1,000 Games/Disc2.iso/CARD/PINCLE/README.TXT

Text File | 1997-04-30 | 16KB | 358 lines

README for Double-Deck Pinochle Version 3.6

Double-Deck Pinochle is Copyright (c) 1994-97 by Christopher Chapman.
All rights reserved, except as provided in "Licensing and Legal Notices"
below.

This program is shareware ($15).  It is free for you to try, but you must
register it for continued and complete usage.  See the file REGISTER.TXT
or the program's "Help | Register" command for full information.

THANK YOU FOR TRYING DOUBLE-DECK PINOCHLE!
I hope this program will give you many enjoyable hours of Pinochle fun.


Contents of this file

1.  System requirements
2.  Installing Pinochle to your hard drive automatically
3.  Installing Pinochle to your hard drive manually
4.  Running the program
5.  Uninstalling Pinochle
6.  Restoring the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory
7.  Troubleshooting
8.  Licensing and Legal Notices
9.  Contacting the author


1.  System Requirements

Pinochle requires Windows 3.1 or Windows 95.  It should run on almost
any computer that runs Windows 3.1.  It has been reported to work on Windows
NT 3.51 and NT 4.0, but I have not tested these.

The program requires an 80386 or higher processor, 2mb of extended memory,
and just over 1mb of hard disk space.  Recommended minimum configuration is
80486 or Pentium at 50mhz or faster, and 8mb or more of RAM.  It also
requires a mouse or other Windows pointing device.


2.  Installing Pinochle on your hard drive automatically

Pinochle was designed for both Windows 3.1 and Windows 95.
You should use the INSTALL program in either version of Windows.

You may use the automatic installation if you run Windows from a local
hard drive or a network with full write privileges.  This should be the
case unless you have an unusual system setup.  If this is not the case,
then follow the directions in part (3) below for a manual installation.

    Installation Procedure

First, CLOSE ANY PROGRAMS YOU HAVE RUNNING WITHIN WINDOWS.  This is a good
safety precaution before you install any new programs.

Now run the program INSTALL.EXE from Windows.  At the program manager, select
FILE | RUN ...  and input the directory name where you have the program, plus
\INSTALL.EXE.  For example, if you are installing from your D: drive, and
PINOCHLE is in the directory D:\AOL30\DOWNLOAD\, then you would run:

    D:\AOL30\DOWNLOAD\INSTALL.EXE

Press OK.  The installer will copy necessary files to your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM
subdirectory, and will notify you that it is making backups of any previous
versions of files found there.

The installer will create a program group with a name you specify, and will
install icons for both Pinochle and the Pinochle Help file.  If you do not
wish to create a program group, then blank out the group name.

The install program does *not* change or add anything to WIN.INI or
CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT

**If you did not create a program group with INSTALL, then after the
installer has finished, you may move or add the PINOCHLE.EXE file icon to
any program group.  For example, if you followed the above, you would:

**WINDOWS 3.1:
    Open some program group in Windows 3.1
    Select:  FILE | NEW | PROGRAM ITEM
    Input:   \PINOCHLE\PINOCHLE.EXE

**WINDOWS 95:
    Select:  START | SETTINGS | TASK BAR | START MENU PROGRAMS | ADD ...
    Input:   \PINOCHLE\PINOCHLE.EXE

**THIS IS NOT NECESSARY IF YOU ALLOW INSTALL.EXE TO CREATE A PROGRAM GROUP.


That's all.  You may now enjoy the game!  It is probably best if you exit
and restart Windows after any program installation.


3.  Installing Pinochle to your hard drive manually

To install Pinochle manually, copy all the files from the download
directory to any subdirectory you like.  Then copy the following
files from the Pinochle location to your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM or equivalent
subdirectory (wherever you run Windows from):

    BIVBX11.DLL
    CTL3DV2.DLL
    MHRUN300.DLL
    MHCARDS.DLL
    MHCD200.VBX

You must then delete these files from the Pinochle location.

Add PINOCHLE.EXE to any program group in Windows, and you are ready to play!
No changes need to be made to WIN.INI or CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT.  In
Windows 95, no additions are made to the system registry.


4.  Running the program

Simply run PINOCHLE.EXE from the Windows Program Manager, either by using the
FILE | RUN ... command or by adding PINOCHLE.EXE to a program group or to
the Windows 95 Start menu.

If you know how to play Pinochle, then the program should be pretty self-
explanatory.  For more information, or to learn how to play Pinochle, check
out the online help system.  Select HELP | CONTENTS from the main menu.

Note:  If you are an experienced Double-Deck Pinochle player, this program
may use a different meld system from the one you use.  There are *many*
different scoring systems out there.  Check out HELP | MELD TABLE to see
the table used by this program.

Note also that you may print the default Meld Table within Windows Help.

WINDOWS 95 NOTE:
For users with 640x480 screens, some of the buttons in Pinochle may be
obscured by the Windows 95 task bar.  You may compress the vertical spacing
of elements in Pinochle by selecting FILE | WINDOWS 95 MODE from the
main menu.  Note that this option does *not* have anything to do with
Windows 95 as such; it may be used or not used according to personal taste
in either Windows 3.1 or Windows 95.

PORTABLE COMPUTER USERS:
The screen display in Pinochle may not appear optimal on your system.  In
this case, it is recommended that you alter your default Windows screen
color scheme.  You may do this in Windows 3.1 by selecting MAIN | CONTROL
PANEL | COLOR from the Program Manager.  In Windows 95: right-click on the
background and select: PROPERTIES | APPEARANCE.  Pinochle will use the
general windows settings specified by these color schemes.


5.  Uninstalling Pinochle

If you decide not to keep Pinochle, simply delete the following files
from the directory where it resides:

    PINOCHLE.EXE
    PINOCHLE.HLP
    PINOCHLE.CFG
    README.TXT
    REGISTER.TXT
    INSTALL.EXE

You should not delete the .DLL and .VBX files from \WINDOWS\SYSTEM, since
they may be used by other programs, too.  However, you may wish to read the
next section on \WINDOWS\SYSTEM if you wish to delete some of those files.


6.  Restoring the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory

If you uninstall Pinochle, or if you experience problems with other
programs after its installation (very unlikely!), then you may wish to
restore your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory as follows.  Generally, this
should not be necessary, even after uninstalling the program, and we do
*not* recommend tinkering with the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory.  Only
follow the suggestions below if you already know what you're doing!

It is always a good idea to backup your system before performing tasks like
this, since a mistake could be costly!  Do not attempt these tasks unless you
are highly familiar with Windows installation.

    A.  Move to the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory
    B.  See if any of the following backup files exist:
            BIVBX11.D~L
            CTL3DV2.D~L
            MHRUN300.D~L
            MHCARDS.D~L
            MHCD200.V~X
    C.  Delete the following files:
            BIVBX11.DLL
            MHRUN300.DLL
            MHCARDS.DLL
            MHCD200.VBX
    D.  If any backup files were found in (B.) then copy those backup files
        to their original file names (replace the '~' with a 'B' or 'L').
        Example:
            COPY  CTL3DV2.D~L  CTL3DV2.DLL
    E.  Once you are *sure* that everything is working properly, you may
        then delete the files listed in (B.) above.


7.  Troubleshooting

Double-Deck Pinochle has been thoroughly tested, but unfortunately problems
may always exist out in the "real world"!

Note that some of these troubleshooting tips involve deleting files and
other "dangerous" operations.  They are believed to be accurate, but I cannot
vouch for every system and configuration that is out there.  Make a backup
first! If you are unsure about what you are doing, ask someone for help.
On the plus side, however, if you get Pinochle to work properly, you are
likely to fix problems with other programs at the same time!

    A.  Fonts appear garbled

This appears to occur when some other program has left garbled fonts on
your computer.  Here's how to fix the problem.

First, make a backup!  That's always a good idea in case something odd
occurs.  Then open the Windows Control Panels and run the Fonts Control.

Inside the Fonts Control, double-click on each font one at a time, and check
to see if the sample is displayed OK.  If it is OK, go on to the next font.
If it is garbled, then DELETE that font.  Windows will use a substitute font
for screen display.  When you've finished and deleted the garbled fonts,
close the Control Panels and restart Windows.

    B.  Install will not run

You must make sure that ALL other programs are closed before running
INSTALL.EXE.  Do not simply minimize the programs; choose them and then do
File | Exit to terminate all other programs.  Close any system monitors,
networking utilities, etc.  Then run INSTALL.EXE

    C.  Check the .DLL files

If you get a "General Protection Fault" when running Pinochle, then you
should check your .DLL files.  The .DLL and .VBX files should be moved to
your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory and should not be present *anywhere* else on
your computer.

This means that the DLL files should *not* be present in the subdirectory
that holds Pinochle.  If you ran the INSTALL.EXE file as listed above, then
these files should have been placed in their proper locations.

You should make sure that the files listed in the section above under
"Manual Installation" are present in your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.  Then
check out your PATH by giving the PATH command at a DOS prompt.  Check each
of the directories specified in the Path list, and make sure that none of
the DLL's listed above are present in any of those directories.  If any of
them *are* present, then check their file date against the dates of the files
in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory, and retain the latest copy in the
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.

The following DOS commands may be useful when performing these tasks:

    PATH               -- to list the DOS search path
    DIR  *.DLL         -- to list the DLL files in a directory
    CD \               -- to change to the root subdirectory
    DIR *.DLL /S       -- to list DLL's in ALL subdirectories, after CD \
    DIR *.DLL /S > PRN -- to print the above list on your printer
    MOVE CTL3DV2.DLL  \WINDOWS\SYSTEM
                       -- copies CTL3DV2.DLL to \WINDOWS\SYSTEM and deletes
                          it from the current location

If all of the DLL's check out OK, then you should consult the following
troubleshooting tips.

    D.  Check the Video Driver

Note that some video drivers cause problems with a variety of programs.  If
Pinochle does not run at all, or if it gives a "General Protection Fault"
then you should try using a different video driver, or update your video
drivers from your manufacturer or by downloading from an online service.  To
determine whether the problem is with video or with another aspect of your
system or with Pinochle, you may wish to try using the generic VGA or
SVGA drivers from Microsoft by running SETUP from the Windows 3.1 Main
program group (in Windows 95, right click on the icon for "My Computer" and
select PROPERTIES | DEVICE MANAGER | MONITOR).

   E.  Run Pinochle by Itself

If you have problems that are not resolved by changing video drivers, then
also try running Pinochle without any other programs running in Windows.
You could have a shortage of Windows resources (memory, virtual disk space,
file handles, etc.)

Note that your DOS path specified in AUTOEXEC.BAT should contain the path for
your Windows system.  If not, Pinochle might have difficulty finding its
system components.


8.  Licensing and Legal Notices

Pinochle 3.6 is copyright (c) 1994-97 by Christopher Chapman.  All rights are
reserved, except that this program in unregistered form may be distributed
freely or for duplication costs only, provided that it is unaltered and that
all files included in the original unregistered PINOCH35.ZIP file are
included.

A license to use this UNREGISTERED program is granted to any individual
for a period of 15 days.  The unregistered form of the program is fully
functional but places a limit on the total number of unique games that may
be played (25 total).  Users at educational institutions, students, members
and employees of the U.S. military, retired military personnel, and those
employed as staff or faculty of educational institutions may continue to use
the UNREGISTERED program after 15 days, although the unique game limitation
will continue to apply.  This program is licensed to individual users, not
to companies, institutions, or other corporate entities.

The registered form of the program expands the number of available unique
games to 99,999,999.  Otherwise, the registered and unregistered versions
are identical.  The registered version may be activated by one-time input
of a registration available from the author upon payment of a $15 licensing
fee.

Registered users may use the program on any computer that they own or use
routinely.  For example, a single license is sufficient to allow use of the
program on computers at work, at home, and on portable systems.  A single
license also is sufficient for all members of a household and all computers
that they use, and for all users of a single properly licensed computer
(e.g., co-workers sharing a single computer).  However, a single license does
NOT apply to: multiple computers used principally by people who live in
different households, nor to any network server that makes the program
available to multiple people outside of a residence, nor to non-licensed
users of any computer that a licensed user only occasionally uses (e.g.,
a computer at work that is mostly used by others).

This program is licensed to individual users, not to companies, institutions,
or other corporate entities.

No warranties, either express or implied, are made about this program or its
fitness for any particular purpose.  The author will not be liable for any
direct or indirect damages that may arise from use or misuse of this program.
All risk for use of this program resides with the user.  Users should
determine fitness for their own needs, and should register only if the
program meets those needs.  In no case will any liability exceed the amount
paid to register this program.  Also, because the program is licensed to
individuals and not to companies, no liability may exist with respect to any
company.  The license as stated here constitutes the complete agreement
between the author and user.  Some states may exclude some aspects of this
agreement, so user rights may vary from state to state.

To register the program for complete function, follow the instructions in
the online HELP | REGISTER command from within the program, or read the file
REGISTER.TXT included with the program.


9.  Contacting the author

If you have questions or suggestiong for future versions of Pinochle,
you may contact me at any time at the following addresses:

Chris Chapman
P. O. Box 555
Uniontown, AR  72955

e-mail:  [e-mail]
URL:     http://members.aol.com/cnchapman/index.html

THANK YOU FOR TRYING DOUBLE-DECK PINOCHLE!