Hiya!

 This tutorial will explain how to set up Impulse Tracker on Windows 2000/XP Environments.

 1) You first have to download VDMSound (an SB16 emulator for NT/2000/XP) by Vlad ROMANASCU 
 from http://ntvdm.cjb.net/ [Figure 1], and install it. It comes with a MSI installer, that
 should be no problem in Windows 2000 or XP.

 2) From "C:\Program Files\VDMSound" (or wherever you installed VDMSound to), find VDMSRun.bat
 and edit it with notepad (right-click on it and "edit"). Change the line saying "CALL %1" for
 "CALL %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9" as shown in [Figure2]

 3) Make a shortcut to IT.EXE by dragging the IT.EXE file to some clean space on a folder or
 your desktop with the right mouse button (as shown in [Figure3])

 4) Rename (by pressing F2) your shortcut (should be called "Shortcut to IT.EXE" before you
 rename it) and edit its properties by right-clicking on it and selecting "Properties".
 
  - On the "Program" tab, on the command line, make it read the following:
       
	%VDMSPath%\VDMSRun.bat F:\Music\IT\IT.EXE

    (Of course, change F:\Music\IT to whatever folder you have installed Impulse Tracker in)
    Optionally you can add the -sITSB16.MMX to use the MMX driver. You can add up to a maximum
    of 9 parameters to the IT.EXE file (should be enough).

    [Figure4] illustrates this.

  - On the "Memory" tab, choose the maximum amount of EMS, XMS and DPMI memory that the drop-down
    allows you to. You should never try to write by hand a larger number, as the XP VDM will act
    as "Automatic" (and that won't work with IT's own DOS stub, thus leaving you with no memory).
    16Mb (16384) should be enough memory for almost any module. If you need more than that, you
    should consider changing your tracker ;)

    [Figure5] illustrates this.


 5) Double click on the shortcut to start the program. If everything went right, you should be
    enjoying Impulse Tracker at its best :)


 Additional Notes & Tips:

 - You should reboot your machine after VDMSound is installed so it updates the system variables,
   although this is not mandatory, if anything goes wrong, try to reboot your computer.

 - You should use "Full-Screen" on your shortcut's properties' "Screen" tab, also you might
   beautify your shortcut icon by using the IT256.ICO that was included in some IT elease versions
   (you might have it on your IT folder, else download it [here])

 - XP, 2000 and NT have a problem with the keyboard driver under some console apps which might
   make it run painlessly slow. If this happens, disable "Num lock" unless you are using it. That
   should fix it.

 - If your sound has too much delay, try editing C:\Program Files\VDMSound\VDSM.INI and changing
   the buffer setting for the SB Wave Player. I have it on 75ms delay on my Athlon 1200, and the
   delay is almost nothing. If this causes you clicks or stops in the sound try setting it higher.

 - Finally, Impulse Tracker is a MS-DOS application. DOS is dead, and although you can hack it
   to work almost perfectly well, don't expect it to run as it'd do on pure MS-DOS.
    

 Good luck!
											- Jcl



 * Figure1 = download_page.jpg
   Figure2 = vmdsrun_bat_edit.jpg
   Figure3 = itshortcut_create.jpg
   Figure4 = program_it_properties.jpg
   Figure5 = memory_it_properties.jpg