Yamaha OPL3-SAx WDM driver on Windows 95 OSR2?

[toddyjoe]

I have a Thinkpad 310ED that was pre-installed with an OEM Windows 95. It is the OSR2 version of Windows 95. The soundcard/chipset is the Yamaha OPL3-SAx YMF715 set. I have added some of the Win95 update patches, including the patch for AMD processors above 350 MHz and the most recent "USB Supplement for OSR2" patches (for OSR2.1 and OSR2.5). I have updated the Yamaha OPL3-SAx drivers to the most recent version I could find for Windows 95: v. 4.06.2343 using the file "95v2343.exe" from the Yamaha website. The BIOS was previously upgraded to the most recent version when I was upgrading the processor.

My 310ED is basically used for MIDI sequencing and music software. I am using DirectX 8.0a (compatible with Windows 95 and Yamaha OPL3-SAx) to get the lowest latency and best real-time performance with the MIDI stuff. I have been told that an ASIO interface would get even lower latency but that ASIO requires Win32 Driver Model (WDM) support. While I always thought WDM was first introduced with Windows 98, I read that the USB supplement patches I put on my Windows 95 OSR2 system update it to provide support for WDM. Unfortunately, the WDM drivers for Yamaha OPL3-SAx are bundled with the Windows 98 CD and I have not been able to find a suitable download for Yamaha OPL3-SAx WDM drivers on DriverGuide.com that actually works. I am not sure if the problem is a wrong choice of Yamaha OPL3-SAx WDM download files or if I am just attempting an impossible feat with Windows 95.

Does anyone know if it is possible to put Yamaha OPL3-SAx WDM drivers on a patched Windows 95 OSR2 platform? Do the "USB Supplement" patches really add WDM support or is this a fiction? Any ideas? Thanks in advance for any comments!

[Rob Mayercik]

I take it you can't get the drivers in question from Yamaha directly?

[toddyjoe]

The Yamaha support download website is here:

http://www.yamaha.co.jp/english/product ... loads.html

Under the OPL3-SAx drivers for the YMF715 chipset, the WDM link only gives you a pop-up window saying that the proper drivers are included with the Windows 98-and-up installation CD. I e-mailed Yamaha support but have not received a response yet.

None of the various versions of OPL3-SAx WDM drivers I downloaded from DriverGuide.com install on my 310ED. When I try to update the Yamaha driver through the Device Manager in the Systems link of the Control Panel, I have tried letting the system search for an updated driver. It never finds any of the drivers I download no matter what folder I put them in. When I manually select the folder that the updated drivers can be found within, the Device Manager recognizes that the folder contains a "Yamaha OPL3-SAx WDM Driver." However, when I click on "Finish" to begin the update process, nothing happens. When I cancel from the process, the Yamaha OPL3-SAx sound devices are listed as disabled and having no drivers installed. I then have to go back and install the earlier Yamaha drivers for Windows 95 before I have sound again. I am wondering if the updated Windows 95 OSR2 version that came just before Windows 98 simply does not have WDM support even though some sites suggest the OSR2 "USB Supplement" updates provide such support.

[leoblob]

...Unfortunately, the WDM drivers for Yamaha OPL3-SAx are bundled with the Windows 98 CD...

This is probably a long shot, but... if you have the file names of the drivers, maybe I could find them on my WIN98SE CD...??

[toddyjoe]

Thanks for the offer but I could not find the proper drivers on both a Windows 98 CD-ROM and a Windows 98 SE CD-ROM I had access to.

After some additional research on the Internet, I saw some comments that the WDM drivers that come with the "USB Supplement" for Windows 95 OSR2 are minimal and "immature," limited basically to the USB functions and not useful for much else. So I took the plunge and installed an OEM version of Windows 98 SE over the top of my Windows 95 version. It took some tinkering because it was not an "Upgrade" disk but I got it to work. I then used IEradicator to strip away the Internet Explorer stuff and reduce the OS size to something more manageable like Windows 95. Although I am not a big Windows 98 fan, I now have my WDM support and ASIO stuff working fine. While I feel like I took the easy way out, I simply could not find a workable solution for WDM audio support on Windows 95 OSR2.