Accessing the PC's internal speaker

[JMarch]

I belong to a forum asociated with a pre-PC computer. Another member is in the process of writing an emulator for that computer, using C. However, he is having great difficulty is emulating sound and it appears that the main problem revolves around wresting the PC's internal speaker away from the control of Windows.

While I have directed this message to the Windows 9X section of the Forum, I really want a solution for ALL versions of Windows, through to XP (which I personally use).

Thank you for any assistance you might be able to provide.

 

[ekim68]

What kind of sound, and possibly drivers?

 

[JMarch]

The computer being emulated is called the MicroBee, and it was designed and manufactured in Australia in the early 80s. It began as a tape-based machine, then adopted CP/M as the operating system when firstly 5.25" floppies then 3.5" diskettes (and at the very end a hard drive) became the norm. Like almost every other pre-PC computer, once IBM got involved it quickly faded from the scene but a great many were sold in Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Sweden, especially to schools.
I am a member of a website devoted to the machine and another member is writing an emulator for it. What he wants is some way he can cut through the "fat" of Windows so that sound commands in MicroWorld BASIC (the language that came as standard with the 'Bee) can be implemented and the sound heard through one's PC speaker. As the machine incorporated the Z80 microprocessor, it should be possible to emulator sound via Z80 machine code as well (and the emulator, of course, emulates the Z80 in the first instance). What apparently is required is some way of getting deep into the Windows' Kernel to be able to do this and EVERY version of Windows is involved, pf course.

 

[JMarch]

I forgot to mention that there is one MicroWorld BASIC (MWB) program I have that on a proper MicroBee will produce glissandi (slides, both ascending and descending) as well as sounds like a siren, bird warbles, chipmunk chatter, rapid gun and laser fire etc, plus rudimentary musical sounds (i.e. single notes and monothematic melody). At the moment such a program is met with stony silence through this emulator on my PC!