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Emigdio Binet

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Aug 3, 2024, 9:13:19 PM8/3/24

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How to Download and Install ESS Solo-1 1938S Driver for Windows 7

If you have an old sound card that uses the ESS Solo-1 1938S chip, you may be wondering how to get it working on Windows 7. The original driver CD only supports Windows 95, 98, and NT 4.0[^1^], and there is no official driver update from ESS Technology. However, there is a way to install the driver manually and enjoy your sound card on Windows 7.

Here are the steps to follow:

Download the driver file from this link[^2^]. It is a zip file that contains the driver files for Windows XP. You can use any unzip software to extract the files to a folder on your hard drive.

Go to Device Manager and locate your sound card under Sound, video and game controllers. It may be listed as Unknown device or Multimedia audio controller. Right-click on it and select Update driver software.

Select Browse my computer for driver software and then Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.

Click Have disk and then Browse. Navigate to the folder where you extracted the driver files and select ES1938.INF. Click Open and then OK.

Select ESS Solo-1 PCI AudioDrive (WDM) from the list of compatible devices and click Next. If you get a warning message about compatibility, click Yes to proceed.

Wait for the installation to finish and then restart your computer.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed the ESS Solo-1 1938S driver for Windows 7. You can now enjoy your sound card with its features such as Direct Sound support[^3^]. However, keep in mind that this driver is not officially supported by ESS Technology and may not work with some applications or games that require advanced sound APIs such as EAX or A3D[^3^]. If you encounter any problems, you can try to update the driver from Device Manager or uninstall it and use the default Windows sound driver instead.

The ESS Solo-1 1938S is a PCI sound card that uses the ESS Solo-1 chip. It was released in 1997 and was popular among budget users who wanted a decent sound card for DOS and Windows games. The ESS Solo-1 chip supports stereo sound, FM synthesis, 16-bit DAC/ADC, and DirectSound and DSound 3D APIs. It also has a wavetable header for connecting an external MIDI device or a daughterboard.

The ESS Solo-1 1938S sound card has several advantages over other PCI sound cards. First, it does not require any EMS memory to load the DOS drivers, which makes it more compatible with older games that need conventional memory. Second, it has a jumper to select the SB interrupt, which can help to avoid conflicts with other devices. Third, it has a good FM synthesis that is similar to the YAMAHA OPL3, but with some enhancements[^3^]. It can play most MIDI files with good quality and accuracy.

However, the ESS Solo-1 1938S sound card also has some drawbacks. First, it does not support any advanced sound APIs such as EAX or A3D, which means it cannot produce 3D positional audio or environmental effects for newer games. Second, it does not have a dedicated control panel to adjust the settings or features of the sound card. Third, it may not work well with some motherboards or chipsets that have poor PCI implementation or compatibility issues. Fourth, it may be hard to find a working driver for newer operating systems such as Windows 10.