MSB Human: Cannot Play MIDI Sounds (123394)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Scholastic's Magic School Bus series: Explores the Human Body for Windows

This article was previously published under Q123394

SYMPTOMS

When you run The Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body, you may be unable to play MIDI sounds.

If you are using Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98, you may also receive the following error message:
MIDI not configured properly.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur for any of the following reasons:

  • The MIDI driver for your sound card is either not installed or is not configured properly.
  • The volume for your sound card's MIDI channel or for your speakers is not turned up.
  • The MIDI channel on your sound card is not set to Play.
  • The MIDI Mapper Control Panel is not configured for Extended MIDI.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use the appropriate method for your version of Microsoft Windows:

Windows 95/98

  1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Multimedia, and then click Media Player.

    NOTE: If you are using Windows 98, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Entertainment, and then click Media Player.
  2. On the Device menu, click MIDI Sequencer.
  3. Open the Windows\Media folder, click the Canyon.mid file, and then click Open.
  4. Click the Play button. If you hear the Canyon.mid file play, skip to step 6.
  5. If you do not hear the Canyon.mid file play, click Volume Control on the Device menu. Make sure the Volume slider under MIDI is not set all the way down, and the Mute check box under MIDI is not selected. Also make sure the volume for your speakers is turned up, and the speakers are plugged in to the correct jack on your sound card.

    If you still do not hear Canyon.mid the file play, contact your sound card manufacturer for assistance in installing or properly configuring the MIDI driver for your sound card.
  6. If you do hear the Canyon.mid file play, follow these steps:

    1. Click Start, point to Settings and then click Control Panel.
    2. Double-click Multimedia, then click the Midi tab.
    3. Under MIDI Output, click the Single Instrument option to select it, and then click Midi For Internal FM Synthesizer (or equivalent).
    4. Click OK, and then close Control Panel.
The MIDI driver for your sound card should now be configured properly, and you should be able to play MIDI sounds in Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body.

Windows 3.x

  1. Double-click the Accessories program group, and then double-click Media Player.
  2. On the Device menu, click MIDI Sequencer.
  3. Open the Windows folder, click the Canyon.mid file, and then click OK.
  4. Click the Play button.
  5. If you do not hear the Canyon.mid file play, make sure the volume for your speakers is turned up, and the speakers are plugged in to the correct jack on your sound card.

    If you still do not hear Canyon.mid the file play, contact your sound card manufacturer for assistance in installing or properly configuring the MIDI driver for your sound card, setting the MIDI channel on your sound card to Play, or raising the playback volume of the MIDI channel on your sound card.
  6. If you do hear the Canyon.mid file play, follow these steps:

    1. Double-click the Main program group, double-click Control Panel, and double-click MIDI Mapper.
    2. In MIDI Mapper, click Edit.
    3. Note the Port Name for which Src Channels 13-16 are configured, and set Src Channels 1-10 to the same Port Name.
    4. Click OK. When you are prompted to save the changes, click Yes.
    5. Click Close, and then close Control Panel.
The MIDI driver for your sound card should now be configured properly, and you should be able to play MIDI sounds in Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body.

NOTE: If your MIDI drums do not sound right, you may need to map Src Channel 10 to Dest Channel 16.

MORE INFORMATION

Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body for Windows uses Extended MIDI, rather than Base MIDI, to achieve high-quality MIDI sound.

Extended MIDI uses 10 (ten) MIDI channels, compared to 4 (four) channels with Base MIDI. As a result, 10 MIDI instruments can be accessed and used by the program, resulting in a better quality of MIDI sound.

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/15/2005
Keywords:kbenv kbprb kbsound KB123394