Old Computer OS Driver Question

[newsgroup guy]

Does anybody know what audio/sound driver will work to enable said function in Windows 98 -- yes, I know it's not supported officially -- on a Dell Optiplex GX270?

Thank you in advance for helping me with this oldie. Cheers!

[Vidd]

You left out the most important piece of information ... what sound card do you have in the Dell? Is it integrated, if so what is the chipset, or does the Dell have the upgraded SoundBlaster option?



EDIT: A Google search for the Dell Optiplex GX270 shows the integrated sound is Analog Devices ADI 198x Integrated Audio.

Analog Devices Inc. SoundMAX Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP WDM Driver
ftp://ftp.dell.com/audio/R49606.exe

[enim]

Normally all DELL machines (even refurbished) come with drivers-installation CD.
Otherwise, OP needs to seek DELL support for legacy drivers.

[newsgroup guy]

Thank you very much, Vidd, but it didn't work as hoped.

It did install, and asked me to reboot, but after the reboot I get messages saying it's building a driver database, and finding new hardware, "PCI Multimedia Audio Device" but it finds no driver for it when I press 'Next'.

Then there's a "Windows 98 Setup" "Updating System Settings" message, and an error popup over it, saying "DSndUP error - No ADI codec driver is installed".
And I still get no sound in Windows 98.

I tried other audio installers before, like R62850 or R69382, for example, with the same results.

I don't know what sound card I have inside, for sure, either, unfortunately. (Otherwise, I would have said.) You're probably right to say it's the Analog Devices ADI 198x Integrated Audio.

Any other ideas on what I could try?

Thanks.

[Bjs]

Easy when you know the limit's

1: Win98se (do not use win98) ... power management functions in system board chipset requires win98se
2: apply intel.inf update utility
3: Install directx8
4: Reboot.

Now you can start with install of audio device for gx270.

[Nelson37]

The very first thing you should "try", is to figure out exactly what hardware it is that you are trying to make work with an ancient OS.

Are the audio connections in-line with the other mainboard connectors, or are they housed in an expansion slot?

The case should take about 5-10 seconds to open, I think that's a "clamshell" design, regardless, takes seconds to open the case and maybe a few more to Look Inside.

If it isn't the Soundmax built-in, it will almost certainly be the Creative Labs upgrade card, most of them have 98 drivers, if not then you need to find one that does. I am in the process of putting about 5 of those in the garbage can right now. They're cheap if you can find one, because nobody wants one.

[hech54]

I still have an old scissor-case Dell here under my desk. LOVE that thing. Everything still works - XP Pro.

[NJRoadfan]

Drivers here should work. Dell used Intel boards in those machines.

[Vidd]

Thank you very much, Vidd, but it didn't work as hoped.

It did install, and asked me to reboot, but after the reboot I get messages saying it's building a driver database, and finding new hardware, "PCI Multimedia Audio Device" but it finds no driver for it when I press 'Next'.

......

I don't know what sound card I have inside, for sure, either, unfortunately. (Otherwise, I would have said.) You're probably right to say it's the Analog Devices ADI 198x Integrated Audio.

Any other ideas on what I could try?

Since you get the "PCI Multimedia Audio Device" error that means you have the integrated sound (Analog Devices ADI 198x Integrated Audio) disabled and have a PCI soundcard installed. That is why the driver I linked you does not work.

You will have to open the case of the computer and determine what soundcard you have. Once you get the brand and model number you can search for Windows 98 drivers.

[bendixG15]

Is there an audio selection setting (card or on-board) in the BIOS ??

[newsgroup guy]

Thanks very much to you too, Bjs.
Still no luck, though.

First, I am confirming that yes, it is Windows 98 Second Edition.

So, I got the INF Update Utility/Utilities -- I didn't know exactly which one was the one, so I tried both infinst_enu.exe and infinst_autol.exe, from the Intel website: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/confirm.aspx?httpDown=http://downloadmirror.intel.com...&ProductID=816
-- and installed them, but I don't know if they installed properly.
It asked me to reboot after the installation, and then, upon reboot, a lot of hardware was appearing and looking for drivers. Mostly PCI-this and PCI-that stuff. They all found the drivers, I guess, because when this process was done, I was asked to reboot again, instead of going into the Desktop screen. But the computer kept hanging here, for tens and tens of minutes, so both times I had to power off then on again.

Then I did install DirectX, but I got 9.0c, not 8.something, because I think only versions 6 and 9 of DirectX say they are made specifically for Windows 98 SE. Did I have to get version 8 only?

Then I tried the installation of R49606.exe again, but still no sound.


BendixG15, there is no actual audio selection setting in the BIOS, but there is an 'Integrated Devices (LegacySelect Options)' setting, inside which there is a 'Sound' sub-setting which has always been 'On'.
Why do you ask?

[newsgroup guy]

Guys, thanks to everyone for the responses. I don't know what an audio card looks like, though.

I'd look inside in a heartbeat, but I don't know what to look for. I've never messed around with the motherboard, CPUs and audio/video cards. Only power supplies, CD/DVD drives, Floppies, HDDs and similar easily-removable parts.

Could I run something like AIDA32 or Belarc Advisor and find out that info?


P.S. Vidd, thank you very much for the great troubleshooting. I think your last message has given me potentially a great clue.

[Vidd]

Since you don't know about the sound card or wish to open the case, another option would be:

In Windows Device Manager, disable the PCI audio card "PCI Multimedia Audio Device".

In the system BIOS enable the integrated sound.

Windows should see the integrated audio, then install the Dell driver.

Make sure you plug your speakers into the integrated audio plug, not the PCI sound card.

[newsgroup guy]

There's only one option in the BIOS, 'Sound', On or Off, and it has always been on. I don't know what else to change. I don't see anything else in the BIOS clearly audio-related.

I would look inside, but what I am I looking for? What does an audio card look like? Is it plugged in close to the RAM? Or where?

Also, at the back, there is a blue speaker port, a green port and a pink (/red) one. I usually plug the speakers into the green one.
Where would the integrated speaker plug entry be?

However, in Windows XP, I don't even need to plug in any speakers. I get sound from the computer without any speakers. It's as if this GX270 has speakers built in.

[newsgroup guy]

So, would anyone please tell me where to look for the audio card identification information, after I open up the GX270?
What am I looking for in there?

Thanks.

[davexnet]

So, would anyone please tell me where to look for the audio card identification information, after I open up the GX270?
What am I looking for in there?

Thanks.

It's actually reasonably logical. Look at the back of the PC for the audio connections.
Open the case and see where those connections go.

[lordsmurf]

What for?
If capturing video, it's probably not a good card anyway.

[newsgroup guy]

No, it's not for capturing anything.

You see, even though this computer was built by Dell without any regard for the possibility of Windows 98 being installed on it, I was trying to dual-boot '98 and XP.

Everything works in Windows 98 except for the audio. I must have tried about eight different variations of driver, but nothing makes it have sound.


Thanks, davexnet. I figured that much, as well, by the way. But I'm worried I might not get the proper figures or letters. Okay, I'll return with all the digits I will find on the hardware inside the case, around the audio connections. Hopefully, they will be of some use to Vidd or anyone else who knows about this stuff.

Be right back.

[newsgroup guy]

I THINK I HAVE THE INFO that Vidd was requesting, now.

The audio connections (- pink, light green and light blue -) have a portion inside which says "foxconn". Is that it?
Above that, there's a set of USB ports, together with the Ethernet port, which is called "bel" (and it also has identification digits: 0862-IJIT-43 followed by 0333 WM underneath). More above, there's another set of USB ports, also "foxconn"; and above that the PS/2 ports, again "foxconn". The writing is on the metallic parts that are inside, not on the motherboard.
The green mobo can be always seen beneath all of this, so I don't know / can't tell if the audio is integrated or a separate audio card.
But I can definitely tell you that (towards the top) the motherboard says "Dell [...] copyright 2003" and, on a small white portion, "foxconn L S-36".

Does this help anyone in determining for me what audio drivers could get the sound up and running in Windows 98 (Second Edition) on this computer, please?

[Mr.Delusional]

Reading the the manual for your dell it lists the chipset as being Intel 865G. I don't see Windows 98SE or even just '98 listed but I believe this is the audio driver. https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?lang=eng&DwnldID=10416 And here was the manual for your dell.

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_optiplex_desktop/optiplex-gx270_user%27s%20guide_en-us.pdf 

[newsgroup guy]

I don't believe I've tried this one. Thank you very much. I'll give it a try ASAP.

[ranchhand]

Newsgroup guy... let's try a system scanner I use all the time. I am not positive that it will run on Win98, but the website says that it is created for all Windows systems. It will only take a minute. Here's my canned instructions:

> Go Here and download the free utility, Speccy, which is a system analyzer, and save to your desktop. You do not need to install it, it runs from the executable file. Click on it, allow a few seconds for it to finish. Then click File\Publish Snapshot. Click Yes, then Copy to Clipboard. In your next post add the link so we can take a look at what you have. It may give us some additional information.

[newsgroup guy]

Okay, sure, I'll try this too. Thanks very much.

However, I've almost given up 100%. I think I've given up 99% actually.

I might just run Windows 98 in VMware or something, under Windows XP.

Stupid Dell with their goddamn restrictions all the time! Would it kill them to build systems that allow all prior Windows operating systems to install?


But I'll post back in a while, with the Speccy info.

[nic2k4]

The driver Vidd linked to should have worked; try PCI-Z, find the sound card in the listing and copy the PCI device string, then open the Win 98 .inf file from Dell and check for that string and verify that the Device matches the chipset. If it does and the string isn't there you can copy one of the existing strings from the .inf and replace it with the one from PCI-Z, after that 98 will recognize the driver.

If that still doesn't work google win 98 driver and the device string in quotation marks.