FAQ: SoundTrack 128 DDMA

Note: we recommend to check the General FAQ section as well.

hardware and driver related topics

1. Does the card work under Windows ME? Are there any limitations?

Please download our special driver for Windows ME (v2.6) from this website. You might also need to download & install the latest set of applications for the card. The driver has the same functions as the Windows 95/98 driver excluding the support for MS-DOS.

2. Does the card work under Windows 2000 or XP? Are there any limitations?

You can download the WDM driver for Windows 2000 on our website. Please note that this driver does not work with our normal mixer applications as on Windows 9x/Me. To control the card you must use the standard Windows mixer utility. To install the driver, the cards needs to be reprogrammed for 2-IRQ usage with the EEPROM utility supplied on the original driver CD-ROM. In any case it is important to notice that the drivers do not support all major functions of the hardware. Hoontech has stopped the driver development for this card (also as the ST128 DDMA was discontinued quite some time before Windows 2000 and Windows XP became famous). We apologize for this situation and will of course continue to support our users on the supported operating systems! This hardware was developed a long time before Windows 2000/XP and audio applications for that operating system have been released. On request we can provide all the needed informations (incl. source code of driver pre-releases for Windows 2000 and the source code of the Windows 9x/Me drivers) and support for third party developers.

3. Does the card work under Linux?

Yes, you can use the OSS-compatible driver by Gerd Rausch which you can download on this website.

4. Do I need amplified speakers or a separate amplifier to use this soundcard?

Yes. Like most modern soundcards, there is no amplifier on the card itself (because of the audio quality). This means that you need active powered speakers to use the card properly. Passive speakers without an amplifier will not give you enough output volume.

5. Can I output AC-3 signals with this card?

No, this is not possible. The ST128 DDMA card always sends out a 44.1kHz S/PDIF signal (when used with the SoundTrack Digital Bracket II / III). AC-3 streams are transfered with 48kHz usually, so this is not possible.

6. Is it possible to install this card in a system with onboard-sound or another soundcard?

Usually yes. You should make sure that both devices do not share their IRQ. It is not possible to install several SoundTrack 128 DDMA cards in one system.

7. Does this card support S/PDIF?

Yes. The optical and coaxial digital output connectors on the optional SoundTrack Digital Bracket II / III provide optical and coaxial S/PDIF connectors.

8. Is it possible to record bit-identical signals on the digital input (I have the optional bracket)?

No. The hardware resamples all incoming signals with a high-quality SRC chip from Analog Devices to 44.1kHz which is the internal processing samplerate of the card. This does not change the signal quality in a way that would be serious for most -even professional- applications. The used SRC chip performs a better conversion (e.g. from 48kHz to 44.1kHz) compared to many software algorithms in audio applications.

9. Are there any known incompatibilities with other hardware?

We do not recommend to use the card with mainboards using the i810 chipset from Intel. Some more modern boards might work with new BIOS revisions, but we still strongly do not recommend it because of the performance. Also, the Gigabyte mainboards GA-6BXC, GA-6BXS and GA-6BXU are only partially compatible with the ST128 DDMA, unlike other Intel 440BX based motherboards.

10. What is the difference between the ST128 DDMA Ruby and the ST128 DDMA Gold?

The ST128 DDMA Gold is using 18bit BurrBrown ADC/DAC chips, while the ST128 DDMA Ruby is using 24bit Crystal converters. Also, the ST128 DDMA Ruby supports 4 to 32 MB of memory supplied by one PS/2 SIMM module, the ST128 DDMA Goly only supports 4MB DRAM (2 MB are installed by default). Everything else is identical.

software and usage related topics

1. Is it possible that my MD is creating new tracks automatically when I am recording several WAV- or MP3-files via the digital output of the digital bracket?

Yes and no. Sadly there is no standard for applications and drivers to control a function like this. In most applications you can use a special method to create new tracks: just add (around) 3 sec. of silcence in the playlist between each track in the playlist. You could use this mp3-file for example. Some applications (e.g. WinAMP) have special functions or plugins to support this. Of course the breaks won't be on your final MD recordings!

2. I want to use a game that supports A3D. Can I use it with the ST128 DDMA card?

Yes, you should be able to use it but there is no support for A3D however. The ST128 DDMA was not designed mainly for game usage, so special 3D-sound APIs are not supported.

3. I want to use a game that supports EAX. Can I use it with the ST128 DDMA card?

Yes, you should be able to use it but there is no support for EAX however. The ST128 DDMA was not designed mainly for game usage, so special 3D-sound APIs are not supported.

4. I installed the card under Windows 98 SE and now the message 'General Protection Fault' appears when I start the system and a Control Panel window is displayed when I click 'Close'.

Please download the update for the Mixer Manager on the download page. The MIXMANA.EXE file must be replaced (make sure to stop Mixer Manager before you overwrite the file).

5. When I start Windows, I get the message 'File Not Found - DREAM9407.DLL' - where is this file?

This message does not mean that a file with this name is missing. It refers to the driver that has not been installed or loaded correctly (DREAM9407 is the internal name of the driver). Either install the driver (if not done so) or check for possible error messages that are displayed on startup in text mode.

6. I get the error message 'no card?' when I boot my system in text mode. What can I do to load the driver?

Make sure the option 'PNP OS INSTALLED' in your BIOS is set to 'NO'. This message can also appear if you have an IRQ sharing problem (please install the card into a different PCI slot then) or when the memory module on the PCI-card is not installed correctly. Keep in mind that the ST128 DDMA Ruby does not work without a memory module installed. We also recommend to update to a newer driver revision.

7. I get the error message 'C120' or 'C124' when I boot by system in text mode. What can I do to load the driver?

Make sure the option 'PNP OS INSTALLED' in your BIOS is set to 'NO'. This message can also appear if you have an IRQ sharing problem (please install the card into a different PCI slot then) or when the memory module on the PCI-card is not installed correctly. Keep in mind that the ST128 DDMA Ruby does not work without a memory module installed. In some cases, this can also appear when the PCI-card is not installed correctly in the PCI-slot (mechanically).

8. I get the error message 'C120' or 'C124' when I boot by system in text mode. What can I do to load the driver? I have a Gigabyte GA-6BXC, GA-6BXS or GA-6BXU mainboard.

Please edit the file AUTOEXEC.BAT and add the comment 'DREAM=400' (without the ' signs) behind 'K128.EXE' if you are using Windows 95/98. Our Windows ME driver does not work when used with one of these mainboards. There is a problem with power supply on the PCI slot on these mainboards that has influence on the installation procedure. As a result, we cannot recommend to use the ST128 DDMA card with the mentioned mainboards. Other Gigabyte boards of the same series (GA-686BX or GA-2000) do not show this problem and work fine as well as mainboards from other vendors with the Intel 440BX chipset.

9. I installed a new driver and the two colored lines on startup are not displayed any longer. Still the card seems to work!?

Our Windows ME and Windows 2000 drivers do not show the init messages on screen, don't worry - this is no problem.

10. I get the error message 'UNKNOWN CHIPSET' when I boot by system in text mode. What's that?

No problem at all, this is no error message. This message just indicates that the K128 utility of the card did not detect the exact model & type chipset of your mainboard (e.g. if you use a system with a VIA chipset).

11. I cannot use SB compatible games in MS-DOS mode. Is this related to my hardware configuration?

That's very likely. The ST128 DDMA only provides full SB compatibility on mainboards with DDMA functionality. This is only supported by the Intel 430TX and 440BX chipsets. If your mainboard uses a different chipset, SB compatible games cannot be used in MS-DOS mode.