Decorating Your Home Technical Notes (MPC) Version 1.0 System Requirements: -------------------- * MPC or equivalent * 33 MHz 80486DX or better * Minimum 8MB RAM * DOS 5.0 or later * Microsoft Windows 3.1x or Windows 95 * MPC-2 Compatible CD-ROM drive (2x or faster) * SVGA monitor\display at 256 colors * MPC compatible audio board * Mouse * Microsoft CD-ROM Extensions 2.2 or later General Installation Instructions: ---------------------------------- The following are instructions for installing Decorating Your Home on your hard drive. This procedure installs a few small files onto your hard drive that allow you to run our program. Please note that after installing, the CD must be in the CD-ROM drive whenever you wish to run Decorating Your Home. - WINDOWS 3.1 - 1. Insert the Decorating Your Home CD into the CD-ROM drive. 2. From Program Manager, select RUN from the FILE menu. 3. Type D:\setup (where D is the letter name of your CD-ROM) and click OK. - WINDOWS 95 - 1. Insert the Decorating Your Home CD into the CD-ROM Drive. The setup program should start automatically. If your computer does not support autoplay: 2. Go to the START menu on the taskbar and click RUN. 3. Type D:\setup.exe (where D is the letter name of your CD-ROM drive) and click OK. - ONLINE ACCESS INSTALLATION - -------------------------------- After specifying the location that Decorating Your Home will be installed to, you will be prompted to select a means of online access. Online access is not required for program operation. You have three choices: 1) Use an existing online service (America Online, CompuServe, Earthlink Network, AT&T WorldNet Service, or another local internet service provider) a) If you are a member of the listed commercial online services then select the appropriate service on the next screen. b) If you have a local internet service provider then choose the last option. The screen that follows will prompt you to locate your browser program on your hard disk. 2) Install an Online service provider (America Online, CompuServe, Earthlink Network, or AT&T WorldNet Service) 3) None Notes on Uninstallation: ------------------------ - Windows 3.1 - You will notice an icon in the Multicom program group to uninstall Decorating Your Home. We included this feature to make the uninstallation process easier should you wish to remove the program from your hard drive. Running this Uninstall program is all you need to do to remove the program from your hard drive. - Windows 95 - Go to the Start Menu and select Settings --> Control Panel --> Add/Remove Programs. In the dialogue box that appears, select Decorating Your Home from the list of installed programs and click on the Add/Remove button. This will completely uninstall the program from your hard drive. It is NOT recommended that you merely drag the folder containing Decorating Your Home to the Recycle Bin. This is true for most programs under Windows 95. To avoid conflicts and for best performance: -------------------------------------------- * Turn off Wallpaper and Screen Savers [Set to in the Desktop control panel]. * Make sure no other programs are running in the background while running Decorating Your Home. Trouble-shooting: -------------------------------------------- HELP: Decorating Your Home has an on-line help section. You can access it at any time by clicking on the HELP icon. Problem: Errors displaying files, reading the CD drive, and printing (among assorted others). Solution 1: Do not run any other applications simultaneously with Decorating Your Home. This includes any TSR's or Startup applications. (e.g. Microsoft Office or Bookshelf, Packard Bell Navigator) You can check your Windows Task List in Windows 3.1 by holding the Crtl-Esc keys down. Program manager should be the only task listed. If there are others, highlight them and select "End Task" for each of them. In Windows 95, there should be no other programs listed in the task bar at the bottom of the screen. Solution 2: Increase the size of Virtual Memory Swap File. Please refer to your Windows manual for instructions on this procedure. (We recommend a swap file of at lease 7 megabytes.) General Protection Faults, Application freezes... ------------------------------------------------ Aside from the above listed procedures, try switching your video card settings to 640x480 and 256 colors. If the problems still continue, contact the manufacturer of your video card and confirm that you have the most recent version of their Video Driver. (Video drivers are often updated several times a year and are usually available free of charge.) If Picture and Video Quality is Poor... ------------------------------------------------ Make sure you are using the correct video driver for your video card and not the Windows VGA driver. (Go to the Windows Setup in your Main group. If it says "VGA" next to Display, then you are using the wrong driver.) Do not try switching drivers unless you know what you are doing! It is safest to contact the manufacturer of your computer or video card to correct this problem. TECHNICAL SUPPORT ------------------------------------------------ For free technical support, call our offices in Seattle, WA at (800) 850-7272 or (206) 622-5530 during the following hours: Mon.-Fri. 7:30am -7:30pm (Pacific Time) Sat. 9am - 5pm Sun. 10am - 4pm We can also be contacted via: Fax: 206-622-4380 E-mail: techsupport@multicom.com Please include the following in any correspondence: Type(Brand name) of the computer you are using Which version of Windows you are using Amount of RAM your computer has Video card manufacturer (if known) Brief description of the problem you're experiencing, including any error messages.