Sunny 1,000 Collection/SUNNY1000.iso/Files/Dos/Cheats/CHEATS.ZIP/TROPB.ZIP/BASSTS.TXT

Text File | 1996-05-15 | 23.8 KB | 449 lines

                     Trophy Bass Troubleshooting Guide



                               revised 4/1/96



Sierra Technical Support provides this documentation as a reference to

Sierra customers using Sierra software products. Sierra Technical Support

makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the information contained in this

documentation is accurate. However, Sierra makes no warranty, either

express or implied, as to the accuracy, effectiveness, or completeness of

the information contained in this documentation.



Sierra On-Line, Inc. does not warranty or promise that the information

herein will work with any or all computer systems. Sierra does not assume

any liability, either incidental or consequential, for the use of the

information herein, including any and all damage to or lost use of computer

hardware or software products, loss of warranties, or lost data by the

customer or any third party. No oral or written information or advice given

by Sierra, its employees, distributors, dealer or agents shall change the

restriction of liability or create any new warranties. In no case shall

Sierra's liability exceed the purchase price of the Sierra software

product.



TABLE OF CONTENTS



SECTION 1 - HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

SECTION 2 - INSTALLATION PROCEDURES

SECTION 3 - COMMON INSTALLATION PROBLEMS

SECTION 4 - COMMON GAME PROBLEMS

SECTION 5 - TROUBLESHOOTING GENERAL PROTECTION FAULTS AND ILLEGAL OPERATION ERRORS

SECTION 6 - SOUND CARD CONFIGURATION AND SOUND ISSUES

SECTION 7 - OBTAINING A SIERRA PATCH DISK



SECTION 1 - HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS



REQUIRED

486DX66

8 MB RAM (7,168 KB Free)

2X CD ROM drive

Windows 3.1 or higher

640 by 480, 256 color display, 300 pixels/second



RECOMMENDED FOR BEST PERFORMANCE

Pentium

4X CD ROM Drive



SECTION 2 - INSTALLATION PROCEDURES



Windows 95 Installation Insert the CD into your CD ROM drive. Wait about 10

seconds, and Windows should prompt you with a message: "Trophy Bass has not

been installed yet. Would you like to install it now?" Select Yes.



You can also install the program by clicking on Start, then Run, then

typing in D:\SETUP.EXE and clicking OK. (If your CD ROM drive is a letter

other than D, substitute the appropriate drive letter.).



Once you are in the Installation program, select Test Hardware to see if

your computer and its present configuration will be sufficient to play the

game. If your system passes the Hardware Test, click on the Main Menu

button, then click on Install.



Windows 3.1 Installation



Insert the CD into your CD ROM drive. From the Program Manager menu bar,

select File, then Run. In the Command Line Box, type in D:\SETUP.EXE and

click on OK or press Enter. If your CD-ROM drive is a drive other than D,

substitute the appropriate drive letter.



SECTION 3 - COMMON INSTALLATION PROBLEMS



Windows 95



Problem: Your computer fails the Sound Card test; you cannot hear the voice

and fanfare in the Wave and MIDI tests.

Solution: Your sound card may be incorrectly configured for DAC (Audio) or

your sound card drivers may not be properly installed or configured for

Windows 95. Make sure your speakers are turned on and run the Windows mixer

program for your sound card so you can increase its volume levels for MIDI

(music) and DAC (Audio). You should consult your sound card documentation

or the manufacturer for information regarding the correct configuration of

your sound card in Windows 95.



Problem: Your computer fails the Display test because you are not running

in 256 colors, or your video card does not meet the Pixels-per-second

second Speed requirement for the game.

Solution: First make sure you are running Windows in 256 colors. Even

though your monitor and video card may be capable of displaying 256 colors,

Windows may not be set up to use this resolution. Click on the Start

button, select Settings, then Control Panel. Double-click the Display icon.

You will see four tabs: Background, Screen Saver, Appearance, and Settings.

Click on Settings. In the box under Color Palette, it should say 256 Color.

If it does not, click on the down arrow next to the window to view a list

of choices, and select the one that says 256 Color. You will also notice a

slider bar under Desktop Area for adjusting resolution from 640 by 480

pixels (the lowest setting) upwards. If your video card failed the initial

speed test, try adjusting the resolution to 640 by 480 pixels. This will

decrease the screen resolution but may improve the speed of your video

card.



Problem: Your computer fails the Memory test; you get a message stating you

do not have enough memory to run Trophy Bass.

Solution: Trophy Bass requires a computer with a minimum of 8 MB (8192k) of

RAM to run, of which 7168k must be free. To free up memory in Windows 95,

close any and all Windows programs (including screen savers, wallpaper,

virus detection programs, shell programs like Norton Desktop or Packard

Bell Navigator, etc.) that may be running. On your Taskbar, right-click on

the program tab for the program you wish to shut down, and select Close.

Then run Trophy Bass's Setup program again and try the memory test. If your

system still fails the test, consult the boot disk instructions at the end

of this document and create a Windows 95 boot disk for your system. Then

boot up with the boot disk, disable any and all other Windows programs, and

start the Setup/Install program again. These steps should give you enough

memory to run the program.



Windows 3.1 Problem: Your computer fails the Sound Card test; you cannot

hear the voice and fanfare in the Wave and MIDI tests.

Solution: Your sound card may be incorrectly configured for Windows 3.1, or

your drivers may not be installed properly. Make sure your speakers are

turned on and run the Windows mixer program for your sound card so you can

increase its volume levels for MIDI (music) and DAC (Audio). Additionally,

make sure you have these drivers listed in the Drivers section of your

Control Panel: Timer, MCI Midi Sequencer, MCI Sound, MCI Midi Sequencer,

and MCI CD Audio. In addition to these drivers you should have several

drivers specific to your sound card. Check your sound card documentation

for the exact names of these drivers.



Problem: Your computer fails the Display test because you are not running

in 256 colors, or your video card does not meet the Pixels-per-second

second Speed requirement for the game.

Solution: First make sure you are running Windows in 256 colors. Even

though your monitor and video card may be capable of displaying 256 colors,

Windows may not be set up to use this resolution.



If you've never changed your video display settings in Windows 3.1 before,

or if you are not familiar with the brand and type of video card installed

in your system, then we recommend contacting your system manufacturer or

your video card manufacturer for assistance with changing your Windows

video display driver. The steps below are generic and may not necessarily

apply to your particular video card.



From the Program Manager double-click the Main program group icon, then

select Windows Setup. You will see a dialog box with "Display" "Keyboard",

"Mouse", and "Network". Click on Options, then select Change System

Settings. You will see another dialog box, similar to the previous one.

Click on the down arrow to the right of "Display" to view a list of video

drivers available to you. Use the scroll bar to scroll up and down the list

of drivers. Select a 256 color driver appropriate for your video card. If

you are installing the driver from floppy disks or some other source,

choose "Other Display", and you will be instructed to type a path to the

driver, or to insert the disk with the drivers into your floppy drive.



Again, if you have any problems changing your video driver and need more

information, consult your Windows documentation, or contact the hardware or

video card manufacturer. Additionally, if you do not seem to have the

appropriate video drivers available to you, you will need to contact the

hardware or video card manufacturer to obtain them.



Problem: Your computer fails the Memory test; you get a message stating you

do not have enough memory to run Trophy Bass.

Solution: Trophy Bass requires a machine with a minimum of 8 MB (8,192 KB)

of RAM to run if you are using Windows 3.1, and of that 8 MB at least 7,168

KB must be free. To free up memory in Windows, close any and all Windows

programs (including screen savers, wallpaper, virus detection programs,

shell programs like Norton Desktop or Packard Bell Navigator, etc.) that

may be running. Press CTRL+ESC to bring up the task list. Highlight any and

all programs other than Program Manager and click on the End Task button..

Then run the Setup program again and try the memory test. If your system

still fails the test, consult the boot disk instructions at the end of this

document and create a boot disk for your system. Start your computer using

the boot disk, disable any and all other Windows programs, and start the

Setup/Install program again.



SECTION 4 -- COMMON GAME PROBLEMS



Problem: When trying to retrieve my saved game you get nothing but a gray

screen.

Solution: There is a patch disk that will fix this issue. See Section 7 on

how to obtain a patch disk.



Problem: Fish are disappearing out of my live well.

Solution: There is a patch disk that will fix this issue. See Section 7 on

how to obtain a patch disk.



Problem: There is choppy movement when casting in the fishing mode.

Solution: This indicates that you need to free up more memory, or you may

need to lower the resolution or color depth of the video display in which

you are running Windows. Create a boot disk using the instructions in

Section 7 or 8 to maximize available memory for Windows, and set your

display to a 640 by 480, 256 color display. See the instructions in Section

3 - Common Installation Problems for assistance with changing the video

display.



Problem: The icons (Close, Movie, Glossary, etc.) disappear when you are in

the How To section of the game.

Solution: These icons may disappear if you are running a video resolution

over 800x600. Moving the mouse over the are where the icons used to be will

cause them to reappear. Adjusting your video resolution to 800x600 or below

will also cause the icons to appear. See the instructions in Section 3 -

Common Installation Problems for assistance with changing the video

display.



Problem: When viewing the movies in the How To section, the sound comes in

fine but there is no video.

Solution: This can be caused by an improper install of Video for Windows.

Reinstalling Video for Windows should allow the video portion to be seen.

In Windows 3.1 go into your FILE MANAGER. (Double click on MAIN, then

double click on FILE MANAGER). In Windows 95 go into your WINDOWS EXPLORER.

(Click on START, PROGRAMS, then WINDOWS EXPLORER). Go to the CD ROM drive,

double click on the Vfw11e folder to open it. Now double click on

mssetup.exe. (In Windows 95 it may only appear as mssetup). This will run

the Video for Windows setup program and give it a proper installation.



Problem: When in the navigational mode, the bottom portion of the screen is

cut off.

Solution: There is a patch disk that will solve this problem. See SECTION 7

on how to obtain a patch disk.



Problem: You receive an error message indicating a problem with "Win32s".

(Windows 3.1)

Solution: Delete and reinstall Trophy Bass and Win32s. To delete the game,

run the Setup program in the Sierra group and choose Uninstall. Select

Trophy Bass from the list that appears. To delete Win32s, use File Manager

to delete the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WIN32S directory and the WIN32SYS.DLL file

from the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. NOTE: Make sure you ONLY delete the

WIN32S directory. Do not delete the WINDOWS or SYSTEM directories!



After you have deleted Trophy Bass and Win32s, create a boot disk using the

appropriate instructions in Sections 7 or 8. Boot up with the boot disk and

reinstall the game under the boot disk environment.



NOTE: If you have trouble installing Win32s, make sure that SHARE is

loaded. To load SHARE, exit Windows and type SHARE. Restart Windows, then

reinstall Trophy Bass and Win32s.



Problem: You receive an error message indicating "Abnormal Program

Termination".

Solution: Delete the game, then run SCANDISK to detect and correct any hard

drive errors. Create a boot disk using the appropriate instructions in

Section 8 or 9. Reboot the computer with the boot disk and reinstall under

the boot disk environment. There is a patch disk that will also help

address this issue. Please refer to section 7 on how to get a patch disk.



Problem: The game crashes randomly for no apparent reason.

Solution: Make a Windows boot disk using the Trophy Bass boot disk maker

icon in Windows, or follow the instructions in Sections 8 and 9 on how to

make a Windows95/Windows3.1 boot disk. Also see Section 7 on how to obtain

a sierra patch disk.



SECTION 5 - TROUBLESHOOTING GENERAL PROTECTION FAULTS AND ILLEGAL OPERATION

ERRORS



A General Protection Fault (Windows 3.1) or Illegal Operation (Windows 95)

is a generic Windows error message than can occur in any Windows program.

Insufficient memory, conflicts between two or more drivers or programs, or

corrupted files can all contribute to GPFs. This section is broken into

three sub-sections. The first are steps that apply to both Windows 3.1 and

Windows 95. The next two sections give steps specific to Windows 3.1 and

Windows 95, respectively.



Windows 3.1 and Windows 95



1) Create a Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 boot disk. See Sections 7 or 8 for

boot disk instructions.

2) Disable any and all other Windows programs (if any) that are running

prior to starting the game. This includes all screen savers, wallpaper,

etc.

3) Set your Video Display to 640 by 480, 256 colors. (Consult the steps

given for changing display settings in Section 2 - Common Installation

Problems.)



Windows 3.1 Only



1) Run the DOS SCANDISK or CHKDSK /F command on the hard drive. Correct any

hard drive errors (if any are found), then delete the game and re-install

it.

2) Contact your video card manufacturer or computer dealer to obtain video

driver updates. Outdated video drivers are a common cause of GPFs. You can

also use the generic Microsoft Windows SVGA 256 color video. These drivers

can be downloaded from CompuServe (GO SIERRA), America On-Line (KEYWORD

SIERRA), or the Sierra BBS at 206-644-0112. Look for the file SVGA.ZIP or

SVGA.EXE.

3) Check your Swap file (also called Virtual Memory) size. From Program

Manager, Double-click on Main, then on Control Panel, then on the 386

Enhanced icon. Click on Virtual Memory, then on Change. We recommend

setting up an 8 MB, permanent swap file. NOTE: A swap file cannot be

established on a compressed drive! Restart Windows for the swap file

changes to take effect.



Windows 95 Only



1) Run SCANDISK on your hard drive by clicking Start, then Programs,

Accessories, System Tools, Scandisk. Let Scandisk correct any errors, then

uninstall the game and re-install it.

2) Disable Video Acceleration. Click on Start, then Settings, Control

Panel. Double-click the System icon, choose Performance, then Graphics. You

should see a slider bar labeled Hardware Acceleration. Lower the bar a

notch (slide it to the left), then restart Windows when you are prompted

and run the game again. Continue doing this until you cannot lower the bar

any more or the problem is corrected. If this corrects the problem, you

should contact your video card manufacturer to obtain updated video

drivers.

3)Free up memory by lowering your CD ROM Supplemental Cache Size. From

Control Panel, click on System, then Performance, File System. Click on the

tab for CD ROM. Adjust the slider bar for Supplemental Cache Size from

"Large" to "Small", then click on OK.



SECTION 6 - SOUND CARD CONFIGURATION AND SOUND ISSUES



Windows 3.1



In Windows 3.1, the SoundBlaster 16, Pro Audio Spectrum 16, and compatibles

support "Extended FM" in Windows. SoundBlaster Pro, SoundBlaster 2.0 and

compatibles, use "Base FM" in Windows. The Extended and Base FM settings

are defined in the MIDI Mapper. If your MIDI Mapper is configured

incorrectly, you may hear just music and no voice, or vice versa. The

following MIDI Mapper instructions cover the most common types of sound

card setups. If you are using a sound card that is not listed here, please

consult your sound card documentation for the correct MIDI Mapper setup.



SoundBlaster 16, ProAudio Spectrum 16 and compatibles: Click on Main, then

Control Panel and then on MIDI Mapper. If you have an option called

Extended FM or something similar, choose it. Close MIDI Mapper and run

Trophy Bass. If you don't have this option, you will need to make a new

MIDI Mapper setup. From the MIDI Mapper screen, click on New. Enter a name

such as "Extended FM" and then hit OK. You will be at a screen with four

columns and 16 rows. Click on the word None in the 3rd column and the 1st

row. Now click on the small arrow that appears on the right of this box.

Choose the FM choice or Synthesizer choice. Do this for ports 1 through 9.

Then, make sure that the SRC Channel values match the Dest Channel values

(i.e. if the SRC Channel is 10, the Dest Channel should be 10). If they are

different, change the Dest Channel to match the SRC Channel by clicking in

the Dest Channel box and changing its value. Click on OK and close out the

MIDI Mapper. The music and voices should now play correctly in Trophy Bass.

For further information on the correct MIDI Mapper configuration for your

sound card, please contact your sound card manufacturer.



SoundBlaster Pro and compatibles: Click on Main, then Control Panel and

then on MIDI Mapper. If you have an option called Basic FM or something

similar, choose it. Close MIDI Mapper and run Trophy Bass. If you don't

have a Basic FM option you will need to make a new setup. From the MIDI

Mapper screen, click on New. Enter a name such as "Basic FM" and then hit

OK. You will be at a screen with four columns and 16 rows. Click on the

word None in the 3rd column and the 13th row. Now click on the small arrow

that appears on the right of this box. Choose the FM choice or Synthesizer

choice. Do this for ports 13, 14 , 15, and 16. Click on OK and close out

the MIDI Mapper. The music and voices should now play correctly in Trophy

Bass. For further information on the correct MIDI Mapper configuration for

your sound card, please contact your sound card manufacturer.



Problem: Starting the game gives you a "Waveout Open" or "Waveout Prepare

Header" error message.

Solution: The Windows error message you are receiving indicates that your

sound card is in use by another program. This is occasionally caused by

another sound program taking control in Windows and not sharing the sound

card properly. Programs like Icon Hear It, Wired for Sound or Packard Bell

Navigator can cause this type of problem. Some screen savers like After

Dark will also access the sound card directly instead of using Windows to

produce sounds. You should disable all programs of this type before playing

the game.



Problem: Using a Pro Audio Spectrum 16, the speech and other digitized

sounds are full of static.

Solution: This is caused by using the DMA 3 (the 8-bit DMA) for the Pro

Audio portion of the sound card. Change to DMA 5 or 7 (16-bit DMAs) and the

static should go away.



Problem: You hear no sound during the game

Solution: Check to make sure your MIDI Mapper is set up correctly. The

beginning paragraphs of this section give instructions for setting up the

MIDI Mapper for different sound cards. You should also make sure that your

sound card drivers in the Driver section of Control Panel are installed

correctly. If any of the needed drivers are missing from your system, you

may not hear sound. The following drivers are included with Windows 3.1 and

should be present in the Drivers section of Control Panel:



   * MIDI Mapper

   * Timer

   * [MCI] MIDI Sequencer

   * [MCI] Sound



If you are missing any of these drivers, they can be installed by choosing

the Add button in the Drivers window and installing them off of your

Microsoft Windows Installation disks. In addition to these standard Windows

drivers, there should be two or three sound card-specific drivers. These

drivers should have the name of your sound card in their title. If these

are missing, you will need to reinstall the sound card drivers off of the

sound card installation disks. To check and see if the drivers are

installed correctly, open the Media Player in the Accessories group. Choose

Device from the menu, and in the list that pops down, you should see at

least a MIDI Sequencer and Sound listing. If they are not in the list, even

after reinstalling the [MCI] drivers, your drivers are still not installed

correctly and you should contact your sound card manufacturer for

additional help.



If you are still experiencing sound problems, you may need to update your

sound drivers. If you do not have the current Windows drivers for your

sound device, you may need to contact the manufacturer of your sound device

or your local hardware supplier for an updated set of sound drivers. Check

your Windows documentation or your sound device documentation for full

instructions on updating your sound drivers.



Windows 95



To make sure that your sound card is configured correctly in Windows 95,

check the Audio and MIDI settings in the Multimedia section of Control

Panel. The Audio setting defines what driver will be used to produce

digitized sound (DAC). Speech and sound effects in a game are usually DAC

sounds. The MIDI setting indicates what driver is being used for music

playback. The following examples are for the SoundBlaster 16:



   * AUDIO: SB16 Wave Out

   * MIDI: MIDI for Internal OPL2/OPL3 FM Synthesis



The names of the Audio and MIDI drivers will vary, depending on your sound

card. However, they should be similar to these SoundBlaster 16 drivers. For

complete information (including driver names and installation instructions)

on Windows 95 drivers for your sound card, contact your sound card

manufacturer.



Problem: You hear no sound during the game

Solution: This usually occurs when your sound card's Windows 95 drivers are

not installed correctly. See the above paragraphs for information on

checking your Windows 95 sound card drivers.



SECTION 7 û OBTAINING A SIERRA PATCH DISK



There is currently one patch available for Trophy Bass. This patch

(TBASS101) addresses the following issues:



   * Saved Games that were once grayed out on some screens can now be

     restored.

   * Problems playing the sounds in Trophy Bass (i.e. Lock-ups, skipping,

     cutouts).

   * Random games crashes due to memory problems.

   * Game crashes with the message 'abnormal program termination' while

     restoring games.

   * Fish lost from your live well.

   * Crashes at the end of a day during tournament or career play.

   * Navigation screen lowering each time the game is played.



When you get the patch, take a look at the README file for complete details

on what the patch addresses.



The fastest way to obtain a Sierra patch disk is to download it from one of

the following on-line services: the Sierra BBS (206-644-0112), CompuServe

(GO SIERRA) or America OnLine (KEYWORD SIERRA). The file name is

TBASS101.EXE. You can also request a patch disk be mailed to you by calling

Sierra Technical Support at [phone] or writing to Sierra Technical

Support, PO Box 85006, Bellevue, WA 98015-8506.