************************************************************ Compton's New Century Encyclopedia & Reference Collection II for Windows 3.1 Version 4.00 August 11, 1995 ************************************************************ Welcome to Compton's New Century Encyclopedia & Reference Collection II! We would like to thank you for your purchase. It is our goal to make you a happy and satisfied customer, so we have included here in this file some solutions to problems you may encounter. This file contains information that was not available at the time the on-disc documentation was prepared, as well as other important information to help you successfully use this product. If you are uncertain how to make a recommended change, please refer to the user's guides that came with Windows and/or your computer system. CONTENTS I. Pre-Installation Notes and Suggestions II. Troubleshooting III. Compton's Technical Support I. Pre-Installation Notes and Suggestions ********************************************************* A. Disk Compression If you are using a disk compression utility, the available hard disk space reported by the installation program might not be accurate. Disk compression utilities can only ESTIMATE available hard disk space. If the installation process is not successful, you may need to free additional hard disk space by removing unneeded files or applications from your hard drive. B. Network Installation This product is designed as a "stand-alone" application and does not support use by multiple users over a network. C. This program works best with Windows operating in a 386- enhanced mode with a 10 MB permanent swap file established on a non-compressed drive. D. Installation Instructions Compton's suggests you exit all applications before installing this product. Other programs and drivers running on the computer could interfere with the installation process. From the Program Manager, open the File menu and select "Run...". In the "Command Line" box type "X:\SETUP.EXE", replacing the letter "X" with the actual letter of your CD drive. For example, if your CD-ROM drive is drive "D", type "D:\SETUP.EXE" and press Enter. Once the program files have been installed, the installation program will scan for Video for Windows. If Video for Windows version 1.1 is already installed on your system, the program will offer you the option of starting the program or returning to the Program Manager. If Video for Windows is not installed on your system, the installation program will offer to install it for you. Once Video for Windows 1.1 is installed, simply open the Comptons group and double-click on the Compton's New Century Encyclopedia & Reference Collection icon. To exit the installation program without using the mouse, press the F3 key. E. Minimum System Requirements The minimum system requirements for this program are: * A Multimedia PC with 486SX/16MHz or better processor (486SX/25MHz recommended) * Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later * Microsoft CD Extensions 2.2 or later * MS-DOS 3.1 or later * 4MB RAM (8MB recommended) * An SVGA graphics card (640x480 with 256 colors) with a compatible monitor * An MPC-compatible CD-ROM drive (300KB/s sustained transfer rate) * A SoundBlaster or compatible sound card with general MIDI support (Wave table recommended) * Stereo speakers or headphones * A Microsoft or 100% compatible mouse * A printer is optional II. Troubleshooting ********************************************************* This product has been successfully tested with a wide variety of hardware and peripheral equipment. It should be noted, however, that Microsoft Windows is a "device-independent" operating system which relies on device drivers to communicate with the various devices on your system, and, occasionally, issues may occur with one of these drivers. Conflicts with sound cards, video displays and printers are often resolved by reconfiguring or updating the device drivers supplied by the manufacturers. This product is not designed specifically for compatibility with any particular hardware item. A. "General Protection Fault in Module ???.DRV" These error messages are often related to the video driver being used by Windows. They can often be resolved by changing the video resolution to 640x480 with 256 colors. B. "CDR-lOl" or "Not Ready Reading (CD-ROM drive)" Error messages related to the computer's ability to read the CD can often be resolved by one of the following suggestions: * Make sure that the CD is clean and free of scratches. CDs can be washed in warm water and dish washing liquid. Scratched CDs should be replaced. * Don't cache the CD-ROM drive. If your computer is using DOS version 6.20 or later and the SMARTDRV caching driver, add a "/U" argument to the line that loads SMARTDRV in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The line may appear as "C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE /X /U". For more information on SMARTDRV, type "HELP SMARTDRV" at the DOS prompt. * Assign twenty buffers to reading the CD. This is done by setting the "/M:" argument on the MSCDEX line to 20. The line may appear as "C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD001 /M:20". For more information on MSCDEX, type "HELP MSCDEX" at the DOS prompt. C. Videos Do Not Play Be sure that Video for Windows is installed. The CD-ROM disc includes Video for Windows version 1.1. This can be installed from the Program Manager by opening the File menu and selecting "Run...". In the "Command Line" box type "X:\VFW11E\SETUP.EXE", where X is the letter of your CD-ROM drive, and press Enter. D. Font Problems / Font Error Messages The program requires that certain fonts be present on your system to display text correctly. If the program cannot find the fonts it needs, it might display strange or illegible characters. To correct this problem, first exit the program. Then, double-click on the Control Panel icon located in the Main group on the Windows desktop. In the Control Panel, double-click on the Fonts icon. Scroll through the "Installed Fonts" list to make sure it includes the following fonts: * Arial (TrueType) * MS Sans Serif (VGA res) * MS Serif (VGA res) * Symbol (TrueType) * Times New Roman (TrueType) If any of these fonts is not installed, click on the "Add ..." button and open the "\WINDOWS\SYSTEM" directory on your hard drive. Select the missing fonts and click "OK." Once you've returned to the Fonts window, click on the "TrueType ..." button. Click in the check box for "Enable TrueType Fonts" to place an "X" in it, then click "OK." You must re-start Windows for the changes to take effect, so click on the "Restart Now" button. If no list of fonts appears in "\WINDOWS\SYSTEM," consult your Windows user's guide for assistance in loading Windows fonts. E. Print outs are missing the last characters from the right edge of the page This is related to the EPS0N LQ-2500/2550 print driver. This driver is used by Panasonic, Citizen and others that emulate the Epson series of printers. Select the EPS0N LX-810 driver in Windows, or contact your printer manufacturer for updated drivers. F. Changing the MIDI Playback Device If you want to change the MIDI device used by the program, click on the "Menu" button on the program's path bar, and then click on the "Preferences" button. Clicking on the "Setup MIDI Device ..." button in the Preferences screen will let you manually select your MIDI device. III. Contacting Technical Support ********************************************************* To contact Cybernet Technical Support by phone, call 510-623-3719.