Need Help With ZSNES On An Older Machine

SPX · Post by **SPX** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 3:54 am

I'm running a P166, 64MB RAM, 2MB video RAM. I know that falls just short of the stated requirements, but I've heard of people running it on less so I figured I'll give it a shot. So far I've attempted to run Mega Man X and Star Fox. And they'll both run . . . and they'll run ALMOST good enough. But there's ultimately just a little too much slowdown for me to be comfortable with.

I've attempted all the suggestions in the FAQ. I've run both the DOS and Windows versions but it runs about the same both ways. Disabling sound seems to give it just enough extra juice to speed things up, but c'mon, you can't play games without sound. So any help here would be appreciated. . .

franpa · Post by **franpa** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:23 am

what version? newer versions of ZSNES need higher requirements due to more accurate emulation amongst other things.

SPX · Post by **SPX** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:30 am

franpa wrote:what version? newer versions of ZSNES need higher requirements due to more accurate emulation amongst other things.

I downloaded the current version. Should I download an older version? Is there one you suggest?

franpa · Post by **franpa** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:36 am

Try v1.36. If your using Windows ME, 98 or 95 then use the DOS version of the emulator and make sure you use a 16bit resolution setting (for transparencies.)

SPX · Post by **SPX** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:56 am

franpa wrote:Try v1.36. If your using Windows ME, 98 or 95 then use the DOS version of the emulator and make sure you use a 16bit resolution setting (for transparencies.)

Thanks for the suggestion. I seem to be having an issue with the DOS version, however. It doesn't seem to be detecting my soundcard even though I KNOW it's SB-compatible.

adventure_of_link · Post by **adventure_of_link** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:57 am

did you set the SET BLASTER= variable in the autoexec.bat file?

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:03 am

SPX wrote:
franpa wrote:Try v1.36. If your using Windows ME, 98 or 95 then use the DOS version of the emulator and make sure you use a 16bit resolution setting (for transparencies.)
Thanks for the suggestion. I seem to be having an issue with the DOS version, however. It doesn't seem to be detecting my soundcard even though I KNOW it's SB-compatible.

SoundBlaster-compatible means so many things to so many people.

If it's not an ISA card, expect more trouble than it's worth.

SPX · Post by **SPX** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:28 am

adventure_of_link wrote:did you set the SET BLASTER= variable in the autoexec.bat file?

I'm afraid not. I do know a little about DOS basics, but I was really getting into computing just as DOS was on the way out. (Think late 3.11 era.) So I really have no idea what you're talking about.

SPX · Post by **SPX** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:33 am

Gil_Hamilton wrote:SoundBlaster-compatible means so many things to so many people.

If it's not an ISA card, expect more trouble than it's worth.

We're talking about an onboard Yamaha OPL3 SA3 in a '98 Toshiba Libretto 100CT. As far as it being "SB Compatible," I say it is only because Toshiba's documentation says so:

http://didgood.com/technical/libretto_100ct.pdf

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:22 am

Lot of devices that CLAIM SoundBlaster compatibility aren't very, not from a gaming standpoint anyways.

In your case, though... it's probably the lack of a BLASTER variable.

SPX · Post by **SPX** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:59 am

Gil_Hamilton wrote: In your case, though... it's probably the lack of a BLASTER variable.

I did a bit of research on editing autoexec.bat but one thing I can't figure out is what the variable is supposed to be set to. How would one find this information?

On a side note, a lot of people have been successful at overclocking the Librettos from 166MHz to as high as 266MHz. I may try it later this week, though the idea makes me nervous because you have to do some soldering on the motherboard and I can easily destroy my rare and new (at least to me) little laptop. I would really be curious to see what effect it has on ZSNES, though.

Deathlike2 · Post by **Deathlike2** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:07 am

SPX wrote:
Gil_Hamilton wrote: In your case, though... it's probably the lack of a BLASTER variable.
I did a bit of research on editing autoexec.bat but one thing I can't figure out is what the variable is supposed to be set to. How would one find this information?

Google it.

In Windows, check the resources used for the sound card.. it would look like "Address 220, IRQ 5, DMA 1" for the resources (System Properties->Device Manager)...

Try:
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1

That should get you by. If a DOS app needs to be loaded for the laptop's sound to work, then make sure that's loaded.

On a side note, a lot of people have been successful at overclocking the Librettos from 166MHz to as high as 266MHz. I may try it later this week, though the idea makes me nervous because you have to do some soldering on the motherboard and I can easily destroy my rare and new (at least to me) little laptop. I would really be curious to see what effect it has on ZSNES, though.

Doubt you want to overclock a laptop.. you probably can increase it a tad, but not by much.

SPX · Post by **SPX** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:27 am

Deathlike2 wrote: Google it.

In Windows, check the resources used for the sound card.. it would look like "Address 220, IRQ 5, DMA 1" for the resources (System Properties->Device Manager)...

Try:
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1

That should get you by. If a DOS app needs to be loaded for the laptop's sound to work, then make sure that's loaded.

I'll take a look and play around with it about. Hopefully I can get it working because I'd really like to see if there's any noticeable change between running the Win and DOS versions.

Deathlike2 wrote: Doubt you want to overclock a laptop.. you probably can increase it a tad, but not by much.

The early Librettos are known to be overclockable and generally stable when overclocked. Below is one of a handful of articles that talks about pushing the P166 chip to 200, 233, and 266 MHz. As mentioned in the article, he's been running his at 266 without any performance issues or excessive heat. I think I'm going to need to give it a shot because, just as we see here with ZSNES, the Libby is ALMOST powerful enough to do a lot of things but just needs a little extra push.

http://www.fixup.net/tips/l100266.htm

franpa · Post by **franpa** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:39 am

there's an astronomical difference in performance between the Windows and the DOS versions, granted you only notice it on slow computers.

creaothceann · Post by **creaothceann** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:41 am

franpa wrote:use a 16bit resolution setting (for transparencies.)

16-bit color depth.

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:32 am

creaothceann wrote:
franpa wrote:use a 16bit resolution setting (for transparencies.)
16-bit color depth.

Or even video mode, since I don't bit depth not being an independent control.

SPX · Post by **SPX** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:44 pm

Okay, well I added the SET BLASTER entry to AUTOEXEC but just get a message from ZSNES that says, "SET BLASTER environment NOT found!" I tried a few different settings, from those recommended above, to slight modifications based on what I found in Device Manager, but no go.

On another note, I intend to pick up a USB gamepad later this week. I'm assuming (and maybe that's a mistake on my part) that it should work fine under the Win version of ZSNES, but what about the DOS version?

paulguy · Post by **paulguy** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:55 pm

It wont work in DOS, unless it provides some kind of driver. It would work if you run the DOS version in Windows (Partially, I've found.) but that kinda defeats a lot of the performance gains from the DOS version.

adventure_of_link · Post by **adventure_of_link** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:46 pm

DOS doesn't support USB, PERIOD. you need an OS which understands USB in order for it to work.

SPX · Post by **SPX** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:52 pm

adventure_of_link wrote:DOS doesn't support USB, PERIOD. you need an OS which understands USB in order for it to work.

Well that's gay. It seems they would've added USB support in DOS 7+. From what I understand FreeDOS has limited USB support.

Deathlike2 · Post by **Deathlike2** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:09 pm

SPX wrote:
adventure_of_link wrote:DOS doesn't support USB, PERIOD. you need an OS which understands USB in order for it to work.
Well that's gay. It seems they would've added USB support in DOS 7+. From what I understand FreeDOS has limited USB support.

It's an unrealistic expectation for DOS. Devs had to write a lot of special code just for doing stuff prior to VESA for video cards... and you needed something to load the mouse and CDROM drive for DOS.

There probably is some limited USB driver available for DOS, but it's an unrealistic expectation for it to work. The old fashioned Gameport is significantly more DOS favorable.

Try Googling - http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=US ... h&aq=f&oq=

As for your SET BLASTER issues, go Google - http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=SE ... h&aq=f&oq=

SPX · Post by **SPX** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:18 pm

Deathlike2:

Thanks for the info. I will link into the links you mentioned. By the way, how does one determine what their FPS rate is when running games in ZSNES? I never have been into PC games . . . always been more of a console guy . . . so I'm a little ignorant on this issue. But I hear a lot of people say "And it was running at X frames per second" and I really have no point of reference to judge what's good or not good.

Deathlike2 · Post by **Deathlike2** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:21 pm

When you are running a game, hit F1.. there will be a menu for what you are looking for.

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:37 pm

As for the BLASTER environment variable error... you DID capitalize SET BLASTER, right?

And there's no space between the R and =. This is, as I recall, VERY important.

It should read

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 ETC

Not "Set Blaster=", not "set blaster=", not "SET BLASTER =", not "set blaster =", not "Set Blaster =", nor any other permutation.

Your numbers may vary. The address is almost guaranteed to be 220(unless the SB emulation is COMPLETE bullshit), but the interrupt and DMA channel aren't near as concrete.

And yeah. USB didn't become a big deal until 98. DOS was pertty well dead at that point.

SPX · Post by **SPX** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:49 pm

Gil:

Yeah, I did a bit of research on the SET BLASTER command and I'm sure my formatting was correct. I looked in device manager and the address and IRQ seemed correct. DMA was listed as both 00 and 03 so I tried D0 and D3 as settings but no luck on either of them. Perhaps it has something to do with lack of a driver being loaded? I don't know. I heard adding drivers in DOS has something do with config.sys wizardry and I know nothing about it. In fact, all this DOS nonsense makes me want to say, "BACK! BACK! Back to the past with you! No place for you in the future!"

The extent of my DOS knowledge goes about as far as moving files, creating directories, and formatting drives. In fact, I've done more in DOS in the past two weeks (creating and using Win95 installation disks to install 95 on the Libretto --I've since upgraded it to 98SE--and this bit of tech action with the DOS version of ZSNES) than I probably have in all the rest of my life combined.

If I can't get my USB controller to work then it's probably a moot point anyway. I may want to press forward though just to overcome the challenge of making it work.