The following information may assist with issues regarding installation or usage of Logitech sound cards. This document is written with the assumption there is a general understanding of working with files and directories in DOS, or Windows 3.1x in order to accomplish these diagnostics. Logitech has manufactured several sound cards and therefore references may be made to other Customer Support documents following each section if these general diagnostics prove unsuccessful.

For all Logitech Sound Cards

When no sound is heard through the speakers in any operating environment:

1. Make sure the master volume and speaker output are turned up.
2. Verify that the speakers are plugged into the speaker output on the back of the sound card.
3. If the speakers have their own volume control, make sure that the speaker control level is turned up.
4. If the speakers are self-powered, but batteries or an external power adapter is not being used, then make sure the power switch on the speakers is in the off position.

When playing an audio CD in the CD-ROM and no sound is heard through the speakers:

1. Make sure the volume input from the CD-ROM and speaker output levels are selected and turned up.
2. Attach headphones to the headphone output on the CD-ROM itself and play an audio CD to verify the drive is playing audio properly. If no sound is heard, the digital to analog converter in the CD-ROM is not functioning properly. If sound is heard, and all other sounds played by the sound card are heard through the speakers, the internal audio cable connecting the CD-ROM to the sound card may be loose, damaged, or not the correct cable.

Sounds play a fast, repeating loop:

1. Check for an interrupt request (IRQ) conflict.

For SoundMan Games: To change the IRQ, change the IRQ jumper on the card to another position (5, 7, and 10 are recommended).

For SoundMan 16: To change the IRQ, go to the \SOUNDMAN directory and run SETUP. This card uses two interrupts so if the repeating sound occurs in DOS, change the SoundBlaster IRQ (5 and 7 are recommended). If the problem only occurs in Windows, change the SoundMan IRQ (10 and 15 are recommended).

For SoundMan Wave: To change the IRQ, go to the \SOUNDMAN directory and run SETUP (5 and 7 are recommended).

2. Check for a conflict with the16-bit DMA channel.

For SoundMan 16: To change the DMA channel go to the \SOUNDMAN directory and run SETUP. Change the SoundMan DMA channel (3,5 and 7 are recommended).

For SoundMan Wave: Change the DMA For 16-bit Audio (3,5 and 7 are recommended).

One of the most important steps in troubleshooting any issue with a computer or computer peripheral is called "Booting clean." This is the act of booting with the minimum device drivers or TSRs (Terminate and Stay Resident programs). Conflicts between these programs can cause an assortment of symptoms. Below are general guidelines for booting a system clean.

NOTE: The statements of C:\SOUNDMAN assumes the SoundMan Wave software was installed in the default directory, otherwise the statements must reflect the current location of the SoundMan files.

Booting Clean with DOS 6.0 or later

To test SoundMan in DOS:
1. Restart the computer.
2. When the system displays "Starting MS-DOS...", press the "F8".
3. MS-DOS will prompt you to confirm each command of the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT.
4. Press "Y" for YES is to use a particular line. Press "N" for NO if you do not want a line to be used.

For SoundMan Games, use the following lines:

Files=xx
Buffers=xx
Device=C:\SOUNDMAN\SMG.SYS /P=220 /V=90

NOTE: If you are using any compression utilities such as Stacker or DoubleSpace, make sure you include the necessary driver line(s).

When asked to process the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Press "N" for NO. At the C:\ prompt, go to the \SOUNDMAN directory and test the sound card.

For SoundMan 16, use the following lines:

Files=xx
Buffers=xx
Device=C:\SOUNDMAN\MVSOUND.SYS D:5 Q:15 /S:1,220,1,7 /M:0,330,2 J:1 T:1 V:90

NOTE: If you are using any compression utilities such as Stacker or Do ubleSpace, make sure you include the necessary driver line(s).

When asked to process the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Press "N" for NO. At the C:\ prompt, go to the \SOUNDMAN directory and test the sound card.

For SoundMan Wave, use the following lines:

Files=xx
Buffers=xx
Device=C:\SOUNDMAN\SMWSET.SYS

NOTE: If you are using any compression utilities such as Stacker or DoubleSpace, make sure you include the necessary driver line(s).

When asked to process the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Press "N" for NO. At the C:\ prompt, go to the \SOUNDMAN directory and test the sound card.

To test SoundMan in Windows:

1. Restart the computer.
2. When the system displays "Starting MS-DOS...", press the "F8".
3. MS-DOS will prompt you to confirm each command of the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT.
4. Press "Y" for YES is to use a particular line. Press "N" for NO if you do not want a line to be used.

For SoundMan Games, use the following lines:

Files=xx
Buffers=xx
Device=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
Device=C:\SOUNDMAN\SMG.SYS /P=220 /V=90

NOTE: If you are using any compression utilities such as Stacker or DoubleSpace, make sure you include the necessary driver line(s).

When asked to process the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Press "N" for NO. Test the sound card.

For SoundMan 16, use the following lines:

Files=xx
Buffers=xx
Device=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
Device=C:\SOUNDMAN\MVSOUND.SYS D:5 Q:15 /S:1,220,1,7 /M:0,330,2 J:1 T:1 V:90

NOTE: If you are using any compression utilities such as Stacker or DoubleSpace, make sure you include the necessary driver line(s).

When asked to process the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Press "N" for NO. Test the sound card.

For SoundMan Wave, use the following lines:

Files=xx
Buffers=xx
Device=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
Device=C:\SOUNDMAN\SMWSET.SYS

NOTE: If you are using any compression utilities such as Stacker or DoubleSpace, make sure you include the necessary driver line(s).

When asked to process the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Press "Y" for YES. Press "Y" for only the following line:

SET LSOUND=C:\SOUNDMAN

Test the sound card.


Booting Clean with DOS 5.0 or earlier

With DOS 5.0 or later, make a "boot disk". To do this, put a blank floppy in Drive A: (it must be in Drive A:, not B:). At the C:\ prompt, type:

FORMAT A: /S

This will format the floppy disk and copy the necessary system files onto to the disk.

1. Create a CONFIG.SYS with the following lines:

For SoundMan Games:
FILES=30
BUFFERS=30
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\SOUNDMAN\SMG.SYS /P:220 /V:90

NOTE: If you are using any compression utilities such as Stacker or DoubleSpace, make sure you include the necessary driver line(s).

For SoundMan 16:
FILES=30
BUFFERS=30
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\SOUNDMAN\MVSOUND.SYS D:5 Q:15 /S:1,220,1,7 /M:0,330,2 J:1 T:1 V:90

NOTE: If you are using any compression utilities such as Stacker or DoubleSpace, make sure you include the necessary driver line(s).

For SoundMan Wave:
FILES=30
BUFFERS=30
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\SOUNDMAN\SMWSET.SYS

NOTE: If you are using any compression utilities such as Stacker or DoubleSpace, make sure you include the necessary driver line(s).

When testing SoundMan Wave in Windows, follow the these additional steps, create an AUTOEXEC.BAT with the following line:

SET LSOUND=C:\SOUNDMAN

2. Save the file and exit.

3. Restart the system with the disk in drive A: When prompted for the DATE and TIME, hit [enter].

Testing the sound card with SoundMan in DOS after Booting Clean

For SoundMan Games:
1. Go to the \SOUNDMAN directory.
2. Play a file by typing:

SMGPLAY OK.WAV (or substitute the name of any other .WAV file in that directory for OK)

To test SoundMan Games recording:

SMGREC TEST.WAV (use any name for the file to be recorded as long as it is unique to that directory)

For SoundMan 16:
1. Go to the \SOUNDMAN directory.
2.Play a file by typing:

PLAYFILE OK.WAV (or substitute the name of any other .WAV file in that directory for OK)

To test SoundMan 16 recording, type:

RECFILE TEST.WAV (use any name for the file to be recorded as long as it is unique to that directory)

For SoundMan Wave:
1. Go to the \SOUNDMAN directory.
2. Play a file by typing:

WPLAY OK.WAV (or substitute the name of any other .WAV file in that directory for OK)

To test SoundMan Wave recording, type:

RECORD TEST.WAV (use any name for the file to be recorded as long as it is unique to that directory)

If booting clean resolves the symptom, then there is a conflict with something loading in the CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT files. Edit the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files and remark out (REM) the lines, one at a time, until the cause is isolated.


To test SoundMan in Windows 3.1x after Booting Clean

1. Run Windows in Standard mode. For Windows 3.1, type WIN /S. For Windows 3.11 and Windows for Workgroups, type WIN /D:T.
2. If the symptoms do not occur, then run Windows in the Enhanced mode by typing WIN.
3. If the symptoms occur in the Enhanced mode, then check there may be a virtual driver or memory conflict.

Virtual Driver Conflict: Edit the SYSTEM.INI file and check the [386Enh] section. Identify any lines ending with ".386". Standard lines include the NETWORK=, the DISPLAY=, VTDAPI=, and VFINTD=. Remark out any ".386" lines other than these to isolate a conflict by placing a semi-colon ';' in front of the line. Then restart Windows.

Memory Conflict: Try starting Windows in the Enhanced mode by typing WIN /D:XVS /N.

WIN [/B] [/N] [/D:[C][F][S][V][X]]

/N - Causes Windows not to load network drivers.
/D: - Used in combination with one or more of the following switches for troubleshooting when Windows does not start correctly.
S - Specifies that Windows should not use ROM address space between F000:0000 and 1 MB for a break point. Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: SystemROMBreakPoint=FALSE.
V - Specifies that the ROM routine will handle interrupts from the hard disk controller. Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: VirtualHDIRQ=FALSE.
X - Excludes all of the adapter area from the range of memory that Windows scans to find unused space. Equivalent to SYSTEM.INI file setting: EMMExclude=A000-FFFF.

Check to make sure SoundMan is installed correctly under Windows

SoundMan Games Setup: In the [drivers] section of the SYSTEM.INI file look for the following lines:

WAVE=SMGWAVE.DRV
Mixer=SMGMIXER.DRV
MIDI=OPL3.DRV

In the [MCI] section of the SYSTEM.INI file look for the following line:

Mixer=MCIMIXER.DRV

In the [386enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file look for following line:

device=SMGWAV.386

SoundMan 16 Setup: In the [drivers] section of the SYSTEM.INI file look for the following lines:

Mixer=MVMIXER.DRV
Aux=MVPROAUD.DRV
Wave=MVPROAUD.DRV
MIDI=MVPROAUD.DRV
MIDI1=OPL3.DRV

In the [MCI] section of the SYSTEM.INI file look for the following line:

Mixer=MCIMIXER.DRV

In the [386enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file look for following line:

device=VPASD.386

NOTE: For SoundMan 1.0 users, the MIDI and MIDI1 drivers would be swapped. MIDI=OPL3.DRV and MIDI1=MVPROAUD.DRV.

SoundMan Wave Setup: In the [drivers] section of the SYSTEM.INI file look for the following lines:

WAVE=C:\SOUNDMAN\SMWAVE.DRV
MIXER=C:\SOUNDMAN\SMWMIXER.DRV
MIDI=C:\SOUNDMAN\SMMIDI.DRV

In the [MCI] section of the SYSTEM.INI file look for the following line:

Mixer=MCIMIXER.DRV

In the [386enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file look for following line:

device=SMWAV.386

Check the Hardware settings in Windows and make sure they match the DOS hardware settings which should have passed the test during Installation. To do this, open the Windows Control Panel select "Drivers", double click on the SoundMan selection. The DMA, IRQ and Port Address should appear in the dialog box.

Reinstall the SoundMan

Completely remove all files associated with the SoundMan from the system, reinstall, and verify all settings as you go.


Uninstalling SoundMan

1. In Windows, open "Control Panel" and select "Drivers". Select the SoundMan drivers and select the "Remove" button.
2. Delete the files in the directory C:\SOUNDMAN.
3. Remove the device line for the SoundMan in the CONFIG.SYS file.
4. Remove the line(s) in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file which have refer to the SoundMan.

Duplicate the symptom on another system

1. If the symptoms are duplicated on another system, then there is a failure in the hardware or software. If it is a software conflict, please contact Logitech Customer Service to request a set replacement disks. If it is a hardware issue, please Logitech Customer Service for warranty or return options.
2. If the symptoms do not occur on another system, then it is a system-specific problem. Please refer to the manuals and/or README files for the sound board and those of the other peripherals devices on the system. Also, request Customer Support Document #3120, "Frequently Asked Questions on Logitech SoundMan Wave" and Customer Support Document #3130, "Frequently Asked Questions on Logitech SoundMan 16".
If the symptom occurs only in Windows, install a separate copy of Windows
Install Windows into a separate directory, usually C:\WINTEST, after booting clean. Accept only default settings for video. Select Custom Setup and do NOT update the original AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. Reinstall the SoundMan software. If this is successful, the original copy of Windows may have become corrupted or there is a conflict with another program loaded in Windows.

© 1996 Logitech Inc. Logitech, the Logitech logo, SoundMan Games, SoundMan 16, and SoundMan Wave are trademarks of Logitech. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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