README LINKS 386 CD VERSION: 2.02 Contents: ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Installation 1A) Windows 95 1B) DOS 1C) Alternate Installation 2) Installing And Testing Your VESA Video Driver 2A) Univbe51a Video Driver 2B) Setvesa 3) Running LINKS 386 CD 3A) Windows 95 3B) DOS 4) Advanced Issues 5A) Windows 95 5B) Memory Management 5C) Drive Compression 5) Trouble Shooting 6) Boot Disk 7) Additional Help --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INSTALLATION: We have made every effort to insure a painless installation. If you do encounter a problem, please go to section 1C for information on our Alternate Installation. 1A. WINDOWS 95: Insert the CD into the CD ROM drive, if your computer has the autorun feature the installation program will come up automatically. If not, simply click on the start button on your task bar, select run, and type: D:\SETUP (where D is the drive letter of your CD ROM). Follow the instructions on the screen. 1B. DOS: Insert the CD into the CD ROM drive, and type: D:\INSTALL (where D is the drive letter of your CD ROM). Follow the instructions on the screen. 1C. ALTERNATE INSTALLATION: If the previous Installation instructions do not work, or you receive an error during installation, try running the Alternat Installation program. Windows 95: Select SHUT DOWN from the task bar in Windows 95, and choose RESTART THE COMPUTER IN MS DOS MODE. Once you have reached the DOS Prompt, follow the instructions below for DOS. DOS: From the DOS Prompt type: D:\INSTALL2 (where D is the drive letter of your CD ROM). Follow the instructions given. 2) Installing And Testing Your VESA Video Driver A VESA Video driver that supports a 640x480 resolutions is required for LINKS 386 CD. For most new systems, the driver is built on the card and the game will "just work". If you do require a driver to operate, one is usually included with your video card. Whenever possible we would encourage you to use this driver. Should you require a driver, and one is not supplied by your video card manufacture, please follow the following instructions. 2A) UNIVBE51a VIDEO DRIVER The UNIVBE51a VIDEO DRIVER is a Shareware driver that works with a wide variety of video cards and requires little user intervention for installation. Because this is a share- ware product, it will expire after 21 days. Installation: Windows 95: Select RUN from the Start Menu and type: D:\UNIVBE51\INSTALL (where D is the drive letter of the CD ROM). Follow the instructions given. DOS: From the DOS Prompt type: D:\UNIVBE51\INSTALL (where D is the drive letter of the CD ROM). Follow the instructions given on the screen. 2B) Another option we have included is SETVESA. This program will attempt to determine your video card, then install a driver for it. This program requires more user intervention but will assure the correct driver for the video card. This program should not be run from Windows 95. To run SETVESA, shutdown Windows 95 by selecting SHUTDOWN from the Start Menu and select RESTART THE COMPUTER IN MS-DOS MODE. DOS: At the DOS prompt type: D:\SETVESA (where D is the drive letter of your CD ROM). Once the program begins, you will see several options, choose AUTOMATIC METHOD if you are a novice user, or select MANUAL METHOD if you understand how to edit files and load drivers. 3. RUNNING LINKS 386 CD: Windows 95: Once the program has been installed, you will be able to run it by selecting LINKS 386 CD from the Start Menu under PROGRAMS and LINKS 386 CD. We have included a program called SENTRY which may come up if you have other programs running. We recommend closing all other programs before running LINKS 386 CD to insure all your resorces will be available for the game. DOS: In DOS, change to the Installed directory; Example: CD\LINKS386 Once in the correct directory type: GOLFCD to launch the program. 4. ADVANCED ISSUES: WINDOWS 95: There are two issues that may concern Windows 95 users. You may notice the game pausing from time to time during game play or video sequences. What is happening, depending on the system configuration, is Windows 95 will occasionally swap memory to the hard drive while you are playing. We have no control over this, and recommend you run the program from DOS. You may run into problems with sound if your computer has not been setup correctly for DOS programs. Most Sound Cards require drivers to support sound in DOS applications. These drivers were probably included with your Sound Card, please check the documen- tation that came with your computer. MEMORY MANAGEMENT: LINKS 386 CD comes with a memory manager built in, and doesn't require any external driver to boost performance. If you are having trouble running the program, and receive memory errors or get an "Abnormal Program Termination", try removing these external memory managers or creating a boot disk (see the section titled "Boot Disk") Look for: QEMM, EMM386, 386MAX, or NETROOM in the CONFIG.SYS file. Drive Compression: In most instances the program is going to run fine under the newest compression programs, especially those that have come out since the release of Windows 95. However, as with all compression programs, you will want to make sure you have enough FREE hard drive space before running any program (LINKS 386 CD) that creates a swap file on the hard drive. If you have less than 8 Megs of RAM, try to have a minimum of 16 Megs of FREE hard drive space. 5. TROUBLE SHOOTING: Problem: Screen breaks up with images drawing "all over the screen in random blocks" (small squares appear over game areas) Solution 1: Install the Univbe51 Video Driver (section 2A) Solution 2: From DOS, start the game by typing: GOLFCD /J Problem: Sound stops or the program locks. Solution 1: First, try setting your sound to NO DIGITAL DEVICE and run the program. If it works you may have a conflict with your sound card settings. Solution 2: If you are using a Sound Blaster 1.0, Sound Blaster Pro, or Microsoft Sound System, try selecting the same card and settings but with the "No Verify" option. These are listed at the bottom of the Digital Sound Device List. Problem: Game starts, but all you get is a mini hard drive cursor Solution: From DOS, start the game by typing: GOLFCD /F Problem: Program had been working, but now Locks with Abnormal Program Termination after selecting OK from the Select Players Screen. Solution: This may be a problem with a corrupted course file Try coping all the courses but Harbour Town or Banff Springs to another directory then run the program. If it works, copy one course back at a time until you find the corrupted course and reinstall. Problem: Program doesn't work under Windows 95 Solution: Follow the instructions for installing too, and running from DOS. This is especially true for computers with 8 Meg of RAM or less. **NOTE: If you are having trouble with your Sound or Video Card, you should check the file PROBLEMS.TXT located in the root directory of this CD ROM. It contains current information on a variety of hardware related issues. If the program still won't run, please follow the instructions below for Creating a Boot Disk. 6. BOOT DISK: We have created a program that will create a boot disk for you automatically. Simply get a blank disk for your "A" drive, and follow the instructions given on the screen by the following program. To run the program, go to the DOS prompt, change to the LINKS 386 CD directory and type: AUTOBOOT . 7. ADDITIONAL HELP: If you run into problems that you cannot resolve through the information given above, you still have several options for help. Tech Support: Open Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM to 8:30 PM Mountain Standard Time. In US: 1-800-793-8324 Outside US: 801-359-1294 Internet: World Wide Web: http://www.accesssoftware.com E-Mail: tech@accesssoftware.com Online Services: Service ID Location America Online: Linkspro1 Industry Connection Compuserve 72662,61 Go Gamepub Podigy GBVV20A Email Only Delphi Linkspro1 CUstom 119 BBS: 1-801-364-7449