



                         AudioDrive ES1868 OS/2 Driver

                                 Version 1.04

                            Software Release Notes

                                April 23, 1996




        About This Release

        ESS Technology is providing updated OS/2 drivers for the
        AudioDrive ES1868 chip in this Software Release.  These drivers
        are complete updates to prior ESS releases for OS/2 Warp 3.0.

        This document provides:
        - a description of the changes to the drivers
        - installation notes

        Please read this document completely before you upgrade your
        system, and follow the instructions carefully.




        Release Information

        Product:        AudioDrive ES1868 OS/2 Device Driver,
                        Version 1.04

        Drivers:        ES1868 (with ESFM)

        OS:             OS/2 Warp 3.0

        Part Number:

        Release Date:   April 23, 1996




        Release Description

        The AudioDrive ES1868 OS/2 Driver Software Release incorporates
        new changes done to the previous release, Version 1.03.

        Version 1.04 Changes

        Better hardware volume control support

        A /H:# parameter can be added to the device driver line in
        CONFIG.SYS to specify the number of additional steps generated
        by one hardware volume control interrupt.  The default number is
        zero.  The maximum is 3.


        Wave files contention handling

        The driver can handle some wave files contention if it is not
        already handled by MMPM/2.




        Known Problems

        1. Opening too many MIDI files makes the OS/2 system unstable.
           This problem is related to MMPM/2 and depends on system
           resource.  On systems with 8 Mbs memory, the limit is 3;
           16 Mbs, 6.

        2. Tempo in MIDI files may not be 100% accurate due to timing
           delay and MMPM/2 architecture.

        3. Running MCI commands "seek wave to #" and then "play wave" to
           a 16-bit wave file sometimes generates very loud static
           noise.  Likewise using "record wave from #" to record a
           16-bit wave file may generate wrong file.  It all depends on
           the seek position.

        4. To be able to play and record wave files at the same time,
           the enforcement of only one active wave file by MMPM/2 is
           relaxed.  Therefore, some problems or erratic behaviors may
           pop up if two wave files are played.

        5. The OS/2 driver allows sharing of audio and MPU-401
           interrupts, but it is not recommended.  If both are shared,
           occasionally too much MIDI in data will lock up AudioDrive's
           interrupt processing when a wave file is played or recorded.
           To get out of this situation, stop the wave file, stop the
           MIDI in source, close all MIDI files, and restart the wave
           file to re-initialize AudioDrive's interrupt processing.

        6. Due to the nature of MIDI music, turning MIDI in on while the
           MIDI in data are coming may not generate the right sounds.
           It is recommended to stop the MIDI in source first before
           enable MIDI in.




        Installation Notes

        To install the new drivers successfully the following steps must
        be taken:

        1. Open an OS/2 Window and run the EINSTALL.EXE program on the
           installation disk by typing "A:EINSTALL."  The program first
           runs ESDETECT.EXE to auto-detect the chip, then calls
           ESUNINST.EXE to remove old drivers.  That program will create
           a backup of CONFIG.SYS named CONFIG.ESS and remove the audio
           device lines from CONFIG.SYS.  It also creates a backup of
           MMPM2.INI named MMPM2.ESS and removes the audio drivers
           information from MMPM2.INI.  In addition, it removes any
           other ESS driver information in COMPLIST.INI.  After then,
           the installation program calls Multimedia Application Install
           program, MINSTALL.EXE.

        2. When Multimedia Application Install program brings up, a
           check mark beside AudioDrive ES1868 means that item is
           already selected.  To toggle selection, click the mouse on
           the item.  If WinOS2 is installed in the system, you can
           select WinOS2/Windows Audio support also.  If not, make sure
           that item is not checked.  Click the Install button to start
           the installation.  Once the drivers are installed, shutdown
           OS/2 and reset the computer for the new ES1868 drivers to
           take effect.

        3. If the installation cannot be completed, read the logs
           EINSTALL.LOG in \MMOS2\INSTALL subdirectory and MINSTALL.LOG
           in \MMOS2\INSTALL subdirectory or root directory to find out
           the problem.

        4. Since this version of MINSTALL.EXE changes the icons of MIDI
           player and Digital Video player to that of Digital Audio
           player in the Multimedia folder, you may want to change them
           back to the originals.  To change the icon of MIDI player,
           right click MIDI player to bring up the menu.  Select
           Settings, select General, and click the Find... button.  In
           the Start Folder window, enter \MMOS2\INSTALL.  Click the
           Find button and a window of all found icons appears.  Select
           MIDIPLAY.ICO and click OK.  Close the MIDI player Settings
           notebook.  For Digital Video player, repeat the above steps
           but select VIDPLAY.ICO instead.

        5. If the MIDI plays are not smooth in WinOS2, you need to
           change the timer resolution.  Edit SYSTEM.INI in your Windows
           directory.  Under [timer.drv] are TIMERMax386Res and
           TIMERMax286Res.  You need to change the values to less than 8
           from the default of 10.

        Since ES1868 is a plug and play board, in a system with plug and
        play support the optimal settings will be used instead of the
        settings specified in CONFIG.SYS.  If you change the ES1868
        settings in a system with no plug and play support, be sure to
        reset the computer for ES1868 to forget its previous settings.


        These are the files copied to your hard disk:

        \MMOS2
                ES1868DD.SYS
                VAUDDRV.SYS
                ESDAEMON.EXE
        \MMOS2\DLL
                CARDINFO.DLL
                ESSVSD88.DLL
                WININST.DLL
                WINRES.DLL
        \MMOS2\HELP
                ES1868IN.HLP
        \OS2\BOOT
                CLOCK01.SYS
                CLOCK02.SYS
                TIMER0.SYS
        \WINDOWS
                AUDDRIVE.HLP
                AUDMPU.HLP
        \WINDOWS\SYSTEM
                AUDMPU.DRV
                ES1868WN.386
                ES1868WN.DRV
                MIDIMAP.CFG
                MSMIXMGR.DLL
