuration Manager first. This is located on the Creative CD in the directory \\ctcm\install, e.g. d:\français\ctcm\install Testing the Installation Once you have installed the software, you can run the DIAGNOSE test program to test if the installation works. This program checks the base I/O addresses, IRQ line, and DMA channels used by the audio interface of your audio card.
Optimizing Memory Usage If you choose to install the low-level DOS device drivers under custom installation (see “The CONFIG.SYS File Settings” on page B-7), your system will load them into memory during system startup. However, if you do not need these drivers (for example, you are running only Windows applications or playing DOS games), you can bypass loading these drivers. Otherwise, we recommend that you load them into high memory (for example, using memory managers).
A General Specifications This appendix lists the general specifications of your audio card. Plug and Play ❑ ISA Specification version 1.
Built-in Digital/Analog Mixer ❑ Mixes sources from digitized voice and inputs from MIDI devices, CD Audio, Line In, Microphone, and PC Speaker ❑ Selectable input source or mixing of various audio sources for recording Volume Control ❑ Software volume control of Master Volume, Digitized Voice, and inputs from MIDI device, CD Audio, Line In, Microphone, and PC Speaker ❑ PC Speaker at 4 levels in 6 dB steps ❑ All sources at 32 levels in 2 dB steps ❑ Treble/Bass control at 15 levels from -14 dB to 14 dB in 2 dB
B Understanding the Installation This appendix is organized as follows: ❑ Understanding the Software-Configurable Settings ❑ Understanding the Environment Variables ❑ Understanding the Installation Program in Windows 3.1x Understanding the Software-Configurable Settings Your audio card supports the Plug and Play (PnP) 1.0a standard. This allows a PnP system to assign the necessary resources such as I/O addresses, interrupt lines and DMA channels to your card when you install it.
If your card encounters a conflict with a peripheral device, you may need to change its resource settings. If you are using Windows 95, run the Device Manager. If you are using Windows 3.1x, run the configuration utility that comes with your PnP configuration manager. For details, see Appendix D, “Resolving Conflicts”. When any resource setting is changed, ensure the environment variables (see “Understanding the Environment Variables” on page B-3) reflect the changes as well.
Interrupt Request (IRQ) Lines An IRQ line is a signal line a device uses to notify your computer’s central processor that it wants to send or receive data for processing. Table B-2 lists an example of an IRQ line that may be assigned to the audio interface on your audio card. Table B-2: Possible default IRQ line assignments. IRQ Line 5 Device Audio interface Direct Memory Access (DMA) Channels A DMA channel is a data channel a device uses to transfer data directly to and from the system memory.
SOUND Environment Variable The SOUND environment variable specifies the directory location of your audio card’s drivers and applications. The syntax for this variable is as follows: SOUND=path where path is the drive and directory of the card’s software (e.g., C:\SB16 ). No space is allowed before and after the equal sign. BLASTER Environment Variable The BLASTER environment variable specifies the base I/O address, IRQ line, and DMA channels of the audio interface.
MIDI Environment Variable The MIDI environment variable specifies the MIDI file format used and where MIDI data is sent to. MIDI data can be sent to the internal stereo music synthesizer or MIDI port. Generally, there are three MIDI file formats: General MIDI, Extended MIDI and Basic MIDI. The syntax for this variable is as follows: MIDI=SYNTH:x MAP:x MODE:x The parameters in the command are described below. Parameter Description SYNTH:x x can be 1 or 2.
You can also choose to set up your Windows applications at a later time by running INSTALL in the audio software directory on your hard disk. INSTALL also allows you to selectively set up components that were not installed previously. The installation program also modifies your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. The AUTOEXEC.BAT File Settings The installation program adds the following statements to the AUTOEXEC.
The CONFIG.SYS File Settings If you choose to install the low-level DOS device drivers under custom installation, the installation program also adds the following statements to the CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICE= C:\SB16\DRV\CTSB16.SYS /UNIT=0 /BLASTER=A:220 I:5 D:1 H:5 DEVICE= C:\SB16\DRV\CTMMSYS.SYS CTSB16.SYS and CTMMSYS.SYS are low-level device drivers that provide wave playback and recording for DOS applications.
C Changing Audio Card Settings This chapter is organized as follows: ❑ Enabling/Disabling Creative 3D Stereo Enhancement Effect ❑ Enabling/Disabling Full Duplex Operation ❑ Enabling/Disabling MPU-401 MIDI Emulation ❑ Enabling/Disabling Joystick Interface Enabling/Disabling Creative 3D Stereo Enhancement Effect The Creative 3D Stereo Enhancement effect allows you to eliminate speaker crosstalk which occurs when two speakers are placed close together.
4. In the Device Manager tab, double-click Sound, Video And Game Controllers. 5. Select Creative AWE64 16-bit Audio (SB16-compatible) and click the Properties button. 6. In the properties sheet, click the Settings tab. 7. To enable the Creative 3D Stereo Enhancement effect, select the Enable Creative 3D Stereo Enhancement check box in the Settings tabbed page. To disable the effect, click to clear the check box. 8. Click the OK button. In MS-DOS/Windows 3.1x To enable or disable the effect in MS-DOS: 1.
When full duplex is disabled, you can play a Wave file (or other sounds) together with Creative WaveSynth/WG, or add reverb to the playback but you cannot record at the same time. The full duplex feature can be enabled or disabled in Windows 95 and Windows 3.1x. In Windows 95 To enable or disable full duplex in Windows 95: 1. Repeat steps 1 - 7 of “In Windows 95” on page C-1 under “Enabling/Disabling Creative 3D Stereo Enhancement Effect”. 2.
You must install the DOS AWEUTIL utility for the MIDI Emulation feature to function properly. For more information, refer to the AWEUTIL.TXT file in your audio card’s installation directory. Protected mode software does not support MIDI Emulation. You can still play music from such software by using the 4-operator synthesizer chip. The MIDI Emulation feature can be enabled or disabled in Windows 95 and MS-DOS/Windows 3.1x. In Windows 95 To enable or disable the feature in Windows 95: 1.
2. Enable or disable the MFBEN jumper according to the settings shown in Figure C-1. Disabled Enabled (Factory default setting) Figure C-1: The available MPU-401 MIDI Emulation settings. Enabling/Disabling Joystick Interface The Gamepad Joystick interface can be enabled or disabled in Windows 95 and MS-DOS/Windows 3.1x. In Windows 95 To enable or disable the interface in Windows 95: 1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. 2.
6. To disable the interface, clear the Original Configuration (Current) check box in the General tabbed page of the properties sheet. To enable it, select the check box. 7. Click the OK button and restart Windows 95 for the change to take effect. After restarting Windows 95 to effect the interface disabling, please disregard the information displayed in the Resource Settings box on the Resources tab of the Properties sheet.
D Troubleshooting This appendix provides some tips for solving some problems you may encounter with your audio card during installation or normal use. Problems Installing Audio Card Software from CD-ROM Problem In Windows 95, the installation program does not run automatically when you insert the CD-ROM into the drive. Cause The AutoPlay notification setting in your Windows 95 system may not be enabled. Solution Try one of the following: ❑ Select the Auto Insert Notification check box. To do this: 1.
❑ Alternatively, if you do not want to select the Auto Insert Notification check box, perform the following 1. Double-click the My Computer icon on your Windows 95 desktop. 2. In the My Computer window, right-click the CD-ROM drive icon. 3. On the shortcut menu, click AutoPlay and follow the instructions that appear. Problems with Sound Problem No output from both the 8-bit and 16-bit digitized sounds when running the test program. Causes 1. The volume knob on the speakers is not set properly. 2.
Problems in MS-DOS Problem SOUND or BLASTER environment could not be found. Cause The command to set up the SOUND or BLASTER environment might not be included in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. When you install your audio card’s software, the commands are automatically added to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that both environment strings are set up when your system restarts.
Problem System hangs during the 16-bit digitized sound test, but it works fine during the 8-bit test. Cause Your system’s motherboard cannot handle High DMA at full speed. On some machines, the DMA controller on the motherboard does not function properly during High DMA transfers. High DMA transfers on such machines might corrupt the data in main memory and cause the system to hang or encounter a parity error.
3. Make sure the following statements are present: [boot] drivers=mmsystem.dll msmixmgr.dll [386enh] device=vsbpd.386 device=vsbawe.386 [drivers] timer=timer.drv midimapper=midimap.drv Aux=sb16snd.drv Mixer=sb16snd.drv Wave=sb16snd.drv MIDI=sbawe32.drv MIDI1=sb16fm.drv MIDI2=sb16snd.drv [sndblst.drv] Port=220 MIDIPort=330 Int=5 DmaChannel=1 HDmaChannel=5 The values shown in the [sndblst.drv] group may be different in your system. If one or more of the statements are missing, run INSTALL in DOS.
Resolving Conflicts in Windows 95 To resolve conflicts in Windows 95, run Device Manager to change the resource settings of your audio card or the conflicting peripheral device in your system. To change the resource setting: 1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. 2. In the Control Panel window, double-click the System icon. 3. In the System Properties sheet, click the Device Manager tab. 4. In the Device Manager tab, double-click Sound, Video And Game Controllers. 5.
E Technical Support For the latest technical support information, please refer to the ‘Creative Technical Services’ leaflet, supplied with your product. We are committed to giving you the best product as well as the best technical support. Please enter the following information in the table below and have it ready when you contact Technical Support. ❑ The model and serial numbers of your card and other devices. ❑ Error message on the screen and how it came about.
For quick and easy reference, it is advisable that you write down the following numbers of your card and other hardware devices, if installed in your system in Table E-1 and Table E-2. Table E-1: Model and Serial Numbers of your hardware. Hardware Audio Card* Video Card Fax/Modem CD-ROM Drive MIDI Device Others: Model Number Serial Number *See label on underside of card Table E-2: Hardware Configuration Information.
Inside Europe See ‘Creative Technical Services’ leaflet for details. Through CompuServe To serve you better, we have created a Creative Labs Forum on CompuServe. Through this forum: ❑ You will have direct access to our company representatives who will be there to answer your questions. ❑ You will be part of an interactive community of Creative’s product users. Here you can share experiences and ideas and also seek solutions to problems.
™ Quick Start Interneted Audio This leaflet contains abbreviated information to get you started right away. This information is organized as follows: 1. 2. 3. Installation instructions for Windows 95. ❑ Setting up Microsoft Internet Explorer ❑ Setting up Dialing and Service Provider Information ❑ Setting up a Dial Up Script Installation instructions for Windows 3x. ❑ Setting up Microsoft Internet Explorer ❑ Setting up Real Audio A Creative Webphone Guide to help you get on line.
To install Real Audio as a component of Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 must be fully installed. To do this, follow the instructions above with Real Audio not checked, and reboot your computer. Then follow the instructions above and install Real Audio only. Setting Up Microsoft Internet Explorer If you have installed Microsoft Internet Explorer, you need to configure Windows 95 and set up Microsoft Internet Explorer for your Internet Service Provider.
❑ If you intend to use Microsoft Exchange to handle your e-mail, you would need the following additional information: a. Your e-mail address. b. Your Internet mail server. If you do not have the above information, call your Internet Service Provider to obtain them. To set up Microsoft Internet Explorer, you need to do the following: ❑ Set up the dialing and Service Provider information. ❑ Set up a dial-up script (if a dial-up script is required by your Service Provider).
10. Enter your user name and password and click Next. 11. In the IP Address dialog box, select “My Internet Service Provider automatically assign me one” and click Next. 12. Enter the addresses for DNS Server and Alternate DNS Server. The address is made of four numbers separated by periods, e.g., “149.174.211.5”. 13. If you have chosen to let Microsoft Exchange to handle your Internet mail (see step 7): a. Enter your e-mail address and Internet mail server and click Next. b.
To Set Up a Dial-Up Script Ignore this section if your Service Provider does not require a dial-up script. If using Dial-Up Scripting, do not check the “Bring Up Terminal Window” option. To set up a dial-up script: 1. If you have not installed the Dial-Up Scripting Tool, follow the steps below to install the tool: a. Insert the Windows 95 CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. b. Using the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs. c. Select Windows Setup from the Title Bar. d.
4. Finally, make sure that TCP/IP is the only option selected as the allowed network protocol: a. Right-click The Internet icon on your desktop b. Select Properties c. Select Properties a second time from the Dialing box under the Connection tab. c. Select Server Type d. Ensure that TCP/IP is the only option selected as the allowed network protocol. Running Microsoft Internet Explorer Once you have set up Microsoft Internet Explorer, you are ready to connect to your Internet Service Provider.
5. Type the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive, followed by the directory and installation command for the desired application (see table below). For example, to install WebPhone, type D:\WEBPHONE\WPSETUP.EXE. Application Directory Command Microsoft Internet Explorer \MSIE\WIN31 SETUP Real Audio \RA RA16_30 WebPhone \WEBPHONE WPSETUP 6. Follow the instructions on the screen to finish installing your application. 7. Repeat steps 4 to 6 until you have installed all the desired applications.
❑ Your DNS server address. ❑ Your I.P. address and subnet mask. This may not be required by your Internet Service Provider as they may automatically assign one each time you log on. ❑ Your proxy server and port number. This is required by some Internet Service Providers. To set up Microsoft Internet Explorer, you need to do the following: ❑ Set up your modem under Windows 3.x and set up the Dialing and Internet Server Provider information. To set up your modem under Windows 3.
8. Enter the name of your Service Provider and click Next. 9. Enter the phone number to dial up your Internet Service Provider and click Next. 10. Enter the user name and password and click Next. 11. In the IP Address dialog box, select “My Internet Service Provider automatically assign me one” and click Next. 12. Enter the addresses for DNS Server and Alternate DNS Server. The address is made of four numbers separated by periods, e.g., “149.174.211.5”. 13.
The interrupt setting can only be set to interrupt 3 or 4. You should ensure your modem is using one of these interrupts.If you have an internal modem that uses COM3 or COM4, such as a Creative Labs Phone Blaster or a Creative Labs Modem Blaster, it may select interrupt 10 or 11 as its default setting. If you would prefer not to change this setting, then you can force the Modem Properties dialog to recognize this interrupt by editing the Windows INI file ‘SHIVAPPP.INI’.
Creative WebPhone Guide Entering your activation key When you start your Creative WebPhone for the first time, you will be asked to enter an “Activation Key”. The activation key is a 16-character code provided with your CD-ROM. Enter the 16-character activation key in the dialog box and select “OK”. Once your activation key is verified, the enhanced features of the Creative WebPhone will be enabled, including unlimited talk time on one line.
Entering your Network Parameters The Network Parameters required in this release are your: ❑ E-mail address that serves as your Creative WebPhone number ❑ WebPhone password protects others from using your Creative WebPhone ❑ Password Confirmation used to confirm your Creative WebPhone Password ❑ E-Mail Login used for connecting to your POP Server ❑ E-Mail Password used for connecting to your POP Server ❑ POP Server address used for retrieving your off-line voice mail messages ❑ SMTP Server addr
If you forget your password, please call “support@netspeak.com” on your WebPhone or send e-mail to “support@netspeak.com” describing your problem. Support agents will reset your password once your identity is confirmed. If you enter an invalid password, your WebPhone will ONLY be able to call “sales@netspeak.com” or “support@netspeak.com”.
Changing your E-Mail Address In the event you change your e-mail address (e.g., you change your Internet service provider), you will need to change your E-Mail address in the Network Parameters section of the Creative WebPhone Configure window. A message will be displayed when your e-mail address change has been confirmed. Audio Programs and your Creative WebPhone Playing audio (WAV, MIDI, CD player...
Modems and your Creative WebPhone If you have a modem connection (dialup) to your Internet service provider, make sure your modem has error correction and data compression enabled (this is the default for almost every modem we know of). If your 14.4 kb modem does not support data compression, you and the parties you talk to will not obtain the audio performance that is possible using data compression.
2. You cannot hear the remote party If Creative WebPhone always displays TALK and never displays IN USE or LISTEN, then you must raise your Voice Activation Level (the VOX slider in the flip door) so Creative WebPhone can detect silence and allow the remote party to talk (this is will not be the case if both you and the remote party have full duplex sound cards).
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of Creative Technology Ltd. Copyright © 1996 Creative Technology Ltd. All rights reserved. Webphone is a trademark of the NetSpeak Corporation. Real Audio is a trademark of Progressive Networks. Sound Blaster is a registered trademark of Creative Technology Ltd. All other products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
DOS/Windows 3.1x Plug and Play Installation Tips Welcome to the world of Plug and Play (PnP). If you are going to install your Creative PnP card in a PnP system like Windows 95, you only need to “plug” the card into your personal computer and the card will “play” shortly after the system reboots. However, if you want to install this card in a non-PnP environment such as DOS/Windows 3.1x, you need to use Creative PnP Configuration Manager (CTCM) and Creative PnP Configuration Utility (CTCU).
Installing CTCM & CTCU To install Creative PnP Configuration Manager (CTCM) and Creative PnP Configuration Utility (CTCU) in DOS/Windows 3.1x: 1. Load the installation CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. 2. Exit to DOS if you are in Windows 3.1x. 3. At the DOS prompt, change to the drive containing your CD-ROM. For example, type D: and press . 4. Type D:\ENGLISH\WIN31\CTCM\INSTALL 5. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.
After the installation, CTCM and CTCU will be invoked each time you boot your system. CTCM will scan for and configure any unconfigured Creative PnP cards. CTCU will run in silent mode and update the parameters needed by your Creative and Windows drivers. It will also update the BLASTER environment variable if it detects a Creative audio card in the system. For more details on how the CTCM and CTCU commands work, please read the sections “Using CTCM” in page 3 and “Using CTCU” in page 4.
Using CTCU Creative PnP Configuration Utility (CTCU) allows you to view, free or re-allocate resources reserved for a card. So you should run Creative PnP Configuration Utility (CTCU) when one of the following situations happens: ❑ Your PnP cards’ settings do not work properly. For example, some systems do not support high DMA (Direct Memory Access) and one of your PnP devices is set to use high DMA. Then you need to run CTCU to select another set of configuration which does not use high DMA.
Parameter Description /S Notifies CTCU to run in silent mode. This means that CTCU will not display any messages or screens. It will simply update the parameters required by the Creative drivers. If you do not use the /S switch, CTCU will run in full-screen mode (see Figure 1). /W Informs CTCU to update the PnP hardware information of your Windows drivers in the SYSTEM.INI file. If you do not use this switch, CTCU will prompt you to enter the name of the directory where your Windows files can be found.
❑ To move your screen cursor from box to box within the same window, press . To see more details about the item, double-click the item or press after you have moved your screen cursor to that item. The instructions in the following sections are written with the assumption that you will use your mouse in CTCU. PnP Cards Section You can use this section to view the resource settings of the PnP cards in your system and change the settings of Creative PnP cards only.
Reconfigure Button To view or change a resource setting, double-click the setting you want, or alternatively, select the setting and then click the Reconfigure button in the Resources window. Depending on the setting that you have chosen, one of the following windows will appear: ❑ I/O Range window ❑ Interrupt window ❑ Direct Memory Access window ❑ Memory Range window The I/O Range window displays the current I/O resource setting and a list of possible settings.
Test Button Once you have reconfigured the resource settings of your card, select the setting and click the Test button in the resources window. CTCU will test the settings allocated to your device and inform you of the outcome. If the testing is not successful, you should reconfigure and test the settings again. CTCU supports the testing of Creative’s audio and wavetable devices only.
View Button Clicking this button in the Legacy window opens the View window which lists the resources reserved for a selected legacy card in your system.
Change Button Clicking this button in the Legacy window opens the Change window which displays the current resources that have been reserved for a selected legacy card. You can also change any of the resources as well as the card’s name here. To store a card’s system settings for future use, select the Card Removed check box in the Change window and click OK. To re-use the same resources after re-installing the card, simply clear the check box to retrieve its original settings.
PCI Devices Section You can use this section to view but not change the resource settings of the PCI devices in your computer. When you select the PCI Devices section from the CTCU menu, the PCI Devices window appears. You can view one or all of existing PCI cards' resource settings by clicking one of these buttons: ❑ View All button ❑ View button Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) local bus is a newly developed bus system that utilizes a 33MHz 32-bit data path.
PnP Concepts When you add a hardware card to your personal computer (PC), you must reserve some system resources — such as input/output address spaces, interrupts, Direct Memory Access channels or memory spaces — for the card. You must also make sure that there is no hardware conflict, that is, the resources reserved by one card are not used by another card in the same system.
PnP System BIOS The PnP system BIOS is the lowest level of your PnP system. Its main functions are to provide information on the resource settings of your system devices and to configure PnP cards. Some PnP system BIOS configure PnP cards automatically. Other BIOS give you an option in their setup utilities to disable their PnP configuration capability. Please refer to your system manual for more details. PnP Operating System A PnP operating system provides a fully PnP user environment.
PnP Configuration Drivers and Utilities If you do not have a PnP operating system, you need to install a PnP configuration driver and utility to perform the allocation and configuration functions of a PnP operating system. A PnP configuration driver determines the resource settings of all your system devices and legacy cards, configures PnP cards, and provides relevant configuration information to other drivers or applications that access your PnP cards.
However, due to the compatibility problem mentioned earlier (please refer to the note in the section “PnP Concepts on page 12), you may encounter one of the following error message or problems when you use ICM version 1.43 to configure your PnP card: ❑ “Error: Failed NVS write, Error=82h” ❑ Failure to detect PnP BIOS machine ❑ Failure to assign new configuration to PnP card And ICM may not be able to configure your PnP card properly.
Why Use CTCM and CTCU? There are several reasons why we offer CTCM and CTCU: 1. CTCM provides a consistent method for configuring all Creative PnP cards. It works with or without PnP BIOS or ICM. If your PnP BIOS or ICM has already configured your PnP card(s), CTCM will simply retain those settings. 2. If the PnP BIOS or ICM did not configure your Creative PnP cards properly, due to incompatibility problems similar to those mentioned in the section “PnP in DOS/Windows 3.
Common Questions and Answers This section gives the answers to some common questions that you may have while installing a Creative PnP card in the DOS/Windows 3.1x environment. General Questions Question I have a PnP BIOS as well as a PnP operating system or a PnP configuration driver and utility.
CTCU Question Question Can I run CTCU to change or disable my card settings if I have ICM in my system? Answer No, do not use CTCU to change or disable your card settings since CTCU does not access or update the resource settings database used by ICM. You should use ICU instead to change or disable your card settings if ICM is already loaded into your system. CTCM Questions Question How do I use CTCM to configure both legacy and PnP cards in DOS/Windows 3.
Question My system hangs or reboots whenever I load CTCM. What should I do? Answer The memory area of your PnP BIOS machine is probably mapped by EMM386 using the HIGHSCAN option and thus, can get corrupted easily. When it does, CTCM will not work properly. To solve this problem, remove the HIGHSCAN option in the EMM386 statement in the CONFIG.SYS file. For example, change the statement DEVICE=\EMM386.EXE HIGHSCAN to DEVICE=\EMM386.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of Creative Technology Ltd. Copyright 1996 Creative Technology Ltd. All rights reserved. Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows 3.1x, and Windows 95 are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Notes for WaveSynth/WG Users For the past few years, hardware wavetable synthesis has been the high-end alternative to FM synthesis for audio reproduction in personal computers. With ever-increasing CPU power and Intel’s new multimedia-extended instructions, software wavetable synthesis is now feasible and can be powerful. This is why we have introduced our software wavetable synthesizer, Creative WaveSynth/WG. Since the technology is relatively new, it currently has some limitations.
For some audio cards, WaveSynth/WG can output sounds at 44 kHz if you select this option in the WaveSynth/WG control panel.
