Contents:
- Introduction
- How can I change the EEPROM-setup?
- What are the best settings?
- Table of all available EEPROM-settings
- Example for IRQ- and DMA-Sharing in a fully developed system
- Hints for systems with too less free IRQs
The EWS64 has a singularly feature like no other soundcard:
You can exert influence on which and how many resources (interrupts, DMAs and addresses)
the EWS64 will use.
This is very useful in particular cases:
- The PC has only a few free resources
- You would like to configure specific resources for the EWS64
- You would like to deactivate unused parts of the EWS64
- You have an additional soundcard in your PC
- You would like to install two ore more EWS64 in your PC
I use the EWS64 together with a Terratec Base1. In my case these two cards need 5 interrupts,
3 DMAs and a lot of addresses.
Based on a good EEPROM-Setup -> No problems!
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Basically we have two possibilities to change the EEPROM-setup:
- In DOS with the delivered programs 'EWS64CFG.exe' (for EWS64 L/XL/XXL) or '64SCFG.exe'
(for EWS64 S only).
- In Win9x (not 2000/XP) with starting 'Setup' in the EWS64-Control-Panel
(This feature is not available for the EWS64 S).
In case of first installation method 1 is recommended:
What we need is a DOS-Boot-Disk. Copy the program 'EWS64CFG.exe' (EWS64 L/XL/XXL) or
'64SCFG.exe' (EWS64 S only) to this Bootdisk.
Check the Boot Sequence of your mainboard bios, so that you can boot from disk-drive A.
Shutdown your PC, disconnect it from the power, built in the EWS64, reconnect the power cable
and then boot from the disk-drive A.
After starting the program 'EWS64CFG.exe' (or '64SCFG.exe' for the EWS64 S) you can configure the EEPROM.
After finishing the configuration you must reboot the system. Remove the disk from disk-drive A before rebooting.
After Win9x has finished bootup a standard installation of the EWS soundcard drivers follows.
Note:
Do not start EWS64CFG.exe or 64SCFG.exe in a DOS-Box of Windows! These programs run under native DOS only.
Method 2 is recommended for changing the EEPROM-setup if necessary (ONLY: EWS64 L/XL/XXL):
Press 'Setup' in the EWS-Control-panel and change the settings. After finishing Windows will
reboot automatically.
Note: This feature is not available for the EWS64 S !
But this methode has a disadvantage:
After reboot Windows will find the EWS64 always as a new hardware and will install the associated
drivers again. You will loose all your EWS64-settings like Wave Play Buffer Latency, Virtual Channels,
MIDI settings,... and you have to reconfigure these settings!
Because of this effects method 1 is the better choice for later changes:
In case of later changes you can have good luck.
Especially if you did just a few changes Windows will take over it after a reboot without any
reinstallation of drivers. In this case previous EWS64 settings will remain.
Conclusion:
In most cases you should prefer method 1 to make any chages to the EEPROM settings !
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A global right answer to this question doesn´t exist. It depends on the actual situation.
I can just give you a view hints:
- Basic recommendations
Hint 1:
Always try using fixed values and avoid PnP-settings. Exception is 'Dig Control I/O': In some cases PnP
is the better choice.
Hint 2:
Look at your mainboard bios and make sure that 'PnP OS installed' is configured to 'No'.
The IRQ's for the EWS64 must not be reserved for 'None PnP ISA adapters' in your BIOS.
Sometimes the IRQ for MIDI-2 is an exception. On a few mainboards the MIDI-2 is working only if
you reserve it's IRQ for 'None PnP ISA adapters'.
You will find out the correct settings for your mainboard during tests.
Hint 3:
Important Information: Several PCI-Adapter (and onboard-Controller e.g. USB) are able
to use different interrupts automatically (or use Interrupt-Sharing), if their interrupt is used
by the EWS64!
Therefore you can use interrupt 11 for MIDI 1 even if this IRQ is already used by e.g. USB, NIC or
display-adapter.
The settings saved in the EEPROM of the EWS64 have priority 1 for your mainboard. Therefore the mainboard
has to assign new resources to other devices.
Hint 4:
Make the EEPROM settings from a boot floppy in case of a fresh new installation.
(look at How can I change the EEPROM-setup?).
Hint 5:
In the following table you will find hints for settings, which I can recommend after my tests.
These hints are valid only if you have the EWS64 as your single soundcard.
On my own PC with a second soundcard I had to choose different settings
(look at Example for IRQ- and DMA-Sharing in a fully developed system).
Hint 6:
A recommendation from Terratec is: Do not use interrupt 9 for the EWS64.
With interrupt 9 problems can occur!
Based on my tests I cannot confirm this recommendation. The EWS64 still works demonstrably on several
motherboards with IRQ 9. In the IRQ priority list of several chipsets this interrupt gets a prevered treat.
Based on this fact IRQ 9 is the best choice on particular mainboards especially for the EWS64 Synthesizer!
On the other hand there are chipsets (e.g. BX-chipset) which can make problems if the EWS64 is
using IRQ 9.
If you have problems on your mainboard with your ESW64 and IRQ 9, you should reconfigure your EWS64-EEPROM
without using IRQ 9.
- Additional hints about the EEPROM-Setup
If you have just a few free interrupts:
You are able to use MIDI-2 of the EWS64 without any interrupt. In this case the MIDI-In-2 will not work
(MIDI-Out-2 still works and attached wavetable modules still work too)
In most cases you have several ways to free up an interrupt for your EWS64!
You will find a guidance at
Help for PCs with too less free IRQs.
Note: EWS64 S users should always deactivate the IRQ for MIDI 2 !
The EWS64 with an additional soundcard:
If your additional soundcard has a gameport you should deactivate the EWS64 gameport!
Also you have to look at your 'FM I/O settings': If your additional soundcard has an FM-synth too you must (!)
activate 'PnP' for this setting of the EWS64.
If your second soundcard needs DMA's (meets for the most ISA-soundcards) you have to check the settings for
'WSS Play DMA' und 'WSS Record DMA', so that the cardsettings do not overlap.
For this settings you can try 'PnP', but the best choice for both settings of the EWS64 is 'DMA 3'.
In this case the full duplex mode of the codec will not work, but you still can make fullduplex-records with
the EWS64-Wave-Record. The quality of wave records are better anyway.
- The EWS64 on mainboards with BX-Chipset:
Some mainboards with BX-Chipset cannot use Interrupt 9 with ISA-cards! In this case you should avoid
the usage of IRQ 9 for the EWS64.
On my own mainboard with BX-Chipset the IRQ 9 worked for 'MIDI-2'.
For this purpose I had to configure in the mainboard-BIOS: 'None PnP ISA-card' for IRQ 9.
You will find additional hints in the column 'Comment' of the following table.
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The following table includes all possible settings of the EWS64 EEPROM (EWS64 L/XL/XXL and EWS64 S).
In addition you will find explanations and hints to every setting.
Note 1:
IRQ 12 (only: EWS64 L/XL/XXL) is available only if you use a serial mouse or an USB mouse or your
PS/2 mouse is adapted to the serial port.
IRQ 12 is not available for the EWS64 S.
Note 2:
On some mainboards you should avoid IRQ 9
(Look at
Headline 3).
Note 3:
IRQ 10 is only available for the EWS64 S -
you cannot use this IRQ with an EWS64 L/XL/XXL !
Note 4:
Setting '---' of the EWS64 S is the same setting as 'None'
of the EWS64 L/XL/XXL (always: disabled).
IMPORTANT:
These hints to EWS64 EEPROM settings are from 05 Feb. 2003!
Any earlier hints are not guilty any more.
Settings |
Explanation |
Possible values
EWS64 L/XL/XXL |
Possible values
EWS64 S |
Recommended settings |
WSS I/O |
I/O-address, for the Codec access from the Windows Sound System (WSS) |
None, PnP, 534, 544, 554, 564, 574, 584, 594, 5A4, 5B4, 5C4, 5D4, 5E4, 5F4, 604 |
---, PnP, 500, 510, 520, 530, 540, 550, 560, 570, 580, 590, 5A0, 5B0, 5C0, 5D0, 5E0, 5F0, 600 |
EWS64 L/XL/XXL: 534
EWS64 S: 500 |
WSS IRQ |
Interrupt for the Codec access from the Windows Sound System (WSS) and for playing in SB-compatibility-mode
(SB-Mode) |
PnP, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15 |
PnP, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15 |
EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 5 |
WSS Play DMA |
DMA for Windows Sound System (WSS) and SB-Mode to playback sounds via the Codec |
None, PnP, 0, 1, 3 |
PnP, 0, 1, 3 |
EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 1 |
WSS Record DMA |
DMA for Windows Sound System (WSS) and SB-Mode to record sounds via the Codec |
None, PnP, 0, 1, 3 |
---, PnP, 0, 1, 3 |
EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 0 |
FM I/O |
I/O-address, for access the Soundblaster-compatible FM-Synthesizer |
388, PnP |
388, PnP |
EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: normally 388, PnP in case of a second soundcard with FM-Synth |
SB Pro I/O |
I/O-address, for access the Codec in SB-Mode |
PnP, 220, 240, 260, 280 |
PnP, 220, 240, 260, 280 |
EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 220 |
Game I/O |
I/O-address of the Gameport |
None, 201 |
---, 200 |
EWS64 L/XL/XXL: 201
EWS64 S: 200
If you have activated an onboard gameport you should select 'None' for EWS64 L/XL/XXL or
'---' for EWS64 S |
MIDI-1 I/O |
I/O-address of the EWS64-Synthesizer (MIDI-Play) and MIDI-Out-1 |
PnP, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360 |
PnP, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360 |
EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 330 |
MIDI-1 IRQ |
Interrupt for the EWS64-Synthesizer (MIDI-Play), MIDI-In-1 and MIDI-Out-1 |
None, PnP, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15 |
None, PnP, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15 |
EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 11 |
MIDI-2 I/O |
I/O-address, for access any connected MIDI-Synthesizer via MIDI-Out-2 or Wavetable-interface |
None, PnP, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360 |
None, PnP, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360 |
EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 320 oder 340 |
MIDI-2 IRQ |
Interrupt for MIDI-In-2 and MIDI-Out-2 |
None, PnP, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15 |
---, PnP, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15 |
EWS64 L/XL/XXL: 9 (if possibel) - 7, 12 ore 'None' instead
EWS64 S: always '---' ! |
Dig. Control I/O |
Additional I/O-address for the EWS64-Synthesizer |
PnP, 328 |
PnP, 328 |
EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: normally 328; perhaps PnP |
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Based on my own PC I can explain the integration of the EWS64 in a full featured and full expanded System.
Following devices are working at the same time:
- AGP-Display Adapter
- Adaptec AHA3940 PCI-SCSI-Controller
(all Harddisks, CD-ROM and CD-RW are attached via SCSI)
- PCI-Network Interface Card
- USB-Printer
- Mouse
- External ISDN-device
- Steinberg PCMIDI3 Parallelport MIDI-Interface
- Terratec Base 1 (ISA-card)
- Terratec EWS64 XL (ISA-card)
- Yamaha DB50XG Wavetable-Daughter-Board
- Ensoniq Wavetable-Daughter-Board
Table of IRQ/DMA-Setup:
IRQ/DMA |
Device |
Comment |
IRQ 3 |
COM2 |
Interface for external ISDN-device |
IRQ 4 |
COM1 |
Interface for serial mouse
(or a PS/2-mouse via adapter) |
IRQ 5 |
Base 1 WSS |
'Audiopart' of the Base 1 |
IRQ 7 |
LPT1 |
Interface for Steinberg PCMIDI3 |
IRQ 9 |
NIC and USB-Controller |
These both devices are sharing one interrupt
The printer is connected via USB |
IRQ 10 |
Base 1 MIDI |
'MIDI-part' of the Base1 with the Ensoniq-Daughter-Board |
IRQ 11 |
EWS64 MIDI 1 |
'MIDI 1-Part' of the EWS64 (plus MIDI Play) |
IRQ 12 |
EWS64 Codec |
'WSS-Part' of the EWS64 |
IRQ 14 |
Display adapter and SCSI-controller |
These both devices are sharing one interrupt
|
IRQ 15 |
EWS64 MIDI 2 |
'MIDI 2-Part' of the EWS64 with the DB50XG-Daughter-Board |
DMA 0 |
Base 1 Record |
For recordings with the Base 1 (Fullduplex with Base 1 is possible) |
DMA 1 |
Base 1 Playback |
For audio-playback with the Base 1 (Fullduplex with Base 1 is possible) |
DMA 3 |
EWS64 'WSS Record' and 'WSS Playback' |
For records and audio-playback with Codec of the EWS64
Both values in EEPROM-Setup set to DMA 3
(Fullduplex with Codec of the EWS64 impossible) |
Note: The gameport of the EWS64 is disabled and FM-I/O is set to 'PnP'
(The Base 1 is also equipped with a gameport and a FM-synth)
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If you have conflicts after an installation of your EWS64 hardware because of too less free resources,
then you need some good advices.
At this point a few suggestions:
- I. Free the IRQ 12 for your EWS64
Most mainboards use this interrupt for the PS/2-mouse (Mini DIN Connector).
Some PS/2-mouses support an adapter for serial connection. You can free your IRQ 12 if you realize this possibility,
because the serial ports are using IRQ 3 or IRQ 4.
- II. Free the IRQ 7 for your EWS64
If you have no device connected to your parallel port (no printer/scanner or USB attached) you can disable
LPT 1 in your mainboard BIOS to free IRQ 7.
because the serial ports are using IRQ 3 or IRQ 4.
- III. Disable unused COM-ports
Most mainboards have two serial ports (COM ports) which use IRQ3 and IRQ 4.
If you do not use your COM ports you should disable them in your BIOS settings.
IRQ 3 and/or IRQ 4 will be available for other devices in this case.
Note:
In case of some legacy mainboards it can be unfortunatelly impossible to use IRQ3 and IRQ4 for other devices
than the COM-ports.
- IV. Disable unused USB-ports
You can free an interrupt if you disable unused USB-ports in your BIOS-settings.
- V. Force 'Interrupt-Sharing'
First of all an attention:
This method is not recommended for PC-beginners, because you need a lot of experience!
Modern AGP- und PCI-interface cards (e.g. USB, Display adapter, NICs, SCSI-adapter...) are able to share IRQs:
They will use one IRQ together (so called 'Interrupt-Sharing'). Interrupt-Sharing is forceable in case of a
correct choice of the PCI sockets for each card.
On every mainboard there are particular PCI sockets and onboard devices that use the same IRQ-lines.
Devices connected to these sockets will always use the same IRQ.
What can you try:
Depending on your PCI equipment you can try to replace some cards in different slots. So you can force
Interrupt sharing and in case of good luck free an Interrupt for the EWS64.
The major problem is to find out the right PCI slot. Unfortunately just a few manuals have further information
about the IRQ-lines. In most cases you will have to find out the right PCI-slot during tests.
Worst case of this method:
Every PCI-card should support Interrupt-Sharing. In practice unfortunately some PCI-cards don't.
Additional note:
The EWS64 doesn't support Interrupt-Sharing: The EWS64 always uses their IRQ's exclusively!
The reason is: ISA-cards do not support Interrupt-Sharing - and the EWS64 is an ISA-card.
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C/O 2002-2012: Werner Ogrodnik (Cologne, Germany)