+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | B O B B Y F I S C H E R T E A C H E S C H E S S | | ----------------------------------------------------- | | | | FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ This document is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. We keep this list updated and new versions will be made available on our BBS, Compuserve and other on-line sources. See the bottom of this file for ways to get the update. This file is the BEST source of technical support available for Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. Please look here for your question before calling our technical support line. This may save you the cost of the call. ---------------- Q. What is VESA? What is a VESA driver? Do I need this thing? A. VESA is a standard created to try to bring a certain level of compatibility to SuperVGA video cards. Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess can work with any video card that supports the VESA standard. Before VESA, software programs had to have different "drivers" or special sections of program, to understand how to display images on each different brand of video card. Because there are so many different brands of video card, this was difficult and error prone. If Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess doesn't work with your Super VGA card, you can get a VESA 'driver' for it which will make your video card support the VESA standard. To get a VESA driver for your video card, you should contact the manufacturer of the card and request one. There are also several very popular "universal" VESA drivers available as shareware. These VESA drivers work on many different types of video cards. You can find shareware VESA drivers on many Bulletin Board Systems and on-line services. Here are some examples: Compuserve (pay service) America Online (pay service) GeNie (pay service) the Internet (various access) Mission Studios BBS 708-991-0597 If Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess still doesn't function properly after installing a VESA driver, try running the program by typing: BFTC VESA [Enter] ---------------- Q. I see strange horizontal lines on the screen. Q. I have video problems with my Packard Bell computer. Q. I have video problems with my Headland video card. Q. I have video problems with my Diamond Stealth 24 video card. A. Certain versions of the Packard Bell computer use a video card made by Headland. This video card is known to have problems when used in SUPER VGA mode. Try using a VESA driver and running Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess by typing BFTC VESA [Enter]. This will cause BFTC to use the VESA driver instead of trying to use the Headland video card directly. ---------------- Q. I have a Matrox video card, and I don't see any graphics. A. You will need to get a VESA driver from MATROX, or a universal VESA driver that supports the MATROX card. ---------------- Q. I am low on memory, how can I free more memory for BFTC? A. You need to reduce the number of "device drivers" and memory resident programs that are loaded when your computer starts up. If you need to, you can disable the CD-ROM drivers. BFTC will still run, but you will not be able to view the Picture History of Chess. Adding the option NOEMS to your EMS driver may also increase the amount of available RAM. ---------------- Q. I get errors saying "unable to open file..." Q. Some dialog boxes do not disappear when I'm finished with them. A. You may not have enough FILES or BUFFERS. FILES and BUFFERS are set in the CONFIG.SYS file. You should see two lines like this: FILES=30 BUFFERS=30 If your numbers are significantly lower, you should increase them. If you don't have one or both of these lines, you should add them. Consult your DOS manual or your computer dealer for more information on FILES and BUFFERS and how to change your CONFIG.SYS file. ---------------- Q. My computer locks up after I see the message "Sound card detected..." A. Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess tries to detect your cound card settings automatically. On some computers this may cause a conflict with other expansion boards like network cards and modems. Try re-starting your computer and running BFTC again. This usually solves the problem. Setting your sound card to the default settings may also help. For the Sound Blaster and compatibles, the default settings are: IRQ 5 PORT 220h DMA 1 To bypass the sound drivers, you can use the NOSOUND parameter when starting Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess: BFTC NOSOUND [Enter] You can have BFTC display information during sound board detection by typing: BFTC SOUND [Enter] ---------------- Q. What is AUTHOR mode? Q. Why should I use AUTHOR mode? A. Author mode is a special, advanced, feature of Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess which allows you to create your own custom lessons. This feature is most likely to be used by Teachers and Chess Coaches. It is not recommend for typical users, as some knowledge of programming is helpful. The manual covers the basics of the scripting language. If you are interested in creating complex new lessons, and need more information, you can contact: BOOKUP, Inc. at 614-263-1434 ---------------- Q. In Author mode, the 3D chess pieces animate very slowly. A. Try loading a disk cache like SMARTDRV. It will help speed up the display. Your lessons will run full-speed in the normal version of Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. ---------------- Q. Can I add new background images to the program? A. Yes, but we recommend this only for experts. The program will accept any valid PCX file. Simply place the file in the DESKTOPS directory and the new file will appear as a background choice. However, there are some IMPORTANT requirements for the PCX file: - it must be 640 x 480 with 256 colors - it must match the palette of DEFAULT.PCX - it must be located in the DESKTOPS directory ---------------- Q. I have problems when I run Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess from Windows. A. Because different Windows configurations can vary dramatically from one user to another, we recommend exiting to DOS, then running Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess from the command line. Windows may be controlling system resources (like sound and video) that Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess requires. Running the program from DOS will give you more memory, and less chance of software conflicts. ---------------- Q. How can I prevent the warning text from appearing every time I run Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess from Windows? A. The BFTC icon in Windows is set to run the program called "BFTCWIN.BAT". To bypass the message, the icon should be set to run the program "BFTC.EXE". To make this change, select "Properties" from the Program Manager's File menu when the BFTC icon is highlighted. Change the entry in Command Line from "C:\BFTC\BFTCWIN.EXE" to "C:\BFTC\BFTC.EXE". If you installed to another drive or directory, you will need to use that path instead of "C:\BFTC". ---------------- +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | CUSTOMER SUPPORT INFORMATION | | | | | | Mission Studios wants to provide the best technical support possible | | for its products. Keeping this FAQ list up to date is one important | | way we do this. We will try, to the best of our abilities, to keep | | this list available via the following services. | | | | This file will be called BFTCFAQ.TXT | | | | COMPUSERVE | | Go GAMPUB and enter the forum with Other Publishers. Download | | BFTCFAQ.TXT from the Other Publishers library. | | | | MISSION STUDIOS BBS | | Call our BBS at 708-991-0597. The BBS will ask you some questions. | | After answering the questions, go to the BFTC area and download | | BFTCFAQ.TXT. | | | | | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+