[Prev Page] [Contents] [Next Page]

2.2 SELECTING A WAVE DEVICE

AXS contains support for a great number of soundcards with 16-bit audio playback capabilities.

To select which sounddevice AXS will use open the file AXS.INI and modify the WAVEDEVICE= setting. Only one WAVEDEVICE can be active at one time. If you specify multiple WAVEDEVICE= lines in AXS.INI, the last encountered will be used.

In the list below you will find specific details on setting up your soundcard.

  • SoundBlaster 16/AWE32/AWE64
    • In AXS.INI the WAVEDEVICE should be set to SB.
    • The BLASTER environment string should be set.
    • AXS does not affect the SB mixer settings, so please make sure you have enabled the WAVE output and that its volume is set at a reasonable level.

  • Gravis UltraSound Classic/Max
    • In AXS.INI the WAVEDEVICE should be set to GUS.
    • The ULTRASND environment string should be set.

  • Gravis UltraSound PnP
    • In AXS.INI the WAVEDEVICE should be set to CODEC.
    • In AXS.INI the CODECBASE should be set.
    • In AXS.INI the CODECIRQ should be set.
    • In AXS.INI the CODECDMA should be set.

      Your GUS PnP contains a AD1848/CS4248 compatible CODEC. To find out the CODEC's baseport and which DMA and IRQ numbers it is using, run 'IWINIT.EXE -v9'. This will display the settings of your GUS PnP.

      The line 'PCODAR = x' represents the CODEC baseport.
      The line 'IRQ1 = x' represents the CODEC IRQ number.
      The line 'DMA2 = x' represents the CODEC DMA number.

  • Cards with Windows Sound System (WSS) support
    • In AXS.INI the WAVEDEVICE should be set to CODEC.
    • In AXS.INI the CODECBASE, CODECIRQ and CODECDMA should be set to the values used by your soundcard.
    • To obtain these values, check out your Windows device manager and see which resources are used by your WSS card. (Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Device Manager > Sound Devices)
    • Write down the DMA numbers, the IRQ number and the I/O or baseports used by your soundcard.
    • Typical baseport values used by WSS are 0x530, 0x604, 0xE80 or 0xF40.
    • For CODECBASE, enter the values as 534, 608, E84 or F44. In general, add 4 to the WSS baseport number.
    • For CODECIRQ, possible interrupt numbers are 5,7,9,10,11,12,15
    • For CODECDMA, possible values are 0,1,3,(5,6,7)
    • If you do not have Windows, check out the setup or initialisation programs shipped with your card to see if they can offer any info.


  • Other cards
      AXS supports all AD1848/CS4248 compatible CODEC's. The Windows Sound System (WSS) also uses this CODEC for playback. If you do not have GUS or genuine SB, your soundcard will most probably support WSS.

      The following sounddevices have an AD1848/CS4248 CODEC, which in theory makes them compatible with AXS.
    • Gravis UltraSound MAX (CODEC, tested)
    • Gravis UltraSound PnP (CODEC, tested)
    • Terratec EWS64 (CODEC, tested)
    • Terratec Maestro 32
    • Terratec Sound System Maestro
    • Turtle Beach Tropez
    • MAD16 (WSS, tested)
      Run "SNDINIT.EXE /b /w" in DOS to init the card in WSS mode
    • Guillemot MaxiSound 64 (tested)
    • Yamaha OPL3 (WSS, tested)
    • Aztech AZT16, AZT16B
    • Gateway 2000 B, Gateway 2000 GW2K
    • SR-S161 Serenade Sound Card
    • HP Pavilion PC's
    • Advanced/AS motherboards
    • All motherboards with onboard WSS

    To use one of these soundcards, make sure AXS.INI is properly set (see also "Cards with WSS support").
    • In AXS.INI the WAVEDEVICE should be set to CODEC.
    • In AXS.INI the CODECBASE, CODECIRQ and CODECDMA should be set to the values used by your soundcard.

    If AXS cannot initialise the CODEC, the CODECBASE is wrong. If AXS runs but responds very slowly without producing any sound, one of the IRQ/DMA settings is wrong. You will need to adjust the CODECIRQ or CODECDMA to the correct value. A good place to find these settings is in the Windows 95 "Device Manager" or using a utility supplied with your soundcard.


[Prev Page] [Contents] [Next Page]