Issues with sound

Desidero · February 26th, 2008, 20:25

Hey guys, I've got a problem with sound.

If it matters, I'm playing FF Tactics on a p4 2.53ghz/7600GS/soundblaster live! PC running on Windows XP Pro. It seems that once in a while (twice) the sound magically works, but for the most part it doesn't. I've tried using the Eternal, Pete's and the standard epsxe sound plugins, but nothing helped. I have all 4 boxes checked (Enable sound, enable CDDA sound, enable XA sound, enable SPU IRQ hack - also tried it without the IRQ hack). One weird thing that seems to be happening is every time I restart ePSXE to mess with my configuration, the "enable SPU IRQ hack" box is unchecked, despite the fact that I had it checked before. I'm not sure what else to try. Any suggestions?

**jonc2006** · February 26th, 2008, 20:39

what are you playing from the cd or an image? if you are playing from an image do you know what format it is in? as for the 4 boxes, you only want to have the top 3 ticked. i use eternal spu 1.41 with these settings:

i have only the top 3 boxes ticked

in the actual config mine is set up like this:

audio device- directsound
buffer size- 80 (doesnt have to be this, so set it to your preferance)
audio-out method- thread

all 3 special game fixes enabled

"wait for XA buffer is free" enabled under the "misc" section

neill's reverb

also, what cdrom plugin are you using?

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Code Monkey · February 28th, 2008, 11:33

If you are playing from an image (such as a .bin), you may be missing the .cue file which formats the disc's actual track numbers. If you are playing from an image, I again suggest using "Daemon Tools" to properly mount the disc image to a virtual drive, especially with ".bin" images, as the ".cue" file will be automatically integrated to use the image properly. Without the ".cue" file, the emulator does not, nor the image mounting program, know the track format itself of the disc image, and many games have separate audio tracks. To locate these tracks, the ".cue" file is necessary.

Be sure that your (internal) audio cable is connected from the sound card to the cd-rom's audio output if playing from a cd. The IDE interface is not ideal for transmitting audio tracks, hence the connection for Soundblaster-compatible cards especially. Such cable should have been included with your Soundblaster card and/or your cd-rom drive.

Alternately, try restarting your machine and shutting down unnecessary programs before you start the emulation. One or more applications could be hijacking a dll required by the emulator, and not allowing it to use it too. Play your emulator as an administrator account if you aren't already. Your machine might not be running as stable as it seems, so be sure to check for spyware/antivirus issues. Do not install more than one antivirus application at a time.

The Final Fantasy series has always been problematic with all emulators, so don't expect a perfect cure. I suggest these in the hope you can solve this.

Smart post....Well done on posting your specs before someone had to ask for them.

Desidero · February 28th, 2008, 23:34

Ehhh I figured out my problem - turned out it was something stupid. Thanks for the advice though, guys. It seems to be running well now (aside from some slowdowns during the "graphically intensive" spells, but that's to be expected I suppose).

If you're curious, somehow my xbox 360 controller (the one that's "made for PCs") managed to switch itself as the default sound device depending on when I turned it on. I haven't the slightest clue why it would consider itself an audio processing device, but whatever. I'm just glad it works 100% of the time now. FFT is awesome.

February 26th, 2008, 20:25	#1
Desidero Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: USA Posts: 2	Issues with sound Hey guys, I've got a problem with sound. If it matters, I'm playing FF Tactics on a p4 2.53ghz/7600GS/soundblaster live! PC running on Windows XP Pro. It seems that once in a while (twice) the sound magically works, but for the most part it doesn't. I've tried using the Eternal, Pete's and the standard epsxe sound plugins, but nothing helped. I have all 4 boxes checked (Enable sound, enable CDDA sound, enable XA sound, enable SPU IRQ hack - also tried it without the IRQ hack). One weird thing that seems to be happening is every time I restart ePSXE to mess with my configuration, the "enable SPU IRQ hack" box is unchecked, despite the fact that I had it checked before. I'm not sure what else to try. Any suggestions?

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February 26th, 2008, 20:39	#2
jonc2006 Mod of Douchebagness™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: USA MD Posts: 9,793	what are you playing from the cd or an image? if you are playing from an image do you know what format it is in? as for the 4 boxes, you only want to have the top 3 ticked. i use eternal spu 1.41 with these settings: i have only the top 3 boxes ticked in the actual config mine is set up like this: audio device- directsound buffer size- 80 (doesnt have to be this, so set it to your preferance) audio-out method- thread all 3 special game fixes enabled "wait for XA buffer is free" enabled under the "misc" section neill's reverb also, what cdrom plugin are you using? __________________ Antec 900/Antec Truepower Quattro 1000W/eVGA 780i SLI/Windows XP Media SP2 & Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit SP1/Intel Core 2 Duo E8400@4.0GHz/Dual eVGA e-Geforce GTX280 1GB DDR3 SLI Enabled/Creative SB X-Fi XtremeGamer/Corsiar XMS2 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400 DDR2/Dual WD Caviar SE16 500GB 7200RPM HDDs The Official jonc2006™ Emotion Chart. Courtesy of PCXL-Fan after he tried to steal my identity on Steam because I am so awesome. Official jonc2006™ Fan Club Official jonc2006™ Trophy Collection

February 28th, 2008, 11:33	#3
Code Monkey GameShark H4xxorz Elite Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 41	If you are playing from an image (such as a .bin), you may be missing the .cue file which formats the disc's actual track numbers. If you are playing from an image, I again suggest using "Daemon Tools" to properly mount the disc image to a virtual drive, especially with ".bin" images, as the ".cue" file will be automatically integrated to use the image properly. Without the ".cue" file, the emulator does not, nor the image mounting program, know the track format itself of the disc image, and many games have separate audio tracks. To locate these tracks, the ".cue" file is necessary. Be sure that your (internal) audio cable is connected from the sound card to the cd-rom's audio output if playing from a cd. The IDE interface is not ideal for transmitting audio tracks, hence the connection for Soundblaster-compatible cards especially. Such cable should have been included with your Soundblaster card and/or your cd-rom drive. Alternately, try restarting your machine and shutting down unnecessary programs before you start the emulation. One or more applications could be hijacking a dll required by the emulator, and not allowing it to use it too. Play your emulator as an administrator account if you aren't already. Your machine might not be running as stable as it seems, so be sure to check for spyware/antivirus issues. Do not install more than one antivirus application at a time. The Final Fantasy series has always been problematic with all emulators, so don't expect a perfect cure. I suggest these in the hope you can solve this. Smart post....Well done on posting your specs before someone had to ask for them.

February 28th, 2008, 23:34	#4
Desidero Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: USA Posts: 2	Ehhh I figured out my problem - turned out it was something stupid. Thanks for the advice though, guys. It seems to be running well now (aside from some slowdowns during the "graphically intensive" spells, but that's to be expected I suppose). If you're curious, somehow my xbox 360 controller (the one that's "made for PCs") managed to switch itself as the default sound device depending on when I turned it on. I haven't the slightest clue why it would consider itself an audio processing device, but whatever. I'm just glad it works 100% of the time now. FFT is awesome.