Windows XP, Realtek audio, no MIDI device driver \ VOGONS

Windows XP, Realtek audio, no MIDI device driver

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First post, by Rekrul

Posted on 2020-10-25, 10:49

Rekrul Offline

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Windows XP Pro, SP3 system with onboard Realtek audio. For some reason, I no longer have a MIDI device driver present on my system. I can't play MIDI files in MPC-HC, the MIDI music doesn't work in DOS games in DOSBox and small Windows games that try to open a MIDI device also fail. I'm 99% positive that the MIDI music used to work in DOSBox.

If I go to Sounds and Audio Devices in the Control Panel, click on the Audio tab and use the drop-down box for MIDI Music Playback, Default Device, the only option available is Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth. If I select that and click Apply, it just clears the box. The music test in DXDiag works fine though. I play play music with either Microsoft Synthesizer or Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth (Emulated), although it does say that Direct port acceleration isn't available.

I've tried re-installing the Realtek audio drivers, but that didn't change anything.

I've tried Googling for an answer, but almost everything I find seems to be related to problems making actual MIDI devices play, not emulating it through a sound card. And the ones that don't concern an actual device just tell you to re-install the drivers.

Does anyone know how I can fix this? Is there a software MIDI device driver I can download for XP?

Reply 1 of 5, by jmarsh

Posted on 2020-10-25, 12:57

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Open Device Manager, find the "Realtek High Definition Audio" device and double-click it. Go to the Properties tab, expand the Midi Devices and Instruments category, double click the Realtek High Definition Audio entry. Does it say it's enabled and the "Use MIDI features on this device" option is active?

Reply 2 of 5, by Rekrul

Posted on 2020-10-25, 17:37

Rekrul Offline

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jmarsh wrote on 2020-10-25, 12:57:

Open Device Manager, find the "Realtek High Definition Audio" device and double-click it. Go to the Properties tab, expand the Midi Devices and Instruments category, double click the Realtek High Definition Audio entry. Does it say it's enabled and the "Use MIDI features on this device" option is active?

Yes.

I also tried disabling it, then re-enabling it, but that didn't change anything.

Reply 3 of 5, by Jo22

Posted on 2020-11-04, 09:53

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Hi, you can also try to get hold of a copy of a software synthesizer driver (soft synth).
Both Yamaha S-YXG50 and Roland Virtual Sound Canvas are much better than that Microsoft synth, for example.
More information: Last version of Yamaha S-YXG50

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Reply 4 of 5, by yawetaG

Posted on 2020-11-04, 14:13

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The problem is XP SP3. It severely curtails various sound card drivers and basically removes access to the MIDI part of the sound card (as I discovered the hard way with an Ensoniq AudioPCI).

Reply 5 of 5, by Rekrul

Posted on 2020-11-04, 18:38

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Jo22 wrote on 2020-11-04, 09:53:

Hi, you can also try to get hold of a copy of a software synthesizer driver (soft synth).
Both Yamaha S-YXG50 and Roland Virtual Sound Canvas are much better than that Microsoft synth, for example.
More information: Last version of Yamaha S-YXG50

Would installing one of those work even if the Windows MIDI support is broken? I mean, it lists the Microsoft synth, it just won't let me use it.

yawetaG wrote on 2020-11-04, 14:13:

The problem is XP SP3. It severely curtails various sound card drivers and basically removes access to the MIDI part of the sound card (as I discovered the hard way with an Ensoniq AudioPCI).

This system has always had SP3 on, since the day I bought it and midi USED to work. This is the only system I've ever used DOSBox to play Blood on (my old Win98 system was too slow), and I used to be able to switch between CD audio or MIDI (I made a startup menu that lets you choose). Now I can only get CD audio. If I choose MIDI, I don't get anything besides sound effects.

I don't remember the last time I ran it with MIDI, but it had to be within the last year or two, so something has to have changed in the relatively recent past.

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