This is a guide for first-time GUS owners that might help you get it work. I thought it would be handy if you've bought a used GUS and do not have a clue on how to make squeak. This guide covers Windows 95 and DOS.  I will do my best to help, but I don't hold your hand everywhere here. For instance, you need to be familiar with Windows 95's device manager and DOS commands.

The GUS has always been a pain in the neck to install so it is not for boneheads, and I mean it. This guide only covers the basics and a lot of trial and error will be needed in order to make your GUS work perfectly. Heck, I'm even sure that you will not be able to make if work the first time. The best thing to do is experiment, please don't e-mail me telling that your GUS doesn't work I probably won't be able to help much.

Why bother using a GUS? Many people might answer loyalty ;-). Even if it does not work with DirectX, it can still be useful. Here's why:

• It can be used in an old computer with Windows 3.1 as the 3.1 drivers work great.
• Many "demos" only support the GUS and it sounds much better with trackers as the GUS does hardware oversampling. However, some module players now support software oversampling, so you can have similar results with a Sound Blaster.
• If you like old games like me, the GUS can be used as an MT-32 or General MIDI device for music playback. It sounds great. Most games from 1988 to 1992 did not support General MIDI, so the MT-32 emulation can be really handy.

This is an overview of what's in this modest site. If you're doing an installation from scratch, follow these topics in order.
 

What you can and can't expect from your GUS Download list Preliminary Setup Installing the MIDI patch set Installing the Windows 95 driver Once everything works Miscellaneous Stuff Links

June 21nd 1999

• One last note. A user dropped me an e-mail stating that it is possible to make the GUS work with Win98. I haven't tried it, but click here to read the information he sent me. Now that's all, may this page rest in peace.

May 22nd 1999

• It's a wrap. This will be my last update of this page. Why? Because I've just upgraded to Win98 (which basically makes the GUS useless) and moved the GUS into my linux box. The page will remain here as long as it can be considered relevant. Thanks to everyone who sent encouraging e-mails.
• Replaced stale links in the download section with links to ftpsearch. Grab the basic GUS files while you can, I doub't they'll be available for long.
• Finally corrected the Utopia web address which changed last fall and added a link to the GUS section in the Open Directory Project.

October 13th 1998

• The site had a lot of more hits than expected. Reaching the 350th visitor in two months may seem small, but it is not neglectable to me as it means that there are at least 350 GUS owners out there. :-)
• Splitted the loooong original page into smaller independent pages.
• Added another link (the GUS MIDI FAQ)
• I've started making some mp3 samples of what the Pro Patches sound like, but I'm limited by the fact that patch caching doesn't work. I'll wait for a solution and post them later.

September 2nd 1998

• Added a links section. Not much for now, I'll add some as I find the time.
• A reader nicknamed shin3 mentionned that the downloaded installation disks must be labeled. Thanks!
• Added a really nice hack to fix the MIDI port problem
• Added a "what you can and can't expect from your GUS" section
• The page if getting darn long. I'll split this up eventually.

• Gravis has finally given us something useful: source code of drivers and utilities for the whole GUS line have been released! We might finally see some 32 bit windows drivers for the Classic and MAX. Get them at http://utopia.a1.nl and please respect the licensing agreement.

Page created on July 4th 1998 and updated on June 21nd 1999. This should be my last update ever!
omasse@iname.com
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