 Music and Sound Problems

Some common solutions to common problems...

1)  Card is not installed.

2)  Card is not installed properly.

3)  Card is not hooked up to speakers or headphones properly.

4)  Card is not configured properly for Windows.

5)  Card sound drivers are not installed for Windows.

6)  Card sound drivers are not correct for your type of sound card.

7)  MIDI Mapper Setup is not appropriate for your sound card.

8)  Some other running software has control of the sound devices.

9)  Music/Sound Effects are not turned on in game.

Some problems we have encountered:

1)  Problem:  I don't get any sound.  The menu shows sound and music as disabled, but I have a sound card.

Possible Solution:  The program does not recognize that you have a sound device available to play music or sounds.  Either you do not have a sound device available, it is not installed properly, or another program has control of the sound device and has not released it for other programs to use.

See above for common solutions.

2)  Problem:  I get music but it sounds strange.

Possible Solution:  It is possible that your MIDI Mapper Setup is not correct for your sound card.  Try playing CANYON.MID with the Media Player that comes with Windows.  If CANYON.MID sounds strange then it is likely your MIDI setup is incorrect.  You may have to contact your card manufacturer to help you create a MIDI setup that is appropriate for your card.

See below for help adjusting your MIDI mapper in the section titled Creating a New MIDI Mapper..

3)  Problem:  I get music but it is followed or preceded by a "Twing!" sound or static crackles.

Possible Solution:  Your MIDI Mapper is configured to output music to channels not supported by your card.  Try modifying your MIDI setup as described below under Creating a New MIDI Setup.

Midi Mapper

The MIDI mapper program is located in the Window's Control Panel which is located in the group "Main."  NOTE:  If you have not installed the drivers for your sound card, you will not see a MIDI Mapper icon.  Refer to the instructions from the card manufacturer to properly install the card and Windows drivers.

The MIDI Mapper provides filtering and changing of musical events to allow music to sound similar on all hardware.

Sound Card installation programs often set up a custom MIDI Map which can be accessed from Windows' Control Panel.  The three types of maps are:

- Base-level (MIDI Channels 13 to 16, drums on 16)

- Extended-level (MIDI Channels 1 to 10, drums on 10)

- General MIDI (MIDI Channels 1 to 16, drums on 10)

Identify which map type should be used with your system so that your Take a Break!  Pinball software will use the appropriate channels:

Common examples for default MIDI Mappings are:

- Ad Lib (used for Internal Sound on Sound Blaster 1.0/1.5): Base-level

- Media Vision Pro Audio Spectrum Plus/16, Fusion CD, CDPC:

Internal Sound: Base-level

External MIDI: Extended-level

- Media Vision Audio Port, Thunderboard/Thunder & Lightning: Base-level

- Omni Labs Audio Master: Extended-level

- Roland MPU 401/compatibles, SCC-1: No MIDI Mapper

- Sound Blaster 1.0/1.5: Internal Sound: Base-level

External MIDI: Extended-level

- Sound Blaster Pro: Internal Sound: Base or Extended-level

External MIDI: Extended-level

- Others: Try all choices, reloading a MIDI file after each selection.

Creating a New MIDI Setup

Create a new MIDI setup by selecting the "Setups" radio button then click on the "New" button.  Enter "Pinball" and "Pinball MIDI setup" for the Name and Description of this MIDI setup.  You then see a rather ominous looking screen with lots of options.  Click on the field for channel 13 in the column Port Name.  Click on the down arrow in this column to bring up a list that usually contains names of sound devices.  Try using Adlib if it is available.If it is not, try one of the others.  Do the same for channels 14 through 16.  When you are finished, click on "OK" and indicate that you wish to save this new setup.  Now try playing CANYON.MID again on the Media Player.  If it still sounds funny, try editing the MIDI setup you have just created by using the MIDI Mappers edit screen.

---- Trouble-shooting Hints ----

If Music is Displayed as Enabled on the Menu but Still Doesn't Produce Music:

1) Exit the Take a Break! Pinball software.

2) Run Windows' "Media Player" from the "Applications" group.

3) Load and play "CANYON.MID" from your Windows directory.

4) Music indicates that the MIDI Mapper is properly installed in Windows.

5) No music indicates a problem with the mapping or MIDI connection to Windows.  UNTIL MEDIA PLAYER PRODUCES MUSIC, Take a Break! Pinball SOFTWARE WON'T!

6) Follow the instructions from your sound card manufacturer to properly install the card and Windows drivers.

7) Verify that the MIDI Mapper is present in the Control Panel.  If it is not, install the Windows' drivers.

8) Open the MIDI Mapper and click on "Edit."

9) The setup shows which device each MIDI Channel is ported to.  Verify that the correct ports are selected.

If You Still Don't Hear Music Coming From Your Sound Card

1) If the connections are correct, the most likely problem is an Interrupt (IRQ) conflict.  Each add-on card in your computer must have a unique Interrupt.  Since MIDI generally uses Interrupts for recording and not playback, you might have another device using the same Interrupt level, and yet you will hear music fine from your Sound/MIDI card.  We recommend that you try each level available.  On most cards, you must set the Interrupt level physically on the card, as well as from the software.  A few cards (such as the Media Vision cards) allow you to completely set the Interrupt from software.

2) You also might be having a problem with your DMA or IO Address.  Like the Interrupt level, this might conflict with another device in your system.  We recommend you try the other settings available here, too.

3) If the above tests still result in no MIDI music, you might try the tests again, and this time make sure that you power-down your computer between each test.

4) If you feel confident that your connections are correct, and there are no hardware conflicts in your computer, we recommend you contact the MIDI/Sound card manufacturer for other suggestions and/or diagnostics to determine that MIDI music can come in.

If You Are Having Problems With Sound or Any Other Part of the Program

Call Sierra On-Line Customer Service at 209-683-8989 in the US; or [0]734-303-171 in the U.K.  Be sure to have information about your system available to help diagnose the problem:

Type of computer:  286, 386, 486,  DX or SX

CPU Speed:  20Mz, 25Mz, 33Mz, etc.

Amount of memory installed:  2M, 4M, 8M, 16M, etc.

Amount of Hard drive space available.

Version of Windows.

Type and version of sound card.

Version of Operating System


You will find Canyon.Mid in the Windows directory.


Media Player can be found in the Accessories group.