Windows 98SE Soundmax audio crashing
Windows 98SE Soundmax audio crashing
A user is experiencing crashes when running Diablo 2 on a computer with an ASUS P4P800VM motherboard and SoundMAX audio drivers version 5.12.01.3538. Disabling the driver in Device Manager resolves the issue, and attempting to use the Soundmax GUI causes a crash. The user has tried reinstalling the driver multiple times without success, and cannot find any alternative compatible drivers. They suspect the SoundMAX audio driver is the root cause of the problem.
Sounds like the chipset might be faulty. Not sure how much time you want to spend on it. I'd just spend $10 on a used PCI Creative Sound Blaster 16 or Live audio card. They'll probably produce better audio than whatever is built in. Creative was the must have audio card for the 90's. Their support site still offers the drivers for Windows 98. Just check whatever variant you try to buy first has Windows 98SE drivers. Also make sure it is PCI not ISA.
Also they have a game port for era appropriate joysticks. Flight sims were quite popular.
Here’s a rewritten version of the text, focusing on clarity and conciseness:
“I’m trying to troubleshoot an audio issue in my computer build, specifically wanting to use the 98SE sound card. I've been searching for a solution but haven't found one quickly. To address this temporarily, I purchased a cheap $5 USB sound adapter – it supports the 98SE and should allow me to get things running until a better solution arrives. I’m not overly concerned with the audio quality itself; my primary goal is functionality. This feels like a bit of a frustrating scavenger hunt for a simple fix, but I'm hoping this adapter will buy me some time while I investigate more permanent options.”
Creative Sound Blaster 16 Headphones, Black - New! $10 Shipped. Tested working condition. Excellent sound quality. Original box. Includes cable and manual. Buy now! Limited stock available. Don't miss out on this amazing deal!
As I said, I live in a small city. That listing is for ebay.com which is the USA and as such all prices are in USD with added USD shipping to my city. For me, that price is $35(+tax). It's not particularly "expensive" but I'm also not trying to sink a bunch of money into this build and am looking to fix the issue at hand before moving onto buying parts.
Okay, didn't know you weren't in the USA. Did you mean small country?
All else I could suggest is uninstall the Soundmax software and audio driver. Then unpack the source for the driver with a program like winrar. Then install the driver directly through Device Manager. To see if the Soundmax utility they included is causing the issue.
https://www.pctechguide.com/how-to-do-a-...stallation