Last Updated on 13 April 2026 by Suffocation
Released around 1998 with a PCI interface, this card appears rather ordinary. It has a Forte Media FM801 Sound chip. For this there is even a DOS driver, let's see if it also works with this card.
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Facts
| Name | DT0398 |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Diamond Technology |
| Type | DT0398 |
| Chip | FortéMedia FM801 |
| Bus | PCI |
| Sound Version | Stereo |
| Windows | 9x/NT |
| Two | Yes |
| Plug and play | X |
| Publication year | ~1998 |
| Compatibility | |
| Wavetable | No |
| OPL2/3 | No |
| Special features | |
| External connections | Speaker/Line Out, Line In, Mic |
| Internal Connectors | CD Sound (Sony/Mitsumi/Panasonic) Video in. |
| CD-ROM | No |
| Gameport | 1 |
| System requirements |
Chipsethttps://theretroweb.com/chips/3677
User manual
–
Driver
I found the drivers with the Vogons:
Win 9x/NT/2000/Dos
Two
Use the Install.exe from the package above. The settings will be queried and the driver and configuration will be stored on C:. A corresponding entry will be made in the Autoexec.bat. I have moved the files to a driver directory on my system. The path of your own machine must be adjusted accordingly.
The card works well for me in DOS, I tested it with Monkey Island 1, Doom I and Duke Nukem 3D. The test machine was a Pentium I 200 MMX with a 2MB ATI MACH 4 graphics card.
ATTENTION, the installation script is not entirely error-free; it changes „goto%CONFIG %“ to „goto CONFIG“.“
#Autoexec.bat
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4 P330
LH c:\driver\dt0398\CFG801
LH c:\driver\dt0398\DOS801
Sound problems
Windows no sound in DOS mode
- Install/start DOS driver
- Install SB16 Emulation
No music
- Check settings, is the address correct?
No TFX sound
- Check settings, SIMM, Address, IRQ, DMA...
IRQ Busy
- BIOS IRQ Search Reset
- Assign IRQ in BIOS
- Use another slot (usually means another IRQ too)
- Reserve IRQ for ISA (it will then not be available for PCI)
IRQ not suitable for DOS
- Reserve IRQ for ISA (it will then not be available for PCI)
- See IRQ Occupied
Choppy sound with interruptions
This can happen if the IRQ is doubly assigned. For this, please look at the solutions for „IRQ Occupied“.
Miscellaneous
Periodicals and other contemporary evidence
Unfortunately, nothing was found
Test report
Unfortunately, nothing was found
Conclusion
| Description | Worth |
|---|---|
| Successfully Installed | Yes |
| Price | They sell on eBay between €20 and €60. I got the cats from somewhere, I don't remember how much they cost. |
| Function | OK |
| Is it worth it | Yes – seems to run quite well under DOS and is inexpensive |
| Restrictions | Only Soundblaster compatible – but doesn’t seem to cause any major problems |
Related Posts
Sources
Vogon's contribution with instructions for this sound card
Retro Web – Soundchip Forte Media FM801
Good places to get drivers
http://vogonsdrivers.com/
https://www.philscomputerlab.com
Log
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 08.04.2026 | Post Created, |
| 10.04.2026 | Driver disk, installation inserted |
| 11.04.2026 | Map with tested and contribution finalised |