Getting Sound in Dos Games

[sweatypickle 0]

If anyone can lead me to a link or just help me in getting sound in old DOS games under Win2K. I'm trying to get old legacy drivers to load in the autoexec.NT and config.NT files but I have no clue if this will work.

 

Thanks

[CUViper 0]

what you are trying won't work.... use VDMSound

[sweatypickle 0]

I can't get anything to work (well they work just no sound).. Grand Theft Auto, King's quest 6, any emulators.. I've tried using VDMS and VDMS2 (alpha) but still nothing.. I may be doing something wrong .. any help setting it up would be appreciated.

[sweatypickle 0]

I can't get anything to work (well they work just no sound).. Grand Theft Auto, King's quest 6, any emulators.. I've tried using VDMS and VDMS2 (alpha) but still nothing.. I may be doing something wrong .. any help setting it up would be appreciated.

[vladr 0]

VDMS works for sure with KQ6, so you must be doing something wrong.

 

Open a DOS window. From now on (i.e. the stuff that I'm telling you to do in this post) only work inside this window.

 

Change directory to where VDMS was unzipped/installed. Run vdms.exe (for v1) or dosdrv.exe (for v2). You can start with v1 as it works with KQ6 but is easier to install than v2 (so this virtually eliminates any installation issues from the problem).

 

VDMS.EXE should now say that it loaded properly. If it gave an error, see the FAQ on the VDMS webpage, with the error code handy, for an explanation and remedy (if you get 'error 1' then you might be missing some DLL's, you can download them from the SourceForge project page, under the 'additional DLLs' package).

 

If VDMS says it loaded properly, run VDMSDIAG.EXE. All MIDI and SoundBlaster tests should pass. You should also hear some piano notes.

 

If the tests passed but you heard nothing, there is probably something wrong with your MIDI device, hence no music in games. Try opening a .mid file in Media Player (you can find .mid files in your Windows directory, in the Media subdirectory; double-click on one). If you can hear the .mid file, then things should be OK. If not, verify inyour Windows Mixer that MIDI is not muted and/or the volume is at a reasonable level. If it doesn't work, post a message on the VDMS bulletin board/forum (see link on main VDMS webpage), and I'll pick it up from there.

 

If you heard the notes in VDMSDIAG, configure the game. Choose "Roland MT-32/LAPC-1" or "General MIDI/Roland SoundCanvas/SCC-1" for music, and "SoundBlaster" for sound effects (do *not* choose Soundblaster for music). Now, running KQ6 should give you music (if you selected Roland MT-32/LAPC-1, your scroll-lock led on the keyboard should blink while the game is loading). You will get a 'soundcard hardware initialization error' mesaage of some kind. This is because of digital sound effects (you can fix by replacing AUDBLASTER.DRV with a copy from Leisure Suit Larry 6 -- don't forget to back up your original file).

 

If you run into problems at any point in this sequence, post a message on the VDMS forum.

 

Vlad.

[ktwriter 0]

I've been noticing around the net that there have been many people attempting to play non-faulty older dos games such as Sierra, LucasArts, etc. There is a simple solution to be able to play these games without frustrating effects. The sound problem seems to be the biggest. Do not use VDMsound and any other device driver patches or anything like that. Those are just a waste of time in XP Pro, Win 2000, NT and etc. They make the games work but not always correctly. All you need to do besides converting the compatibility mode to support Win95 on the program properties is to download and purchase the Soundfx 2000 program which allows proper soundblaster emulation for any and all dos games. This works with all game engines and all formats. Not even the software companies will suggest this program, they themselves wish you to download small patches, etc that will help. but the functionality of the game or program will still be limited. This soundblaster emulator will prevent any sound crashes in any game, and also perfect the sound for the game where you can play with full speech, music, sound effects etc. You may get this program at

 

http://www.softsystem.co.uk/page3.htm

 

If you have any questions please feel free to email me. Dont waste your time trying to patch every single game you have. This software has been tested on games such as Duke3d, Sierra games, Lucasarts games, and many more. It works great!

Please note that you may download the demo at the above link, so you can test the program before you buy it. Sorry there is no ***** version or crack for this program. Soundfx 2000 works on any system.

[CUViper 0]

Groan.... if this isn't blatant advertising, then I don't know what is.

 

I tried SoundFX 2000 a while back, when I was still on Win2k, and as I remember it was FAR cry from the flawless sound emulator you claim it is. Then I discovered the FREE VDMSound which gave me much better results. Not to mention that SoundFX 2000 hasn't been updated in over a year (Feb 2001), whereas VDMSound has continually been improved. Why should I pay for software when the freeware works so well?

 

Oh, btw, you're kidding yourself if you think there is no crack for SoundFX 2000. A quick search revealed several places to get cracks for the latest version...

[DosFreak 2]

Yep, there is no need to use SoundFX. VDMSound is better in all areas. Yep, that's right. ALL. Use VDMSound. It has more features. Is more tested. Is supported and updated more and has a HUGE user base.

[slot34 0]

VDMSound dos not always work, take full throttle (lucasarts) I can't get it to work under XP unless I use SoundFX, but the stupid trail version kicks me out after 3 minutes. I am not paying freaking 39 bucks for it, so if anyone can point me to a crack, much appreciated...