Sound Blaster Live! Error Message After Installing Windows

• Microsoft Windows 98
• Microsoft Windows 95
• Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition

SYMPTOMS

After you install Windows, you may receive the following error message:

Error: Memory Manager not detected.
SB Live! requires EMM386 or similar.
SB Live! driver NOT loading.

CAUSE

This issue can occur if the Emm386.exe file is not loaded during the startup process.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, make sure the Emm386.exe file is being loaded in the Config.sys file:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Notepad.



2. On the File menu, click Open, type c:\config.sys in the File Name box, and then click Open.



3. In the Config.sys file, note whether there is a line that contains Emm386.exe. If there is a line that contains the Emm386.exe text string, remove any characters in front of the "Device=" line, and then continue to step 5. For example, change the following line from

   rem -- by Windows 98 setup - device=emm386.exe

   to

   device=emm386.exe

   If the Config.sys file does not contain a line with the Emm386.exe text string, continue to the next step.



4. Add the following lines to the Config.sys file

   device=windows\himem.sys
   device=windows\emm386.exe

   where windows is the path to the folder in which Windows is installed.



5. On the File menu, click Exit, and then click Yes to save the changes.



6. Restart the computer.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

The Sound Blaster 16 Emulation driver requires a memory manager, such as Emm386.exe, to load correctly.

Additional query words: sb16

Keywords          : kb3rdparty kberrmsg win95 win98 win98se 
Version           : WINDOWS:95
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb 

Last Reviewed: June 14, 1999