Installing M-ACPA under Windows 95

ACPA_Win95.zip M-ACPA Windows 95 Driver Disk (zipped image pre-created by Ryan Alswede)

Introduction
Creating M-ACPA Windows 95 Driver Diskette
Installing M-ACPA Adapter to Your Machine
Installing M-ACPA Windows 95 Drivers

Content by Peter H. Wendt (original HERE). Edited by Tomáš Slavotínek. Last update: 08 Mar 2025


Introduction

You've got an IBM M-Audio Capture & Playback Adapter/A (M-ACPA) and want to install it under Windows 95. But there are no drivers available for it. What now?

Follow the instructions below and it will work fine.


Creating M-ACPA Windows 95 Driver Diskette

Note: You can skip this section and download a pre-created M-ACPA Windows 95 Driver Disk.

If you want to create the M-ACPA Windows 95 driver disk from a scratch, follow the steps below:

  1. Create a temporary directory on the hard drive (the actual name does not matter)

  2. Download the following diskette images into the temporary directory:

    M-Audio Support Files for Windows 3.1
    IBM M-ACPA Win. driver Corrective Service

  3. Download Peter's pre-beta MACPA.INF file (ver. 0.17, 07/30/98) into the temporary directory.

    Attention! This is a pre-beta version and does not work as supposed. Therefore the installation differs a lot from "the usual way" - but this version already allows to see the M-ACPA in the systems control. If anyone is willing and able to write a better, fully functional version - you are always welcome to just do it.

  4. Run the MACPAWIN.EXE. It extracts the files directly into the directory.

  5. Run the MACPACSD.EXE. It extracts the files onto a 1.44MB floppy disk.

  6. Delete the OEMSETUP.INF from this diskette and copy the files to the temporary directory overwriting those already existing under the same name.

    You should end up with the following files in your directory:

    ACPA     DRV        33.008  07.01.94  19:14 ACPA.DRV
    AUDIO    DLL        78.912  07.01.94  19:10 AUDIO.DLL
    AUDIOVER EXE        20.816  10.01.94  11:23 AUDIOVER.EXE
    OEMSETUP INF         2.018  30.06.92  10:05 OEMSETUP.INF
    README              12.976  24.07.92  15:02 README
    WIN      CMD            88  24.07.92  14:56 WIN.CMD
    IBMAUDS  DSP        14.957  30.06.92  11:07 IBMAUDS.DSP
    IBMMPC   DSP        14.957  30.06.92  12:11 IBMMPC.DSP
    IBMPCMP  DSP         7.277  30.06.92  12:07 IBMPCMP.DSP
    IBMPCMR  DSP         7.277  30.06.92  12:08 IBMPCMR.DSP
    ACPADD   SYS        55.737  30.06.92  11:46 ACPADD.SYS
    READ     ME          4.762  10.01.94  16:25 READ.ME
    MACPA    INF         3.979  07.06.98  14:25 MACPA.INF
    
  7. Open the remaining OEMSETUP.INF file from the temporary directory, go to the chapter [Installable.drivers] and add a semicolon to the beginning of all lines except the one below:

    IBMacpa      = 6:acpa.drv,    "wave,aux,midi",  "IBM M-Audio sound driver",,
    

    Note: All lines marked with a semicolon are treated as 'comments' and disregarded during the install process.

    Save the changes, then rename the file from OEMSETUP.INF to OEMSETUP.XXX.


Installing M-ACPA Adapter to Your Machine

If you have not installed the M-ACPA card yet, follow the procedure below.

  1. Copy the @6E6C.ADF on your reference disk -or- use "Copy an option disk" from the reference main menu to copy the file to your reference disk / partition.

    Note: Update the reference disk / partition before you install the card.

  2. Install the M-ACPA card in your machine.

  3. Start your system with the reference disk or the reference/convenience partition, enter "Set / view configuration", and then "Set configuration".

    The setting required for a proper operation of the adapter are:

    Address Selection   = FDC0-FDC7
    Interrupt Selection = Interrupt 5
    

    No other settings work. In case these values are conflicting with other device, you must change the settings of the other card/planar device, if possible.


Installing M-ACPA Windows 95 Drivers

To install the M-ACPA adapter under Windows 95 using our custom installation disk, do the following:

  1. Begin the M-ACPA driver installation:

    • Start the "Control Panel"
    • Click on "Add New Hardware"
    • Click on "Next"
    • Select "Search for new hardware" = "No"
    • Click on "Next"
    • Double-click on "Sound, Video and game controller"
    • Click on "Have Disk..."
    • Type in the path for your ACPA directory
      (or use "Browse..." to locate it)
      "MACPA.INF" should be displayed
    • Click on "OK" ... "OK"
      (shows "IBM Audio Capture & Playback Adapter /A")
    • Click on "OK"

      Note: A list of resources is shown. This list must not always match the settings we had set in the machine's configuration (I/O Range FDC0 - FDC7, Interrupt 5), but you cannot change them here anyways, so just leave them for now. We'll correct that later.

    • Click on "Next"

      The files are now copied into the Windows directory.

      Note: If the process stops and complains about a missing ACPA.INI use "Skip" to bypass this. Peter's older ACPA.INI (ver. 0.16 dated 06/06/98) accidentally had this file included in the MACPA.INF, but it is supposed to be created by running the device driver installation with OEMSETUP.INF. The current version (0.17) has this issue corrected.

    • Click on "Finish"
    • Click on "No" for the shutdown request
  2. Now enter the ACPA-directory and rename OEMSETUP.XXX back to OEMSETUP.INF and MACPA.INF to MACPA.XXX.

    Note: This is necessary because the current version of the MACPA.INF file doesn't start the automatic setting of the M-ACPA Windows driver itself.

    So, why not use the original OEMSETUP.INF and let it do the changes...

    Just repeat the above steps from starting the "System Control" - "Hardware" and so forth, with the only change that now the OEMSETUP.INF appears instead of the MACPA.INF.

    Note: Why not use the OEMSETUP.INF only? The OEMSETUP.INF does not write the settings into the system control and does not pass over the infos about the resources used by the M-ACPA. It "works", but the M-ACPA does not show up anywhere.

    Repeat the above steps and there are some differences:
    After confirming the OEMSETUP.INF the line "IBM M-Audio sound driver" appears. That's okay.
    Then a panel "IBM M-ACPA Driver Setup" appears. Activate "Line (Both)" and "Auxiliary Input". The slide for "Block Size" can be moved to the "Large" position if your machine is 386DX-25 and above.
    Click on the "OK" button when finished.
    This panel re-appears two times again - this is also normal.

    Then the "Windows wants to restart" request appears. Answer with "No" again.

  3. Set the correct adapter resources:

    • Enter "Control Panel"
    • Select "System"
    • Select "Device Manager"
    • Select "Sound, Video and game controller"
    • Select "IBM Audio Capture & Playback Adapter /A"
    • Click on "Properties" (or double-click the Adapter)
    • Select "Resources"
    • Uncheck the "Automatic setting" option
    • Select the I/O Range if it is set other than FDC0-FDC7 and
      Click on "Change Setting" - change and click "OK"
    • Select the Interrupt if it is other than 5 and
      Click on "Change Setting" - change and click "OK"
    • The warning "Creating a Forced Configuration" answer with "Yes"
    • Click on "OK" on the properties window and "OK" on the device manager window to complete the settings
  4. Finally, if offered to restart the system click on "Yes", otherwise restart the system manually from the "Start" menu.

    Note: If you can't hear any sounds or cannot playback Audio CDs you may be missing Microsoft MCI and CD-Audio (Mediaplayer). You can install them under "Control Panel" - "Add new Hardware" - "Sound, video and game controllers" - "Microsoft".

Content created and/or collected by:
Louis F. Ohland, Peter H. Wendt, David L. Beem, William R. Walsh, Tatsuo Sunagawa, Tomáš Slavotínek, Jim Shorney, Tim N. Clarke, Kevin Bowling, and many others.

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