Thank you for purchasing Cinemania 97. This document contains information that will help you get the most out of Cinemania 97.
Table of Contents
1. Where to Find Help
2. Solutions for Basic Problems
3. Improving Performance
4. Memory Issues
5. Making Photographs and Videos Look Their Best
6. Video Cards and Display Issues
7. CD-ROM Issues
8. Audio Issues
9. Downloading Issues
10. List Maker Issues
11. Printing Issues
12. Removing Cinemania 97 Files and Shortcuts
13. Running Cinemania 97 on a Windows NT System
14. Cleaning CD-ROM's
If the text in this document scrolls off of the screen, try enabling the Word Wrap feature in your text editor (in Notepad, the Word Wrap option is under the Edit menu).
1. WHERE TO FIND HELP
Cinemania 97 Help has information and tips on how to use Cinemania.
In most areas of Cinemania 97, Help is available from the Help menu. At the upper-right hand corner of the Cinemania 97 Window click the Help button to see the Help menu, then choose Help (or press F1). In areas where the Help menu is unavailable, click the orange Help button (or press F1).
2. SOLUTIONS FOR BASIC PROBLEMS
Cinemania 97 supports the Windows 95 AutoPlay feature, and will start Cinemania 97 automatically when you put the Cinemania 97 CD in your CD-ROM drive. As Cinemania 97 starts, it automatically checks for all of the files it needs, makes sure your display and sound card are set up in a fashion that Cinemania 97 can use, and makes sure that everything else is in general working order.
As a result, the easiest way to solve most problems you encounter is to quit Cinemania 97, remove the CD from your CD-ROM drive, and then re-insert it. As Cinemania 97 starts up again, it should be able to fix most problems you might have encountered. If it doesn't, see the other items in this Read Me or the Tips and Troubleshooting section of Help.
NOTE: If your CD-ROM driver is not Windows 95 compliant, install Cinemania using the following instructions:
1. Insert the Cinemania 97 CD in your CD-ROM drive.
2. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the Windows 95 Taskbar, and then click Run.
3. In the Open dialog box, type the following (presuming that your CD-ROM drive is drive D): D:\cinmania (and click OK)
3. IMPROVING PERFORMANCE
Make sure that Windows 95 is optimized for your CD-ROM drive. Windows 95 provides settings for CD caching and for accessing various CD-ROM drive speeds.
To review these settings:
1. Select the "My Computer" icon on your desktop and click it with the secondary mouse button (usually the right mouse button).
2. Choose Properties.
3. Choose the Performance tab.
4. Choose the File System button.
5. Choose the CD-ROM tab.
In this box, make sure that the Supplemental Cache size is set to "Large." Also, verify that the Optimize access pattern is correctly set for the type of CD-ROM drive that is installed on your system (Cinemania requires a double speed, or faster, CD-ROM drive).
4. MEMORY ISSUES
Cinemania 97 should run on any PC with at least 8MB of RAM. However, if you have other applications running you may not have enough memory available to start Cinemania 97 or run some of its features. When your system doesn't have enough resources available you will either receive an error message or you will notice that your screen won't redraw properly. If you encounter these problems, close any other open applications and try again.
If you receive an error message that you do not have enough space on your hard disk to perform an action, you will need to delete unnecessary files from our computer to gain some free space. Good candidates for this are any files that you know you no longer need. If you can't find any such files, look for files that you don't use often and copy them onto floppy disks before you delete them from your hard disk. You will need to copy them back onto your hard disk when you want to use these files again.
5. MAKING PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOS LOOK THEIR BEST
The color photographs and video clips in Cinemania 97 are stored in 24-bit color and will look their best if your display is set to show High Color (16-bit) or True Color (24-bit). For details on changing your display settings, see your Windows documentation.
By default, videos are enlarged when played. This can decrease the clarity of the image. To disable this and play videos in their smaller size, do the following:
1. From the Contents screen in Cinemania 97, click Start - located in the lower right hand corner of the window.
2. In the upper-right corner of the Cinemania 97 window click the Help button, and then click Settings.
3. Uncheck the "Play video at enlarged size" box and click OK.
6. VIDEO CARDS AND DISPLAY ISSUES
LESS THAN 256 COLORS
Cinemania 97 will not run if your display is set to 16-color mode - it is designed to run at 640x480 resolution, or higher, with a minimum of 256 colors. If your display is set to show 16 colors, change your display setting to show 256 colors or more. For details on changing your display settings, see your Windows documentation.
MORE THAN 256 COLORS
Some video cards may encounter problems when using accelerated video drivers, video drivers with more than 256 colors, or high resolution video drivers.
If you run into display problems:
1. Try switching to a driver supplied with Windows 95 or Windows NT.
2. Change to a different display mode. An alternative to using a different driver is to change your video mode to a standard video mode such as 640x480 resolution with 256 colors.
For details on how to change drivers or switch to a different display mode, see your Windows documentation.
BLANK SCREEN WHEN LAUNCHING CINEMANIA 97 IN WINDOWS 95
If your screen turns black when you are launching Cinemania 97, your video is probably having problems switching the resolution to 640x480. Use the following steps to change your screen resolution to 640x480 and then relaunch Cinemania 97:
1. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the Windows 95 Taskbar, point to Settings, choose Control panel.
2. Double click the Display icon.
3. Click the Settings tab and move the Desktop Area slider control so that the value is 640 by 480 pixels.
4. Click the OK button in this window and follow the instructions in the next dialog box.
ERROR PLAYING VIDEO CLIPS
When attempting to play video clips, the following error message will be displayed if your MCI video device is not installed or is disabled:
"This machine is not properly configured to play video clips. This problem must be fixed before you can run Cinemania 97."
To resolve this problem, activate the MCI device. If it is missing, install it from the Control Panel. Finally, if necessary, check the Win.ini file in C:\Windows for proper [mci extensions] entries.
To Activate the MCI Device:
1. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the Windows 95 Taskbar, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Multimedia icon.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. Double-click Media Control Devices.
5. Click the Motion Video device*, and then click the Properties button.
6. Click Use This Media Control Device, and then click OK.
7. Close the Control Panel and then restart Windows 95.
*If the Motion Video device is missing, install it by following the instructions in the "To Add a Missing MCI Device" section.
To Add a Missing MCI Device
1. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the Windows 95 Taskbar, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Add New Hardware, and then click Next.
3. To answer the question, "Do you want Windows to search for your new hardware?" click No, and then click Next.
4. In the list of Hardware types, click Sound, Video And Game Controllers, and then click Next.
5. In the Manufacturer area, click Microsoft MCI.
6. In the Models area, click the Motion Video device.
7. Click Next, and then click Finish. Follow the onscreen instructions.
8. Restart Windows.
CHECK WIN.INI FOR PROPER MCI EXTENSIONS
1. Open the Win.ini file, which can be found in C:\Windows, using a text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad.
2. Modify or add the appropriate lines to the [mci extensions] section: avi=AVIVideo
3. Save the Win.ini file.
NUMBER 9 TECHNOLOGIES "IMAGINE 128" VIDEO CARD
If you use this video card, you may experience occasional screen painting problems (mostly on the Contents screen).
7. CD-ROM ISSUES
EJECTING THE CD WHILE THE APPLICATION IS RUNNING
Do not remove the CD-ROM disc while you are running Cinemania 97.
If you eject the Cinemania 97 disc from the CD-ROM drive while running Cinemania 97, insert a disc for another program, then click the hot text (say, an album title in a review) - you'll get the System Error message "Cinemania cannot find the CD. Please insert the Cinemania 97 disc in your CD-ROM drive, and then restart Cinemania 97." (Or, if you're running Windows NT: "There is no disk in the drive. Please insert a disk into drive D:." - where D is the letter assigned to your CD-ROM drive.)
Reinsert the Cinemania 97 disc, then choose Enter.
CONFLICTS WITH THE CD-ROM DRIVE
In Windows 95, follow these procedures to check for conflicts with your CD-ROM drive:
1. Double click on the "My Computer" icon with the right mouse button.
2. Select Properties, to open the System Properties window.
3. Select the Device Manager tab and look for the CD-ROM drive in the list. If it appears with an exclamation point to the left of it, there is a conflict with your hardware setup. Check the manuals that came with your CD-ROM drive for information on how to set up your CD-ROM drive or contact the manufacturer.
CD-ROM DRIVE CONFLICTS WITH WINDOWS 95 AUTOPLAY FEATURE
AutoPlay is a Windows 95 feature that automatically starts an application when you put its CD in your CD-ROM drive. If Cinemania 97 does not start automatically, your CD-ROM driver does not support AutoPlay or the AutoPlay feature is disabled. To start Cinemania 97 manually:
1. Insert the Cinemania 97 CD-ROM.
2. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the Windows 95 Taskbar, and select Run.
3. Enter "D:\Cinmania.exe" (without quotation marks) in the Open dialog.
4. Click OK, and Cinemania 97 will start.
Cinemania 97 will also create an icon in your Start menu - to start Cinemania 97 in the future, simply insert the Cinemania 97 CD and select the Cinemania 97 icon which is located in the Microsoft Multimedia group under Programs on your Start menu.
DISABLING WINDOWS 95 AUTOPLAY
To prevent Windows 95 from playing the Cinemania 97 CD automatically, press down and hold the SHIFT key as you insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive.
FUTURE DOMAIN SCSI CARD
The Future Domain SCSI Card and its driver FDCD.SYS do not work correctly with Windows 95. If you have a Future Domain SCSI card and experience sound stuttering, contact Future Domain for an updated FDCD.SYS driver.
To find out if you are using this card and its driver, follow this procedure:
1. Right-click the "My Computer" icon on your desktop.
2. Select Properties.
3. Choose the Device Manager tab.
4. Select the SCSI controllers entry.
5. Choose Properties.
7. AUDIO ISSUES
ERROR PLAYING AUDIO CLIPS
When attempting to play audio clips, the following error message will be displayed if your MCI audio device is not installed or is disabled:
"This machine is not properly configured to play audio clips. This problem must be fixed before you can run Cinemania 97."
To resolve this problem, activate the MCI device. If it is missing, install it from the Control Panel. Finally, if necessary, check the Win.ini file in C:\Windows for proper [mci extensions] entries.
To Activate the MCI Device:
1. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the Windows 95 Taskbar, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Multimedia icon.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. Double-click Media Control Devices.
5. Click the MCI device in question*, and then click the Properties button.
NOTE: for Sound problems, this is the Wave Audio or MIDI Sequencer devices.
6. Click Use This Media Control Device, and then click OK.
7. Close the Control Panel and then restart Windows 95.
*If the device in question is missing, install it by following the instructions in the "To Add a Missing MCI Device" section.
To Add a Missing MCI Device
1. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the Windows 95 Taskbar, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Add New Hardware, and then click Next.
3. To answer the question, "Do you want Windows to search for your new hardware?" click No, and then click Next.
4. In the list of Hardware types, click Sound, Video And Game Controllers, and then click Next.
5. In the Manufacturer area, click Microsoft MCI.
6. In the Models area, click the device that needs to be installed.
NOTE: for Sound problems, this is the Wave Audio or MIDI Sequencer devices.
7. Click Next, and then click Finish. Follow the onscreen instructions.
8. Restart Windows.
CHECK WIN.INI FOR PROPER MCI EXTENSIONS
1. Open the Win.ini file, which can be found in C:\Windows, using a text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad.
2. Modify or add the appropriate lines to the [mci extensions] section:
wav=waveaudio
mid=sequencer
3. Save the Win.ini file.
STUTTERING AUDIO
If audio appears to echo or stutter, check the "CD-ROM ISSUES: CONFLICTS WITH THE CD-ROM DRIVE" section of this document. Some SCSI cards are known to conflict with Windows 95 and will cause audio to stutter if the CD-ROM drive is plugged into this SCSI card.
UNABLE TO PLAY TOURS
Tours are designed to play only when a sound card is installed.
SPECIFIC DRIVER ISSUES
CREATIVE LABS SOUND BLASTER 16/16 ASP
Audio in Cinemania 97 may not play, or play inaudibly, if you are using a Sound Blaster 16 or Sound Blaster 16 ASP sound card in Windows 95. This problem occurs because some computers are unable to use the 16-bit DMA (direct memory access) channel on the sound Blaster cards.
To resolve this problem in Microsoft Windows 95, do the following:
1. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the Windows 95 Taskbar, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click System, and then click the Device Manager tab.
3. Double-click Sound, Video and Game Controllers.
4. Double-click your sound card.
5. On the Resources tab, make sure the Use Automatic Settings check box is clear.
6. From the "Setting based on" drop down list, select Basic Configuration 7.
*If you are using the Sound Blaster 16 Plug-n-Play driver, select Basic Configuration 4 for a single DMA.
7. Click OK or Close, and restart your computer when prompted.
If the problem persists, a Basic Configuration setting of 1 or 5 may also work. Make sure when changing the configuration that you check the "Conflicting device list" at the bottom of the resource tab to see if the selected configuration causes a conflict with another device.
If a Basic Configuration does not have an HDMA resource and does cause a conflict, select a Basic Configuration that does not have a HDMA and manually change any conflicting resource.
To change a conflicting resource:
1. Identify the conflict in the Conflicting device list.
2. Select the conflicting resource in the resource list.
3. Click the Change Setting button.
4. Select a non-conflicting resource.
NO SOUND OR AUDIO ERROR MESSAGES
When sounds won't play or you receive an audio failure error message, here is a troubleshooting checklist to help you resolve the problem.
- Check the volume on your sound card.
- Check the volume on the software controls (often called a "mixer" or "volume control") that are used to control your sound card.
- If the volume is turned up and you still don't hear any sound, there may be something wrong with your sound card installation. Check to see that the sound card software is installed correctly with the following
procedure.
WINDOWS 95 users:
1. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the Windows 95 Taskbar.
2. Choose Settings.
3. Choose Control Panel.
4. Double click the Multimedia icon to open the Multimedia Properties dialog.
5. If Audio Playback Volume is disabled, you'll need to reinstall your sound card drivers.
WINDOWS NT users:
1. Go to Program Manager.
2. Go to the Main group window.
3. Double click the Control Panel icon to open the Control Panel.
4. Double click the Drivers icon.
5. Check to see if the sound card you installed is displayed in the list box. If not, you'll need to reinstall your sound card.
- If you have both a sound card and special software that bypasses the sound card to play sounds through the PC speaker, you should remove or disable the special software (the PC speaker driver). Cinemania 97 requires a Windows 95 compatible sound card and it is not meant to run with just the PC internal speaker.
-If you have external speakers, make sure the power supply cord is plugged in all the way or that your batteries are not dead.
9. DOWNLOADING ISSUES
ONLINE SERVICES
Cinemania 97 includes a Download Wizard to simplify keeping up to date with the latest movie reviews, Celebrity Tours, and "Connections" to movie related web sites. If you access the Internet through a commercial online service, such as America Online(R), you may not be able to use the Cinemania Download Wizard because of the way their system operates. You may be able to change the settings on your computer to match those required by your Internet service provider. The current configurations required by the most common online services are at the Cinemania Online CD-ROM features page - point your web browser at http://Cinemania.msn.com/CDRom and choose Troubleshooting. Contact your Internet service provider directly if their settings are not available at this site.
MANUAL DOWNLOADING
If you cannot use the Cinemania Download Wizard, here is how to download files from Cinemania Online using your browser:
1. Launch your browser.
2. Connect to Cinemania Online at: http://Cinemania.msn.com
3. Click on the link to the file you wish to download. Save the file to \Program Files\Microsoft Multimedia\Cinemania folder. The file will be available the next time you start Cinemania 97.
DOWNLOAD WIZARD - DISCONNECT WHEN DONE OPTION
In Microsoft Windows 95, the "Disconnect When Done" checkbox is only enabled when Remote Access Server (RAS) or Dial-up Networking are installed.
In Microsoft Windows NT, the "Disconnect When Done" checkbox won't be enabled if more than one RAS connection is open.
When the "Disconnect When Done" option is selected, the Download Wizard will disconnect immediately after the files have been downloaded but before these files have been installed.
10. LIST MAKER ISSUES
When exporting a list, you will need to change the path in the Export List dialog to the folder where you would like the list to be located (by default, List Maker will try to export your list to your CD-ROM drive).
There is a limit of 2,000 items in lists stored by List Maker.
A list must have at least one letter or number in its title.
11. PRINTING ISSUES
If you're having trouble printing, here is a troubleshooting checklist to help you resolve the problem.
- Try printing from another application to see if the problem is global.
- If you can't print from another application, make sure that your printer is plugged in, turned on, and that it is connected to your computer.
- See if you need to change a ribbon, mount a print wheel or cartridge, add toner, or add paper.
- Make sure you have the correct cable for your printer and that the printer cable is properly connected.
- Check your printer setup:
Windows 95 users:
1. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the Windows 95 Taskbar.
2. Choose Settings.
3. Choose Printers.
4. Verify the printer information displayed.
Windows NT users:
1. Go to Program Manager.
2. Go to the Main group window.
3. Double-click the Control Panel icon to open the Control Panel.
4. Double-click Printers.
5. Verify the information displayed.
- If you have a serial printer, make sure the baud rate and print parameters are set to manufacturer's specifications (decreasing the baud rate may solve the problem). To check the serial com port settings, follow this procedure:
Windows 95 users:
1. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the Windows 95 Taskbar.
2. Choose Settings.
3. Choose Control Panel.
4. Double-click the System icon.
5. Click the Device Manager tab.
6. Select Ports.
7. Click Properties.
Windows NT users:
1. Go to Program Manager.
2. Go to the Main group window.
3. Double-click the Control Panel icon to open the Control Panel.
4. Double-click Ports.
- Refer to your Windows documentation for information on installing a printer.
- Try re-installing the printer driver.
12. REMOVING CINEMANIA 97 FILES AND SHORTCUTS
Although Cinemania 97 doesn't install any parts of the application on your hard disk, it does store files and shortcuts on it.
WINDOWS 95
If you want to remove these, you can delete them with the Add/Remove Programs feature on the Windows 95 Control Panel control panel. For details on using the Add/Remove Programs feature, see your Windows documentation.
NOTE: Because the Add/Remove Programs feature on the Control Panel uses some files on the Cinemania 97 CD to delete files and shortcuts, you must put the Cinemania 97 CD in your CD-ROM drive before opening this control panel.
WINDOWS NT
From Program Manager, select File and then Run. In the Command Line edit box, type d:\Cinmania.exe /uninstall (where d: is the letter of your CD-ROM drive).
You will need to delete the Cinemania program icon from the Microsoft Multimedia program group (or whichever program group you used for Cinemania).
13. RUNNING CINEMANIA 97 ON A WINDOWS NT SYSTEM
WHEN INSTALLING, LOG ON AS AN ADMINISTRATOR
Since Cinemania 97 may require some changes to your system, it may not run correctly on a Windows NT system while you're logged on as a user. To work around this, you should log on as an administrator.
FONT DISPLAY PROBLEMS
Some articles in Cinemania 97 require special fonts to display the entire topic correctly. If text does not display correctly in Cinemania 97, you should make sure that all of the fonts are installed properly.
To install the required fonts:
1. Select Fonts from the Control Panel (usually found in the Program Manager Main group).
2. In the Fonts dialog, select Add.
3. Locate the Cinemania 97 CD and navigate to the \data\setup directory. The fonts included on the CD will be displayed in the dialog.
4. Choose Select All and click OK.
ONLINE FEATURES
Before using the Cinemania 97 online features under Windows NT, you must first establish a connection to your Internet service provider.
14. CLEANING CD-ROM'S
If you are experiencing problems running Cinemania 97, the problem may be a dirty CD. CD-ROM discs should be cleaned using these tips:
Do NOT use abrasives or chemical solvents, including benzene, thinner, or commercial cleaners intended for use with CD audio discs. CD-ROM discs should only be cleaned with a damp cloth by wiping gently from the center spindle hole out toward the edge of the disc. Wiping in any other direction grinds the dirt into the protective surface.
