This is the PCMIDI help section. Normally there is not much to get a PCMIDI working,
you just need to give it a free Address and IRQ to use - preferrably port 330 and IRQ 2
as these are the "Roland" settings most of the games that don't allow configuration expect.
You can easily verufy operation by running a game or the MQDIAG program from the
"Original PCMIDI utilities" archive.

The most common issues for a PCMIDI not working are:

• main soundcard still trying to use port 330 for it's onboard mpu
• IRQ2 is not truly free
• connectivity errors
  

For address issues you just have to make sure that the main soundcard MPU is either
disabled or moved to another port like 300.
IRQ2 issues are a little more complex. For example ACPI that is present in Pentium1
and above systems is hardwired to use IRQ2 so please check your BIOS settings to
see if there is an option to disable ACPI or revert back to using APM.
Some systems just won't let you use IRQ2 at all - it's a chipset thing and also depends
on the way the motherboard is wired. This is mostly happening on later 486 boards
that have PCI slots. If there is no way to free up IRQ2 then using another one like 3
is the only option.
XT systems and 98% of 286/386/older 486 boards are not affected and will easily
accept port330 and IRQ2 as PCMIDI resources.
Connectivity issues are the easiest to solve: just remember that the PCMIDI OUT
port should connect to the midi module's IN port. That's it!

If you have another issue or need more help don't hesitate to contact us!
You can use the email info in the "Contact Us" page or join our Facebook group
MPU-401 PC-MIDI Card Group and ask us there for a more direct communication.

If your PCMIDI card somehow became faulty (eg from a PSU malfunction or whatever
other reason) you can always contact us to arrange sending it back for a repair - no
matter how old of a revision the PCMIDI is, we will fix it!

We are always glad to offer help to our supporters - don't think twice about it!