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This equipment generates and uses radio fre- inaccuracies that may be contained in this manual. In no event will Aureal be liable for direct, indirect, special, quency energy and if not installed and used properly, in strict accordance with the manufacture's instructions, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from any defect or omission in this manual, even if advised of may cause interference to radio and television reception.
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You may not merge any portion of the Software into, or integrate any portion of the Aureal warrants, as the sole warranty, that the disks on which the Software is fur- BY THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO...
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(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference causing undesired operation. RESPONSIBLE PARTY Conformance Manager Aureal Inc. 45757 Northport Loop West Fremont, CA 94538 Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
Contents Contents ..............................v Introduction ............................1 System Requirements ............................3 Contacting Aureal ............................4 Installing the Hardware ........................5 Equipment You Need ............................6 Before Installing ..............................7 Installing the Vortex Sound Card ........................8 Installing the Software ........................13 Installing the Drivers With Windows 95 (version 4.00.950) ................
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Uninstalling Vortex Drivers from Windows 95/98 ..................50 Removing the Aureal Demos ........................51 Uninstalling Vortex Drivers from Windows NT 4.0 ..................54 Advanced Users: Cleaning Up Remaining Aureal Files In NT 4.0 ..............58 Removing the Vortex Hardware ........................61 Troubleshooting ........................... 63 I Did Not See the Windows Detected New Hardware Window ............64 Installing Microsoft DirectX Version 5.0 or Later ..................65...
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Accessing the Control Panel ........................71 Removing the Aureal Icon from the Taskbar ..................71 Using the Control Panel Tab ......................... 72 Show Tray Control on the Taskbar ......................72 Using the MIDI Tab ............................73 Wavetable Effects ............................ 74 Adjusting the Amount of Effects Using Sliders ..................
Introduction Thank you for purchasing an Aureal Vortex sound card. Depending on the sound card you purchased, either the SQ1500 or the SQ2500, your card delivers different features: The Aureal Vortex SQ1500 delivers: • Hi-fi digital audio for music, games, and interactive entertainment.
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The Aureal Vortex SQ2500 is the premier 3D audio for PC gaming and music: • Powered by the revolutionary Aureal Vortex 2 audio accelerator, named “Hardware of the Year” by Computer Gaming World. • Accelerates Aureal’s A3D 2.0 positional audio, with geometry-based Aureal WaveTracing •...
16 MB RAM (32 MB or more recommended) • CD-ROM drive • 40 MB of free hard disk space • Available PCI 2.1-compliant slot for the sound card • Powered speakers or headphones Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 1: Introduction...
For technical support and customer service, visit our website: http://www.aureal.com Here you’ll find the latest FAQs, searchable knowledgebases, driver releases, and information for contacting us. Additionally, you can access recorded information by calling 888-345-7633. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
You can install your Vortex sound card in three basic steps: • Install the hardware. • Install the drivers for your Vortex sound card (see Chapter 2, “Installing the Software”). • Test the installation (see “Testing the Installation” on page 39). Aureal Inc., September 1999...
Before you start installing your card, make sure that you have the following items on hand: Vortex Drivers CD (included) Vortex Sound Card and Windows Installation CD (included) CD Audio Cable (included) Phillips Screwdriver Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
To install DirectX 5.0 see “Installing Microsoft DirectXTM Version 5.0 or Later” on page 65. • Using your favorite text editor, please open and read the README.TXT file on the installation CD. It contains the latest information about your Vortex sound card. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 2: Installing the Hardware...
It is a good idea to label these cables so you can easily re-attach them. Remove the computer cover—you may have to use a screwdriver to do so. Be sure to save any mounting screws. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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Vortex sound card. If you didn’t have a PCI card in the PCI slot before, you’ll need to remove the metal expansion slot cover by unscrewing the securing screw. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 2: Installing the Hardware...
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If you have a CD-ROM drive, connect the CD-ROM cable to the connector labeled CD IN on your Vortex sound card. Typically this is a black connector along the top edge of the card. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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As you can see, there are a variety of devices you can use with your Vortex sound card. (Even though traditional speakers are not shown, you can also use them.) Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 2: Installing the Hardware...
“Installing the Windows NT 4.0 Drivers” on page 34 • “Installing the Bundled Software” on page 44 • “Installing the Bundled Game(s)” on page 48 If you are unsure of which operating system you are using, see “Before Installing” on page 7. Aureal Inc., September 1999...
If you don’t see this screen when you first start your computer, please read “I Did Not See the Windows Detected New Hardware Window” on page 64. Windows then starts the Update Device Driver Wizard: Insert the Vortex Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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DirectX. After DirectX is installed you must restart your computer and continue driver installation from step 1. In some cases, Windows may request the original Windows 95 Installation CD to update or install necessary files: Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 3: Installing the Software...
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Point the installer to the win95 folder on the Windows 95 Installation CD in your CD-ROM drive: • Click Browse... • Double-click your CD-ROM drive. • Double-click the win95 folder. • Click OK. Click OK in the Copying Files dialog. The installer continues copying files. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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Aureal icon: Aureal icon If you had a previous version of an Aureal sound card driver installed, the preference that designates Note: whether to display the tray icon may still be present. If this is the case, you can choose to display the tray icon by opening the Aureal Vortex Player and checking the Show tray control on the taskbar box.
If you don’t see this screen when you first start your computer, please read “I Did Not See the Windows Detected New Hardware Window” on page 64. Windows then starts the Update Device Driver Wizard: Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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Insert the Vortex Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive. Click Next. Windows searches the floppy drive for the driver files. WAIT! Wait a few moments until you see the Other Locations... button before continuing: Click the Other Locations button. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 3: Installing the Software...
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The Select Other Location dialog displays: Click Browse... and navigate to this path: • Double-click the CD-ROM drive for your computer. • Double-click the Win9x folder. • Double-click the English folder. • Click OK. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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For example, if your CD-ROM drive is E, then you should see this in the “Location” field: E:\Win9x\English You can also type this information directly into the “Location” field. Click OK. The installer displays the name of the driver it will use. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 3: Installing the Software...
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At this point, you may see a message like this: This is an error with some versions of the Windows 95 operating system. Click OK to close the message. The Copying Files dialog displays: Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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If you don’t have DirectX™ 5.0 or later installed on your computer, the DirectX installation program Note: interrupts the driver installation and installs DirectX. After DirectX is installed you must restart your computer and continue driver installation from step 1. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 3: Installing the Software...
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Vortex sound card accesses some of these devices; you need to provide the Windows 95 Installation CD so the installer can copy and install the necessary files. Insert the Windows 95 Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive and click OK. The Copying Files dialog displays. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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The installer finishes copying files. This may take a few minutes—you can tell when the installation is done by checking the icon tray of the taskbar (in the lower right corner of your screen) for the Aureal icon: Aureal icon...
If you don’t see this screen when you first start your computer, please read “I Did Not See the Windows Detected New Hardware Window” on page 64. After starting your computer, Windows displays the Add New Hardware wizard: Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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Click Next to continue. Windows provides you with two options for finding the drivers: Choose the option “Search for the best driver for your device” then click Next. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 3: Installing the Software...
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Click Browse... to choose a location. • In the Browse for Folder dialog, double-click your CD-ROM drive. • Double-click the Win9x folder. • Double-click the English folder. • Click OK. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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The installer displays a list of new devices it found. If the installer could not locate the drivers, click Back and verify that you entered the correct path to the Note: Vortex Installation CD. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 3: Installing the Software...
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Click Next to continue. The installer starts copying files and building the driver information database. When the installer finishes, you see this: Click Finish to complete the installation. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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Insert the Windows 98 Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive and click OK. The installer continues copying files. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 3: Installing the Software...
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For example, if your CD-ROM drive is E, then you see this in the “Copy files from” field: E:\win98 You can also type this information directly into the “Copy files from” field. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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Aureal icon: Aureal icon If you had a previous version of an Aureal sound card driver installed, the preference that designates Note: whether to display the tray icon may still be present. If this is the case, you can choose to display the tray icon by opening the Aureal Vortex Player and checking the Show tray control on the taskbar box.
Insert the Vortex Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive. Choose Settings from the Start menu, then choose Control Panel. The Control Panel window opens. Double-click the Multimedia icon. The Multimedia Properties dialog displays. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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Click the Devices tab. Click Add... The Add dialog displays: Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 3: Installing the Software...
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The information in the field should look like this: drive_letter:\nt40\english For example, if your CD-ROM drive is E, you should see this in the field: E:\nt40\english You can also type this information directly into the field. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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Click OK in the Install Driver dialog. The Add Unlisted or Updated Driver dialog displays: Select the Aureal Vortex PCI Audio AU8830 (or AU8810) driver and click OK. The Aureal Vortex PCI Audio AU8830 (or AU8810) dialog displays: Click OK.
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When the installer finishes, you should see this dialog: Click Restart Now. Your computer restarts. You can now see the Aureal icon in the icon tray of the taskbar: Aureal icon If you had a previous version of an Aureal sound card driver installed, the preference that designates Note: whether to display the tray icon may still be present.
Testing the Installation To test your installation, you can do two things: • Check to see that the computer has the correct Aureal devices installed. • Run an Aureal demo. Check for the Aureal Devices Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop.
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The System Properties window displays: Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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The Device Manager tab displays: Look for a device labeled Multi-function adapters and click the plus sign (+) next to it. This expands the list so you can see the items included under the device. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 3: Installing the Software...
Check for a device called Vortex AU88x0 Multifunction PCI Platform. If you see this, it means the multifunction adapter, which works with the other Aureal-specific device drivers, was installed properly. Go back to the main list of devices in the Device Manager tab.
Run an Aureal Demo Double-click the Aureal icon in the system tray on the task bar or choose Settings from the Start menu, choose Control Panel, then double-click Aureal Vortex Audio. Click the A3D Demos tab. Double-click the desired demo icon.
\vplayer\ Run setup.exe and follow the instructions. For more information, refer to the program’s online documentation. Installing Future Beat 3D Put the Vortex Installation CD into the CD-ROM drive. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
Installing MIDI Orchestrator 32 and/or AudioView 32 Put the Vortex Installation CD into the CD-ROM drive. Go to this directory: \voyetra\ Run setup.exe and follow the instructions. For more information, refer to the program’s online documentation. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 3: Installing the Software...
• A3D Web Running a Demo Double-click the Aureal icon in the system tray on the task bar or choose Settings from the Start menu, choose Control Panel, then double-click Aureal Vortex Audio. Click the A3D Demos tab. Double-click the desired demo icon.
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Enter the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive followed by this directory name: drive_letter:\A3DDemos\setup.exe. For example, if your CD-ROM drive is E, then enter: E:\A3DDemos\setup.exe The demo files are installed automatically. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 3: Installing the Software...
Follow the instructions on the screen. If the installation program does not automatically start: Go to the top level directory of the game CD. Run the installation program and follow the instructions. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
Vortex sound card. This is a two part process: first remove the drivers, then remove the hardware. To uninstall the Vortex software, choose the uninstall procedure appropriate to your computer’s operating system. Do not use the Windows Device Manager to remove the drivers. Note: Aureal Inc., September 1999...
The Control Panel window displays. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. The Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog displays. Click the Install/Uninstall tab. Select the Vortex driver from the list (listed as Aureal Vortex AU88x0). Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
The Vortex Setup dialog displays: Click Uninstall Vortex. The program removes the driver from your computer. Removing the Aureal Demos Choose Settings from the Start menu, then choose Control Panel. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. The Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog displays.
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In the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog, select Aureal Vortex A3D Demos and click Add/ Remove... This confirmation message should display: Click Yes to continue. The Remove Programs From Your Computer window displays. As it removes each of the components, a check displays next to the appropriate component.
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Click OK after the uninstaller successfully removes all the files. You should now see the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog. You can see that the Aureal demos are gone from the list. Click OK to close the dialog. Shut down and turn off your computer.
Uninstalling Vortex Drivers from Windows NT 4.0 Choose Settings from the Start menu then choose Control Panel. The Control Panel window opens. Double-click the Multimedia icon. The Multimedia Properties dialog opens. Click the Devices tab. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
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Go to the section in the list called “Multimedia Drivers”. You should find these two device drivers: • Audio Devices • MIDI Devices and Instruments Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 4: Uninstalling the Sound Card...
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Double-click Audio Devices. You will see “Audio for Aureal Vortex PCI Audio AU88x0”. This is the wave device for the Aureal Vortex sound card. Highlight this device and click Remove. A confirmation message displays: Click Yes to continue. The system confirms that the driver was removed and prompts you to restart: Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide...
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If you are an experienced user and have been installing and uninstalling multiple cards, you may also want to clean up some additional files from your system. Use the “Advanced Users: Cleaning Up Remaining Aureal Files In NT 4.0” on page 58. Aureal Inc., September 1999...
The central information database for Window NT is the Registry. Due to the importance of this file, exercise great care when editing or modifying it. Aureal recommends that only experienced users attempt editing the Registry and, before making any changes, you backup the Registry database. You can save (or export) the database in text format as a .REG file by using the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE).
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Type these entries in the “Find what:” field (steps 9 through 11 will have to be performed separately for each of these items): • aure • • • • asp4 The Registry Editor does not allow searches for multiple strings; you must search for each string Note: independently. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 4: Uninstalling the Sound Card...
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Remove any driver-related keys or values. Using your favorite text editor, examine the contents of the OEMSETUP.INF files and delete the keys that are from Aureal. Restart your computer. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
See the internal connections illustration in “Installing the Vortex Sound Card” on page 8. Remove the Vortex sound card. You can now put your computer back together and restart it. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 4: Uninstalling the Sound Card...
• Double-click Multimedia Properties in the Control Panel window. • Click the Audio properties tab. • Make sure that Aureal Vortex AU88x0 Playback is selected for playback and Aureal Vortex AU88x0 Record is selected for recording. Aureal Inc., September 1999...
Click the plus sign (+) to expand both the Multi-function adapters and the Sound, video and game controllers devices. An exclamation mark (!) icon next to an Aureal Vortex device indicates a problem. Select the device and click Properties. The “Device Status” section indicates the source of the problem.
The installation program leads you step-by-step through the installation procedure. When the installation is complete you are prompted to restart your computer. Restart your computer. You are now ready to install your Vortex sound card. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 5: Troubleshooting...
Using the A3D Control Panel The Vortex A3D Control Panel lets you configure the features of your Vortex sound card. You can easily adjust wavetable and A3D settings, as well as access the A3D demos. Aureal Inc., September 1999...
• Double-click on the Aureal icon in the icon tray of the taskbar. • Right click the Aureal icon in the icon tray of the taskbar and choose Adjust Audio Properties from the menu. • Choose Settings from the Start menu, choose Control Panel, then double-click Aureal Vortex Audio.
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The A3D Control Panel looks like this: You can click Help at any point while you are using the Control Panel to get more information. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 6: Using the A3D Control Panel...
Accessing and Using the Aureal Taskbar Menu To access the Aureal Taskbar menu, right-click on the Aureal logo in the Windows taskbar. You will see this menu: Choosing an Output Mode You can choose between headphone and speaker output mode using the top four options. This setting only affects output from applications using Aureal's A3D Interactive positional audio technology.
Choose Adjust Audio Properties to launch the Vortex Control Panel. This has the same affect as double- clicking the Aureal icon in the taskbar. Removing the Aureal Icon from the Taskbar Choose Remove Tray Control to remove the Aureal icon from the taskbar. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 6: Using the A3D Control Panel...
Show Tray Control on the Taskbar When you check this option, you can click on the Aureal logo in the taskbar and open the Vortex Control Panel. You can remove the Aureal icon from the taskbar icon by removing the check next to this option.
Using the MIDI Tab The MIDI tab lets you control the parameters for the MIDI synthesizer, effects, and MIDI output on the Vortex sound card. It looks like this: Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 6: Using the A3D Control Panel...
Selecting An Alternate Instrument Set Use the Download button to select an alternate instrument set. Click the Download button. The Open a DLS Collection File dialog displays. Select the instrument set you want. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 6: Using the A3D Control Panel...
Choose Vortex AU8830 MPU-401 to send MIDI to an external synthesizer attached to the MIDI port. • Choose Vortex AU88x0 Wavetable to send MIDI to the Vortex music synthesizer. If you do not have an external synthesizer connected, select Vortex AU88x0 Wavetable. Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
A3D Output Mode Use this list box to select between different output listening modes. This setting only affects output from applications using Aureal's A3D Interactive positional audio technology. You can select from these different modes: • Choose Headphones if you are listening through headphones.
DirectSound with this checkbox. Applications then use the generic, slower, and lower-quality software DirectSound drivers supplied within DirectX. Getting More Information About A3D Technology Click the About A3D button for more information on Aureal's A3D Technology. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 6: Using the A3D Control Panel...
Using the A3D Demos Tab Click on the icons in this window to launch A3D demo programs: Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
44.1 kHz (this setting is not supported by the Vortex SQ1500 sound card) • 48 kHz When you select a new sample rate, the S/PDIF port uses the new rate immediately. Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 6: Using the A3D Control Panel...
Using the EQ Tab Use this tab to select the analog input source for which Tone Controls will be applied: Vortex Quad PCI Sound Card User’s Guide Aureal Inc., September 1999...
Using the Info Tab This tab provides information about the Vortex hardware and software capabilities in your system: Aureal Inc., September 1999 Chapter 6: Using the A3D Control Panel...
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