F. A. Q. - Frequently Asked Questions

Product | SoundSystem BASE 2 PCI
Status | 04.08.2003
Version | 1.1
Questions and Answers | 10

Please ensure that you are using the latest driver versions.
You can obtain the latest drivers from our BBS or 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:
IEven though a game running under DOS in real mode is setup for 'General MIDI' the wavetable sound does
not get played back.
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 Base 2 PCI 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 Base 2 PCI card using a splitter cable, one or both joysticks don't function
correctly. Each joystick works fine on its own.
Question 8:
I cannot record under Windows NT.
Question 9:
There is no sound output in an MS-DOS game in real mode.
Question 10:
When restarting Windows 95/98 after installing the drivers, the error message 'Beim Initialisieren des
Geräts IOS Windows-Schutzfehler' (Windows General Protection Fault when initializing the IOS device) is
displayed.

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.
  In most cases this is due to incorrect polarization of the cable. A flat, wide connector that has the correct
  polarization is available on nearly all cables and CD-ROM drives. 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.
  Here is an overview of the interfaces used for CD-ROM audio connections:
  Interface standard Used by
  Mitsumi Signal Ground Signal Ground
  Panasonic Ground Signal Ground Signal
  SONY Signal Ground Ground Signal

y

Question 2:

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

Answer 2:

- 1. First you should check if there is an entry called 'TerraTec Base 2 MPU-401 Interface' in the Device
  Manager(Systemsteuerung > System) (Control Panel > System) under 'Audio-, Video- und Game-
  Controller' (Sound, video and game controllers) and that it does not have an exclamation mark '!' beside it.
  If the entry does not exist or has an '!' beside it, you should check the resources for possible conflicts.
  Otherwise, you should reinstall the Windows drivers.
  2. If the driver is installed, it must be selected as the MIDI input device in the sequencer software. Please
  see your sequencer handbook for details on this. A setup routine that allows this setting to be configured is
  included with most sequencer programs.
  If both these conditions are satisfied and the problem persists, in other words the software does not react
  when you hit a key or no sound is audible, the MIDI connecting cable is almost certainly the cause of the
  trouble.
  Experience has shown that there's an enormous number of different MIDI connector cables which
  unfortunately are all identical externally. These cables should contain a so-called optocoupler 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
  equipment retailer.

y

Question 3:

IEven though a game running under DOS in real mode is setup for 'General MIDI' the wavetable sound does
not get played back.

Answer 3:

- You cannot use the Base 2 PCI'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 connected to the wavetable connector 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.

y

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. If possible, place the Base 2 PCI card in a
  PCI slot above the graphics card. As a rule, all PCI cards that require an IRQ should be installed above the
  graphics card.

y

Question 5:

With which sound card standards is the TerraTec Base 2 PCI card compatible under MS-DOS?

Answer 5:

- Under MS-DOS the TerraTec Base 2 PCI 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 line
  correspondingly. T4 stands for SoundBlaster Pro compatibility, this parameter should be left unchanged.

y

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.

y

Question 7:

If I attach two joysticks to the Base 2 PCI card using a splitter cable, one or both joysticks don't function
correctly. Each joystick works fine on its own.

Answer 7:

- The Base 2 PCI'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.

y

Question 8:

I cannot record under Windows NT.

Answer 8:

- This problem was addressed by the new NT drivers, version 4.05.06. These drivers are on the TerraTec Base
  2 PCI CD 08/98 and on our BBS. They will also be available on the Internet shortly..

y

Question 9:

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

Answer 9:

- First start Windows 95/98. Click on Start > Beenden > Computer im MS-DOS Modus starten (Start >
  Shutdown > Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode). This will ensure that the card is installed correctly.
  Please also make sure that the corresponding volume sliders in Windows 95/98 are not set to mute.

y

Question 10:

When restarting Windows 95/98 after installing the drivers, the error message 'Beim Initialisieren des
Geräts IOS Windows-Schutzfehler' (Windows General Protection Fault when initializing the IOS device) is
displayed.

Answer 10:

- 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.

y

TerraTec Electronic GmbH
Herrenpfad 38
D-41334 Nettetal
Tel: | +49-2157-8179-0
Fax: | +49-2157-8179-22
Hotline: | +49-2157-8179-14
FTP | ftp://ftp.terratec.de
WWW | http://www.terratec.com