Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Sound without a soundcard (Read 13513 times) previous topic - next topic

Sound without a soundcard

This seems a bit of dumb question but is it possible to get NWC to play without a sound card?

I use NWC mostly at home (with a Creative Labs 16 bit FM card which is just about tolerable if you limit yourself to accoustic piano). However, I have no web access at home but, thanks to a generous employer, I can keep in touch at work. But at my work PC has no sound card so to hear the NWC offerings and examples attached to newsgroup items I have to download onto a floppy and take them home. Generally I can't be bothered (except for Fred's Wonderful Extracts of Magic Flute). It would be really nice to have a quick preview, no matter how lousy the quality is, before I decide what to put on my floppy to take home.

So:

Can I get my work PC's beeper to beep under instruction from NWC?

How is it that I get audio out of my CD ROM drive via the headphone socket without a sound card? Can I feed it with something from NWC?

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #1 –
To my knowledge, there is no way t do this. The some "samplers" programs that know need the MIDI device to be operative to generate (through CPU computes and not special sound device) a .wav or somewhat equivalent (direct output to hp through the speaker.drv (I can send you the one I got if needed, though rather disappointing).

I'm currently in the same situation as you are, and didn't find any solution. But maybe there is hope anyway ???

About your CD output : this is completely independant of the motherboard or OS. The proof of this is that I often (at home, here I ain't even got a CD) boot with the CD device driver, start (under DOS or Windows) to listen to a music CD, then reboot with another conf. without the CD driver --- the CD keeps on playing ! And even through sound card if one is present, device loaded or not.

The output located near the CD drawer (tray?) is directly connected to the CD output --no sound card needed in that case. And no adjustment is possible either through the sound card on that output.

HTH (though I doubt)
Maybe if someone does know about a "virtual" midi driver??

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #2 –
Speaker.exe used to be downloadable from microsoft and other windows 3.x support sites and would play .wav files badly on the pc speaker. Last i heard none of the software synths would support it though.
Why not a midnight upgrade to the work computer? Lot of cheap sound cards these days.

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #3 –
Just reminding : I once used (2 years ago or more) a small DOS program that were able to play S3M files, ported from Amiga.
It was also capable to load MIDI files and play them... _without_ any windows ugly driver. Can't remind the name of it, but it could be the alternative to the 0h00 am solution ;-)

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #4 –
It seems theoretically possible to make a Windows MIDI driver that works like a MIDI dveice, but plays through the PC speaker. However, we have never heard of such a beast, and I doubt there is much demand anymore, since sound card prices have dropped through the floor in the last 18 months.

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #5 –
There is a DOS midi player that plays through the pc speaker. It is designed for the HP200LX but might work (very poorly) on some pcs. Try a search for the software called lxmidi.com

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #6 –
For people using NWC at the office, it is often impossible to modify the hardware of the machine. Hence the need hereover.
I found a japanese(?) version of lxmidi at http://www.vector.co.jp/common/dos/util/machine/hp/lxmid171.lzh, referred by the http://www.vector.co.jp/common/dos/util/machine/hp/00_index.html page. It needs to be run under plain dos (not a Dos session in Win95), and that the export be done in SMT0 format (modify NWC settings in Tools/Options, File Tab, Midi File Type : set to SMF type 0)

Hope this helps

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #7 –
I have a midi driver which allows you to play one channel only (channel 1) for any Midi file. Please contact me if the other solutions above are not tenable. I have a virtually identical situation to the original author of this thread.

Regards
John

PS The driver will not play polyphony, but resorts to the highest pitched simultaneous note.

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #8 –
I have speaker.exe, works in most DOS and WIN31 apps. great for games on lower-end computers. will reply by e-mail and include the program as an attachment. don't recall file size, but its not too large. This is in appreciation of all the help I've received from others of you out there. TNX - john

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #9 –
Daniel -

WinAmp or other CD player simply tells the CD ROM drive where to go and what to do when it gets there. You can route the audio output cable from the CD ROM wherever you want, though this might take a bit of soldering to get it into RCA jacks or whatever.

An easier approach is to get a cable (e.g. from Radio Shack) with a 1/8" (3.5 mm) stereo jack on one end and a pair of RCA's on the other. Plug it into the CD ROM's front-panel earphone jack, and the RCA's into your stereo, and away you go.

HTH
Fred

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #10 –
I have CD ROM drive, and I can bypass the soundcard, but it
will not pickup through WinAmp v2.5 because it has to
go through the soundcard. I was wondering if I can setup
CD ROM drive to respond through WinAmp v2.5, and still can
hear the audio through the CD ROM drive directly.

If you know, please give me information on this audio
problem.

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #11 –
Get the virtual souncard from izigsoft at www.izgsoft.net
(only works for DOS)
as easy as 1 2 3 !!

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #12 –
You can route a "RCA Jack" from the CD Player Headphone Jack directly into your "Home Sound System", Input Line.

Monday July 15 2002

Works grate !!! for me.

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #13 –
You can route a "RCA Jack" from a
CD-Player or CD-ROM Player or Tape Deck Player

"Headphone Jack" directly into your,

"Home Sound System" AUX Input Line.

Monday July 15 2002

Works grate !!! for me.

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #14 –
You Don't need them cheap speakers for computers, you already have what you need for grate sound from your computer
system.

Just route a, "RCA Jack"
from your Computer Sound Card, "Output-Line",

right into your,"Home Sound System" AUX Input Line.
"AUX Input-Line".

Which Works much Better !!!

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #15 –
needs sound driver

Re: Sound without a soundcard

Reply #16 –
"Get the virtual sound card a izgsoft.net"?

there is no such place, nor is there anything on google either. can you present the REAL web address?