ActiMates/SideWinder: Configuring Crystal Sound Cards

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Crystal Semiconductor

The listing under Sound, Video And Game Controllers in Device Manager for an ISA Crystal chipset should read:

• Crystal PNP Audio CODEC
• Crystal PNP Audio Control Registers
• Crystal PNP Audio MPU-401 Compatible
• Gameport Joystick

In some cases a chip number will be listed instead of PNP (For example, CS4237B). Some hardware manufacturers may substitute their name for the manufacturer "Crystal". If you see any other drivers listed they do not correspond to this sound card. You may have a second audio or MIDI port on the computer, or the drivers may have been improperly loaded.

The most important driver is the Crystal PNP Audio MPU-401 Compatible driver. If this driver is not listed, then you need to install it. This driver controls the external MIDI, and must use an Input/Output Range of 300-301, 310-311, 320-321 or 330-331. If none of these I/O ranges are in use, then you must change the Basic Configuration until one of these Input/Output Ranges is present. If none of the Basic Configurations use this resource, it is likely that another sound card in the system is already using this range. The conflicting card may or may not be listed in Device Manager.

If a previous Crystal based sound card was installed in the computer, the correct drivers may not be loaded. If you have the installation disk for your sound card, you may be able to resolve this issue by following the appropriate steps below for your version of Windows.

Windows 95

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click System.
3. Double-click Sound, Video And Game Controllers.
4. Click each driver listed, and then click Properties.
5. On the Driver tab, click each file listed, click Change Driver, and then click Have Disk.
6. Repeat steps 4-5 until you have updated all the drivers.

OSR2 & Windows 98

If you are using Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2) or Windows 98, use the following steps to resolve the issue:

1. Restart the computer in Safe mode. For information about how to start the computer in Safe mode, query on "safe mode" in Windows online Help.
2. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
3. Double-click System.
4. Double-click Sound, Video And Game Controllers.
5. Click each driver listed, and then click Remove.
6. Restart the computer. When you see the New Hardware Found dialog box, insert the installation disk and follow the on-screen instructions to install the updated drivers.

CS4237B

This is a Plug and Play sound card and Windows should automatically install the correct drivers.

This card uses an integrated wavetable that can be enabled by using the following steps:

NOTE: These steps are not needed for ActiMates products to work properly.

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Multimedia.
3. On the MIDI tab, click Crystal PnP Audio System MPU401 Compatible in the Single Instrument box.
4. To disable the integrated wavetable, click FM Synthesis in the Single Instrument box.

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.