************************************************************************ ADDITIONAL NOTES ABOUT USING MWAVE IN DOS (c) 1995, IBM Corp. 2:22 p.m., July 19, 1995 ********************************************************************** -------------------- INTRODUCTION -------------------- This document provides information to help you properly run Mwave appli- cations in PC/MS-DOS. A list of "frequently-asked questions" presents answers to questions or problems you may encounter while working with the Mwave product. Other topics include solutions to compatibility issues and installation problems, as well as additional technical notes. ----------------------- Printing This Document ----------------------- To print this document from DOS, type the following command at the DOS prompt: PRINT README.TXT ------------------------ Other Helpful Documents ------------------------ Please refer to the documentation which accompanies your Mwave product for complete information. ====================================================================== CONTENTS ====================================================================== 1.0 INSTALLATION NOTES 1.1 Installing MIDI Samples 2.0 FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) 2.1 FAQs about the Mwave Modem 2.2 FAQs about Mwave FAX Capabilities 2.3 FAQs about Mwave's Telephone Country Selection Utility 2.4 FAQs about Mwave's Sound Blaster Emulation 3.0 BEFORE YOU CALL FOR HELP 4.0 COMPATIBILITY 4.1 FAX Applications 4.2 Other Applications and Mwave 5.0 OTHER TECHNICAL NOTES 5.1 Recommendations for Optimum Mwave Modem Performance 5.2 Sound Blaster Technical Notes 5.3 Notes about the Mwave Modem ====================================================================== 1.0 INSTALLATION NOTES ====================================================================== No installation errors have been reported. Please contact Product Support if you encounter a problem during installation of the Mwave product. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.1 Installing MIDI Samples ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To install the Mwave MIDI Samples: 1. Complete the installation of Mwave on those operating systems you intend to use (e.g. DOS, OS/2, WIN-OS/2 and/or Windows) BEFORE you install Mwave's MIDI Samples. Reboot your computer. The MIDI Samples installation procedure checks to see which operating systems you've installed Mwave on. 2. Choose the environment in which you want to install MIDI Samples. You can select either Windows or OS/2. 3. Select the type of MIDI Samples to install (either Prosonus Base Patch Set, Prosonus Full General MIDI Patch Set, or EMU Patch Set). NOTE: Mwave's DOS MIDI can only use EMU samples. Windows, WIN-OS/2, and OS/2 can use any type of MIDI sample. 4. Insert the appropriate Windows or OS/2 installation disk in your floppy drive and run the MIDI Samples install program. 5. Respond "Yes" or "No" as appropriate to the prompts asking if you want to install the selected type of MIDI sample under each environ- ment. 6. When the installation is complete, reboot your computer. ====================================================================== 2.0 FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) ====================================================================== This section contains answers to questions about certain features and capabilities provided by Mwave applications. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.1 FAQs about the Mwave Modem ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Q: What settings do I need to use when I install a communications appli- cation (such as ProComm or CrossTalk)? A: Your communications software requires that you provide a modem type , a baud rate (i.e, the speed of your modem), and the COM port to which the modem is attached. The chart below describes settings required by Mwave: To set this... Select one of these... ------------------------------------------------------------- The Modem type Mwave modem Generic Hayes-type modem User-defined modem Hayes SmartModem 2400 Hayes modem Hayes compatible modem Other (Note: If you select a modem of type "Other," you must include the proper modem initialization string. For most applications, the initialization string "AT&F" will work. See the Mwave Modem online help for more information.) Baud Rate 57,600 Kbps, or the maximum setting offered by your communications software. COM Port COM 2 Q: What host application transfer protocol is recommended for best Mwave Modem performance? A: For best throughput when sending or receiving data, select the highest-ranking available transfer protocol listed here. 1. ZMODEM 2. Ymodem-G 3. TEXT 4. ASCII 5. XMODEM (only as a last resort) For more information, see 5.1 Recommendations for Optimum Mwave Modem Performance. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.2 FAQs about Mwave FAX Capabilities ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What setting should I use for the "fax/modem type" when I set up my Class 2 FAX software to work with Mwave if "Mwave Modem" isn't listed as an option? A: For all FAX applications, if "Mwave Modem" is not listed, select "Generic Class 2" or some comparable label from the application's list of supported fax/modems. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.3 FAQs about Mwave's Telephone Country Selection Utility ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What is Country Selection? A: The Mwave Telephone Country Selection program is used to set country specific parameters for Mwave telephony functions including Modem, FAX, speakerphone, and Telephone Answering Machine. The Mwave tele- phony drivers use the Country selection information to permit reliable and safe connection to the appropriate telephone network. ********** WARNING: Improper selection of the telephone network may cause ********** unreliable operation. Q: What should I do if the country I need is not listed? A: Contact your IBM representative for information and support for that country. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.4 FAQs about Mwave's Sound Blaster Emulation ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What sound card does Mwave emulate? A: Mwave emulates both a Sound Blaster 1.5 card and a Sound Blaster Pro card. See additional information in section "5.2 Sound Blaster Technical Notes" in this file. Q: Why does my DOS game indicate that it "cannot detect Sound Blaster interrupts?" -and- Q: Why does my DOS game seem to stop at the end of playing speech pas- sages? A: (To both questions) The problem may result from a configuration of Mwave that uses an interrupt other than IRQ 5. This may happen if you install another card in your computer. To resolve the problem: 1. Use the Mwave Configuration Utility to make sure Mwave is config- ured to use the proper IRQ setting (the installation default is 5). 2. Make sure your game is set to look for a sound card at the same IRQ location as specified in the Configuration Utility. (If you maintain the default, the value should also be 5). 3. Restart the DOS game. Q: What do I gain (or lose) by using the audio Suspend/Resume feature in DOS? A: When you shut off your PC in the middle of playing a game and audio Suspend/Resume is on, you can restart the computer and continue play. The game and accompanying sounds start where you left off. However, if a game requires a large amount of memory (e.g. 8 MB) and performance appears to slow down, you may need to turn off Suspend/Resume. To change the Suspend/Resume setting: 1. Open the \MWAVE_C\MWCONFIG.INI file in an editor. 2. Set AudioPowerDriver=OFF to disable Suspend/Resume for audio in DOS. To enable audio Suspend/Resume, set AudioPowerDriver=ON. 3. Save the file and reboot your computer. (Note: Changes to MWCONFIG.INI do not take affect until you reboot.) ====================================================================== 3.0 BEFORE YOU CALL FOR HELP ====================================================================== Before you call the technical support group, please read this entire doc- ument for any installation, configuration, or compatibility information. Also, the FAQs provide a good basis for answering most common questions. If the document does not provide a solution and you need to contact tech- nical support, please have your computer running. For faster service, have the following information ready for our technical support personnel: o Make and model of your computer o Mwave software version number o Names and version numbers of application software you are running o Contents of your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files (You can either print the files, or have access to an editor to view them.) ====================================================================== 4.0 COMPATIBILITY ====================================================================== Read through this section if you have any problems with a specific appli- cation working with Mwave. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.1 FAX Applications ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The following DOS FAX applications currently have been tested with the Mwave Class2 Fax and they work: o Delrina's Dos Fax Pro Version 2.0 o Delrina's Dos Fax Lite Version 3.0 o Cheyenne's Bit Fax Version 4.05A - (see Note1) The following application does not work with Mwave Class2 FAX. IBM will provide updates as soon as possible for this application. o Delrina's DosFax Lite Version 2.00 - fails The following NOTE (referred to above) describes how to use Mwave with the specified application. o Note1: Cheyenne's Bit Fax Version 4.05A Each time you start BitFax, send a fax before attempting to receive faxes. This ensures that BitFax can receive Class 2 faxes from the Mwave modem. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.2 Other Applications and Mwave ---------------------------------------------------------------------- o Lotus Notes Lotus Notes does not properly recognize the Mwave modem. Lotus does not include an .MDM file that describes the Mwave commands and responses. To fix this problem, obtain a copy of the MWAVE.MDM file from the PCC BBS and add it to the \NOTES directory. Follow these steps: 1. Start Lotus Notes. 2. Select the modem configuration. The list of choices should now include the Mwave modem. 3. Choose the Mwave modem from the list. 4. Return to Notes and use as you usually would. o Wing Commander III The Wing Commander III game hangs intermittently due to an improper DOS configuration. Modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files as shown below. ====================================================================== 5.0 OTHER TECHNICAL NOTES ====================================================================== This section provides additional technical information and support for specific uses of Mwave functions and/or applications. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.1 Recommendations for Optimum Mwave Modem Performance ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IBM recommends the following settings or conditions for best performance from your Mwave Modem: o For best throughput when sending or receiving data, select the highest-ranking available transfer protocol listed here. 1. ZMODEM 2. Ymodem-G 3. TEXT 4. ASCII 5. XMODEM (only as a last resort) o Try to ensure that your communication application fully utilizes the First In - First Out (FIFO) capabilities provided by Mwave. Specif- ically, the application should fill the FIFO six (6) or more charac- ters per interrupt during transmit. For native DOS, HyperAccess COM driver supports this action well. o You should enable Hardware Flow Control. Use the Hayes command AT\Q3. o Select a modem protocol from this list, with (1) providing the best performance, and (6) giving the worst. 1. V.42 / V.42bis (the default Mwave condition) 2. MNP / V.42bis 3. MNP / MNP5 4. V42 5. MNP 6. non-error corrected Refer to the online help available in Mwave Modem for the AT commands required to use one of the above modem protocols. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.2 Sound Blaster Technical Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The "SET BLASTER=" Command A few games require that DOS uses an environment variable to identify the location of the sound hardware. For such games, the following line is added to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file during installation: SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 This parameter... Tells your game to... ----------------- -------------------------------------------- A220 locate the sound hardware at address 220 I5 use interrupt level 5 D1 use DMA channel 1 These are the default settings created during the installation of Mwave. If you change these settings after installing a new peripheral card, the "SET BLASTER=..." line must be changed accordingly. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.3 Notes about the Mwave Modem ---------------------------------------------------------------------- o CONFIG.SYS and the Mwave Modem Certain configurations of memory managers defined in CONFIG.SYS may cause the system to "hang" when loading the DOS modem. This condition typically occurs when a memory manager tries to manage upper memory and "DOS=UMB" is not set. The solution is to always have DOS check for an upper memory manager by including DOS=UMB in the CONFIG.SYS file. If DOS use no memory manager, this option has no effect. The DOS Mwave installation auto- matically adds this line to your CONFIG.SYS file. One known exception to this scenario occurs in those systems that use RAMBOOST in IBM DOS 6.x. RAMBOOST does not run when DOS=UMB is included. To solve this problem, simply remove DOS=UMB from CONFIG.SYS if you add RAMBOOST.