SYSTEM.INI Settings for Multimedia Windows

 Last reviewed: November 22, 1994
Article ID: Q76816
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows with Multimedia Extensions version 1.0

SUMMARY

This article describes settings in the SYSTEM.INI file that are specific with Windows with Multimedia Extensions. This information is part of the contents of the SYSINI.TXT, SYSINI2.TXT, SYSINI3.TXT, and SYSINI4.TXT files shipped with the product.

This information does not apply to later versions of Windows.

The following sections are added to the SYSTEM.INI file: 

Section             Description
-------             -----------

[drivers]           Lists drivers for Windows with Multimedia
                    Extensions

[mci]               Lists Media Control Interface (MCI) drivers for
                    Windows with Multimedia Extensions

[mmsystem]          Lists options that control the stack
                    used by MMSYSTEM.DLL at interrupt time
[Multimedia.Setup] Lists audio and display drivers selected 
                    during setup of Windows with Multimedia
                    Extensions for use by the Setup program
                    and the Display application in the Control
                    Panel (the listings for this section are
                    in the SYSINI4.TXT file)
The specific options are described separately, by section, below.

[BOOT] SECTION

Drivers=<filename>

Default: MMSYSTEM.DLL

Purpose: In Windows with Multimedia Extensions, this setting specifies drivers that are installed at boot time.

To change: Use Notepad to edit the SYSTEM.INI file.

SCRNSAVE.EXE=<filename>

Default: none

Purpose: This setting specifies the ScreenSaver routine to display on the screen during periods of inactivity.

To change: Run ScreenSaver from Control Panel. This setting changes when you select a different screen saver.

[BOOT.DESCRIPTION] SECTION

display.drv=<string>

Default: n/a

Purpose: Specifies the video driver description entered into the other .INI file.

To change: Run Display from the Control Panel. This setting changes when you select a different video driver.

[DRIVERS] SECTION

The [drivers] section lists installable device drivers for Windows with Multimedia Extensions. These drivers do not include Media Control Interface (MCI) device drivers, which are listed in the [mci] section of the file.

Entries in this section have the following format: 

   device_type=driver_name [parameters]
The device_type is the type of device, and the driver_name is the filename for the device driver installed for that device type. Parameters that are specific to a device driver may follow the driver_name. Alternatively, these parameters may be given in a section with the same name as the device driver: 

   [driver_name]
   keyname=value
   .
   .
   .
The following sections describe the settings that Windows with Multimedia Extensions adds to the [drivers] section. Follow these steps to change any of the settings:

  1. From the Control Panel, select the Drivers icon.

  2. Choose Add to add a new device driver, or select a device type from the Installed Drivers list to modify or remove the current driver.

  3. Choose Setup to select options for the driver.

  4. Choose OK.

joystick=<filename>

Windows with Multimedia provides: IBMJOY.DRV

Purpose: This setting specifies the joystick device driver.

midi=<filename>

Purpose: This setting specifies the MIDI device driver.

timer=<filename>

Windows with Multimedia provides: TIMER.DRV

Purpose: This setting specifies the timer device driver.

wave=<filename>

Purpose: This setting specifies waveform-audio device driver.

[MCI] SECTION

The [mci] section lists MCI device drivers for Windows with Multimedia Extensions. If more than one device of a given type is installed, the keyname has a number as its last character.

Windows with Multimedia adds the following settings to the [mci] section.

CDAudio=<filename>

Windows with Multimedia settings: MCICDA.DRV

Purpose: This setting specifies the filename of the MCI driver used to control audio compact-disc (CD) players.

To change: Select the Drivers icon from the Control Panel. Choose Add to add a new videodisc driver, or select CDAudio from the Installed Drivers list to modify the current driver. Click Setup to select options for the device driver (for example, the device number for the CD player). Then choose OK.

Sequencer=<filename>

Windows with Multimedia settings: MCISEQ.DRV

Purpose: This setting specifies the filename of the MCI driver used to control playback of MIDI sequences.

To change: Select the Drivers icon from the Control Panel. Choose Add to add a new driver, or select Sequencer from the Installed Drivers list to modify the current driver. Click Setup to select options (if any) for the device driver. Then choose OK.

Videodisc=<filename> [<com-port>]

Windows with Multimedia settings: MCIPIONR.DRV COM1

Purpose: This setting specifies the filename of the MCI driver used to control external videodisc players.

To change: Select the Drivers icon from the Control Panel. Choose Add to add a new videodisc driver, or select Videodisc from the Installed Drivers list to modify the current driver. Click Setup to select a COM port for the videodisc player. Then choose OK.

WaveAudio=<filename> [<buffer-size>]

Windows with Multimedia settings: MCISEQ.DRV 4

Purpose: This setting specifies the filename of the MCI driver used to control recording and playback of waveform audio files. It may optionally specify the number of seconds (an integer in the range 2 to 9 seconds) of audio the driver should buffer during playback or recording.

To change: Select the Drivers icon from the Control Panel. Choose Add to add a new driver, or select WaveAudio from the Installed Drivers list to modify the current driver. Click Setup to select options (for example, buffer size). Then choose OK.

[MMSYSTEM] SECTION

The [mmsystem] section includes options used by MMSYSTEM.DLL.

Windows with Multimedia puts the following settings in the [mmsystem] section.

StackFrames=<number>

Defaults: 3

Purpose: This setting specifies the number of stack frames used when new instances of MMSYSTEM.DLL are called.

To change: Use Notepad to edit the SYSTEM.INI file.

StackSize=<number>

Defaults: 1536

Purpose: This setting specifies the number of bytes in each stack frame used when new instances of MMSYSTEM.DLL are called.

To change: Use Notepad to edit the SYSTEM.INI file.

[MULTIMEDIA.SETUP] SECTION

The [Multimedia.Setup] section records information about the currently installed audio and video hardware from your input during setup. Anytime you run Setup after the initial setup, and anytime you select the Display application from the Control Panel, these programs use the information given in this section.

Windows with Multimedia adds the following settings to the [Multimedia.Setup] section:

audio=<filename>,<port>,<interrupt>,<dsp-version>

Windows with Multimedia uses: SNDBLST.DRV,210,3,none

Purpose: This setting specifies the device driver for the audio device you specified when setting up Windows with Multimedia. For the Sound Blaster audio board, the extra parameters specify the port number, interrupt, and Digital Signal Processor (DSP) version. The DSP version is either 105 (version 1.05), 150 (version 1.5), or 200 (version 2.0).

To change: Rerun Setup.

display=<filename>

Windows with Multimedia uses: MMV7VGA.DRV

Purpose: Specifies the device driver for the video card you specified when setting up Windows with Multimedia.

To change: Rerun Setup.

SECTIONS FOR WINDOWS WITH MULTIMEDIA DEVICE DRIVERS

As noted earlier in this file, for any device driver described in the [drivers] section of SYSTEM.INI, parameters may be defined in a section with that device driver name. The following device-specific sections define parameters for the default device drivers provided in Windows with Multimedia Extensions: 

   [ibmjoy.drv]
   [sndblst.drv]
The following sections describe the entries that may appear in these sections. (Additional sections may appear for other audio, video, or peripheral devices installed on the system.)

[ibmjoy.drv] axes=<2-or-3> timeout=<hex-number> 

   Defaults: axes=2
            timeout=0x3000

   Purpose: The axes option specifies whether the joystick is
   two-dimensional (2) or three-dimensional (3). The timeout option is
   a hexadecimal value specifying how many times the joystick driver
   is polled before the system determines that a joystick is not
   installed on the system.

   To change: Use Notepad to edit the SYSTEM.INI file.
[sndblst.drv] port=<hex-humber> interrupt=<number> DisableWarning=<Boolean> 

   Defaults: none

   Purpose: The port option specifies the port number for the
   Sound Blaster audio card. This is the port where the jumper on the
   card is set. The interrupt option specifies which interrupt the
   Sound Blaster uses. The DisableWarning option, if enabled, displays
   a warning message if a DOS application running from the Windows
   DOS prompt tries to access the Sound Blaster port given in the port
   option or the interrupt given in the interrupt option. This option
   is enabled by default.

KBCategory: kbref kbdisplay kbsound kbmm
KBSubcategory: win31
Additional reference words: MMWIN kbmm

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Last reviewed: November 22, 1994
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