Sound Blaster AWE64 being problematic in my 'Retro Rig'

[Nintendork99]

Hey everybody,

I've been looking around Tom's H, ardware awhile now for help on building my ideal Windows 95 gaming pc, but only joined now because my problem is so specific. Basically, I built this pc because I was annoyed at windows 7 for not playing my favorite childhood games like Myst, Riven, Hype the Time Quest, Blood, and the Incredible Machine. Also, I like using floppy disks. After a couple months of research, I built a system from a busted Gateway E4200. Specs are:
-Pentium II 350MHz
-Generic Gateway CD and Floppy Drive
-6GB WD HDD
-IOmega Zip100 internal
-some PCI modem card
-ATi Rage Pro 4MB
-Generic peripherals
I put it together and was very pleased to find many drivers already on the hard drive. I installed games and played them flawlessly... With no sound. I forgot a sound card, but quickly picked up a cheap AWE64 (Creative Labs CT4500 SoundBlaster) I threw it in and... Nothing. I assumed without the right drivers it was useless, so I finally found what appeared to be the right driver, burned it to a CD, installed it, but still nothing. It was a little more complex than that, but that's the gist. So here's my problem. I accidentally disabled and removed the AWE64 from device manager and now can't find it. I have no idea if I'm using the right driver or if I need a driver for the external speakers I use. I would like to uninstall the card but don't know how. Basically I want to have audio but have already screwed up a ton to the point where I have my windows 95 install cd ready if I need to start fresh. Please give me a hand, I'm at a loss!
-Nintendork


EDIT:
Allow me to be more specific. None of the solutions have worked so far. I have tried multiple drivers, disguising the card as a different creative card and running the drivers under that, and switching ISA sockets. (my mobo has 2) I think the first problem would be the fact that the sound card does not show up in the device manager. Last night, I was trying to fix this problem when I came across it in the device manager. I opened it's 'properties' tab and very foolishly and hastily checked the boxes labeled, 'disable this hardware' and 'remove from list'. I CANNOT GET IT TO SHOW UP AGAIN. I am seriously considering a clean boot of Windows 95, but a) I might not have all the material, as it is an upgrade CD, and b) I would lose other drivers.

I am in serious need of some help right now, someone who has experience with legacy computers.

 

[bucknutty]

I love old PCs.

Shut down
take the card out
reboot
install this driver.http://support.creative.com/Downloads/welcome.aspx
shut down.
install the card again
power up.

 

[smeezekitty]

It could be defective. But try as suggested.

I am surprised the motherboard does not have onboard audio. Usually by the Pentium 2 era they did.

 

[apache_lives]

Some of the really old sound cards are NON-PNP and wont just detect (got a few, but my AWE64 card is PNP... there are a few different ones)

If bucknutty's suggestion doesnt work try going through the add hardware wizard and select the SB16/AWE32 card from the list and restart - see wether it picks up

Also in the bios there may be an option to reset the IRQ/DMA list or just reset the cmos

Another tip for older machines - cloth with some WD40 or similar - wipe the contacts of the card - works miracles


Best of luck

 

[Nintendork99]

Some of the really old sound cards are NON-PNP and wont just detect (got a few, but my AWE64 card is PNP... there are a few different ones)

If bucknutty's suggestion doesnt work try going through the add hardware wizard and select the SB16/AWE32 card from the list and restart - see wether it picks up

Also in the bios there may be an option to reset the IRQ/DMA list or just reset the cmos

Another tip for older machines - cloth with some WD40 or similar - wipe the contacts of the card - works miracles


Best of luck

CMOS reset, still nothing. I'm actually thinking about getting a card with the original CD. I don't know, I'll wait for more solutions but right know this thread is still unsolved

 

[Nintendork99]

I love old PCs.

Shut down
take the card out
reboot
install this driver.http://support.creative.com/Downloads/welcome.aspx
shut down.
install the card again
power up.

Unfortunatly that did not work. no idea why...

 

[bucknutty]

do you see the card as unknown device in the device manager? Or is it just not there at all?

 

[bucknutty]

If it in the device manager then you just have to find the right driver.

If its not there at all there is an IRQ issue in the bios. For some reason IRQ 5 is coming to the front of my mind with the old sound blasters.

 

[Nintendork99]

If it in the device manager then you just have to find the right driver.

If its not there at all there is an IRQ issue in the bios. For some reason IRQ 5 is coming to the front of my mind with the old sound blasters.

Yes it is just not showing up, probably because i accidentally but specifically told it to be removed. I will try to see whats up with my IRQs but my BIOS is very convoluted so it might take some digging. I did however find an .ISO of the original AWE64 installation CD! Im hopeful!

 

[apache_lives]

If it in the device manager then you just have to find the right driver.

If its not there at all there is an IRQ issue in the bios. For some reason IRQ 5 is coming to the front of my mind with the old sound blasters.

Haha ah yes the standard well known "220 5 1 5" configuration (IRQ5) - old games required that exact setup to work

 

[apache_lives]

Unfortunately if its not detecting in windows and still doesn't work after adding it manual (non pnp) its a dead card or incompatible with your motherboard (for some reason)

Different slot on the motherboard perhaps but doubt it will change anything

 

[Nintendork99]

Unfortunately if its not detecting in windows and still doesn't work after adding it manual (non pnp) its a dead card or incompatible with your motherboard (for some reason)

Different slot on the motherboard perhaps but doubt it will change anything

That may very well be and I have the opportunity to pick up a soundblaster 16 new in box for $20, but it was showing up before I manually removed it from the manager, and the first time I plugged it in, it did detect new hardware, and install but with no drivers... I haven't gone into my BIOS yet but im pretty sure I'll find the basic configuration on the IRQs correct.

 

[Nintendork99]

My IRQs are all in place without conflict... I don't know guys, should I just buy this?

I have all the ISOs for the sound blaster CDs, the problem is I dont have a DVD big enough to right them to. (I have 702MB disks, the file is 722MB)

Thanks

 

[smeezekitty]

You can try overburning.

 

[Nintendork99]

You can try overburning.

Sorry for my idiocy but I have no idea what that is...

 

[smeezekitty]

Overburning burning past the the specified data area of the disk.

It is hit or miss based on the disk and the drive even out of the same batch.

In some cases you can get up to an extra 50 MB.

 

[bucknutty]

if your going to buy a card get this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Creative-Labs-CT4550-Sound-Blaster-AWE64-ISA-Card-FAST-SHIP-/130936039402?pt=US_Sound_Cards_Internal_&hash=item1e7c6567ea#ht_93wt_1399


Haha

 

[Nintendork99]

if your going to buy a card get this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Creative-Labs-CT4550-Sound-Blaster-AWE64-ISA-Card-FAST-SHIP-/130936039402?pt=US_Sound_Cards_Internal_&hash=item1e7c6567ea#ht_93wt_1399


Haha

Thanks for the heads up but eBay is not a very good option for me due to reasons I dont want to go into. I have a $100 amazon gift card and if the .iso fails will stick to the SB16.

By the way, I zipped up the .iso into a zip with WinRar, now only 650MB!

 

[smeezekitty]

Ebay is the best place to get old junk.

 

[apache_lives]

Other option: fresh install

see wether it detects then?

I miss the old days, when Creative products were actually good, compatible and actually worked!

 

[Nintendork99]

Well I hate myself now, but I ordered the brand new soundblaster 16. Not only does 95 fully support it, but I will have the original CD.

@smeezekitty: I don't use eBay anymore, I'm not going into why I dont.

Thanks for all your help guys!
(Am I supposed to choose a best answer so people get badges? Let me know)

 

[smeezekitty]

It is generally suggested that you choose a best answer. In addition to giving posters points, it also helps people coming upon the thread figure out the solution quicker.

Sometimes it is hard to choose though

 

[dieselboss78]

Nintendork99,

Allow me to introduce you to http://www.GOG.com (Good Old Games)! You CAN play all those games on a Windows 7/8/8.1 PC without having to deal with some old PoS PC. Save yourself a headache dude! They have sales so you can get all the games you want for dirt cheap. Oh and the Internet Archive has tons of games you can play online for FREE! https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos_games
https://archive.org/details/internetarcade
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/play-over-2-400-ms-dos-games-in-your-browser-for-f/1100-6424578/


Enjoy!

 

[smeezekitty]

Nintendork99,

Allow me to introduce you to http://www.GOG.com (Good Old Games)! You CAN play all those games on a Windows 7/8/8.1 PC without having to deal with some old PoS PC. Save yourself a headache dude! They have sales so you can get all the games you want for dirt cheap. Oh and the Internet Archive has tons of games you can play online for FREE! https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos_games
https://archive.org/details/internetarcade
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/play-over-2-400-ms-dos-games-in-your-browser-for-f/1100-6424578/


Enjoy!

TBH GoG sucks. There is a lot of reasons why I don't like them.
I would much rather play on a vintage machine. But if I do play on an new machine, I would
just use dosbox and keep the flexibility.