T21 questions (DOS drivers)

[Arf the Lab]

Hello, everyone.

I recently purchased a used Thinkpad T21 and have begun setting it up for my needs. So far, there are quite a few things I like about the machine, but I also have some issues which I hope to solve in order to get the most out of the machine:

For starters, I'm running Win98SE and have installed the audio drivers found on IBM's website. With the drivers installed, sound works fine in Windows and DOS games that use the Sound Blaster recognize it as well. However when I restart the computer in MS-DOS mode I get no sound at all, and nothing can detect the sound hardware. The SET BLASTER command doesn't help. Thus leading me to my first question: Are there DOS specific drivers for the T21's sound hardware? I didn't see any on IBM's website and my web search for them also yielded nothing.

Even with proper DOS drivers I'm afraid I'll still be lacking functionality, as the T21's sound hardware does not appear to be OPL2/OPL3 compatible (but correct me if I'm wrong), thus meaning I'll never get AdLib sound. My next question: Has anyone used a PCMCIA sound card with the T21 in order to add Sound Blaster and OPL3 support? If so, which model(s) can you recommend?

Finally, for now - I haven't tried using the USB or PCMCIA functionality in pure DOS. Can someone recommend decent USB and / or PCMCIA drivers for DOS?

Thanks for your time, everyone. I was previously using an HP Omnibook 900 as my laptop of choice, as it had built-in support for Sound Blaster and OPL3, making it perfect for DOS games. However it also lacked many features that the Thinkpad comes with, such as an internal CD-ROM drive, built-in 56k modem, etc. As such I'd really love to be able to make the T21 my new "universal" laptop, but have to overcome some hurdles first...

[sjthinkpader]

I think you can try a DOS driver for Crystal sound chip.

[Arf the Lab]

I would love to try a DOS driver for the Crystal sound chip - might you know where I can download one? My searches have yielded nothing. Thanks.

[sjthinkpader]

Try the DOS Audio package for 600x.

[Arf the Lab]

Hello.

There's no "DOS audio package" for the 600x. The website says there is, but it's really a set of drivers for Windows 3.11. There are no DOS-specific files inside, and using the Windows 3.11 drivers will screw up what I already have going under Windows 98SE.

Any other ideas, anyone?

[sjthinkpader]

Did you tried the 600X driver and know that it doesn't work?

Alternative is the www.driverguide.com and look for Crystal Semiconductor.

[Arf the Lab]

Yes, I tried it, and no, it didn't work for my situation.

I'll visit driverguide.com again, having already searched there once with no luck, but I'm not optimistic.

[RealBlackStuff]

Why don't you just dump W98SE and install WinXP Pro on it?
I could supply you with a set of IBM factory restore CDs that will run nicely on your T21.
You'd need 2x256MB=512MB RAM to run XP comfortably.
PM me if interested.

[sjthinkpader]

Yes, I tried it, and no, it didn't work for my situation.

I'll visit driverguide.com again, having already searched there once with no luck, but I'm not optimistic.

There are at least 2-3 DOS only drivers on driverguide.com that were uploaded around 2000. None of those worked?

I know what you mean. I have an old dyesub printer that only has a working Win98 driver. I got a Win98 machine working but forgot how to get it to link with my NAS where the pictures are, sigh.

[Arf the Lab]

Why don't you just dump W98SE and install WinXP Pro on it?

I already have WinXP installed on a seperate partition - but that has absolutely nothing to do with getting DOS support going. WinXP's ludicrous DOS "support" is a complete joke, to the point where most DOS games and apps won't run with sound under XP even if everything's configured properly. Basically, I do a lot of things in real DOS that I refuse to settle for doing in emulation (such as running a program like DOSBOX), thus getting DOS drivers for the T21's sound hardware is a must.

There are at least 2-3 DOS only drivers on driverguide.com that were uploaded around 2000. None of those worked?

Admittedly, I looked through in a hurry the first time around. Tonight, with more time, I'm going back there to download what they have and see what (if anything) works out. Thanks.

[Arf the Lab]

Nope! None of the DOS drivers offered on driverguide.com worked for me. Looks like my goose is cooked.

[RealBlackStuff]

You should perhaps widen your search to include Cirrus, which owns Crystal Semiconductor.

Try this website with an appropriate name: Driver Museum
http://www.drivermuseum.com/files/drivers/sound_d.html

[sjthinkpader]

You should perhaps widen your search to include Cirrus, which owns Crystal Semiconductor.

Try this website with an appropriate name: Driver Museum
http://www.drivermuseum.com/files/drivers/sound_d.html

Wow, I kept thinking to myself what was that Fremont company started with a "C" that owned Crystal? They made IDE and LCD GPUs too before LVDS days.

[Arf the Lab]

You should perhaps widen your search to include Cirrus, which owns Crystal Semiconductor.

Yes, thanks, I have already done that with no luck. I've tried every driver I've come across marked as "Crystal" and "Cirrus" and have even gone for the more specific drivers such as those marked as "CS4297" and "AC'97". No luck, no luck at all.

Funny thing is, I had a strong hunch I'd be screwed out of proper DOS sound support before I even bought the laptop. That hunch coming true isn't much of a surprise.

Thanks for your help anyway, guys.

[marcdw]

Just thought of something but I'm too lazy to shutdown the machine and restart to check but...

Have you checked the BIOS to see if there are any sound settings there? On my old Dell Pentium Inspiron
one is able to set the IRQ and/or address for the sound system thus making it easy to then setup in DOS.
On this T21 I don't believe it's that easy.

When trying to get sound working in OpenSuSE I think I remember only being able to set IRQ for various
PCI "slots". The trial and error part was trying to figure out what they corresponded to (sound, network, video, etc.).
With PnP and ACPI the IRQ assigned to the sound system may be outside the range used by DOS/Win3.
Find out what IRQ it's using and work from there.
At the moment, via Device Manager, the sound is at IRQ 9. I don't know if that's a dynamic or constant assignment.

I have various bootable DOS CDs so I might be tempted to play with this once I get the drivers.
Now I wish I had a floppy on this T21.

Marc

[RealBlackStuff]

Now I wish I had a floppy on this T21.

They are cheap on eBay, around $7.50
A lot of forum members (including me) would be happy to sell you one for that price.