AudioDrive ES688 and ES1688 OS/2 Drivers Software Release Notes April 19, 1996 About This Release ESS Technology is providing updated OS/2 drivers for the AudioDrive ES688 and ES1688 chips in this Software Release. These drivers are complete updates to prior ESS releases for OS/2 Warp 3.0. This document provides: - a description of the changes to the drivers - installation notes Please read this document completely before you upgrade your system, and follow the instructions carefully. Release Information Product: AudioDrive ES688 and ES1688 OS/2 Device Drivers Drivers: ES688 2.03, ES1688 1.04 OS: OS/2 Warp 3.0 Part Number: Release Date: April 19, 1996 Release Description The AudioDrive ES1688 OS/2 Drivers Software Release incorporates new changes done to the previous release, Version 1.03. Version 1.04 Changes Limited MPU-401 support If MPU-401 is enabled, the OS/2 driver will send out MIDI data when MIDI files are played. If MPU-401 interrupt is enabled, MIDI in data can be received. A MIDI file has to be opened for the MIDI in data to be sent to the FM synthesizer. MIDI record is not supported. In WinOS2 only MIDI out is supported, but the driver requires a MPU-401 interrupt to start. In OS/2 if a MIDI file is played while MIDI in is receiving, the MIDI file has priority. After a stop command is sent to the MIDI file, MIDI in will continue generating FM music. Note that the stop command is only sent when the MIDI file play is completed or rewound or there are switching between two MIDI files. Known Problems 1. Opening too many MIDI files makes the OS/2 system unstable. This problem is related to MMPM/2 and depends on system resource. On systems with 8 Mbs memory, the limit is 3; 16 Mbs, 6. 2. Tempo in MIDI files may not be 100% accurate due to timing delay and MMPM/2 architecture. 3. Running MCI commands "seek wave to #" and then "play wave" to a 16-bit wave file sometimes generates very loud static noise. Likewise using "record wave from #" to record a 16-bit wave file may generate wrong file. It all depends on the seek position. 4. The OS/2 driver allows sharing of audio and MPU-401 interrupts, but it is not recommended. If both are shared, occasionally too much MIDI in data will lock up AudioDrive's interrupt processing when a wave file is played or recorded. To get out of this situation, stop the wave file, stop the MIDI in source, close all MIDI files, and restart the wave file to re-initialize AudioDrive's interrupt processing. 5. Due to the nature of MIDI music, turning MIDI in on while the MIDI in data are coming may not generate the right sounds. It is recommended to stop the MIDI in source first before enable MIDI in. Installation Notes To install the new drivers successfully the following steps must be taken: 1. Open an OS/2 Window and run the EINSTALL.EXE program on the installation disk by typing "A:EINSTALL." The program first runs ESDETECT.EXE to auto-detect the chip, then calls ESUNINST.EXE to remove old drivers. That program will create a backup of CONFIG.SYS named CONFIG.ESS and remove the audio device lines from CONFIG.SYS. It also creates a backup of MMPM2.INI named MMPM2.ESS and removes the audio drivers information from MMPM2.INI. In addition, it removes any other ESS driver information in COMPLIST.INI. After then, the installation program calls Multimedia Application Install program, MINSTALL.EXE. 2. When Multimedia Application Install program brings up, a check mark beside AudioDrive chip means that item is already selected. To toggle selection, click the mouse on the item. If WinOS2 is installed in the system, you can select WinOS2/Windows Audio support also. If not, make sure that item is not checked. Click the Install button to start the installation. Once the drivers are installed, shutdown OS/2 and reset the computer for the new AudioDrive drivers to take effect. 3. If the installation cannot be completed, read the logs EINSTALL.LOG in \MMOS2\INSTALL subdirectory and MINSTALL.LOG in \MMOS2\INSTALL subdirectory or root directory to find out the problem. 4. Since this version of MINSTALL.EXE changes the icons of MIDI player and Digital Video player to that of Digital Audio player in the Multimedia folder, you may want to change them back to the originals. To change the icon of MIDI player, right click MIDI player to bring up the menu. Select Settings, select General, and click the Find... button. In the Start Folder window, enter \MMOS2\INSTALL. Click the Find button and a window of all found icons appears. Select MIDIPLAY.ICO and click OK. Close the MIDI player Settings notebook. For Digital Video player, repeat the above steps but select VIDPLAY.ICO instead. 5. If the MIDI plays are not smooth in WinOS2, you need to change the timer resolution. Edit SYSTEM.INI in your Windows directory. Under [timer.drv] are TIMERMax386Res and TIMERMax286Res. You need to change the values to less than 8 from the default of 10. These are the files copied to your hard disk: \MMOS2 ES688DD.SYS, ES1688DD.SYS VAUDDRV.SYS \MMOS2\DLL CARDINFO.DLL ESSVSD88.DLL WININST.DLL WINRES.DLL \OS2\BOOT CLOCK01.SYS CLOCK02.SYS TIMER0.SYS \WINDOWS\SYSTEM AUDMPIO.DRV, AUDMPU.DRV ES688WIN.386, ES1688WN.386 ES688WIN.DRV, ES1688WN.DRV MIDIMAP.CFG MSMIXMGR.DLL