Gravis UltraSound

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Troubleshooting

How do I (re)install an UltraSound (GF1) into a Windows 95 computer?

You'll need:

  • Windows 95 installed and working with no audio drivers installed.
  • Version 2.04g of PKWare’s PKZip software installed and working (PKZ204G.EXE).
  • A Gravis GF1 based UltraSound sound card (Classic, MAX, or ACE).
  • An installable copy of the 6 disk base software version 3.5x or better, 4.11 is recommended.
  • Windows 95 drivers (GF195V11.ZIP) unzipped in a clean directory.

What to do:

  • Remove any and all sound card driver software. This includes any driver software for the UltraSound. You must start this process from a clean Windows 95 for the best chance of success. (*NOTE Exception: The ACE is designed to operate along side an existing sound card so first make sure that the other sound card is functioning correctly in Windows 95 - Then add the ACE last). The UltraSound Classic and MAX cannot work along side another sound card. Windows 95 prevents sharing of Adlib port addresses 388 and 389 and you cannot turn these off on the Classic and Max cards.
  • Start Windows 95 and use the Shutdown menu to Restart in MS-DOS mode. Once in DOS, install the 6 disk base software. It is advisable not to install the Windows 3.x drivers during the installation of the DOS software especially if you are installing an UltraSound software set less than 4.11. The Windows 3.x drivers that version 4.11 will install into Windows 95 have been tweaked to perform well as "Windows only" audio drivers. The Windows 95 drivers will also provide DOS audio support from within an MS-DOS prompt window. When the Windows 95 drivers are installed, they will remove any Windows 3.x drivers that have been installed already however the installer program may not be able to clean up every possible configuration of a poorly set up system.ini file. For the most part, it will work fine. But if you’re having a lot of difficulty, it may be easier to not install any Windows audio driver software before adding the Windows 95 UltraSound drivers v1.1.
  • Note: you will need approximately 580K of DOS Conventional memory available to run the install software. Use the MEM command to see if you have enough available Conventional memory. The "Largest executable program size" should be in excess of 578K. If you have less you may have to enlist the services of a DOS technician (or friend) to rewrite your autoexec.bat and config.sys such that optimal use of DOS Conventional Memory is achieved. Using the MEM /C/P command would provide a more detailed listing of what’s being loaded into memory and using the Conventional memory (Conventional memory is the first 640K of memory your computer has installed in it, regardless of the total amount installed).
  • Reboot and test your settings. Use the Shutdown menu to Restart in MS-DOS mode. Once at the command prompt, run C:\ULTRASND\MIDIDEMO.BAT and see if you get music. If you do, then your settings are OK. If there’s a problem playing MIDIDEMO then you’ll have to find out why MIDIDEMO is failing and correct it.
  • Reboot into Windows 95. From the Start menu, choose RUN. From the Run window select Browse then locate the setup.exe in the directory where you unzipped GF195V11.ZIP software.
  • Follow the step by step instructions presented by the setup program. These instructions will help you avoid problems with the Wizard since your card is not a plug and play card.

Jumper settings for UltraSound Classic rev 2.1 - 3.74

Rev 2.1-2.4 has a physical joystick enable/disable jumper and is clearly labeled as such on the card.

JP2 GAME -- E = Enable D = Disable

Rev 3.4 - 3.74 used a software switch system for the joystick port.

Use ULTRINIT -EJ to enable and ULTRINIT -DJ to disable the gameport.

Use ULTRINIT -? for more information about ULTRINIT.

Revisions 2.1 - 3.74 all used the same table for configuring the base address.

Address Jumper Block 4 5 6 7

210 OFF ON ON ON :|||
220 ON OFF ON ON |:||
230 OFF OFF ON ON ::||
240 ON ON OFF ON ||:|
250 OFF ON OFF ON :|:|
260 OFF ON ON OFF |::|

There are four other banks of jumpers that are not for configuration. These jumpers were removed when a 16-bit recording daughterboard was added to the card. All of these jumpers should be set as follows if a 16-bit recording daughterboard is not used on the card. (note these daughterboards are no longer available).

All other jumper blocks

ON OFF ON OFF |:|:

An alternative way to use the older cards in Windows 95

First, make sure you have a v4.11 set of installation software. An upgraded v3.5x install would be fine. You'd need the file GUS411.ZIP to do the upgrade and this file contains details on how to perform the upgrade.

Now, what you need to do is completely remove any and all UltraSound software from your computer.

  1. Delete the ULTRASND directory.
  2. Edit the autoexec.bat and remove all of the UltraSound's information.
  3. Run the registry editor and remove the UltraSound's stuff from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE.
  4. Remove the driver from the device manager.
  5. Remove the icons from the start menu.
  6. Remove the files ULTRASND.* and ULTMPORT.* from the Windows/System directory.
  7. Edit the system.ini and make sure there are no UltraSound references.
  8. Make absolutely sure there is no UltraSound software anywhere in the computer. Your computer should boot without errors and you should still be able to use it without sound.

(or start from a freshly installed Windows 95).

Now shut down and restart in MS-DOS mode. Once there, run a MEM command and make sure you have 580k of conventional memory available to run the install program.

Install everything that v4.11 has to offer including its Windows 3.1 drivers. Let Windows boot up and bring these Win 3.1 drivers to life. Test the performance of these "Windows only" audio drivers. DOS Box audio won't be supported, but after you confirm the performance of your Windows audio you can install the GF195V11.ZIP driver afterwards and see how it performs.

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