Electronics Thank you for purchasing Electronics! We hope you find it to be an excellent investment and a tremendous value. If you experience any difficulty or problems with this CD-ROM program, please refer to this document for helpful suggestions. Contents -------- Special Note For Users of Windows 95 Special Note For Users of Windows 3.x Upgrading From An Earlier Version If You Have an Older or Slower Computer Enlarging Graphics on Your Screen If You Experience Video Display Problems How to Improve Your Video Display How to Get the Best Quality Video System Requirements Compatibility Solving Problems Under Windows 3.x Trademarks Mentioned Special Note For Users of Windows 95 ------------------------------------ If you use Windows 95, then there is an extra step you can take to get the best quality video and sound performance. In most cases, installing Microsoft "DirectX" will improve performance. DirectX is not required, in other words, this program will work properly without DirectX. However, in many cases, DirectX will significantly improve performance on your machine (especially a portion of DirectX called "DirectSound"). To install DirectX (Windows 95 only) simply insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive, then click the Windows 95 "Start" button, and click "Run" on the menu. In the "Open:" box, type the following command, where "D:" is the letter of your CD-ROM drive: D:\DirectX\DX5ENG.EXE then click "Ok". Alternatively, you can click the "Browse" button and find D:\DirectX\DX5ENG.EXE by browsing to it. After DirectX is installed, we recommend that you repeat the above steps, but this time type the following: D:\DirectX\DPLAY50A.EXE which will update DirectX to correct some bugs discovered by Microsoft after DirectX 5.0 was released. In other words, DX5ENG.EXE will install DirectX version 5.0, and DPLAY50A.EXE will update DirectX to version 5.0A. DirectX will take up about 7Mb of disk space after it is installed, however, during the installation it will require up to 34Mb of disk space for temporary files that will be automatically deleted after installation is complete. So make sure you have plenty of free disk space before beginning the installation of DirectX. Special Note For Users of Windows 3.x ------------------------------------- If you use Windows 3.x (which includes 3.1, 3.11, as well as Windows for Workgroups 3.1 and 3.11), then there is an extra step you can take to get the best quality video. In most cases, installing Microsoft "WinG" (pronounced "Win-Gee"), will improve video performance. WinG is not required, in other words, this program will work properly without WinG. However, in many cases, WinG will significantly improve the performance of video for this program. If video performance is not accep- table to you, try installing WinG and see if it helps. If you encounter problems while WinG is installed, you can always UNinstall it and return your system to its previous state. Of course, for the best possible video performance, we recommend upgrading your system to Windows 95 or later (WinG is built into Windows 95), and a CPU from the Pentium MMX family. If you have any difficulties with WinG, please remember that it comes from Microsoft and only Microsoft can provide technical assistance for problems involving WinG. To install WinG (Windows 3.x only) simply insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive, then choose the Run option in the Program Manager's File menu. In the command line box type "D:\SETUPWNG" where "D:" is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. Then press the Enter key. Should you later decide to UNinstall WinG, simply click on the UNinstall icon. After UNinstall is complete, you may need to manually delete four files from the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. The four files are: WING.DLL, WINGDE.DLL, WINGDIB.DRV, and WINGPAL.WND. If you have an ISA video board (rather than a newer PCI video board), then WinG will not be able to provide any acceleration for your machine. How can you tell what type of video board is installed in your computer? If your computer was made prior to about 1993 then it probably has an ISA video board. If your machine is newer, then it probably has a PCI video board. You can always install WinG and see if there is any improvement. WinG won't hurt anything if your machine is an ISA machine, it just won't give you any speed improvements. Upgrading From An Earlier Version: ---------------------------------- If you already have an older version of this program installed on your computer, you'll need to take an extra step to ensure that the new version works properly. If the old version has a version number less than 1.3.0 then you should UNinstall the old version prior to installing this new version. If the old version has a version number greater than 1.3.0 then you should follow the directions below: Windows 3.1: Insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive. Choose the Run option in the Program Manager's File Menu. In the command line box type "D:\SETUP UPDATE" where "D:" is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. Then press the Enter key. Windows 95: Insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive. Click the "Start" button, then choose the Run option. In the command line box type "D:\SETUP UPDATE" where "D:" is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. Then press the Enter key. By including the word "UPDATE" after the word "SETUP", you are telling the Setup program to be sure to update some files that were left over by the older version. If You Have an Older or Slower Computer: ---------------------------------------- All the videos on this CD can be played smoothly from a 1-speed CD-ROM drive. You do not need a fast CD-ROM drive to use this program. This is made possible by the use of state of the art video compression techniques. The performance of the videos included with this product is dependent upon the speed of your computer (CPU), your video board, how much memory you have, and which operating system you use (Windows 3.x, or Windows 95 or later). Older, slower computers, take longer to decompress the video. Computers running Windows 3.x take longer to copy the video to the screen. To ensure that you get the best quality video, even on older machines, we built some options into the program and provided two different versions of many of the videos. Here's how it works: Windows 95 (or higher): If you are using the 32-bit version of the program (running on Windows 95), then the program assumes that you have a newer, faster computer, and uses the larger videos for the best on-screen appearance. If you have an older computer, then you might want to tell the program to use the smaller videos, which will play more smoothly on your system. To tell the program that you have a slower speed computer, simply perform the following steps: Place your mouse over the program's icon on the Windows 95 desktop (or folder), and right-click (click the right mouse button) on the icon. When the menu pops up, select "Properties" on the menu. When the Properties window opens, click on the "Shortcut" tab at the top. If you look next to the word "Target" you will see an edit box containing the location and filename of the program. Click on this name and use the right-arrow or end key to move the cursor to the end of the name, after the letters ".exe" (if there are quotation marks around the name, then position the cursor after the last quotation mark). At this point, insert one or more space characters, followed by the letters "Slower" (without the quotes). Don't worry, you can use upper or lower case letters (it doesn't matter), as long as there are no spaces in the word "Slower". Then click "OK". That's it! From now on, when you double-click on the icon to start the program, the program will know that you have a slower computer and would like to use the smaller videos for better performance and appearance. Windows 3.x: If you are using the 16-bit version of the program (running on Windows 3.x), then the program automatically uses the smaller videos for best performance. Even if you have a faster computer, the smaller videos will still look best when running the 16-bit version of the program. In other words, to get the best performance on Windows 3.x you don't have to do anything, it happens automatically. There is one step you can take, to make things look even better: refer to the "Special Note For Users of Windows 3.x" (above) for information about using Microsoft "WinG". WinG can make a very big difference in the quality of video. Enlarging Graphics on Your Screen: ---------------------------------- Some of the graphics within the tutorial may be unreadable under certain screen resolutions (such as 640x480) or in windows that are not maximized. We recommend that you use the screen resolutions specified below. If you don't wish to change resolutions, then try the following steps: 1. Left-Click on the graphic that is hard to read. 2. Move the mouse pointer to one of the small black boxes that appear on the sides of the highlighted box around the graphic. 3. Press the left mouse button and drag the side of the box (while holding the mouse button down) until it is the size you want, then release the mouse button. The graphic will return to its original size when you exit the chapter, lesson, or the program. If You Experience Video Display Problems: ----------------------------------------- This program will adapt itself automatically to most video display resolutions, so long as your video driver is set to at least 256-colors (or higher). If your video driver is set to something less than 256-colors, then please refer to "How to Improve Your Video Display" (below) for instructions on changing your video driver settings. This program was designed to look best at 800x600 with 256-colors or more. If your system can display only 256 colors at a time then you should expect to see some screen flashes and color changes as the program selects the best 256 colors to use at that particular time. If your system can display more than 256 colors at a time then your display will look even better, since this program automatically selects higher resolution pictures and backgrounds for use on such systems. If you use Windows 3.x then you should set your system for 256-colors, not more. If you have your system set for High Color or True Color modes, then the videos will have to be converted from 256-colors as they play, which will really slow things down. This is not as significant under Windows 95, but it can still slow things down somewhat. If you use Microsoft Windows 95 and sometimes have problems with icons looking funny, there are a couple of things you can do. First, this is not a problem with this program, it is a problem with Windows 95. It can happen with ANY program, even Microsoft Word. It most often starts when you are running a 16-bit program and a 32-bit program at the same time. It can also start anytime you are running more than one program at a time. Once it starts, the only reliable way to get it to stop is to restart Windows 95. You can avoid the problem entirely by not running more than one program at a time. Windows 95 uses a technique to try to optimize display updates, where the display is only updated when absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, sometimes Windows 95 does not properly notice that an icon needs to be painted, this is why the icons can suddenly start looking funny. This problem does not appear on versions of Windows older than Windows 95. How to Improve Your Video Display: ---------------------------------- Video displays are a very flexible part of today's modern systems. They are flexible because you are able to change or modify the way your screen looks. Of course, having choices often makes something seem more complicated. Don't worry, changing video display settings is a fairly simple process. In fact, the hardest part is deciding what you want the new settings to be. The following suggestions and recommendations will help to make the decision easier. The first step is to choose what video settings you wish to use. This normally involves a trade-off or balance between the best looking display and the most efficient use of available memory. For most situations, we recommend that you select 800x600 with 256-Colors. The more colors available, the better the screen will look, but more colors also use more memory. If your computer has less than 12-Mb of memory, then we recommend that you stick with 256-Colors only. If your computer has more than 12-Mb of memory, then feel free to select a setting that provides even more colors. Keep in mind, however, that the videos included with this program are 256-color videos. If your system is set for more than 256-colors, then the videos have to be converted to a different bit depth as they play. This can really slow things down on a computer running Windows 3.x (Windows 3.x is already slow when it comes to video). The difference is not as significant in Windows 95. Another consideration is how small you want text and icons to appear. Generally, as you increase the number of dots or "pixels" on the screen, things will look smaller and smaller. For instance, at 800x600, text will look smaller than it does at 640x480. Of course, you can also fit more on the screen at the same time, which is exactly what most people want. Most video drivers give you some flexibility, so you can fit more on your screen, without making things too small to see clearly. They make this available by giving you a choice of "Large Fonts" or "Small Fonts", or they might call it "Large System Resources" or "Small System Resources". Typically, this choice is only available when the driver is set to at least 800x600 (not at 640x480). We always recommend "Large Fonts" or "Large System Resources" because it makes things much easier to see and use. This program was designed to look its best in 800x600 with "Large Fonts" or "Large System Resources", and 256-Colors or more. Once you have chosen the settings you wish to use. Follow the instructions below to actually change your system settings. There are two procedures, one for people using Windows 95, and another for people using Windows 3.1. Changing Video Setting, Windows 95: For computers running Windows 95 only. Click on (press and release the left mouse button) the "Start" menu button, scroll up to "Settings", which will open a sub- menu, click on "Control Panel". When "Control Panel" opens look for an item called "Display" and double-click on "Display". After you double-click on "Display" you will see a series of notebook pages with little tabs on top. Click your mouse on the notebook tab called "Settings". Here you will be able to change your video display settings. The "Color Palette" section enables you to choose the number of colors you wish to display. We recommend 256-Colors. If you wish to choose more colors, we recommend that you do so only if your computer has more than 12Mb of memory, keeping in mind that it will slow down the performance of the videos included with this program. The "Font Size" section enables you to choose large or small fonts. We recommend "Large Fonts" for the most readable display. The "Desktop Area" (and optional "Viewport Area") is where you select the video size you wish to use. If both areas are present, then both areas should be set to the same numbers. We recommend 800x600. This will give you a good overall balance between appearance and efficient use of your computer's memory. Remember, higher numbers mean that more memory will be used. After you make your selections, click on the "OK" button to instruct Windows to make the changes. At this point, your screen will blank temporarily, then will reappear using the new settings. A pop up message will ask you if you wish to keep the new settings, click "Yes". If you changed the font size (Large Fonts or Small Fonts), then you will need to restart Windows before the changes take effect. Simply click "Yes" when it asks you if you want to restart Windows now. That's all there is to it! Changing Video Settings, Windows 3.1: For computers running Windows 3.1 only. Windows 3.1 is a bit more primitive than Windows 95 when it comes to changing video settings. Windows 3.1 will always restart before the new settings take effect. In the Program Manager, double-click on the "Main" program group. When it opens, double-click on the "Setup" or "Windows Setup" icon. When the Windows Setup window opens, click on the "Options" menu, then click "Change System Settings". When the "Change System Settings" window opens, you will see a choice called "Display". The current settings are shown. Pay close attention to the current settings, because they will tell you what kind of video display card you have. For instance, it might say "Super VGA" or "Stealth VRAM" or something else. You should stick to the options for that particular video display adapter. In other words, if it says "Super VGA", for instance, then choose only from those options that start with "Super VGA". Select the setting you want. We recommend 800x600x256 (the third number is the number of colors). If you have a choice of Large or Small Fonts, we recommend Large Fonts. After you have made your selection, click on the "OK" button. The next message will ask you if you want to restart Windows now, select "Yes" to restart Windows now. That's it! How to Get the Best Quality Video --------------------------------- The quality of video on your computer is largely dependent upon the type and speed of your processor (CPU), your video adapter, and the amount of memory in your computer. Increasing any of these will improve video playback performance. For the absolute best results we recommend upgrading your computer to a CPU that includes Intel's new "MMX" instruction set. CPU's with this new capability include the "Pentium MMX" and the "Pentium II". This new processor enables vastly superior video performance when compared to older CPUs. This program uses special video compression technology to provide you with the best possible video quality and performance. Of course, the possibilities are largely limited by the capabilities of your computer. Newer computers, with an MMX CPU and Windows 95 or higher, will give you the best video performance. System Requirements: -------------------- This program requires Microsoft Windows, Windows 95 or Windows NT. Video Requirements: 256-Color or better CPU Requirements: 80386 or better The CD-ROM discs contain two versions of the program: a 16-Bit version and a 32-Bit version. The 16-Bit version requires Microsoft Windows 3.1 or higher. The 32-Bit version requires Windows 95 or higher, or Windows NT 4.0 or higher. The correct version is automatically chosen when you install the program. Memory Requirements: The memory requirements depend on which version you are using. The 16-bit version for Windows 3.1 requires at least 4-Mb of memory, with 8-Mb recommended. The 32-bit version for Windows 95 requires at least 8-Mb of memory, with 16-Mb recommended. This program will work with most common video display resolutions, including 640x480, 800x600, and 1024x768, with video drivers set to either Large or Small Fonts (sometimes called Large or Small System Resources). Compatibility: -------------- This program has been tested with Microsoft Windows 3.1 and 3.11, Windows for Workgroups 3.1 and 3.11, Windows 95 and Windows 95 with Service Pack 1, Windows 95 OEM-SR2, and Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 3 installed. It has also been tested with "beta" versions of Windows 98. This program has been tested in the following video resolutions: 640x480 - 256-Color 800x600 and 1024x768 with the following color depths: 256-Colors (8-Bit) 32,768-Colors (15-Bit, HighColor) 65,536-Colors (16-Bit, HighColor) 16,777,216-Colors (24-Bit, TrueColor) 4,294,967,296-Colors (32-Bit, TrueColor with Alpha Channel) Solving Problems Under Windows 3.x: ----------------------------------- If you are using Windows 3.x (not Windows 95 or later) and experience problems such as videos not playing, sounds not playing, or error messages, please follow these steps to solve the problems. 1. Using the Windows NotePad (in the "Accessories" group) or your favorite editor, create a file in the Windows directory called "SEEFIXER.INI". 2. On the first line of this file, type the following: "[ForCredit132]" without the quotes. Be sure not to include any spaces. 3. On the second line of this file, type the following: "ForCreditNoSound=1" without the quotes. Be sure not to include any spaces. 4. Save and close the file (SEEFIXER.INI). In summary, the file "SEEFIXER.INI" should contain the following two lines: [ForCredit132] ForCreditNoSound=1 Once you have performed the above steps, the problems will be solved the next time you start the program. The video sounds will work normally, but all other sound effects will be disabled (including music, button clicks, audio instructions, etc). Trademarks Mentioned -------------------- Uses Smacker Video Technology. Copyright (c) 1994-1998 by RAD Game Tools, Inc. Uses Miles Sound System. Copyright (c) 1991-1998 by RAD Game Tools, Inc. Portions Copyright (c) 1994-1998 by Corel Corporation. The images may not be saved or downloaded and are only to be used for viewing purposes. All trade names mentioned herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.