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Power Chess Troubleshooting Guide
Revised 12/31/96
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.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1 - HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
SECTION 2 - INSTALLATION PROCEDURES
SECTION 3 - COMMON INSTALLATION PROBLEMS
SECTION 4 - COMMON GAME PROBLEMS
SECTION 5 - GENERAL PROTECTION FAULTS
SECTION 6 - SOUND CARD CONFIGURATION AND SOUND ISSUES
SECTION 7 - SIERRA INTERNET GAMING SYSTEM (SIGS)
SECTION 8 - WINDOWS 95 BOOT DISK INSTRUCTIONS
SECTION 9 - IF YOU STILL HAVE PROBLEMS
SECTION 1 - HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
REQUIRED
Pentium
12 MB RAM
Double Speed CD ROM Drive
Windows 95
640 by 480, 256 colors, 300 pixels/second
RECOMMENDED FOR BEST PERFORMANCE
16 MB RAM
4x CD ROM Drive
800 by 600, 256 colors
SECTION 2 - INSTALLATION PROCEDURES
Windows 95 Installation:
Insert the CD into your CD ROM drive. Wait about 10 seconds, and Windows 95 Autoplay should prompt you with a message: "Power Chess 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.
SECTION 3 - COMMON INSTALLATION PROBLEMS
Problem: Your computer fails the Sound Card test; you cannot hear the voice and/or music in the .WAV 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. If changing the resolution does not help the speed, contact your video card manufacturer for the latest driver update.
Problem: Your computer fails the Memory test; you get a message stating you do not have enough memory to run Power Chess.
Solution: Power Chess requires a computer with a minimum of 12 MB (12,288k) of RAM to run. 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 the Power Chess Setup program again and try the memory test. If your system still fails the test, consult the boot disk instructions in Section 8 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.
Problem: You get an error message during the install program "General Protection Fault in Setup.exe."
Solution: First, verify that you meet the minimum system requirements above. Then start the Setup program. From the Main Menu, click on the Install button. When you see the message about performing the hardware test, click on NO, then when you get to the System Test Results screen, disregard the test results and click on YES to continue installation.
SECTION 4 -- COMMON GAME PROBLEMS
Problem: You get a number of horizontal lines across the screen.
Solution: This can be caused by running the game in High Color (32,000+ colors) or True Color (16.7 Million colors). The game works best on a system configured for 256 colors. Consult the steps for changing your video display given in Section 3 - Common Installation Problems.
Problem: You cannot select a piece in 3D mode, because another piece is in the way.
Solution: Click on the square in which the piece you want to move is located. That piece is now selected, and can be moved.
Problem: You cannot castle, or every time you try to move any piece, Power Chess tells you that it is an "illegal move."
Solution: There are some situations in which you cannot castle, or certain moves may not be allowed. Check the Help file or Power Chess Manual for a list of illegal moves, many of which involve castling.
Problem: The chess board window is completely black, or has "droppings" after maximizing the Variation Tree to full screen, and then moving it or closing it.
Solution: Minimize, then Restore the board window.
Problem: You experience skipping in the sound during the Queen's presentation after a game with the King.
Solution: This happens with some double speed CD-ROM's. In the Presentation window, set the Detail level to Brief. Also see Section 6: Sound Card Configuration and Sound Issues.
Problem: When trying to play one of the game demo's such as Missionforce: Cyberstorm or Dr. Brain,
you receive an error "Can't read from drive D:" or "Can't find file....", or it will simply not start the game demo.
Solution: You must have the Install CD in the drive when playing demos.
Problem: After installing Power Chess's version of DirectX (DirectX 2), your other games which use DirectX no longer function correctly.
Solution: Restore your older drivers. This may be done in one of two ways. With the Install CD in the CD drive, click on Start, then Run. Type the command D:\DIRECTX\DXSETUP (this is assuming D: is your CD ROM drive) and click OK. A window showing several Components will pop with two buttons. Click on Restore Windows 95 Drivers. Restart Windows. If this does not correct the problem, check the older program in question for a DirectX install, or reinstall that game and allow it to install DirectX.
Problem: Power Chess installs fine, but when trying to play it locks after the intro, or clicking on the icon does nothing.
Solution: This indicates a problem with DirectX, commonly caused by outdated drivers on the system. First, restore Windows 95 drivers. With the Install CD in the CD drive, click on Start, then Run. Type the command D:\DIRECTX\DXSETUP (this is assuming D: is your CD ROM drive) and click OK. A window showing several Components will pop with two buttons. Click on Restore Windows 95 Drivers. Restart Windows. Now that your original Windows 95 drivers have been restored, you will need to contact your computer manufacturer for the most current DirectX drivers for your sound card, video card & CD ROM drive. Once you have installed the driver updates, reinstall Power Chess.
Problem: When you challenge a Noble, you are put into a Select Opponent dialogue box, but there's nothing there.
Solution: Before you can challenge a Noble, you must first create one. Click on Game, then Create Opponent. This will put you into a Create Custom Opponent window. After setting your opponents qualities, click on OK. Give your Noble a name, and you then will be able to select a Noble when you choose to challenge one.
Problem: Every time you open a saved game, it puts you into the Lab, and you cannot continue to play that game.
Solution: This is by design. When the Save option was created, it was done so with the idea that you would save a game in order to review it, and take notes. You cannot save a game in progress.
Problem: You can't figure out how to make a print out of the game against the King, so it can be reviewed when away from the computer.
Solution: After the game is complete, export it as a *.pgn file. Then open the pgn in any text program, like Windows 95 WordPad, and print it. This will print in long algebraic notation. (See the Power Chess help file under Chess Notation for a detailed description of algebraic notation.) Or, you can open the Move List in Power Chess and use Win 95's Print Screen capability. With your Move List fully displayed, click the Print Screen button on your keyboard. Then open Windows Paint. Click on Start, then Programs, then Accessories, then Paint. When the Paint window is open, click on the Edit menu and choose Paste. If you get a message that the image in the clipboard is larger than the bitmap, and you are asked if you would like to enlarge the bitmap, click Yes. Then from the File menu, choose Print.
Problem: When you watch an Auto Play game, the beginning is so fast that you can't follow the game.
Solution: This is by design. The opening moves are often from well known strategies, and can be made quickly by experienced players (like the Chess Queen). It will slow down, usually around mid-game, and a break down is available in the Move List and the Variations List. You can choose Pause if you wish to stop play in order to study the moves.
SECTION 5 -- TROUBLESHOOTING GENERAL PROTECTION FAULTS
A General Protection Fault (GPF) or a Page Fault is a generic Windows 95 error message than can occur in any Windows 95 program. Insufficient memory, conflicts between two or more drivers or programs, or corrupted files can all contribute to GPFs.
1) Create a Windows 95 boot disk. See Section 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.)
4) Run SCANDISK on your hard drive by clicking Start, then Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Scandisk. Let Scandisk correct any errors, then delete the game and re-install it.
5) Make sure that you have at least 20 MB of free hard drive space on the hard drive that Windows 95 is running from.
6) 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 driver.
7) 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
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.
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.
Problem: You hear skipping, or the audio seems choppy.
Solution: This is some times due to a CD ROM read problem. Make sure you have the latest drivers for you CD ROM drive. These can be obtained for your computer manufacturer, or, preferably from the manufacturer of the CD ROM drive itself. If you have the latest drivers, try using a boot disk, (see Section 8) and make sure there are no other programs running in the background - i.e. screen savers, virus scanners, etc.. You may also want to play with the configuration of the CD ROM in Windows 95. Click on Start, then Settings, Control Panel, and finally System. Once the System Properties window is up, you will need to click on Performance, then File System and then CD ROM. There are two items in this windows. First make sure that the Access Pattern is set correctly for the speed of your CD ROM. You can then play with the Cache Size. For any changes to take effect, you must restart Windows. You might also want to try setting the Access Pattern to No Read Ahead. Cache size does not matter when at this setting.
SECTION 7 - SIERRA INTERNET GAMING SYSTEM (SIGS)
Problem: You click on Internet Play, but are unable to get this feature to work.
Solution: Copy the files SNWVALID.DLL and SIERRANW.DLL, located on the Install CD (at the root directory) into the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder. This can be done easily through Windows Explorer, by browsing the CD. Click once on the SIERRANW.DLL file, then hold down the <CTRL> key on your keyboard and click on SNWVALID.DLL. Then click on Edit, then Copy. Then browse the C: drive, open the Windows folder, then the System folder. Click on Edit, and then Paste. The two files you had selected should now be copied into the System folder. Once copied go into Windows Explorer into the C:\ WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder and find these two files. Right click on each individual file and make sure that the READ ONLY box is not checked for both of these files. Restart Windows & you should be able to log onto the Sierra Internet Gaming Site (SIGS).
Problem: Can't log onto SIGS even after copying SNWVALID.DLL and SIERRANW.DLL into the Windows\System
directory.
Solution: First, make sure your Internet connection is open before attempting to connect. If your connection is active, but you still can't connect, call your Internet provider and assure that you have a true PPP connection and a unique IP address. If your service provider does not supply these, you won't be able to log on. Also, SIGS does not currently support firewalls.
Problem: Login stops at "Initializing SIGS Data"
Solution: You are most likely attempting to run from behind a Firewall. Firewalls are currently not supported.
Problem: Error 10024 Too many open files.
Solution: You have several internet applications already running, and should quit them before using SIGS.
Problem: You can't remember your password to log onto SIGS.
Solution: Log in as a new user, enter a new password, go into new member, enter the new password. Be aware that the login sequence is case sensitive
Problem: Power Chess crashes when you try to close SIGS.
Solution: Exit the Internet game before you close SIGS. The Exit Internet Game option is available from the game menus both under File and under Game.
SECTION 8 - WINDOWS 95 BOOT DISK INSTRUCTIONS
To make a boot disk, you must system format a high density diskette in the A: drive. This procedure will transfer the "system files" to the disk and allow the computer to boot up correctly. The disk must be in the A: drive; the computer will not boot from the B: drive.
To format a disk in Windows 95, put the disk in the drive, open My Computer, then right click on the A: icon. From the pop-up menu, select Format. Under "Format type" select Full; under "Other options", choose Copy system files. Click on Start.
After the disk is formatted, you must copy the MSDOS.SYS file from the hard drive to the floppy disk. To do this, leave the floppy disk in the drive, open Windows Explorer and find the MSDOS.SYS file in the root of the C: drive. Right click on the file, then select Send to from the pop-up menu. Send the file to the A: drive.
NOTE: If you don't see the MSDOS.SYS file in Explorer, the file is hidden. To make the file visible, select View, Options, then Show all files. If you do not wish the hidden files to remain visible, you can hide them again after you've made the boot disk by choosing View, Options, Hide files of this type.
Reboot the computer with the disk you just created in the A: drive and start Power Chess as you normally would. To boot up without the boot disk, just take the disk out of the A: drive and restart your computer.
SECTION 9: CONTACTING SIERRA FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE
Sierra On-Line has a full library of help documents available electronically. You can download them from the following sources:
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Additionally, you can get your document via our automated faxback service. Call (206) 644-4343, choose to use the automated technical support system and follow the voice instructions provided. You will be faxed a catalog of all of the documents that we have to offer and you will then be able to get the documents you need. If you prefer, you can also fax us at (206) 644-7697 with your document request.
If you prefer to get assistance from a technician, Sierra Technical Support will be happy to assist you. All of the online services listed above are staffed by Sierra technicians. Additionally, you can send e-mail to support@sierra.com.
Additionally, a Sierra Technical Support Support request form has been enclosed in case you wish to contact us via fax or U.S. mail. Simply fill it out and return it to us. Our fax number is (206) 644-7697 and our mailing address is:
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Bellevue, WA 98015-8506
For phone assistance, you can reach Sierra Technical Support at (206) 644-4343 between 8:00 am and 4:45 pm, Monday through Friday. Please try to be at your system or have a copy of a Microsoft Diagnostics (MSD) report from it when you call.
If you are in Europe, please contact our office in England. The Technical Support number is (0118) 920-9111, between
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