Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
Musti61
Posts: 10
Joined: 24. Dec 2012, 22:35

Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by Musti61 »

Hello, i am trying to play old games on my Windows XP-Guest
Therefore i need to use the Soundblaster 16 Soundcard

I can select three different Audio-Controllers in the Sound-Settings this are:
Intel HD Audio, ICH AC97 und Soundblaster 16. Only ICH AC97 is working, the other two Sound-Cards are not working.
I have tried to install the Soundblaster 16 drivers in the Guest-System, but i get only the message that the setup cant find any hardware.
Does the Soundblaster 16 need any special installation? I hope anyone can help me.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by mpack »

XP does not natively support HD Audio, and SoundBlaster is obsolete - I don't know why you would choose that. You should use AC '97.

Cross posting is not allowed. I deleted your duplicate post in the German language forum.
Musti61
Posts: 10
Joined: 24. Dec 2012, 22:35

Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by Musti61 »

The problem is that some games doesnt play any sounds, or play only music without sounds with the AC '97.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by mpack »

I don't see why changing the sound card would fix that. XP is a protected OS, only device drivers can talk directly to hardware, user apps never do. User level apps talk instead to the generic Win32 sound API, so the actual sound card (or chipset) installed shouldn't be relevant.

Stick with AC'97 and let's look closer at the problem. Are you having a problem with one audio app or all? E.g. can you play mp3 audio files in Windows media player?

Are these "old games" designed to be compatible with XP?
Musti61
Posts: 10
Joined: 24. Dec 2012, 22:35

Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by Musti61 »

I can play mp3s without problems. The games are from a old Game-CD, which i used on my old XP-PC. They are mostly DOS-Games but work on XP. Mostly the music works in the games, but not the sounds.
I also tried to use the games on a Windows-98-Guest. I can play wav.-files without a problem. But the games in this guest-system have no sound and no music. It seems to be a problem with the midi which i couldnt fix too.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
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Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by mpack »

Support for 16bit apps is not a VirtualBox strength. Perhaps you would have better luck with DOSBox. This is not a recommendation, I've never used it myself, but some people have reported success.
Musti61
Posts: 10
Joined: 24. Dec 2012, 22:35

Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by Musti61 »

Most of the Games work good in DOSBox, but some of them are little Windows Programs and cant be used with DOSbox. Thats why i try to get them work on Virtualbox. Is there no solution for the Midi problem in Windows 98? Midi is uncheckable as you can see in this picture:

Image
jorgensen
Posts: 583
Joined: 20. Oct 2009, 01:22
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VBox Version: PUEL
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Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by jorgensen »

For Win98 you need to install a software MIDI sound controller, and should be able to Google it.
I have used Yamaha XG, but not sure if it is available any more.
Musti61
Posts: 10
Joined: 24. Dec 2012, 22:35

Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by Musti61 »

I did download Yamaha XG and installed it on Windows 98 but no changewith the midi. Do i need to change Soundblaster to another Sound-Card?
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
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Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by mpack »

I have a vague recollection that the VirtualBox sound emulation doesn't support MIDI somehow, but I wasn't paying much attention to the discussion. You can try Googling "midi site:forums.virtualbox.org".
FrodoHobbits
Posts: 237
Joined: 18. Apr 2009, 08:20
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, QNX & Linux
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Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by FrodoHobbits »

I don't understand how an XP guest turned into a Win98 Guest
Confused.com
TrueRock
Posts: 2
Joined: 11. Dec 2013, 01:05

Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by TrueRock »

My understanding is that VirtualBox does not support MIDI. I'm not sure why. I have not been able to find a definitive source to explain this situation. Obviously it is discussed in thousands of locations on various forums... I have not seen any clear explanation of why this limitation exists - being such a common issue.

Musical Instrument Digital Interface was something of an "odd duck" technology that found its way into Windows and SoundBlaster for a short period of the mid-1990s and then interest died out except for niche occurrences. It was used in PC games a lot in the mid-1990s.

I think there just isn't a lot of open source code out there that supports MIDI.
michaln
Oracle Corporation
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Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by michaln »

TrueRock wrote:My understanding is that VirtualBox does not support MIDI. I'm not sure why.
No one wrote the code, and there's zero demand from paying customers. Neither seems likely to change anytime soon.
vbuseruk
Posts: 3
Joined: 25. Sep 2019, 11:46

Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by vbuseruk »

Just a query from a non techie, does it make any difference if the version of Windows XP is 32bit or 64bit please?

TIA.
vbuseruk
Posts: 3
Joined: 25. Sep 2019, 11:46

Re: Soundblaster is not working with Windows XP Guest

Post by vbuseruk »

mpack wrote:Support for 16bit apps is not a VirtualBox strength. Perhaps you would have better luck with DOSBox. This is not a recommendation, I've never used it myself, but some people have reported success.
DOSbox does appear to support midi especially as they have now found a way on Vogons website to use it with Gravis Ultrasound. Just wondered if Virtualbox could do something similar given that I am not a programmer.
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