MultiTracking with ESS1869 Soundchip

[TMedstein]

Have an ESS1869 soundchip in my computer(celeron366,96meg,6gig). Spec sheet says it is full duplex & it does play back while recording, but when using
multitrack recording software such as Cakewalk or n-track studio, the previously
recorded track(s) are mixed in to the new track. I have tried just about every combination of the windows mixer recording/playback properties, It will not let me mute just the wav input on the recording volume control; when I do that a check appears on the playback control, so then I can't monitor the previous track(s).
+++ How can I get around this???

[Slackmaster2K]

I am the great downer. The bearer of all bad news.

The ESS186x chipset is not workable for recording. I have tried the ESS1869 and the ESS1868 with similar results. Mushy, poor frequency response, bad drivers, and various screwy problems like the one you described.

Do you have a soundcard or is the sound onboard? If it's on the mobo, look for a way to disable it either via jumper or the BIOS. If it's a card then yank it out and stomp on it.

In either event, run down to the computer store and spend 30 bucks on a SB PCI128 or an Ensoniqe AudioPCI or spend 80 bucks on an SB Live!. If you're comfortable ordering over the net you can find all of these cards even cheaper.

Slackmaster 2000