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Q&A.TXT
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1992-10-01
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6KB
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91 lines
Common Questions and Problems With BassDuel
The following represents the most common questions and problems
encountered with BassDuel. Before calling or writing us, please
read the instruction manual thoroughly. The instructions are
contained in a file on your disk called BDUEL.DOC. We have found
that many questions can be answered right there.
[1] PROBLEM: "I can't manually scroll to another section of the lake".
SOLUTION: First, make sure the NUM LOCK is not set on your keyboard. Then,
be sure you are using the NUMERIC KEYPAD ARROWS, not the separate
cursor control arrows on 101 key enhanced keyboards. Remember to
press the SHIFT key while you press the arrow keys. If that won't
work, try using the 2,4,6, & 8 keys in the top row of your MAIN
KEYBOARD (NOT the "F" keys!). Do not use the SHIFT key when using
this method.
[2] PROBLEM: "Sometimes 'garbage' appears when I try to scroll the
screen or select a rod or bait".
SOLUTION: BassDuel needs lots of FREE memory. Just because your computer has
640k or more of memory doesn't mean it's all free for BassDuel to
use. We have found that memory resident programs (TSR'S) are one of
the main causes of this problem. Programs like RAM DISKS, PRINTER
BUFFERS, KEYBOARD ENHANCERS and MENU programs should not be loaded
before running BassDuel. These programs occupy memory space even
when not running, thus making it unavailable to BassDuel.
Another occasional cause of this problem is lack of sufficient
memory on your EGA card. Many of the older EGA cards only had 64k
or 128k of video memory. They should have 256k to properly run
BassDuel.
[3] PROBLEM: "The program tries to start, but then stops."
SOLUTION: One of the main causes of this problem is too many open files. DOS
only allows 15 open files per process. Check your CONFIG.SYS file to
be sure it contains the following two lines:
FILES=20
BUFFERS=20
BassDuel tries to open several files when it starts. It then
assumes they were open for its use. If in fact they were NOT
opened, the program may hang waiting for them to be available. The
two lines described above will help prevent this from happening.
[4] PROBLEM: "I cannot save a game to the disk."
SOLUTION: Many people try to save games (to be played later) on the original
distribution diskette. A saved game uses about 63k of disk space,
and the distribution diskette must have at least that much free if
you expect to save a game.
Sometimes, people have a clock or some other interrupt driven
program running at the same time they're running BassDuel. Since
these programs use interrupts, they can 'steal' time from BassDuel.
If one of these programs decides to 'steal' its time while BassDuel
is writing to the disk, the resultant file may be damaged. This is
because DOS itself is inherently non-reentrant, and BassDuel uses
DOS facilities to write to the disk. See #3 above as well.
[5] PROBLEM: "I cannot restore a saved game."
SOLUTION: See #3 and #4 above. Also, make sure ALL files that are supplied on
your BassDuel distribution disk are in the same directory as
BASSDUEL.EXE.
[6] PROBLEM: "BassDuel does not always save my record catches properly!"
SOLUTION: See #3 above. Also, some people thought they were clever, and tried
to edit the BIGF.TXT and/or the BIGS.TXT files. Don't try it! One
misplaced space or deleted/added line can mess the files up beyond
repair.
[7] PROBLEM: "I get a RUNTIME ERROR 002 then the program stops!"
SOLUTION: This means that BassDuel cannot open a file it needs. This can
happen if you do not have all the files that are supplied on the
original distribution diskette in the same directory as the main
program, BASSDUEL.EXE. It can also happen if you are missing a
file altogether. Also, refer to item 3, above.
[8] PROBLEM: "I get a runtime ERROR 004 then the program stops!"
SOLUTION: This means that access to a file needed by BassDuel has been denied
by DOS. Make sure there is no write-protect tab on your diskette,
and see item 3 above.
[9] PROBLEM: "I have an IBM PS-2. The program reports that it detects a VGA
card then stops, hanging up my machine".
SOLUTION: Some models of PS-2 computers have the MCGA video mode. This mode
(320 x 200 x 256 colors) is a subset of the VGA specification. These
computers report VGA when queried by BassDuel. BassDuel then assumes
that since a VGA card was detected, that it should use the maximum
screen resolution it can, which is 640 x 350, 16 colors. BassDuel
requires a true VGA or EGA video system to run.
[10] QUESTION: "I have a VGA card in my machine, yet the program seems to run
in 16 color EGA mode. Why, and how do I make it utilize the
256 colors of my VGA?"
ANSWER: See item 9, above. BassDuel runs in the EGA mode of your VGA card. It
does not support true VGA (640 x 480 x 16 colors) at this time.
[11] QUESTION: "I have a Tandy machine that supports 16 color CGA mode. Is
there a way I can run BassDuel in this mode?
ANSWER: No, at least not at this time. BassDuel requires EGA or VGA to run.