F. A. Q. - Frequently Asked Questions

Product | 128iPCI
Last update | 03.05.2005
Version | 1.1
Questions und Answers | 14

Please ensure that you are using the latest driver versions. You can obtain the latest drivers from our webpage.

Internet | TerraTec Electronic GmbH
http://www.terratec.com | Herrenpfad 38
ftp://ftp.terratec.de | D-41334 Nettetal

An Overview of the Questions

Question 1:
An audio CD is playing in the CD-ROM drive but I cannot hear anything.
Question 2:
A keyboard connected to the sound card does not react when I hit a key.
Question 3:
Even though a game running under DOS in real mode is setup for 'General MIDI' the wavetable sound does not get played back (only for boards version 1.1).
Question 4:
After installing the drivers, Windows boots with only 16 colors and reports that the graphics card is incorrectly installed.
Question 5:
With which sound card standards is the TerraTec 128iPCI card compatible under MS-DOS?
Question 6:
There is a resource conflict (e.g. IRQ conflict) and I cannot change the resources and basic configuration in the Device Manager.
Question 7:
If I attach two joysticks to the 128iPCI card using a splitter cable, one or both joysticks don't function correctly. Each joystick works fine on its own.
Question 8:
There is no sound output in an MS-DOS game in real mode.
Question 9:
When restarting Windows 95/98 after installing the drivers, the error message 'Windows General Protection Fault when initializing the IOS device' is displayed.

Question 10:
After a new driver installation or a PCI slot change, I can use the Softwarewavetable anymore (only under Windows 95).

Question 11:
After each system start (Windows 95/98), the 128iPCI has to be reinstalled.

Question 12:
After the card has been installed, wave files are played in a loop.

Question 13:
In the Device Manager I can only see "TerraTec 128iPCI Audio" with an exclamation mark.

Question 14:
Games using DirectX don’t work correctly on my system.

Question 1:
An audio CD is playing in the CD-ROM drive but I cannot hear anything.

Answer 1:
The cause of this problem can really only lie in the audio cable which must be connected between the sound card and CD-rom drive. This cable will transfer the audio signal from the CD-rom drive, all other sounds will be transferred over the PCI-Bus.

It is also important to know that you can try out the different interfaces without concern (but do please switch off the PC beforehand). Then reboot
the computer and start playing the CD. If you hear the sound of the CD you have found the correct interface.

As an alternative, you can use the CD digital playback (Windows 98SE is requiered). In this case the internal wiring between the sound card and cd-rom drive is not necessary: the signal will be transferred over the systems bus. This will use a bit of the CPU but with actual PCs, this is not noticeable.

More info about how to use the CD digital playback can be found here: ftp://ftp.terratec.net/Documentation/AudioCD_Playback_GB.pdf

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Question 2:
A keyboard connected to the sound card does not react when I hit a key.

Answer 2:
Experience has shown that there are a number of different MIDI connector cables that unfortunately are all identical externally. These cables should contain a so-called opto-coupler suitable for the sound card's levels. As it's not possible to check this from the outside, always use the sound card manufacturer's MIDI cable. Our product range includes such a cable, which you can obtain from your dealer.

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Question 3:
Even though a game running under DOS in real mode is setup for 'General MIDI' the wavetable sound does not get played back (only for boards version 1.1).

Answer 3:
You cannot use the 128iPCI's software wavetable in real mode DOS. Only the FM synthesis will work in this case. Therefore, you should set music playback to SoundBlaster Pro. A hardware wavetable or daughter board connected to the wavetable connector (on boards version 1.1 only) can of course be used by configuring the General MIDI setting. Please ensure that the corresponding volume slider is not set to mute in Windows 95/98.

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Question 4:
After installing the drivers, Windows boots with only 16 colors and reports that the graphics card is incorrectly installed.

Answer 4:
There is probably an IRQ conflict with the graphics card. Check the IRQ assignments in the BIOS. All IRQs should be set to 'PnP/ISA' or 'NO/ICU'. The option 'PnP OS installed' must be set to 'NO'. We also recommend that you change the order of the PCI cards. The first PCI slot beside the AGP graphic card generally shares ist IRQ with the AGP slot, therefore you should not use it for the sound card.

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Question 5:
With which sound card standards is the TerraTec 128iPCI card compatible under MS-DOS?

Answer 5:

Under MS-DOS the TerraTec 128iPCI card is
• SoundBlaster and
• SoundBlaster Pro compatible.
Just configure the corresponding settings for the memory address, IRQ and DMA channel in the setup program of each application and sound support should not be a problem. We recommend that you select SoundBlaster or SoundBlaster Pro as the sound card and the music card.

Some applications require a BLASTER environment variable to be set. For example, insert the following line into the AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
SET BLASTER = A220 I5 D1 T4

T4 = SoundBlaster Pro model ID
D1 = DMA channel number
I5 = Interrupt number
A220 = I/O address of the sound card
If you have configured the sound card with different settings, you will have to adjust the corresponding line. T4 stands for SoundBlaster Pro compatibility, this parameter should be left unchanged.

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Question 6:
There is a resource conflict (e.g. IRQ conflict) and I cannot change the resources and basic configuration in the Device Manager.

Answer 6:
PCI cards are configured automatically via the BIOS, Plug & Play or ACPI of the operating system. These mechanisms do not allow for the manual alteration of the IRQ via the Device Manager. If it were necessary to assign another IRQ to the card, it is possible to install the card into another PCI slot, possibly swapping the slots with another card. In addition, some BIOS versions offer the option of permanently assigning IRQs to individual PCI slots. In any event, get advice from the manual for your motherboard.

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Question 7:
If I attach two joysticks to the 128iPCI card using a splitter cable, one or both joysticks don't function correctly. Each joystick works fine on its own.

Answer 7:
The 128iPCI's game port corresponds to the standard requirements of a maximum of 4 axes and 4 buttons. If you want to operate two joysticks on one port, each joystick must only have 2 axes and 2 buttons.

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Question 8:
There is no sound output in an MS-DOS game in real mode.

Answer 8:
First start Windows 95/98. Click on Start > Shutdown > Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode. This will ensure that the card is initialised correctly. Please also make sure that the corresponding volume sliders in Windows 95/98 are not set to mute.

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Question 9:
When restarting Windows 95/98 after installing the drivers, the error message 'Windows General Protection Fault when initializing the IOS device' is displayed.

Answer 9:
You can get rid of this error message by booting your system in safe mode and then renaming the 'rmm.pdr' file in the \Windows\System\IOsubsys directory to 'rmm.bak'. The error message should no longer be displayed when you reboot your computer.

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Question 10:
After a new driver installation or a PCI slot change, I can use the Softwarewavetable anymore (only under Windows 95).

Answer 10:
This problem can occur in certain system configurations. A new software which solves this issue is available on the TerraTec website.

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Question 11:
After each system start (Windows 95/98), the 128iPCI has to be reinstalled.

Answer 11:
You will find in the device manager under System components\Plug & Play Bios\Settings the point "NVRAM/ESCD-Updates" .

Activate this point, afterwards the card will not need to be installed after each start.

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Question 12:
After the card has been installed, wave files are played in a loop.

Answer 12:
1- Check the ressources to find out which IRQ is used by the card: under circumstances, the card shares its IRQ with another device.

2- Is there an ISA card in your PC? You should then reserve the necessary IRQs for this card in BIOS.

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Question 13:
In the Device Manager I can only see "TerraTec 128iPCI Audio" with an exclamation mark.

Answer 13:
Be certain that your PC fills the system requierment needed for the 128iPCI (min. Pentium 166, 16MB Ram). Note that IRQ 5 is the standard IRQ for sound cards: if this one is assigned to another device, please refer to answer 6.

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Question 14:
Games using DirectX don’t work correctly on my system.

Answer 14:
Please install the actual driver version 5.12.01.3045 which can be downloaded from our homepage or FTP server.

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TerraTec Electronic GmbH
Herrenpfad 38
D-41334 Nettetal
tel: +49-2157-81790
fax: +49-2157-817922
hotline: +49-2157-817914

www.terratec.com

ftp.terratec.de