Troubleshooting Media Player MIDI Sound Problems

ID: Q84752

3.10 3.11
WINDOWS
kbmm kbsound kbtshoot kb3rdparty

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows versions 3.1, 3.11

SUMMARY

When Media Player does not play MIDI files, one or more of the following conditions may be causing the problem:

The sound card is not installed properly.

A MIDI driver is not installed.

The MIDI Mapper is set incorrectly.

NOTE: Before attempting complicated troubleshooting, restart Windows and see whether your system functions correctly.

MORE INFORMATION

Making Sure the Sound Card Is Properly Installed

Determine whether the sound card can generate sounds from MS-DOS. Most sound cards come with MS-DOS programs for playing sounds and testing card configurations. If these do not work, the Windows sound support cannot work either.

Make sure the sound card does not conflict with other hardware.

Verify Port and IRQ settings.

NOTE: If the sound card also supports digitized sound and wave (.WAV) files and .WAV files can be played, the card is properly installed.

Making Sure the MIDI Driver Is Installed

The Device.Midi Sequencer command should be available in Media Player. If not, the MIDI driver should be reinstalled. It may be necessary to remove the current installed MIDI driver and then reinstall it. To do this:
1. In Control Panel, choose the Drivers icon.
2. Select the current installed [MCI] Midi Sequencer driver, choose Remove, and then restart Windows.
3. In Control Panel, choose the Drivers icon.
4. Choose Add, then choose the Midi Sequencer. If you have the Windows disks, choose New; otherwise, choose Current.
5. Restart Windows before you use Media Player.

Check to see whether the MIDI driver is installed under Drivers in Control Panel. If the sound card is Ad Lib compatible, try using the Ad Lib driver that ships with Windows 3.1. To install the Ad Lib driver:
1. In Control Panel, choose the Drivers icon.
2. Choose the Add button.
3. Select the Ad Lib driver from the list, or select the Unlisted or Updated driver if the driver is on an OEM disk.
4. Choose Restart Windows to activate the driver.

Note that the PC Speaker driver does not support playing MIDI files.

Setting MIDI Mapper Correctly

After loading CANYON.MID with Media Player and pressing the Play button, the following message may appear:

The current MIDI Mapper setup refers to a MIDI device that is not installed on the system. Use MIDI Mapper to edit the setup.

If this message appears, run Control Panel and check the default setup in the MIDI Mapper. It should be set to the correct device that is installed.

If the Ad Lib driver is installed, the MIDI Mapper should be set to the Ad Lib setup. If a different MIDI device is installed, choose an appropriate setup for the device.

To set the MIDI Mapper to use the Ad Lib setup:

In Control Panel, choose the MIDI Mapper icon.

Press ALT+S to show setups.

Press ALT+A to move to the name field for setups.

Use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys to set the name field to Ad Lib, and the description below the name field to "Base-level setup."

Close the MIDI Mapper to accept this setup.

SYSTEM.INI Settings for Systems Using the Sound Blaster 1.5 Driver

[boot]


sound.drv=mmsound.drv
drivers=mmsystem.dll

[386Enh]


device=vsbd.386
device=vadlibd.386

[mci]


WaveAudio=mciwave.drv
Sequencer=mciseq.drv
CDAudio=mcicda.drv

[drivers]


timer=timer.drv
midimapper=midimap.drv
Wave=sndblst2.drv
midi=sndblst2.drv
midi1=msadlib.drv

[sndblst.drv]


port=240
int=7