User’s Guide Creative Sound Blaster PCl512 Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Creative Technology Ltd. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the written permission of Creative Technology Ltd.
C reat iv e E nd -U se r S oft wa re L ice ns e A gree m en t Ver si o n 2 . 4, Jun e 2 00 0 PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE. BY INSTALLING AND USING THE SOFTWARE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT INSTALL OR USE THE SOFTWARE. PROMPTLY RETURN, WITHIN 15 DAYS, THE SOFTWARE, ALL RELATED DOCUMENTATION AND ACCOMPANYING ITEMS TO THE PLACE OF ACQUISITION FOR A FULL REFUND.
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will be uninterrupted, error-free or free from malicious code. For purposes of this paragraph, “malicious code” means any program code designed to contaminate other computer programs or computer data, consume computer resources, modify, destroy, record, or transmit data, or in some other fashion usurp the normal operation of the computer, computer system, or computer network, including viruses, Trojan horses, droppers, worms, logic bombs, and the like.
contact Creative at the address stated above. For questions on product or technical matters, contact the Creative technical support center nearest you. ADDENDUM TO THE MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT (WINDOWS 95) IMPORTANT: By using the Microsoft software files (the “Microsoft Software”) provided with this Addendum, you are agreeing to be bound by the following terms. If you do not agree to be bound by these terms, you may not use the Microsoft Software.
Safety Information The following sections contain notices for various countries: CAUTION: This device is intended to be installed by the user in a CSA/TUV/UL certified/listed IBM AT or compatible personal computers in the manufacturer’s defined operator access area. Check the equipment operating/installation manual and/or with the equipment manufacturer to verify/confirm if your equipment is suitable for user-installed application cards.
Contents Introduction 3 System Requirements ..........................................................x Before You Begin ....................................................x Getting More Information .......................................x Document Conventions ...........................................x 1 2 Installing the Software ..................................................... 3-1 Setting Up Joystick Drivers in Windows NT 4.0 ........... 3-1 Uninstalling Sound Blaster PCI512 ..................
Interrupt Request (IRQ) Line ............................. B-3 Direct Memory Access (DMA) Channel........... B-3 Understanding the Environment Variables .................... B-3 CTSYN Environment Variable .......................... B-3 BLASTER Environment Variable...................... B-3 Determining Resources................................................... B-3 Selecting the Best Audio Options in a Game ................ B-4 Music Options.....................................................
Introduction Sound Blaster PCI512 is Creative’s entrylevel Environmental Audio™ audio card for high quality 3D gaming. It offers SB PCI compatibility, real-time special effects, high quality 4-speaker output, and full environmental support for the largest number of supported titles and applications from the past, present and future. Powerful Audio Processing Engine The EMU10K1™ audio processor is the most powerful integrated music, audio and effects engine available.
System Requirements Before You Begin Document Conventions For Creative software, your card requires at least: ❑ Pentium® class processor: 133 MHz for Windows 95/98/ME, 200 MHz for Windows NT 4.0/ Windows 2000 ❑ Windows 95, 98 or Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 ❑ 16 MB RAM for Windows 95/98/ME (32 MB RAM recommended), 32 MB RAM for Windows NT 4.
1 Chapter Knowing and Installing Your Card This chapter is organized as follows: ❑ On the Audio Card ❑ Installing the Card and Related Peripherals ❑ Positioning Your Speakers Jacks are one-hole connecting interfaces whereas connectors consist of many pairs of pins. Some connectors here may not be available on your card. Refer to the online User’s Guide, “Hardware Information”, for details on connector pin assignments. Line Out and Rear Out jacks can be used simultaneously to power 4.
Installing the Card and Related Peripherals 1. Switch off your system and all peripheral devices. 2. Touch a metal plate on your system to ground yourself and to discharge any static electricity, and then unplug the power cord from the wall outlet. 3. Remove the cover from your system. 4. Remove the metal plate from an unused PCI expansion slot in your system and put the screw aside, to be used later. 5. Align the audio card with the vacant PCI expansion slot.
For a 4-channel speaker system (e.g., the FourPointSurround series by Cambridge SoundWorks), connect its F(ront) plug to the Line Out jack and R(ear) plug to the Rear Out jack. For headphones or a 2-channel speaker system (e.g., PCWorks™, SoundWorks® or MicroWorks™): connect to the Line Out jack only. CD-ROM drive MPC-to-MP C (4-pin) audio cable Line-out Cassette and CD player, Synthesizer, etc. Line In Mic In Microphone Line Out Rear Out For a 4-channel speaker system.
Positioning Your Speakers If you are using four speakers, place them such that they form the corners of a square with you exactly in the center (as in Figure 1-4) and that they are angled toward you. Make sure the computer monitor is not blocking the path of your front speakers. You may want to adjust the relative positions of the speakers until you get the audio experience you like best. If you have a subwoofer, place the unit in a corner of the room for the best bass experience.
2 Chapter Installing Software in Windows 95/98 This chapter shows you how to install the audio software in Windows 95/98 after installing your card. It consists of the following sections: ❑ Setting Up the Audio Drivers ❑ Installing the Applications drivers. You may encounter the following messages, which may not be in the sequence shown. ❑ If a message similar to Figure 2-1 appears, just take note of it and wait for the next message.
2. If there is a Specify a location check box, make sure it is selected and clear the other check boxes. ❑ If a dialog box similar to Figure 2-4 appears: 3. Click the Browse button and select the folder AUDIO\Language\WIN9XDRV where Language is the language of the software that you want to install. 5. At the Copying Files dialog box, click the Browse button and select the folder AUDIO\Language\WIN9XDRV where Language is the language of the software that you want to install. 6.
Installing the Applications Using Sound Blaster PCI512 1. If your installation disc is already in your CD-ROM drive, eject the disc and insert it again. The disc supports Windows AutoPlay mode and starts running automatically. If not, see “Problems Installing Software” on page D-1. 2. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation Creative Launcher is a one-stop shortcut to quickly start your applications. To display Launcher, bring your pointer to the top of the screen.
Configuring Your Speakers Uninstalling the Applications 1. Bring your pointer to the top of the screen to display Creative Launcher, click the AudioHQ tab, and then click the Speaker icon. The Speaker dialog box appears. 2. On the Configuration tabbed page, make sure that the value in the Output box corresponds to the number of speakers you are using.
3 Chapter Installing Software in Windows NT 4.0 / Windows 2000 / Windows ME This chapter shows you how to install the audio software in Windows NT 4.0/Windows 2000 and Windows ME after installing your card. It consists of the following sections: ❑ Installing the Software ❑ Setting Up Joystick Drivers in Windows NT 4.0 ❑ Uninstalling Sound Blaster PCI512 ❑ Reinstalling the Audio Drivers From the Installation Disc You cannot install more than one Sound Blaster audio card of the same type on your computer.
8. In the Microsoft Joystick Configuration dialog box, select your configuration, and then click the OK button. 9. Restart your computer when prompted. In Windows 2000, the joystick drivers are automatically set up. See “Using Sound Blaster PCI512” on page 2-3 and “Configuring Your Speakers” on page 2-4. They also apply in Windows NT 4.0. Uninstalling Sound Blaster PCI512 To uninstall the Sound Blaster PCI512 software, follow the steps listed in the section “Uninstalling the Applications” on page 2-4.
A Appendix General Specifications This section lists the specifications of your card.
Connectivity Audio Inputs ❑ One line-level analog Line input via (blue) stereo jack on rear bracket ❑ One mono Microphone analog input via (red) stereo jack on rear bracket ❑ CD_IN line-level analog input via 4-pin Molex connector on card ❑ AUX_IN line-level analog input via 4-pin Molex connector on card ❑ TAD line-level analog input via 4-pin Molex connector on card Audio Outputs ❑ Two line-level analog outputs via stereo jacks on rear bracket, Front and Rear Line-Outs ❑ Stereo headphone (32-ohm load) sup
B Appendix SB Emulation in MS-DOS/ Window 95/98 This appendix is organized as follows: ❑ Background ❑ Understanding the Installation Program in Windows 95/98 ❑ Understanding the System Resource Settings ❑ Understanding the Environment Variables ❑ Determining Resources ❑ Selecting the Best Audio Options in a Game ❑ MS-DOS Mode Utilities Background Legacy games in the market have been designed for only MS-DOS. SB PCI512 supports MS-DOS games.
The first two statements set up the environment variables for your audio card. For an explanation of the variables, see “Understanding the Environment Variables” on page B-3. The third statement runs the SBEINIT.COM driver. SBEINIT.COM is the SB PCI512 MS-DOS driver. It is required for the SB PCI512 card to function properly under MS-DOS mode. The syntax for the statement is as follows: \SBEINIT.COM SBEINIT.COM requires that the HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE files are loaded.
Interrupt Request (IRQ) Line An IRQ line is a signal line that a device uses to notify your computer’s central processor that it wants to send or receive data for processing. Table B-2: Possible default interrupt request (IRQ) line assignment. Device SB interface Default IRQ Line 5, 7, 9, 10 Direct Memory Access (DMA) Channel A DMA channel is a data channel that a device uses to transfer data directly to and from the system memory. Table B-3: Possible default direct memory access (DMA) channel assignment.
4. Double-click Creative Miscellaneous Devices, and then double-click Creative SB PCI512 SB16 Emulation. 5. Click the Resources tab. You can use the information in the resource list to help you configure MS-DOS games for use with the SB PCI512 card. The resource list may show three entries of “Input/Output Range” and two entries of “Direct Memory Access”. They correspond to the sequence of entries in Table 1 and Table 3.
Digital Audio Options SB PCI512 supports Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Sound Blaster 16, and Adlib digital audio emulation. If an application provides all these as options, specify the choices in this order: 1. 2. 3. 4. Sound Blaster 16 Sound Blaster Pro Sound Blaster Adlib MS-DOS Mode Utilities The SB PCI512 card includes a few MS-DOS utilities. These utilities require the SB PCI512 DOS driver SBEINIT.COM to be loaded. The emulation settings appear only if they are enabled. SBEMIXER.
SBESET.EXE Use SBESET.EXE to manually configure SB resources or disable SB Emulation. By default, SB Emulation in DOS follows the Windows settings. For example, if you disable SB Emulation in Windows, in the next boot to DOS SB Emulation in DOS disabled. Under rare circumstances you may need to manually reconfigure DOS SB Emulation, for example, if there is conflict in DOS before it can boot to Windows. SBESET.EXE is run from the command line.
C Appendix Changing Audio Card Settings You might want to disable interfaces that you are not using to free up resources, for example, when you do not have enough IRQ lines. This appendix is organized as follows: ❑ Enabling/Disabling Gameport Joystick Interface ❑ Enabling/Disabling Other Features Enabling/Disabling Gameport Joystick Interface The Gameport Joystick interface on your audio card can be enabled or disabled in Windows 95/98. To enable or disable the interface in Windows 95/98: 1.
D Appendix Troubleshooting This appendix provides tips for solving problems you may encounter during installation or normal use. Problems Installing Software In Windows 95/98, the installation does not start automatically after the CD-ROM is inserted. The AutoPlay feature in your Windows 95/98 system may not be enabled. To start the installation program through the My Computer shortcut menu: 1. Double-click the My Computer icon on your Windows desktop. 2.
In a 4-speaker configuration, there is no sound from the rear speakers. Check the following: ❑ The rear speakers are connected to the audio card’s Rear Out jack. If, instead, you decide to select the “What U Hear” device icon in the Record Control view, then of these five sources in the Play Control view, you can unmute only one at a time. Therefore, you can get sound from the rear speakers only from the unmuted source. ❑ If you are playing sound from one of these sources.
Insufficient SoundFont Cache Problems With Joystick Resolving I/O Conflicts There is insufficient memory to load SoundFonts. The joystick port is not working. Conflicts between your audio card and another peripheral device may occur if your card and the other device are set to use the same I/O address. This may occur when a SoundFont-compatible MIDI file is loaded or played. Cause: There is insufficient memory allocated to SoundFonts.
6. Make sure that the Use Automatic Settings check box is selected, and click the OK button. You can also refer to the Troubleshooting section in the Help file of Windows 95/98. 7. Restart your system to allow Windows 95/98 to reassign resources to your audio card and/or the conflicting device. Problems in Windows NT 4.0 A Service Control Manager error message appears with one or more other error messages at system restart.
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