SB16_IDE.SYS   OS/2 driver version 1.04
=======================================
This document is viewed best with a nonproportional font (e.g. Courier)


1. Introduction
---------------

   In 1995 Creative Technology Ltd. redesigned their sound cards in order
   to replace all jumper settings by Intel/Microsoft's "plug and play" 
   software mechanism. If your computer's ROM contains a PnP BIOS there 
   should be no problem to use SoundBlaster PnP cards with OS/2. If your 
   computer has no PnP BIOS you need special software drivers to activate
   your sound card after power on. While you can download official OS/2
   drivers for the sound portion of SoundBlaster PnP cards, there exists
   currently no support for the built-in IDE (CDRom) controller.  

   SB16_IDE.SYS is not an official OS/2 driver but can be considered
   as a "temporary fix" to enable the IDE CDRom controller on Creative's
   SoundBlaster PnP cards. It does not implement full PnP functions nor
   does it check for hardware conflicts. It only verifies the presence of
   the appropriate hardware and initializes the card's PnP registers to
   predefined address settings. After loading this driver the SoundBlaster
   card's IDE controller part can be recognized by IBM's standard
   IBM1S506.ADD driver.


2. Installation (CDRom mode)
----------------------------

 Follow this if you want to connect a CDRom drive to your SoundBlaster PNP:

 - Verify that the following I/O addresses and IRQs are free (RMVIEW.EXE):
         I/O port 20Bh                       (for PnP configuration)
     and I/O port 170h + port 376h + IRQ 15  (for IDE controller, option 2)
      or          1E8h +      3EEh +     11  (       ...        ,  ...   3)
      or          168h +      36Eh +     10  (       ...        ,  ...   4)
 - Copy SB16_IDE.SYS to \OS2 or \OS2\BOOT of the OS/2 boot partition.
 - Add one line to CONFIG.SYS:
          BASEDEV=SB16_IDE.SYS 2          (exactly one space before number)
       or BASEDEV=SB16_IDE.SYS 3
       or BASEDEV=SB16_IDE.SYS 4
 - Verify or update the following CONFIG.SYS entries: 
          BASEDEV=IBM1S506.ADD /V                      (option 2 only)
       or BASEDEV=IBM1S506.ADD /V /A:1/PORT:1E8/IRQ:11 (option 3 only)
       or BASEDEV=IBM1S506.ADD /V /A:1/PORT:168/IRQ:10 (option 4 only)
      and BASEDEV=IBMIDECD.FLT 
      and DEVICE=<path>\OS2CDROM.DMD /Q
   Exact syntax of options may be different depending on driver versions
   and your hardware configuration. 
 - Verify that the CDRom drive's jumper is set to "Master" if it is the 
   only drive on the cable.
 - Reboot
 - If you want to install OS/2 from a CDRom connected to the SoundBlaster
   card, you must include above CONFIG.SYS changes to the second boot
   floppy disk. Include additionally the line "SET COPYFROMFLOPPY=1" to
   CONFIG.SYS and copy SB16_IDE.SYS to the root directory of this floppy
   disk (not yet tested).


3. Installation (deactivation mode)
-----------------------------------

   Some people reported that their computer's PnP BIOS or a PnP 
   manager is assigning hardware resources (IRQs, I/O addresses) to 
   SoundBlaster's IDE port even if nothing is connected to this port. 
   It is now possible to free these resources so that other non PnP 
   hardware can use them without any conflict.

 - Verify that I/O address 20Bh is free (RMVIEW.EXE).
 - Copy SB16_IDE.SYS to \OS2 or \OS2\BOOT of the OS/2 boot partition.
 - Add one line to CONFIG.SYS:
          BASEDEV=SB16_IDE.SYS               (without any parameters)
 - Reboot


4. Troubleshooting
------------------

 - SB16_IDE.SYS has been tested with SoundBlaster16PnP and AWE32PnP,
   but most likely it works with other SoundBlaster PnP family models.
   It will definitely not work with compatible sound cards from other
   manufacturers.
 - Check carefully for I/O or IRQ conflicts, your computer may hang if 
   there exist unresolved conflicts.
 - You can change the predefined address of the PnP configuration port 
   from 20Bh by patching SB16_IDE.SYS at offset 21Ah. This feature 
   didn't work prior to version 1.04. (203h...3FFh step 4 allowed)
 - For users of IBM's new hires timer driver TIMER0.SYS only:
   I recommend to place BASEDEV=SB16_IDE.SYS in CONFIG.SYS before
   the line BASEDEV=TIMER0.SYS.
 - I don't recommend to load SB16_IDE.SYS if a PnP BIOS is present or
   on future releases of OS/2 (>3.0) if they include generic PnP support.
 - During a CTRL-ALT-DEL warm reboot the SoundBlaster PnP IDE port is
   keeping its present state. So don't be surprised if your system works 
   without SB16_IDE after a warm reboot.

 CDRom drive or harddisk not recognized:

 - SB16_IDE.SYS does not care about the type of CDRom drive connected
   to the SoundBlaster card. You can only connect CDRom drives fully 
   compatible to the EIDE/ATAPI specification that are known to be 
   supported by IBM1S506.ADD.
 - For support of some newer CDRom drive models it may be necessary to 
   update the standard drivers IBM1S506.ADD, IBMIDECD.FLT and OS2CDROM.DMD. 
   Try to get the latest fixes. 
 - Without a true PnP BIOS its not possible to boot OS/2 from a secondary
   hard disk connected to the SoundBlaster PnP card, SB16_IDE.SYS can't 
   help. It may be possible to access a hard disk connected to the PnP
   card after OS/2 has booted up.


5. Contact address and updates
------------------------------

 - If you have problems or if you like to receive the source code, 
   send an e-mail to rlalla@stepnet.de or to Compuserve: 100021,313.
 - You can check for an update (if any) called SB16_???.ZIP at
      Internet:      ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/drivers
      Compuserve:    BLASTER forum section "3rd party software"


6. Copyrights
-------------

 - SB16_IDE.SYS is FREEWARE. It has been written without any support or 
   permission from Creative Labs and/or IBM, use it at your own risk.
 - "SoundBlaster","SoundBlaster16PnP", "PnP", "IBM", "OS/2" and 
   "WARP Connect" are trademarks or registered trademarks of their 
   respective owners.


7. Revision history
-------------------

 - 1.0   Apr-30-1996 - first public release
 - 1.01  Jul-01-1996 - improved checks for wrong hardware
                     - more detailed message to screen
 - 1.02  Jul-02-1996 - code added to work properly after warm reboot 
                        from DOS or W95
 - 1.03  Jul-20-1996 - deactivation mode added
 - 1.04  Aug-16-1996 - bugfix, patch of PnP read address now works 


Robert Lalla, Loerrach, Germany      Aug-23-1996
