BeOS Install

[wottle]

Let me just make sure I understand - you used the archive.org copy? I'm starting to wonder if there is something going on apart from the driver at this point.

Yes. Installed from the CD image burned from archive.org (5.0.3 Pro PPC and Intel: https://archive.org/download/BeosVersion5.0.3IntelAndPpc). I had to install it on an external BlueSCSI on my PowerMac 6500 because the CD wouldn't work in the TAM. But I then took the image and successfully used it on my 6400/200, my TAM, and my 5500/225, all work properly with sound.

I'm assuming sound works otherwise on the machine - boot up chime and in MacOS?

 

[ClassicHasClass]

Yes, all well on the MacOS side. I might use your image on the scratch partition and see if there is any difference.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

Progress!

What you have is the Gobe 5.0.3 release; I used Be's official 5.0. I installed what you did on another partition. There was still no sound through the main speakers, but … the front headphones work! Well, sort of. They’re very scratchy like the sound is being overdriven but BeBeep and BeStartup are recognizable and at the proper pitch. Turning down the master and mixer volumes just made them scratchy at lower volume. Also, restarting `media_server` causes it to go into a crash loop.

But, anyway, this is a start. I compared `/boot/beos/system` on both partitions. There are different files in `add-ons/media/{decoders,extractors,writers}`, different `add-ons/media/{decoder,extractor}.media_addon`s and different `csedv-c.so`, `libbe.so` and `libroot.so` (and `.xMAP`s). I have AWACS register documentation, but not for the 5500/6500, so I need to sit down and look at how the Linux driver handles the headphone port since that appears to be the gap that’s missing.

Still, @wottle, thanks for the starting point!

 

[ClassicHasClass]

We have audio on the internal speakers now. I'm doing some fiddling, but it did require hacking the AWACS driver. It does look like there are internal differences with later Gazelle systems. More soon.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

Here is a patched driver for other mute 6500s. Conclusion: there are at least two 6500 versions, and later ones have an external SRS module which requires setting the parallel output bits on the AWACS.

The strange case of BeOS, SRS and the silent Power Mac 6500

Tonight's story time: the Power Macintosh that wouldn't make any sound in BeOS R5, how I figured out the problem, and how I hacked the sound...

oldvcr.blogspot.com

 

[wottle]

Here is a patched driver for other mute 6500s. Conclusion: there are at least two 6500 versions, and later ones have an external SRS module which requires setting the parallel output bits on the AWACS.

The strange case of BeOS, SRS and the silent Power Mac 6500

Tonight's story time: the Power Macintosh that wouldn't make any sound in BeOS R5, how I figured out the problem, and how I hacked the sound...

oldvcr.blogspot.com

Would you mind if I throw that in my disk image with 5.0.3 so people could switch out if they have no audio?

 

[ClassicHasClass]

Sure, go for it! I don't know what it will do on other Macs, though, so they should definitely only use it if necessary.

 

[wottle]

Yeah, I'll leave the standard one in place, but put a folder on the root with a readme that explains why they might want to switch it out.