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Important Note: The inclusion of references to any particular operating system does not guarantee full compatibility with such systems. Please refer to the outer package of this software to confirm the suitable systems.

The following Help Topics are available:

General Windows 95/98 Trouble Shooting

Other Useful Information

Contacting Technical Support


General Windows 95/98 Trouble Shooting

This topic presents some steps you can take before you contact Technical Support. Please open the File menu and click Print Topic. A hard copy of this topic is useful, since you will be working with your system and restarting your computer.

Before starting this guide please ensure that your machine meets the minimum system requirements stated on the Learning Company software package.

*********************************** CAUTION - DISCLAIMER ***********************************

NOTICE: The Learning Company, Inc. will not be responsible for any damage or other consequences resulting from changes made to system configuration files. You make any changes at your own risk. Even if you are familiar with modifying your system and/or files, we recommend you make backup copies of any files you intend to modify.

*********************************** CAUTION - DISCLAIMER ***********************************

1.	CLOSE PROGRAM BOX

Check for other programs running in the background. This is the most common cause of problems you may encounter. To open the Close Program Box press Ctrl+Alt+Del (just once).

If the Close Program Box lists anything other than Explorer and Systray, highlight the item and click the End Task button. This temporarily unloads the program from memory, until you restart Windows. Repeat this procedure as necessary, until only Explorer and Systray are left. At this point, it is advisable to uninstall and reinstall the program as per section 7 of this guide.

This should fix the majority of problems although if you still have problems then follow through the rest of this guide.

2.	CHECKING THE HARD DRIVE FOR PROBLEMS

A.  Run the program Scandisk on the C: drive (and the drive where this program is installed, if it is not drive C:). To run Scandisk, click from the Start menu, to Programs, to Accessories, to System Tools, to Scandisk. Fix any problems Scandisk detects.

B.  Run the program Disk Defragmenter on the C: drive (and the drive where this program is installed, if it is not drive C:). To run Disk Defragmenter, click from the Start menu, to Programs, to Accessories, to System Tools, to Disk Defragmenter. If your hard drive is fragmented by even 1% it is important to run this program. Click Start to proceed.

Note: If Scandisk or Disk Defragmenter is not a option from your Start menu, then this utility may not be installed in your machine. Consult your Windows documentation for installation instructions.

3.	CHECKING THE SYSTEM FILES

Caution: The following steps walk you through editing some of your computer's configuration files. Caution should be used.

From the Start menu, select Run. In the Open command line, type SYSEDIT and press Enter.

SYSEDIT displays the contents of your AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI, and other miscellaneous .INI files.

A.  In the AUTOEXEC.BAT, see if you have a SET TEMP= statement.  Some examples are below:

             SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP

             SET TEMP=C:\DOS\TEMP

        	 SET TEMP=C:\TEMP

If this line is listed in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, make sure that it refers to a temporary directory name like "TEMP" and not an application directory like SET TEMP=C:\DOS.

** If the SET TEMP= statement is not in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, Windows 95/98 default this setting to SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP. If this is the case, please proceed to section B **

Also make sure this "unique" directory name exist on the hard drive. For the SET TEMP= line to work, the directory must exist. Verify the directory exists, by doing the following:

Go into Windows Explorer (click on START, go to Programs, and double click on Windows Explorer).  The directories on drive C: should appear on the left side of the screen.  Look for a directory with the same name / path as the one which follows SET TEMP=.

Example:  If SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP is in your AUTOEXEC.BAT:  In Explorer, double-click the Windows folder and look for another folder called TEMP.  If this does not exist then click on the FILE pulldown menu (in the Windows Explorer Window), go to NEW and choose FOLDER. Now type in the name of the "unique" directory as listed in the SET TEMP= line.

B.  If the SET TEMP does not exist or after verifying the SET TEMP parameter is set to a unique directory name that exists on the hard drive, make certain this directory does not contain any files. To do this, double-click on the folder specified by SET TEMP=, or open Windows Explorer and open the Windows\Temp folder if the SET TEMP line did not exist, then drag any files listed in it to the Windows 95/98 Recycle Bin with the exception of any files you have personally stored there; remove these files to another directory.

If you made changes to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, then Click on the FILE pulldown menu (in the SYSEDIT Window) and choose SAVE.

C.  In the CONFIG.SYS, see if you have FILES= & BUFFERS= lines. In Windows 95/98 these lines are NOT necessary as they are pre-loaded through the IO.SYS, but if they are listed, make sure there values are not below Microsoft's defaults of FILES=60 & BUFFERS=30. These values can be higher, but lower values could cause memory problems.

If you made changes, then Click on the FILE pulldown menu (in the SYSEDIT Window) and choose SAVE.

D.  In the WIN.INI, under the [WINDOWS] section, look for the LOAD= &  RUN= lines.  When Windows 95/98 loads up, these lines MAY load up extra drivers / programs into Windows that might not show up in the Close Program Box.

If these lines are not empty, then temporarily REMark them out. At the beginning of the line place a ';'.

  Example:      LOAD=C:\MSINPUT\POINTER.EXE   NAVTSR     becomes

                      ;LOAD=C:\MSINPUT\POINTER.EXE   NAVTSR

If changes were made, then Click on the FILE pulldown menu (in the SYSEDIT Window) and choose SAVE, then click FILE again, and choose EXIT.  If no changes were made, click FILE then choose EXIT.

4.	RESTART MACHINE (SHIFT KEY OPTION)

Even if you didn't make any changes, restart your machine now. From the Start menu, click Shut Down, then choose the Restart The Computer? option. When you see the Windows logo appear, hold down the left Shift key, until Windows fully loads. This helps prevent some memory resident programs from loading into Windows.

Note: This is not the same as booting into Safe Mode.

5.	CHECKING FREE HARD DRIVE SPACE

Open My Computer and right-click the hard drive icon (usually the C: drive or the drive where Windows is installed). Click Properties. The Properties window appears.

Make sure there is about 30 MB of free uncompressed hard drive space. Windows uses this free hard drive space to create "Virtual Memory" for the program to run.

6.	CHECKING VIDEO DISPLAY DRIVER

Click from the Start menu, to Settings, to Control Panel. In the Control Panel window, double click the Display icon. In the Display Properties window, click the Settings tab. The Display Properties window refreshes as shown below.

Note: Take extreme caution in making any changes to your video card drivers. Unless you are familiar with changing your display driver, The Learning Company strongly recommends following the instructions as outlined in your video card manual or contacting the video card manufacturer or computer company for assistance. If you choose a incorrect video card driver, you may find your Windows screen corrupted.

Please take steps A, B, and C below.

A.	Verify you are running in the correct resolution/colours. Most Windows programs run in either  800x600 256 colours or 640x480 256 colours). Check the system requirements for the The Learning Company program you are running and make sure your video resolution is set accordingly.

B.	Click Change Display Type. On the following screen, check the Adapter Type, Manufacturer, and Version.

Do you have the current version of the video drivers? As most companies update their drivers several times a year, The Learning Company recommends checking with the video card manufacturer or computer company regularly. Earlier software drivers for your video card can cause conflicts (GPF's, Lockups, and so on) with the software you are running.

Note: Windows95 video drivers start with version 4.00.

Does the Adapter Type listed match the name of your video card? Does the Manufacturer match the name of your video card manufacturer? Most video card drivers are named after the name brand of the card. If the driver listed is not the name of your video card and/or the manufacturer of the driver is not the manufacturer of your video card, you may be using the wrong driver. Contact your video card manufacturer or computer company for verification.Hardware Manufacturers

7.	DEVICE MANAGER CONFLICTS

On your Windows screen, right-click the My Computer icon. Now click Properties. The System Properties window appears. Click the Device Manager tab.

The Device Manager shows all hardware in your machine that is recognised by Windows. Look for a yellow exclamation point next to one or more of the hardware components listed here. A yellow exclamation mark essentially indicates that the device is not working properly; either because it was setup incorrectly or because of a conflict with something else on the system. In such a case, you should contact your computer retailer or manufacturer of the device in question for further assistance.

8.	CHECKING THE SWAP FILE

Step 7 took you to the System Properties window (right-click My Computer, then click Properties). Now click the Performance tab. Click the Virtual Memory button. Make sure the following option is checked:

|X| Let Windows manage my virtual memory settings (recommended).

9.	DELETE AND REINSTALL

After everything has been checked, verified, and changed if necessary, it's time to delete and reinstall the program. If the program installed incorrectly or became unstable after it was installed, reinstalling on top of the program keeps that instability. Therefore it's important to uninstall or delete the program from the hard drive before reinstalling.

TO REMOVE A WINDOWS 95/98 NATIVE PROGRAM

Insert the CD and select Uninstall from the program's splash screen.

Alternatively the following options may be available:

Click from the Start menu, to Programs, to the program title folder. Once the program's icons appear, click the Uninstall icon. Follow the onscreen directions.

Click from the Start menu, to Settings, to Control Panel and double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon. Then double-click on the relevant title.

TO REMOVE A WINDOWS 3.x PROGRAM

Open My Computer, double-click the hard drive icon, and drag the The Learning Company program title folder to the Windows Recycle Bin.

Note: The program files will not be fully erased until you empty the Recycle Bin. To empty the Recycle Bin, right-click it and choose Empty Recycle Bin.

If you are still encountering problems please try:

Other Useful Information

If your problem is related to graphical corruption please also try the following:

HARDWARE ACCELERATION

On your Windows screen, right-click the My Computer icon. Now click Properties. The System Properties window appears. Click the Performance tab, followed by Graphics.

Try each of the four options in turn as this can sometimes prevent graphical errors.

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Hardware Manufacturers

Contact details for some hardware manufacturers, if your manufacturer is not listed please contact your PC's supplier for advice.

Acer:

http://www.acer.com

ATI:

http://support.atitech.ca

Telephone:  00353 1 807 7826 (Ireland)

Aztech Labs:

http://www.aztechca.com/

Telephone: +44 (0)1189 814121(UK)

Cirrus Logic:

http://www.cirrus.com/

Compaq:

http:// www.compaq.com

Creative Labs:

http://www.creativelabs.com

Dell:

http://www.dell.com

Diamond:

http://www.diamondmm.com

Telephone: +44 (0)1189 444 444 (UK)

Ensoniq:

http://www.ensoniq.com

Gateway:

http://www.gw2k.com

Gravis:

http://www.gravis.com

Hercules:

http://www.hercules.com/

HP:

http://www.hp.com

IBM:

http://www.ibm.com

Matrox:

http://www.matrox.com/

Miro:

http://www.miro.com/

Telephone: +44 (0)1895 442003 (UK)

Oak Technologies:

http://www.oaktech.com

Orchid:

http://www.orchid.com

Packard Bell:

http://www.packardbell.com

S3:

http://www.s3.com/

STB:

http://www.stb.com

Telephone: +44 (0)181 897 0662 (UK)

Toshiba:

http://www.toshiba.com

Trident:

http://www.tridentmicro.com

Tseng:

http://www.tseng.com

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Other Useful Information

Please also refer to any 'readme' files that may be located on the CD.

This product originates from the USA and therefore contains US spellings, telephone numbers and offers that may not be available in the UK.

CompuPic is a third party product and originates from the USA. Please contact the Photodex Corporation for any Technical Support or queries related to this product.

CompuPic uses the C: drive only to store database information, other drives can not be used for this.

Removing the CD whilst CompuPic is running may cause an error in the program. To avoid this please exit  CompuPic before removing the CD.

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Contacting Technical Support

Have you completed all the steps detailed?

Many issues can be solved by referring to the help within this guide.

General Windows 95/98 Trouble Shooting

Other Useful Information.

If you have any further questions, please contact us at the office nearest you:

USA

United Kingdom

France

Germany

The Netherlands

Australia

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United Kingdom

Tech Support e-mail:	uktechsupport@learningco.com

Phone:	08707416821 (Calls charged at Standard National Rate)

Facsimile:	08707416822 (Calls charged at Standard National Rate)

Mail:	The Learning Company

PO Box 121

Crawley

RH11 9YP

ENGLAND

Attn:  <product name>

We regret that we cannot offer game hints and tips, as the service is provided for technical difficulties only.

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USA

Online Support Request Form:  	www.learningco.com

Technical Support Email:  	help@tlcsupport.com

Online Technical Library:  	www.learningco.com/support

Automated 24-hour

Technical Support Service: 	800-409-1497

24 Hour Fax:  	319-395-9600

Technical Support Call Center:  319-247-3333

Business Hours:  9:00 AM - 9:00 PM

Mailing Address

The Learning Company

1700 Progress Drive

PO Box 100

Hiawatha, IA 52233-0100  USA

Attn:  <product name>

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Germany

Keltenring 12

82041 Oberhaching

Germany

Tel ++49 89/613 092 35

Fax ++49 89/14827-411

email hotline@learningco.com

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The Netherlands

PO Box 94791

1090 GT Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Tel 0900 8524357

email nsupport@learningco.com

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France

132 bvd Camelinat

92247 Malakoff Cedex

France

Tel: +33 1 46 73 08 00

e-mail: supportfr@learningco.com

Web : http://tlc-edusoft.fr

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Australia

Phone:	61-2-9899-2277

Facsimile:	61-2-9899-2348

Mail:	Unit 6

372 Eastern Valley Way

Chatswood

Sydney

NSW 2067

Australia

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