Recap: TechTuber Necroware recently completed repairs on two Creative Sound Blaster cards from the 1990s. These repairs come at a time when dedicated sound cards are increasingly rare. Modern motherboards offer high-quality onboard audio, and many users – especially those on laptops – opt for USB-connected DACs for enhanced sound. Still, for enthusiasts like Necroware, restoring vintage hardware is as much about the journey as the result.
The first project focused on a 1994 Creative Sound Blaster 16 (CT2230), a card that had seen better days. "It looked a bit scruffy," Necroware admitted, noting the missing bracket and visible abrasions on the PCB – remnants of previous repair attempts.
A post-it note served as a reminder of a broken trace, the card's central issue. With a digital microscope, Necroware quickly located the fault and used his soldering station to bridge the gap with a wire. The repair was straightforward, and DOS Unisound drivers soon recognized the card.
Testing the card in Descent II, Necroware reported that the Yamaha OPL3 FM synthesizer "played the music track nicely," and the stereo digital audio was clear. He turned to modern technology to address the missing bracket, fashioning a sturdy 3D-printed replacement. "The plastic bracket was thick, but this was necessary for strength, and it still fit OK," he explained.
The second card, a Creative Sound Blaster 16 IDE (CT2290), presented a far more significant challenge. Having languished in Necroware's to-do pile and served as a donor for other repairs, the CT2290 was in rough shape. When first installed, the system failed to detect it, showing "no signs of life at all." Necroware recalled previous issues with the data bus transceiver and buffer, which are common trouble spots for this model. Still, initial attempts to fix a line of faulty resistors yielded no results.
Shifting focus, he probed the larger integrated circuits and decided to replace a misbehaving bus transceiver. This move paid off: the Unisound driver finally recognized the card.
However, the victory was short-lived. While Wolfenstein 3D's menu played sound, in-game audio samples were missing, and Descent II produced similar results – music but no sound effects.
Stumped, Necroware consulted a Sound Blaster 16 hardware programming guide, which pointed him toward a missing CT1748A chip. The chip, previously removed for another project, was a rare find. To ease future repairs, Necroware installed a socket in its place.
With the chip reinstalled, the card finally functioned as intended. "Necroware now has two working Sound Blaster 16 cards for projects," the video concluded.
The story didn't end there. A viewer pointed out that the elaborate CT1748A chip replacement might have been unnecessary. "Setting a jumper on the PCB (or bridging two pads) could route digital audio to avoid this digital signal processor chip," the commenter noted, suggesting a more straightforward solution was available all along.
Enthusiast restores two Sound Blaster 16 cards documenting the challenges of vintage hardware repair
