GUS Daily Digest            Tue, 22 Mar 94  9:37 PST     Volume 11: Issue  46 

Today's Topics:
						  >>> PAS + GUS <<<
						   GUS w/ windows 4
							 Same old BS
							SBOS switches
	 which CDROM and some other questions from yesterday's digest

Standard Info:
	- Meta-info about the GUS can be found at the end of the Digest.
	- Before you ask a question, please READ THE FAQ.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 21 Mar 1994 23:15:08 GMT
From: yoshi.makino@patchbay.com (YOSHI MAKINO)
Subject: >>> PAS + GUS <<<

PPP    A    SS          GGG    U   U   SS
P  P   A   S  S   ==   G   G   U   U  S  S
P  P  A A   S    ====  G       U   U   S
PPP   AAA    S   ====  G  GGG  U   U    S
P    A   A S  S   ==   G   G   U   U  S  S
P    A   A  SS          GGG     UUU    SS

Help!!!!!  Has anyone successfully had a PAS-16 and a Gravis Ultrasnd to
Work together?

If so, a reply would be greatly appreciated.  (please reply
via e-mail)

Thanks!
Yoshi Makino
yoshi.makino@patchbay.com

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Mar 94 10:43:55 GMT
From: nguyen@eerie.fr (NGUYEN Francois                   )
Subject: GUS w/ windows 4

In my opinion, Microsoft cannot just create a new software without
keeping using old drivers compatibility.

If every one using a superVGA board (I really mean EVERYONE then)
has to use the generic video drivers, then loosing all
the improvements from their specific board, I am not sure they will
upgrade to windows 4 (I think about accelerated video  boards).
I do not believe every single equipment will need a new driver; then
why should you be afraid ?

Anyway, as there are more and more gus ers, MS must include a 
driver to support that card, or you people from gravis would 
write one down within a couple of week, would you?

By the way, has anyone used rocket drive?
It accelerates the HD transfer rate  and I increased mine from 
900 KB upto 1400!!! I think this shareware is really worth;
I do not know how they achieved this but they seem to patch the
controler bios to fit your own drive (it told me what brand and
model I was using ...)

Have a nice gus


							 \|/
							(o o)
		   _____________oOO__(_)__OOo_______________
				Francois Nguyen: nguyen@eerie.fr

 

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Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 01:19:44 -0500 (EST)
From: "K.S. Holly" <u8843389@muss.cis.mcmaster.ca>
Subject: Same old BS

I just got my GUS back from Gravis after a warranty claim (which they 
handles very quickly I might add) and got the new disks off of a friend 
that bought his GUS just recently. He has version 3.0 disks and I had 2.06.

I installed the software and was delighted to find that I no longer had 
any problems with 16 bit DMA channels anymore. I thought that I had the 
defective UMC chipset but apparently either Gravis did something to my 
GUS or the new software has compensated for the bad chip.

Anyway, I'm VERY upset to find that nothing has changed with respect to 
NHL HOCKEY. Using Megaem gives me a emm386 error when the period ends or 
I go to see a replay. Using SBOS (3.7) gives me the same shitty voice 
(really slow) as the older versions did.

I got the impression from the readme file that the problem had been solved.

So, one question. Has the software for emulating Soundblaster improved 
or not? I'm going to try using my SB with my GUS again if there hasn;t 
been much improvement....


Kevin

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 14:32:11 GMT+100
From: "Viktor" <HALLG@vegygep.bme.hu>
Subject: SBOS switches

Does anybody knows anything about these switches in SBOS?
(-o1, -o2, -x1,...) What the hell are they doing? 
(And how and when do I have to use them?)


				Viktor
				+----------------------------------------+
				|                                        |
				|   Viktor                               |
				|                                        |
				|  s5027feh@sun10.vsz.bme.hu             |
				|  (Technical University of Budapest)    |
				+----------------------------------------+

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 10:26:27 -0600
From: Don Eller <don.eller@inst.medtronic.com>
Subject: which CDROM and some other questions from yesterday's digest

> Date: Sun, 20 Mar 94 18:10:00 -0640
> From: chris.liu@dscmail.com (Chris Liu)
> Subject: CD-ROM Recommendation
> 
>     Hi all Gussers.  I'm considering on buying a 2x CD-ROM drive but I am
> totally new to the world of CDs.  Which one should I buy and should I use it's
> own interface card or buy one from Gravis?  And while we're on this subject, can
> you explain how I get sound from the CD through the GUS?  I think it involves
> just plugging it in LINE IN or by the 4 pin connector onto the GUS.  Thanks for
> any information.  And last, which CD game should I get!!! ;->  7th Guest?  Dune?
> Willing to spend around $250 for CD drive and game.
Thats reasonable, because the CDROM is typically about $200 and popular CDROM 
games like 7th Guest are $30-$40.

Most any CDROM will work with the GUS, since you only plug in the audio-out into
the CD-ROM audio-in jack, but you'll most likely discover that the cable that
comes with the drive won't fit the connector on the GUS (without bending the pins
in, and even with forcing, the plug will just barely go on a little).
Fortunately you can buy aftermarket cables in most stores that sell CDROMS today,
including Software Etc. and Best Buy.

You could buy the daughterboard from Gravis which I believe comes in two flavors,
Panasonic and Mitsumi both are $30 direct from Gravis, I haven't found them in
any store (I haven't found the 16-bit record daughtboard in any local store
in the Mpls. Mn area either).  Of course this will use up the GUS expansion
slot so you can't later add a 16-bit record card, but the proper cable comes
with and the drivers that came with my Mitsumi drive have worked fine in the
4-5 months I've had it installed.  The only advantage I see to this method is
getting proper $8 CD-audio cable, and saving a slot.

Also, John Smith from Gravis posted this in a recent digest:
OEM CD-ROM Upgrade Kits
-----------------------
The following is some information regarding a multimedia upgrade kit
put together by an OEM, Synergy. You can contact them at the address
and phone number below. This is not a Gravis product.

Available from Synergy - Gravis OEM supplier

		3115 Oceanfront Walk
		Marina Del Rey, CA, 90292
		Phone:  310 827 0977
		Fax:    310 827 0419


Upgrade Kit w/o Sound board
		GMS SONY328 CD ROM Drive Double Speed 300KB Transfer Rate,
		Electronic transport mechanism, MPC Level I & II Compatible
		Kodak PhotoCD Multi-Session Compatible
		Caddyless, can play Audio CD's without software.
		CD ROM Adapter board and software                       $199.00

I don't know if the CD ROM adapter board is the GUS daughtercard, or the standard
ISA bus card that comes with most drives, but If Gravis is calling them an OEM
and is pushing them, I would think it would be the GUS daughtercard for Sony.

> Date: Sun, 20 Mar 1994 17:42:41 -0800
> From: tkabal@crash.cts.com
> Subject: CDROM DAUGHTERCARD INFO
> 
> Can someone please mail me the info and prices on the cdrom daughter
> cards, or post them to the digest. I want to order the mitsumi daughter
> card and cannot find any info. Thanks...

$30 direct from Gravis, you should have received information from Gravis on
ordering them if you sent back you registration card.  I wonder how many people
have received no contact from Gravis after mailing them a registration?

> Date: Mon, 21 Mar 1994 10:50:41 +0200 (METDST)
> From: John Peter Jore <JohnPeter.Jore@mrih.no>
> Subject: FS5 and Win-OS/2
> 
> What is the address of the microsoft site where the major update of FS5 is?

I've found it on several sites, but maybe ftp.microsoft.com is the most obvious
place to look.  I saw it there yesterday, and while you're browsing for it, maybe
you'll find some other interesting things there.  Yesterday's digest mentioned
a file on technical Q&A about Chicago (New version of Windows), thats how I
happened to browse the site and found fs50a.zip along with the useful fc.zip
(frame rate counter for measuring fs5 display rate performance).

> Date: Mon, 21 Mar 1994 09:11:19 -0216 (GMT-2:16)
> From: "J.Waghorn" <ts0jwa@orac.sunderland.ac.uk>
> Subject: My MIDI won't come back :(
> 
> Since I upgraded to Winslows 3.11 and GUS Install 3.1, I've lost the MIDI
> in Windows. The .WAVs play fine, but I can't get .MIDs to play at
> all.

It had nothing to do with Windows 3.11 install, unless you did it last and
overwrote the midimap.cfg file which would only affect applications using midi
mapper, such as mplayer (windows media player).

This has been the most common question asked on this digest after the release
of new drivers from Gravis, so you can see your not alone.
Happens to everyone that gets new GUS software, that hasn't been following the
digest.  I don't know why Gravis installation software isn't beta tested by
people with standard installation configurations, but Gravis upgrades never
seem to be able to properly configure upgrades, to work automatically.  You
usually have to read the digest and find out what lines need to be changed in 
ultrasnd.ini, or what files need to be relocated where.  I could see
this if people who had installed their original software in subdirectories like
d:\soundcard\origulta\install but not when the original install disk puts
everything in c:\ultrasnd.  You'd think that Gravis install programs would 
default to their default configuration, but my experience has been almost, but
never totally.

Also, have you read and understood the readme that came with the new drivers?

John Smith wrote in the post announcing the new drivers:

"When installing these drivers I strongly suggest you read the README.
There are a few things which I'm sure people will have problems
with if they do not read this file including MIDI not working
under Windows."

Seems funny if they knew this, they didn't think it was necessary to fix the
installation process to work for standard configuration.  Maybe they've taken 
note of the hundred or so posts to this digest regarding this subject.

At least the problem with this latest release is easily fixed, you just have to 
follow this advice from Phat Tran:

"You must edit _all_ the PatchDir fields in your ultrasnd.ini file (the
one in your /ultrasnd directory, not the one in /ultrasnd/windows) so
that they correctly point to your /ultrasnd/midi directory.  Without
properly setting PatchDir's, the Windows drivers and Patch Man won't be
able to locate the patches.  The new drivers update the PatchDir's for 
the instrument banks automatically, but it fails to update the first
PatchDir under [Ultrasound]."

> Date: Mon, 21 Mar 1994 11:35:26 +1000 (EST)
> From: Mr KS Yap <ksyap1@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au>
> Subject: Sierra's 32 Bit AIL Driver ?
> Date: Sun, 20 Mar 1994 17:12:03 -0700 (MST)
> From: "Shawn T. Rutledge" <rutledge@enuxsa.eas.asu.edu>
> Subject: wontwork.mid
> 
> 
> That particular file doesn't have the patches defined in the midi file!  But
> when I opened it up in Cakewalk and assigned patches it played fine.

Maybe if this were posted to the gus-music digest, someone would explain how and
why midi files are created with no patch definitions. (Hint-hint :)

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End of GUS Daily Digest V11 #46
*******************************
