How to Install Plug and Play Sound Blaster Drivers in Windows NT 4.0

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0
• Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server version 4.0

SUMMARY

This article describes how to install support in Windows NT 4.0 on Intel x86-based computers for the following Creative Labs Sound Blaster Plug and Play sound cards:

• Sound Blaster 16 Plug N Play



• Sound Blaster 32 Plug N Play



• Sound Blaster AWE 32 Plug N Play



• Sound Blaster AWE 64 Plug N Play

MORE INFORMATION

To install support for the Creative Labs Sound Blaster sound cards listed above, install the Pnpisa.sys driver to enumerate the settings for the sound card, and then install the drivers available on the Windows NT CD-ROM. To do so, use the steps listed below.

Notes

• You must have Administrative privileges to complete these steps.



• You may want to install the updated drivers available from Creative Labs instead of the drivers included with Windows NT 4.0.



• If you choose to install drivers available from Creative Labs and you installed Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3, run the Devpre utility available with Service Pack 3 to install Creative Labs drivers. Remove any previous sound drivers, if present (see step 2 below). If you downloaded Service Pack 3, place the self-extracting Nt4sp3_i.exe file in a temporary folder and extract the files. To extract the files, type "nt4sp3_i.exe /x" (without quotation marks) at a command prompt. To run the Devpre utility, type "devpre devupd.inf" (without quotation marks) at a command prompt in the temporary folder. Type the path to the Creative Lab drivers when you are prompted.

Steps to Install Sound Blaster Drivers

1. Install Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 if it is not already installed. You can download the service pack from the following Microsoft Web site:
   
   http://support.microsoft.com/support/downloads/
   
   For more information about the availability of Windows NT 4.0 service packs, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   
   ARTICLE-ID: Q152734
   TITLE : How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack
   
   To install Service Pack 3, open the folder containing the self- extracting executable file, double-click the Nt4sp3_i.exe file, and then click Yes when you are prompted to install Service Pack 3.



2. If any sound drivers are installed, remove them. To do so, follow these steps:
   
   
   1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
   
   
   
   2. Double-click Multimedia, double-click Audio Devices on the Devices tab, click the audio device listed, if any device is present, and then click Remove. Note that this step also removes any corresponding Musical Instrument Device Interface (MIDI), sound mixer, and line device drivers.
   
   
   
   3. If more than one sound driver is listed, repeat step B for each audio device.
   
   
   
   4. Restart your computer.
   
   
   



3. Place the Windows NT 4.0 CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive, open the Drvlib\Pnpisa\x86 folder on the CD-ROM, right-click the Pnpisa.inf file, and then click Install. Restart your computer when you are prompted.
   
   Note that you may not see the Pnpisa.inf file if Windows NT Explorer is set to hide extensions for known file types. To see the file, click Options on the View menu, click the Show All Files check box to select it, click the "Hide extensions for known files types" check box to clear it, and then click OK. Complete step 3.



4. When the New Hardware Found message appears and you are prompted how to install a driver, click "Driver from disk provided by hardware manufacturer" in the Select Device box.
   
   If you choose to install the sound drivers provided by Microsoft, type the following path, and then click OK:
   
   drvlib\audio\sbpnp\x86
   
   If you choose to use the drivers provided by Creative Labs, type the path to the Creative Labs driver files.
   
   NOTE: See the note at the beginning of this article about installing Creative Labs drivers with Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3.



5. If you are prompted for a driver for the Creative Labs 3D Stereo Enhancement Technology device, click Windows NT Default Driver, and then click OK.



6. If you are prompted for a driver for the "IDE CD-ROM (ATAPI 1.2) /Standard IDE/ESDI Hard Disk Controller" device, click "Do not install a driver (Windows NT will not prompt you again)."



7. If you are prompted for a driver for the Microsoft Joystick Port Enabler device, click Windows NT Default Driver, and then click OK.
   
   NOTE: If this choice is not available, click "Driver from disk provided by hardware manufacturer," and then type the following path to the Windows NT 4.0 Joystick Port Enabler driver
   
   <cdrom>:\drvlib\audio\sbpnp\i386
   
   where <cdrom> is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive.



8. Restart the computer.

Additional query words: soundblaster

Keywords          : kbenv kbsound ntsetup ntfilesys 
Version           : WINNT:4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbhowto 

Last Reviewed: February 6, 1999