Help EEPROM Setup Terratec EWS64

The EEPROM-Setup of the EWS64:
The agony of choice

Contents:

Introduction
How can I change the EEPROM-setup?
What are the best settings?
Table of all available EEPROM-settings
Example for IRQ- and DMA-Sharing in a fully developed system
Hints for systems with too less free IRQs

1. Introduction

The EWS64 has a singularly feature like no other soundcard:
You can exert influence on which and how many resources (interrupts, DMAs and addresses) the EWS64 will use.
This is very useful in particular cases:

The PC has only a few free resources
You would like to configure specific resources for the EWS64
You would like to deactivate unused parts of the EWS64
You have an additional soundcard in your PC
You would like to install two ore more EWS64 in your PC

I use the EWS64 together with a Terratec Base1. In my case these two cards need 5 interrupts, 3 DMAs and a lot of addresses.
Based on a good EEPROM-Setup -> No problems!

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2. How can I change the EEPROM-setup?

Basically we have two possibilities to change the EEPROM-setup:

In DOS with the delivered programs 'EWS64CFG.exe' (for EWS64 L/XL/XXL) or '64SCFG.exe' (for EWS64 S only).
In Win9x (not 2000/XP) with starting 'Setup' in the EWS64-Control-Panel
(This feature is not available for the EWS64 S).

In case of first installation method 1 is recommended:
What we need is a DOS-Boot-Disk. Copy the program 'EWS64CFG.exe' (EWS64 L/XL/XXL) or '64SCFG.exe' (EWS64 S only) to this Bootdisk. Check the Boot Sequence of your mainboard bios, so that you can boot from disk-drive A. Shutdown your PC, disconnect it from the power, built in the EWS64, reconnect the power cable and then boot from the disk-drive A.
After starting the program 'EWS64CFG.exe' (or '64SCFG.exe' for the EWS64 S) you can configure the EEPROM. After finishing the configuration you must reboot the system. Remove the disk from disk-drive A before rebooting. After Win9x has finished bootup a standard installation of the EWS soundcard drivers follows.
Note:
Do not start EWS64CFG.exe or 64SCFG.exe in a DOS-Box of Windows! These programs run under native DOS only.

Method 2 is recommended for changing the EEPROM-setup if necessary (ONLY: EWS64 L/XL/XXL):
Press 'Setup' in the EWS-Control-panel and change the settings. After finishing Windows will reboot automatically.
Note: This feature is not available for the EWS64 S !
But this methode has a disadvantage:
After reboot Windows will find the EWS64 always as a new hardware and will install the associated drivers again. You will loose all your EWS64-settings like Wave Play Buffer Latency, Virtual Channels, MIDI settings,... and you have to reconfigure these settings!
Because of this effects method 1 is the better choice for later changes:
In case of later changes you can have good luck. Especially if you did just a few changes Windows will take over it after a reboot without any reinstallation of drivers. In this case previous EWS64 settings will remain.

Conclusion:
In most cases you should prefer method 1 to make any chages to the EEPROM settings !

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3. What are the best settings?

A global right answer to this question doesn´t exist. It depends on the actual situation. I can just give you a view hints:

Basic recommendations

Hint 1:
Always try using fixed values and avoid PnP-settings. Exception is 'Dig Control I/O': In some cases PnP is the better choice.
Hint 2:
Look at your mainboard bios and make sure that 'PnP OS installed' is configured to 'No'.
The IRQ's for the EWS64 must not be reserved for 'None PnP ISA adapters' in your BIOS.
Sometimes the IRQ for MIDI-2 is an exception. On a few mainboards the MIDI-2 is working only if you reserve it's IRQ for 'None PnP ISA adapters'.
You will find out the correct settings for your mainboard during tests.
Hint 3:
Important Information: Several PCI-Adapter (and onboard-Controller e.g. USB) are able to use different interrupts automatically (or use Interrupt-Sharing), if their interrupt is used by the EWS64!
Therefore you can use interrupt 11 for MIDI 1 even if this IRQ is already used by e.g. USB, NIC or display-adapter.
The settings saved in the EEPROM of the EWS64 have priority 1 for your mainboard. Therefore the mainboard has to assign new resources to other devices.
Hint 4:
Make the EEPROM settings from a boot floppy in case of a fresh new installation.
(look at How can I change the EEPROM-setup?).
Hint 5:
In the following table you will find hints for settings, which I can recommend after my tests.
These hints are valid only if you have the EWS64 as your single soundcard.
On my own PC with a second soundcard I had to choose different settings
(look at Example for IRQ- and DMA-Sharing in a fully developed system).
Hint 6:
A recommendation from Terratec is: Do not use interrupt 9 for the EWS64. With interrupt 9 problems can occur!
Based on my tests I cannot confirm this recommendation. The EWS64 still works demonstrably on several motherboards with IRQ 9. In the IRQ priority list of several chipsets this interrupt gets a prevered treat. Based on this fact IRQ 9 is the best choice on particular mainboards especially for the EWS64 Synthesizer!
On the other hand there are chipsets (e.g. BX-chipset) which can make problems if the EWS64 is using IRQ 9.
If you have problems on your mainboard with your ESW64 and IRQ 9, you should reconfigure your EWS64-EEPROM without using IRQ 9.
Additional hints about the EEPROM-Setup

If you have just a few free interrupts:
You are able to use MIDI-2 of the EWS64 without any interrupt. In this case the MIDI-In-2 will not work (MIDI-Out-2 still works and attached wavetable modules still work too)
In most cases you have several ways to free up an interrupt for your EWS64!
You will find a guidance at Help for PCs with too less free IRQs.
Note: EWS64 S users should always deactivate the IRQ for MIDI 2 !

The EWS64 with an additional soundcard:
If your additional soundcard has a gameport you should deactivate the EWS64 gameport!
Also you have to look at your 'FM I/O settings': If your additional soundcard has an FM-synth too you must (!) activate 'PnP' for this setting of the EWS64.
If your second soundcard needs DMA's (meets for the most ISA-soundcards) you have to check the settings for 'WSS Play DMA' und 'WSS Record DMA', so that the cardsettings do not overlap.
For this settings you can try 'PnP', but the best choice for both settings of the EWS64 is 'DMA 3'. In this case the full duplex mode of the codec will not work, but you still can make fullduplex-records with the EWS64-Wave-Record. The quality of wave records are better anyway.
The EWS64 on mainboards with BX-Chipset:
Some mainboards with BX-Chipset cannot use Interrupt 9 with ISA-cards! In this case you should avoid the usage of IRQ 9 for the EWS64.
On my own mainboard with BX-Chipset the IRQ 9 worked for 'MIDI-2'. For this purpose I had to configure in the mainboard-BIOS: 'None PnP ISA-card' for IRQ 9.

You will find additional hints in the column 'Comment' of the following table.

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4. Table of all available EEPROM-settings

The following table includes all possible settings of the EWS64 EEPROM (EWS64 L/XL/XXL and EWS64 S).
In addition you will find explanations and hints to every setting.

Note 1:
IRQ 12 (only: EWS64 L/XL/XXL) is available only if you use a serial mouse or an USB mouse or your PS/2 mouse is adapted to the serial port.
IRQ 12 is not available for the EWS64 S.

Note 2:
On some mainboards you should avoid IRQ 9
(Look at Headline 3).

Note 3:
IRQ 10 is only available for the EWS64 S - you cannot use this IRQ with an EWS64 L/XL/XXL !

Note 4:
Setting '---' of the EWS64 S is the same setting as 'None' of the EWS64 L/XL/XXL (always: disabled).

IMPORTANT:
These hints to EWS64 EEPROM settings are from 05 Feb. 2003!
Any earlier hints are not guilty any more.

Settings	Explanation	Possible values EWS64 L/XL/XXL	Possible values EWS64 S	Recommended settings
WSS I/O	I/O-address, for the Codec access from the Windows Sound System (WSS)	None, PnP, 534, 544, 554, 564, 574, 584, 594, 5A4, 5B4, 5C4, 5D4, 5E4, 5F4, 604	---, PnP, 500, 510, 520, 530, 540, 550, 560, 570, 580, 590, 5A0, 5B0, 5C0, 5D0, 5E0, 5F0, 600	EWS64 L/XL/XXL: 534 EWS64 S: 500
WSS IRQ	Interrupt for the Codec access from the Windows Sound System (WSS) and for playing in SB-compatibility-mode (SB-Mode)	PnP, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15	PnP, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15	EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 5
WSS Play DMA	DMA for Windows Sound System (WSS) and SB-Mode to playback sounds via the Codec	None, PnP, 0, 1, 3	PnP, 0, 1, 3	EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 1
WSS Record DMA	DMA for Windows Sound System (WSS) and SB-Mode to record sounds via the Codec	None, PnP, 0, 1, 3	---, PnP, 0, 1, 3	EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 0
FM I/O	I/O-address, for access the Soundblaster-compatible FM-Synthesizer	388, PnP	388, PnP	EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: normally 388, PnP in case of a second soundcard with FM-Synth
SB Pro I/O	I/O-address, for access the Codec in SB-Mode	PnP, 220, 240, 260, 280	PnP, 220, 240, 260, 280	EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 220
Game I/O	I/O-address of the Gameport	None, 201	---, 200	EWS64 L/XL/XXL: 201 EWS64 S: 200 If you have activated an onboard gameport you should select 'None' for EWS64 L/XL/XXL or '---' for EWS64 S
MIDI-1 I/O	I/O-address of the EWS64-Synthesizer (MIDI-Play) and MIDI-Out-1	PnP, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360	PnP, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360	EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 330
MIDI-1 IRQ	Interrupt for the EWS64-Synthesizer (MIDI-Play), MIDI-In-1 and MIDI-Out-1	None, PnP, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15	None, PnP, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15	EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 11
MIDI-2 I/O	I/O-address, for access any connected MIDI-Synthesizer via MIDI-Out-2 or Wavetable-interface	None, PnP, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360	None, PnP, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360	EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: 320 oder 340
MIDI-2 IRQ	Interrupt for MIDI-In-2 and MIDI-Out-2	None, PnP, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15	---, PnP, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15	EWS64 L/XL/XXL: 9 (if possibel) - 7, 12 ore 'None' instead EWS64 S: always '---' !
Dig. Control I/O	Additional I/O-address for the EWS64-Synthesizer	PnP, 328	PnP, 328	EWS64 S/L/XL/XXL: normally 328; perhaps PnP

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5. Example for IRQ- and DMA-Sharing in a fully developed system

Based on my own PC I can explain the integration of the EWS64 in a full featured and full expanded System.
Following devices are working at the same time:

AGP-Display Adapter
Adaptec AHA3940 PCI-SCSI-Controller
(all Harddisks, CD-ROM and CD-RW are attached via SCSI)
PCI-Network Interface Card
USB-Printer
Mouse
External ISDN-device
Steinberg PCMIDI3 Parallelport MIDI-Interface
Terratec Base 1 (ISA-card)
Terratec EWS64 XL (ISA-card)
Yamaha DB50XG Wavetable-Daughter-Board
Ensoniq Wavetable-Daughter-Board

Table of IRQ/DMA-Setup:

IRQ/DMA	Device	Comment
IRQ 3	COM2	Interface for external ISDN-device
IRQ 4	COM1	Interface for serial mouse (or a PS/2-mouse via adapter)
IRQ 5	Base 1 WSS	'Audiopart' of the Base 1
IRQ 7	LPT1	Interface for Steinberg PCMIDI3
IRQ 9	NIC and USB-Controller	These both devices are sharing one interrupt The printer is connected via USB
IRQ 10	Base 1 MIDI	'MIDI-part' of the Base1 with the Ensoniq-Daughter-Board
IRQ 11	EWS64 MIDI 1	'MIDI 1-Part' of the EWS64 (plus MIDI Play)
IRQ 12	EWS64 Codec	'WSS-Part' of the EWS64
IRQ 14	Display adapter and SCSI-controller	These both devices are sharing one interrupt
IRQ 15	EWS64 MIDI 2	'MIDI 2-Part' of the EWS64 with the DB50XG-Daughter-Board
DMA 0	Base 1 Record	For recordings with the Base 1 (Fullduplex with Base 1 is possible)
DMA 1	Base 1 Playback	For audio-playback with the Base 1 (Fullduplex with Base 1 is possible)
DMA 3	EWS64 'WSS Record' and 'WSS Playback'	For records and audio-playback with Codec of the EWS64 Both values in EEPROM-Setup set to DMA 3 (Fullduplex with Codec of the EWS64 impossible)

Note: The gameport of the EWS64 is disabled and FM-I/O is set to 'PnP'
(The Base 1 is also equipped with a gameport and a FM-synth)

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6. Hints for systems with too less free IRQs

If you have conflicts after an installation of your EWS64 hardware because of too less free resources, then you need some good advices.
At this point a few suggestions:

I. Free the IRQ 12 for your EWS64
Most mainboards use this interrupt for the PS/2-mouse (Mini DIN Connector).
Some PS/2-mouses support an adapter for serial connection. You can free your IRQ 12 if you realize this possibility, because the serial ports are using IRQ 3 or IRQ 4.
II. Free the IRQ 7 for your EWS64
If you have no device connected to your parallel port (no printer/scanner or USB attached) you can disable LPT 1 in your mainboard BIOS to free IRQ 7.
because the serial ports are using IRQ 3 or IRQ 4.
III. Disable unused COM-ports
Most mainboards have two serial ports (COM ports) which use IRQ3 and IRQ 4.
If you do not use your COM ports you should disable them in your BIOS settings. IRQ 3 and/or IRQ 4 will be available for other devices in this case.
Note:
In case of some legacy mainboards it can be unfortunatelly impossible to use IRQ3 and IRQ4 for other devices than the COM-ports.
IV. Disable unused USB-ports
You can free an interrupt if you disable unused USB-ports in your BIOS-settings.
V. Force 'Interrupt-Sharing'
First of all an attention:
This method is not recommended for PC-beginners, because you need a lot of experience!
Modern AGP- und PCI-interface cards (e.g. USB, Display adapter, NICs, SCSI-adapter...) are able to share IRQs:
They will use one IRQ together (so called 'Interrupt-Sharing'). Interrupt-Sharing is forceable in case of a correct choice of the PCI sockets for each card.
On every mainboard there are particular PCI sockets and onboard devices that use the same IRQ-lines. Devices connected to these sockets will always use the same IRQ.
What can you try:
Depending on your PCI equipment you can try to replace some cards in different slots. So you can force Interrupt sharing and in case of good luck free an Interrupt for the EWS64.
The major problem is to find out the right PCI slot. Unfortunately just a few manuals have further information about the IRQ-lines. In most cases you will have to find out the right PCI-slot during tests.
Worst case of this method:
Every PCI-card should support Interrupt-Sharing. In practice unfortunately some PCI-cards don't.
Additional note:
The EWS64 doesn't support Interrupt-Sharing: The EWS64 always uses their IRQ's exclusively!
The reason is: ISA-cards do not support Interrupt-Sharing - and the EWS64 is an ISA-card.