slowcd

CompuServeCD Help is designed to give you the information you need to make your CompuServeCD experience most enjoyable.  From getting started to troubleshooting guidelines, you'll find the help you need here.  Here is a list of topics that are covered in this help file.  Just click on the topic that you would like to view.

About CompuServeCD

Setup

QuickStart

Navigating CompuServeCD

Article Extensions

Order Forms

CompuServeCD Out Basket

Troubleshooting

Customer Service & Technical Support

What's New on CompuServeCD


overview
CompuServeCD

Overview

 CompuServeCD is a multimedia companion to the CompuServe Information Service.  It combines  CD ROM-based information, applications, sound, graphics and video with select on-line services  in an interplay that capitalizes on each medium's strengths. CompuServe CD taps CD ROM's full visual and auditory capabilities, and delivers to CompuServe members more efficiency and ease in locating, understanding and using information.  CompuServeCD offers  value that is more difficult or cumbersome to deliver on-line, including File Finder, demo versions of commercial software, complete versions and updates to popular shareware, updates to CompuServe Information Manager and CompuServe Navigator, audio-visually enhanced tutorial and shopping services, selected forum library graphic and textual material, and more. CompuServeCD "hotlinks" with the Information Service to provide searching and information-gathering capabilities and transactional services, such as shopping on the Electronic Mall.

Comments and Suggestions

About CompuServeCD

Contacting Customer Service


Editor
All comments, questions, editorial submissions or business inquiries should be directed to:

Editor

CompuServeCD

5000 Arlington Centre Boulevard

Columbus, OH 43220

Phone: 614-457-8600

Fax: 614-538-1004

CS Mail: 70003,1372


About CCD
About CompuServeCD

CompuServeCD was designed, developed and produced in cooperation with Metatec Corporation. Metatec is a single-source provider of CD ROM

software implementation and manufacturing services for clients seeking an ongoing strategic relationship for publishing periodical CD ROM titles into broad end-user markets. For more information, contact:

Metatec Corporation

Dublin, Ohio

1-614-791-3791


Setup
CompuServeCD

Setup

To install the CompuServeCD run the SETUP.EXE file on the CD.  Setup will prompt you to make choices about the installation.  You will be given the opportunity to install CompuServe Information Manager for Windows, Video for Windows, CompuServe Internet Dialer, as well as the runtime files necessary to play the CompuServeCD.  Here is a screen shot taken from the installation.

If you have the most current versions of any of these items there will not be an check in the box for that item.  The CompuServeCD checks the version for you so that you can be sure you are using the latest software.

Installation of the runtime files for the CompuServeCD installs the files needed to use the CompuServeCD  Magazine, File Finder, and Disc Index applications.  In addition to CompuServeCD runtime files, there are options to install other applications such as WinCIM, CompuServe Internet Dialer, or  MicroSoft Video for Windows runtime software, which includes everything needed to play digital videos.

System Requirements

How Much Space do I need?

What modifications does Setup make?

Video for Windows

What Files are installed by CompuServeCD?


Disk Space
How Much Space do I need?

CompuServeCD requires about 4 MB hard disk space on which to install the CompuServeCD Startup, CompuServeCD Out Basket, CompuServeCD File Finder, CompuServeCD Disc Index, ToolBook runtime, and other necessary files.  If you wish to communicate with CompuServe, you must install the latest version of WinCIM, which requires additional 2.2 MB.  WinCIM 1.3 or higher must be installed for CompuServeCD to communicate with CompuServe even if you don't use WinCIM by itself.


Setup Modifications
What modifications does Setup make?

Setup sets a file association for .NCD files to the application TBOOK.EXE in the CCD subdirectory.

Setup copies the latest version of the Visual Basic runtime DLLs (e.g. VBRUN300.DLL) to Windows System directory, if not already there.

Note that other options available from the CompuServeCD Setup program may make modifications to your system.  Click the appropriate help topic for additional information.

Also note that CompuServeCD Setup determines if it is necessary to install each option available from within the CompuServeCD Setup application.  For example, you may not need to install VfW (Video for Windows) if you have already previously done so (from a previous disc, for example).  However, if there is an updated driver for Video for Windows, CompuServeCD Setup will indicate that you should run the VfW Setup program.

The topics below give important information on each setup procedure, and include changes that the setup programs make to your system.  Select the appropriate topic to learn more.

Video for Windows

System Requirements

What Files are installed by CompuServeCD?


VFW
Video for Windows 1.1e

Microsoft Video for Windows (VfW) version 1.1e

This update includes improved performance, compressed audio support, and multiple language capability.  Several drivers (.DRV) and .DLLs were updated.

To ensure that you have the current versions of these drivers, please install this release to your hard drive.

Setup and Installation:

VfW is installed using the program VFWSETUP.EXE located in the SETUP\VFWSETUP directory on this disc.  Simply follow the instructions that are provided on-screen.

System Modifications:

Several Control Panel drivers are automatically added to your Windows\System directory, including MCIAVI.DRV, INDEOV.DRV, ICCVID.DRV, MSVIDC.DRV, MSRLE.DRV, and MSACM.DRV.  These are added to the [mci] section of your SYSTEM.INI file.

Other Notes:

VfW also includes an updated Media Player, MPLAYER.EXE, which is installed to your Windows directory.   For further information about the VfW runtime software, see the file VFW.WRI in the SETUP\VFWSETUP directory.

Video for Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.


quickstart
CompuServeCD

QuickStart

If you would like to get started quickly here are the important steps:

1. From within Windows 3.1 or later, run SETUP.EXE file on the CompuServeCD.

2. Follow the instruction on the setup screen.

3. Double click on the Startup 2 icon in your CompuServe group.

If you are having trouble here are some additional topic that will help:

Installing CompuServeCD

Running CompuServeCD

System Requirements


installing
CompuServeCD

Installation

1.  Insert the CompuServeCD disc into your CD ROM drive.

2. From Windows 3.1 (or later), install CompuServeCD to your hard disk:

Using Program Manager, choose the RUN command from the File menu.

Enter <D>:\SETUP (replacing <D> with the letter of your CD ROM drive).

<OR>

Using File Manager, double-click SETUP.EXE in the root of your CD ROM drive.

3. Then follow the instructions that appear on your screen.


running
Running CompuServeCD

1.   Be sure the disc is in the CD ROM drive.

2.   From Program Manager, double click CompuServeCD Startup, found by default in the CompuServe group.

3.   Click the CompuServeCD Magazine picture displayed on the left of the Startup window to open the magazine.  If a magazine picture is not visible, select Preferences from the File menu and enter the letter of your CD ROM drive.

Questions?  Refer to the Trouble-shooting section later in this Help File or contact CompuServe Customer Service at 1-800-CDROM-89 (1-800-237-6689) 8am-12am Monday-Friday or 12pm-10pm Saturday-Sunday EST, send a CompuServeCD Out Basket Feedback message, or leave a message in the CompuServeCD Support forum (GO CCDSUP).


sys reqs
CompuServeCD

System Requirements

Multimedia PC or equivalent PC

Windows 3.1 or later

4 megabytes RAM

256 colors

640x480

8-bit Sound Blaster or equivalent (Supports most sound and music)

Highly Recommended

MPC2

Double speed CD-ROM drive or faster

16-bit sound card with MIDI support

External speakers

8 meg RAM

Modem


MPCSpec
MPC

A standard MPC system configuration includes a 386sx (or compatible), 2 megabytes RAM, floppy and hard drive, CD ROM with CD DA outputs, on-board analog mixing; color monitor with a display resolution of 640x480 and 16 colors, and audio capabilities including: 8-bit ADC, DAC, music synthesizer.


MPC2Spec
MPC 2

A standard MPC 2 system configuration includes a 25Mhz 486sx (or compatible), 4 megabytes RAM (8 megabytes recommended), floppy and hard drive (160 MB minimum), double speed XA ready CD-ROM drive with CD-DA outputs, color monitor with a display resolution of 640x480 and 64K colors, and audio capabilities including: 16-bit ADC, DAC, music synthesizer, on-board analog mixing.


CCDSound
Sound on CompuServeCD

Sound is used throughout CompuServeCD.  While you should be able to navigate the magazine and read its article with out the audio capabilities as described by the MPC and MPC 2 specifications, much of the disc's content will be unavailable.


CCDColor
Color on CompuServeCD

While one could navigate CompuServeCD and interact with its articles on a monitor displaying only 16 colors, the magazine was designed to be viewed in at least 256 colors and will look rather odd when viewed in 16 colors.

When viewed in 256 colors, one may notice graphics occasionally turning strange colors as media windows appear and disappear.  This is due to the color palette a media extension may require.  The effects of this palette shifting does not usually show up when viewing in 64K colors as specified by MPC 2.

When viewing in 64K colors, the images within a video may appear clearer, but the motion may be more jerky.


CCDRam
Memory and CompuServeCD

With 4 meg RAM, performance will be slower due to the fact that your system will have to access its disk drives more often than if working with 8 meg RAM.

CompuServeCD software may stop or malfunction if operating with less than 4 meg RAM.


CCDModem
Modem

When within CompuServeCD, there are times when communication between your computer and CompuServe would be desirable (Feedback message and ordering for example).  If you don't have a modem, these features will not work.  Also, please make sure that your Session Settings are set up correctly using the Session Settings button in the CompuServeCD Out Basket window.  If you have already set up your Session Settings using another CompuServe product, CompuServeCD Out Basket will use those settings as the default.


highlights
CompuServeCD

Highlights

CompuServeCD Startup

The Browse Window

Preferences


navigating ncd
CompuServeCD

Navigating

If you are having trouble getting around in the CompuServeCD click on one of these topic to get help.

The Menus

Navigating the Magazine

Navigating the Disc


Menus
CompuServeCD

Menus

File Menu

Open StartUp: Open the CompuServeCD StartUp application

Open Magazine: Choose a magazine to open

Preferences: Open the Preferences window

Exit CompuServeCD: Close all windows and quit CompuServeCD

Indexes Menu

Open Browse: Open or bring to front the Browse Window

Go To Article List: Move to page containing a list of articles

Run CompuServe File Finder: Run application to search CompuServe File Finder databases while off-line.

Run CompuServeCD Disc Index: Run application to search current and previous CompuServeCD discs

Connections Menu

Create Feedback Memo: Open window to create message to let us know how we're doing

Open Out Basket: Open Out Basket window

Run WinCIM: Launch WinCIM if installed

Run CSNav: Launch CSNav if installed

Help Menu

Help Topics: Display this Help file

About CompuServeCD: Display CompuServeCD logo and other relevant product information


navigating mag
CompuServeCD

Navigating the Magazine

Open CompuServeCD magazine by using the StartUp 2 icon in the CompuServe group in the Program Manager.  The magazine is organized into seven "departments" containing articles.  In addition to six standing departments, you'll find an umbrella page or "virtual department" on top containing stories related to the issue's feature topic and derived from several standing departments within the magazine.

Use the navigation bar at the bottom of each page to proceed through the magazine department-by-department, article-by-article, and page-by-page.

The Overview

The CompuServeCD Departments

The Navigation Bar

The Cover Page

The Departments Pages

The Browse Window

The Preferences Window

Article Extensions

Order Forms


The Overview

The CompuServeCD Overview allows you to launch the CD Magazine or CompuServeCD File Finder.  You can also browse the software and utilities offered on the CD using the CompuServeCD Disk Index or create and send a message to Feedback.

 CD Magazine

Choosing this option will allow you to start the CompuServeCD Magazine.  Click on the "CD Magazine" button in the lower left.  Next, position the mouse over the image in the center and click.

 Find It Online

Choosing this option will start the CompuServeCD File Finder allowing you to browse offline for files on CompuServe.

 Software & Utilities

Choosing this option will launch the CompuServeCD Disk Index giving you easy access to all the software and utilities on the CD.

 Your Comments

Choosing this option allows you to compose a feedback message to Customer Service.


Departments
CompuServeCD

Departments

CompuServeCD is arranged into seven departments, including:

Technology & Trends, with an accent on CD and new media, sample software, shareware and commercial demos, equipment reviews.

Entertainment, which includes movie sneak previews and  reviews, music clips, computer art and graphics, fine art and more.

Personal Enterprise, including personal productivity, small business/work-at-home, entrepreneuring, financial planning, desktop publishing.

Civilization, which includes art, science, education, human relations and world affairs.

Home & Leisure, which includes hobbies, games, travel and leisure time pursuits, a children's section and more.

Shopping,  which is essentially a CD-style window on CompuServe's Electronic Mall, accompanied by "hot button" instant ordering capability.

Member Services includes visually-oriented walk-through demos, tips and techniques on how to get the most from your membership and more.


TheNavBar
CompuServeCD

Navigation Bar

Use the Navigation Bar at the bottom of each page to navigate through the magazine and obtain quick access to the disc's important features.

Left and Right Page buttons

Use these arrows to move forward or backward one page.

Article buttons

The Article Control includes three controls.  Click on the right mini-arrow to go to the first page of the next article.  Click on the left mini-arrow to go to the first page of the previous article.  The button between the two mini-arrows displays the name of the current department.  Click on this button to display a menu containing all names of articles in the department.  Choose desired article from the menu to go to the first page of selected article.

Department buttons

Use the arrows on the right and left to move to next and previous Department pages.  Use the button labeled Departments to display a menu of departments.  Choose desired department from the menu.

The Browse Button

Click Browse Movie to display a movie containing thumbnails (miniature pictures) of all magazine pages.

The Out Basket Button

Click Out Basket to open a window containing all messages prepared for delivery to CompuServe.

The Help Button

Click Help to display the CompuServeCD Help File.


Cover Page

 Find out more about the contents of the magazine by clicking on the miniature cover image. Get a quick tour of the issue by clicking on the Scan This Issue button or go directly to one of the cover stories by clicking on the Red Action Word or "hot text" coverlines. Find out more about the cover by clicking  on the About the Cover button  on the navigation bar at the bottom.

Go to the Department page by going forward one page using the right arrow button on the Navigation Bar at the bottom.


navigating disc
Navigating the Disc

Using the Windows File Manager, notice that CompuServeCD includes many files in addition to the magazine application. Many of the files are media extensions (text, graphics, movies, applications, etc.) used in the magazine.  Additional files can be accessed through StartUp and/or the articles.

The CompuServeCD Index

This application gives you enhanced access to the contents of the Disc itself.  There's more than meets the eye on CompuServeCD; in addition to articles and information presented in the magazine, you also have this cumulative database of all content found on CompuServeCD discs.

Click on any folder icon displayed in the magazine to go directly to CompuServeCD Disc Index.  When you click on a folder icon, it will always open the Index and highlight the selected item.

Select CompuServeCD Disc Index from the Indexes menu to go to the CompuServeCD Disc Index.

The CompuServeCD Index is a guide to the all contents of each CompuServeCD disc.  Use it to move through the disc directory and examine each level -- every document, file and directory -- thousands of new entries every month. As each item is highlighted, its path is displayed along with important information such as type, and size. Often you will also find a description, contact information for registration, and more.

Use the menu functions or the buttons located at the upper right of the Disc Index window: SEARCH to quickly locate files or directories by any combination of criteria such as name, type or content.  OPEN a file or run an application.  COPY files and directories to your hard drive.  Or access the Disc Index HELP files for more information.

Each CompuServeCD Disc Index is cumulative, an expanding directory of all the resources available with each disc.


Extensions
CompuServeCD

Article Extensions

Explore the many layers of each CompuServeCD article page. Most pages are saturated with interesting media extensions. Simply click on an icon to play a movie, hear the artist, read more details, purchase a gift, fill your screen with an image or access related files and applications right on the disc.

Extend an article by clicking on the following icons:

  Play CD audio tracks.

  Play sound files.

  Play a video or animation component of the story.

  Reveal the text narrative that accompanies an article.

   Click on a folder to browse and access content on the disc.

   Presents an Order Form with which to order an item.

  Open the CompuServe Directory to get a profile of a CompuServe product or service.

  Launch the CompuServe information Manager and GO to a specific service on-line.

  Display a picture on the screen.

  Launch Spry Mosaic - CompuServe Edition and go to a specific World Wide Web site.


Order Forms

 Order forms are used to assemble item, shipping, and billing information for  products featured on CompuServeCD.  Click on a shopping bag icon to get an order form. Completing the order form deposits it into the Out Basket. The order object can be sent to CompuServe at any time.  Order forms placed in the Out Basket can be opened for viewing or editing any time before sending.

In most cases the fulfilling merchant's name appears at the top of the order form.  Each merchant may have different shipping and billing options and requirements. Variants include: payment and shipping method, countries to which a merchant delivers, and whether or not a merchant ships to an address other than the billing address.


customer service
CompuServeCD

Customer Service & Tech Support

CompuServeCD Support Forum

If you have any questions or need assistance, try CompuServeCD's free Support Forum (GO CCDSUPP) on CompuServe.  Post your question or problem  to the message board and we'll get back to you with an answer in 24 hours or less.

Customer Service Telephone Numbers

USA	1-800-CDROM-89

 (1-800-237-6689)

Canada	614.529.1340

Germany	0130.86.4643

United	0800.289458 (Freephone)

Kingdom	+44.117.976.0680 (Normal)

France	Azur: 36.63.81.31

CompuServeCD Magazine Feedback:

Questions and comments can also be sent via a Feedback message using the CompuServeCD.

Click here if you would like to find out how.


OutBasket
CompuServeCD

Out Basket

The CompuServeCD Out Basket is an evolving communications package created so for communication with CompuServeCD via modem.*

CompuServeCD Out Basket enables users to accumulate and review Feedback Messages and  merchandise orders from CompuServeCD before sending.

  The CompuServeCD Out Basket uses the CompuServe Network to transmit CompuServeCD Out Basket information, enabling users to access the network from a local telephone number.  CompuServeCD "piggy-backs" on WinCIM, so users must have WinCIM installed for CompuServeCD's communications capabilities to function.  If you experience problems connecting with CompuServeCD, trying to connect with WinCIM by itself to make sure that all of your Session Settings and your installation of WinCIM are working correctly.

There are three parts to the CompuServeCD Out Basket:

1) Composing feedback messages

2) Reviewing orders

3) Sending contents of Out Basket

The quickest way to get started is to explore from the magazine section of CompuServeCD:

Create a feedback message by clicking on the Feedback icon at the top of the Out Basket window or by selecting "Create Feedback Message" from the Connections menu.  After composing the message, click the Save button to save it in your Out Basket.

Then, open CompuServeCD Out Basket by choosing it from the Connections menu.

Before  sending the message, click the Session Settings button to set up all that important basic communication information.  If you have already set up a CIS.INI file with another piece of CompuServe software, CompuServeCD Out Basket will use these settings as the default.

Next, click the Send button.  The CompuServeCD Out Basket will automatically send your messages to the CompuServeCD Team and your orders to the appropriate Electronic Mall store.  Responses to your messages (sorry, not all messages may get a reply) will be delivered to your regular CompuServe Mail box.  Use CIM (or your own system) for handling mail to read responses.  Currently, CompuServeCD only handles out-going items.

How to Create a Message

CompuServeCD Out Basket Setup


troubleshooting
CompuServeCD

Troubleshooting

Overview/Disclaimer

Audio

Video

Installation and "Read Errors"

Other Problems

Customer Service & Tech Support

Glossary of Terms


Department Pages

 The article content of each Department appears on the departments' respective cover page. Click on a Red Letter coverline or picture preview to select the desired article or use the radio buttons on the keypad at the right side of the page to navigate from one department page to the another.


Browse2
CompuServeCD

The Browse Window

If you're visually oriented,  the Browse Window may be the best CompuServeCD magazine navigation tool for you.

Click the Browse button from the navigation bar at the bottom of any page to display a movie featuring all magazine contents. Use the start button on the Browse control bar to play back the movie, flip through the pages manually using the slide bar, or step forward or backward page by page.  When the desired page is displayed in the Browse Window, click the Open page button to go to that page.

Tip:  Place the Browse Window in any convenient spot on your desktop and keep it open while using the magazine.  While in the background, it will retain the image it displayed when last used, so it can function as a bookmark.

Tip:  Click the Browse button to open the Browse movie to the page you are currently viewing.  Click the Browse Window when it is already open to retain its current page display.


Mult TBooks
Multiple ToolBooks

Summary:

Running CompuServeCD when you have other ToolBook applications can cause some difficulties.

Information:

First, make sure all versions of ToolBook have the same date and time stamp.  CompuServeCD is currently using ToolBook version 1.53.  Then, create a directory and put all common .DLLs and TBOOK.EXE in the directory.  Typically you are looking for any of the following: .TBK, .DLL, TBOOK.EXE, and TBOOK.NET.  After you have them in the directory, put the directory in your PATH.  Most well-behaved ToolBook apps work well this way.


GPFs
General Protection Faults with CompuServeCD

Summary:

Receiving General Protection Faults (GPFs) when attempting to view various areas of the CompuServeCD Magazine can be attributed to your video card drivers.

Information:

The problem you are experiencing is caused by a conflict between ToolBook, Windows, and the video card drivers.  If an application performs correctly with one driver but doesn't with another, it is highly likely that the problem is with the driver. Have you updated the drivers recently?

We have learned that ToolBook makes more demands on a display driver than most typical Windows programs.  You should contact your video card manufacturer for updated drivers.

If your video card has a Turbo Palette, try running CompuServeCD with it turned off.


CreateMessage
How to Create a Message

Select Feedback option from the CompuServeCD Communications menu, which opens a Feedback window to enter your message.

First, give the message a name (e.g., "My multimedia comments").  The name can be up to 26 characters long.  Then, simply press the Tab key or click in the Feedback text field.  Type away.

To save the message for linking, click the Save button. Then, click the Out Basket button to exit the memo form.  The Out Basket is where all messages are stored before sending.  You may view the contents of the OutBox and edit the messages you've written from the CompuServeCD Out Basket window.


Preferences
CompuServeCD

Preferences

To access the preferences screen choose PREFERENCES from the FILE pull-down menu.  That will display this screen.

Preferences enables users to set standards for using CompuServeCD. Preferences is the place select the appropriate letter of your CD ROM drive, play the animation when opening a magazine, play the automatic animation sequences only once,  save your address in the order form,  and receive a prompt before quitting.

Preferences gives you control of your multimedia system, including the option of displaying media extensions (opening files in the CompuServeCD Magazine) by the default pop-up viewer or by your own custom application. For example, you may want to open the MIDI files with your own MIDI application, such as Passport's MasterTracks; or, you may want to open a WAV file from the Music & Sound section with Media Player instead of the pop-up viewer feature of CompuServeCD.

Here's all you need to do: Select custom viewer for the media extension you wish to open with your own applications.  You'll see a window prompting you to select an application to play such files.  Locate the application on your hard drive and click OK.  Now, every time you launch that media extension in CompuServeCD, it will open with your favorite application.


OutBsktWindow
CompuServeCD Out Basket Window

The CompuServeCD Out Basket window enables you to manage (view, delete) the contents of your Out Basket, set up the CompuServeCD Out Basket for uploading (Session Settings), and perform a Send.


OutBsktSetUp
CompuServeCD Out Basket Setup

Use Session Settings to enter information for successful Sending.  Refer to the following for detailed instructions.

Select a phone number, modem and communications parameters to be used by CompuServeCD Out Basket.

Set the phone number to your local CompuServe Network access phone number.  Select the Baud Rate, dialing mode (Pulse or Tone), and Comm Port.   If your modem uses data compression, select the baud rate with data compression.  The fields can be changed using the drop-down menu in each box.  After selecting a phone number, check the dial prefix, area code, and suffix fields to make sure that the information is correct, and if necessary, add an out-dial code if your phone is on a PBX.   Next, set up your modem by clicking the Modem button.  The next page describes the Modem Setup process.

In this area you can locate and select your modem type.  Unfortunately, not all modems are available from the drop-down list.  If your modem isn't listed, choose the Hayes Compatible (default).  When you select a modem, the appropriate Initialization String will automatically be set.  If necessary, you can makes changes to the Initialization String.  Also, you have the option to have your modem speaker on or off; simply mark the appropriate box.  If your modem has security options, you can enter a User ID and Password in the appropriate boxes.

Once the Communications Settings and Modem Settings are complete, you are ready to Send messages and orders to CompuServe.


Memory Errors

If you get memory errors when running CompuServeCD's magazine or other  applications, check the System Resources.  To do this, select About Program Manager from the Program Manager Help menu.  If your System Resources are running low, be sure to close all other applications. Doing so should increase your System Resources.

Multiple instances of ToolBook are used to access various areas of CompuServeCD.  For alternatives to opening multiple instances of ToolBook, refer to Preferences in the  File menu and the Preferences section of this Help File.


overdis
Overview/Disclaimer

This file lists those most common difficulties that people seem to be having  with the CompuServe CD, and with Video for Windows in general.  In addition,  it includes information pulled from the Video for Windows 1.1 Release Notes, and the MM-GIF Common Questions and Answers, as well as information obtained from just about everybody on the planet having trouble with the CD.

As more information becomes available to the Sysops of the Forum, we will do our best to update this list, however, please remember that files that are referred to here may or may not be available in the place, or with the file name given, at the time that you read it.

The information contained herein is provided solely to help support and troubleshoot the CD-ROM, and any reproduction or public broadcast of this information without the express written consent of Major League Baseball  and CompuServe Incorporated is expressly prohibited.


Audio

I get an error saying "CD Audio Track 2,3, etc..." can't be found.

Why can't I hear a song (CD audio) when I click on it's icon?

I can't find the CD audio track when I go through the File  Manager.

Some sounds are very loud and others very soft.

No Wave device that can play files in the current format is installed.

Use the  Drivers option to install the Wave device.  11326

Where Can I Find  Drivers?


tracknotfound
I get an error saying "CD Audio Track 2,3, etc..." can't be found.

Somewhere in the installation of the nearly  infinite number of drivers necessary to run Windows, one of the ones that we need got missed.  This driver does  not install by default in most Windows installations, nor does it install  by default with the installation of most sound card drivers.

Check in the Windows Control Panel, in the Drivers section, and see if there is a driver there marked [MCI] CD Audio.  If it's not included in the list of installed drivers (most likely), go to the ADD button, and add  it from the list provided...inserting the appropriate Windows disks.

 The CompuServe CD requires that this driver be installed to access the  control of the CD player itself from the Magazine, while most Shareware  programs to play music CD's don't need this, we do.


nocdaudio
Why can't I hear a song (CD audio) when I click on it's icon?

This is pretty easy to take care of, BUT, it requires a little  understanding of the differences between AVI files on your disk, and the  CD Audio tracks on the CD-ROM.

First off, the CD-Audio tracks are not stored as a "file" on the disk,  they're stored in exactly the same fashion as the music tracks on a normal  music CD that you'd pop in a CD player.  They're separated from the rest  of the information on the disk, and you can't get to them like you would  the other sound files.  (There are applications that will do it, but  they're commercial, and they're pretty intensive).

The AVI files are audio/video animation files, stored with 8-bit sound  data, and can be read as files directly from the hard drive.

Now, because of this difference, the way the sound information is handled  is different between the two types.  In the case of the AVI files, they're  played through the digital output of the sound card, and in the case of  the CD Audio tracks, they're played exclusively by the CD-ROM drive, and come out the RCA output of the CD-ROM.

Here's where things get complicated.  Obviously, the sound is coming from  two sources, and you would have to either have two sets of speakers to  handle them, or you'd have to mix the two together.  To get around this,  most sound cards, (especially those who have the capability to run a CD-ROM  drive as part of a "kit"), have a place where you can run the internal  output from the CD-ROM, inside the case, directly onto the card.  This then   mixes the output from the CD-ROM directly into the sound card, so you only  have to worry about the output from the sound card.

Often, though, if the connectors don't match up, or if the CD-ROM didn't  come as part of a kit, this won't work.  For most of these cases, the popular sound cards have a "Line In" jack in addition to the "Microphone  In" jack.  This is there for the same reason, and mixes the input between  the two sources, so you can hook your speakers directly into the sound card  and get both sound sources at once.

Check all these connections, and also check with the people who made the sound card and the CD-ROM, just to be sure that you can everything in the  right places, THEN, check out the section on the Varying Volumes.


cdfilemgr
I can't find the CD audio track when I go through the File  Manager.

First off, the CD-Audio tracks are not stored as a "file" on the disk,  they're stored in exactly the same fashion as the music tracks on a normal  music CD that you'd pop in a CD player.  They're separated from the rest  of the information on the disk, and you can't get to them like you would  the other sound files.  (There are applications that will do it, but  they're commercial, and they're pretty intensive).

The AVI files are audio/video animation files, stored with 8-bit sound  data, and can be read as files directly from the hard drive.

Now, because of this difference, the way the sound information is handled  is different between the two types.  In the case of the AVI files, they're  played through the digital output of the sound card, and in the case of  the CD Audio tracks, they're played exclusively by the CD-ROM drive, and come out the RCA output of the CD-ROM.

Here's where things get complicated.  Obviously, the sound is coming from  two sources, and you would have to either have two sets of speakers to  handle them, or you'd have to mix the two together.  To get around this,  most sound cards, (especially those who have the capability to run a CD-ROM  drive as part of a "kit"), have a place where you can run the internal  output from the CD-ROM, inside the case, directly onto the card.  This then   mixes the output from the CD-ROM directly into the sound card, so you only  have to worry about the output from the sound card.

Often, though, if the connectors don't match up, or if the CD-ROM didn't  come as part of a kit, this won't work.  For most of these cases, the popular sound cards have a "Line In" jack in addition to the "Microphone  In" jack.  This is there for the same reason, and mixes the input between  the two sources, so you can hook your speakers directly into the sound card  and get both sound sources at once.

Check all these connections, and also check with the people who made the sound card and the CD-ROM, just to be sure that you can everything in the  right places, THEN, check out the section on the Varying Volumes.


loudsoft
Some sounds are very loud and others very soft.

The CD Audio and Digital WAV outputs on the sound card (as well as the  output for the MIDI files), are all mixed together by the sound card.  In order to control this, the sound card manufacturer usually provides a  mixing program to use from DOS or Windows (for the Sound Blaster cards,  this is usually called SBMIXER.EXE).  Running that will let you adjust the  volume level for output on each of the individual items mixed through the card.


nowavedevice
No Wave device that can play files in the current format is installed.

The CompuServe CD does require that you have a sound card of some sort  installed on your system, and will not work with most of the PC Speaker drivers that are out there.  (It will work in some cases, but cause REAL  problems with the video output regardless).  As a result, if you do not  have a sound card installed on your system, and the  appropriate drivers to go with it, this error will crop up.

If you do have a sound card, your drivers for the card may be very out of date, or you may not have them installed properly.  Or, in some case, you may just have a card that does not have the capabilities to play 8-bit digital audio, such as an Adlib music synthesizer card.


11326
Use the  Drivers option to install the Wave device.  11326

The CompuServe CD does require that you have a sound card of some sort  installed on your system, and will not work with most of the PC Speaker drivers that are out there.  (It will work in some cases, but cause REAL  problems with the video output regardless).  As a result, if you do not  have a sound card installed on your system, and the  appropriate drivers to go with it, this error will crop up.

If you do have a sound card, your drivers for the card may be very out of date, or you may not have them installed properly.  Or, in some case, you may just have a card that does not have the capabilities to play 8-bit digital audio, such as an Adlib music synthesizer card.


wheredrivers
Where Can I Find  Drivers?

The VERY best place to get drivers from is from the manufacturer of the particular video card/sound card/CD-ROM interface card that you're  using.  Usually, these manufacturers will include a phone number to contact them for driver updates, which they can send through mail, and in a LARGE number of cases, they will also have bulletin board numbers that you can dial up where you can download the drivers for free.  (Not counting the long distance charges, of course).

In many cases, also, there is a much quicker and easier answer that can be  quite a bit less expensive than calling long distance to the manufacturer.  Many of the manufacturer's have on-line support here on CompuServe, and have   Forums where you can download the drivers.  This list should BY NO MEANS be considered complete, but here are a lot of the more common manufacturers and where they have on-line support, just to give you an idea of some places to start looking:

Related Topics:

Video Cards:

Sound Cards:

CD-ROM Drives


videocards
Video Cards:

ATI Technologies	GO CIS:GRAPHAVEN

Tseng Labs	GO CIS:GRAPHBVEN

Diamond Comp Sys	CIS:GRAPHBVEN

HerculesG	GO CIS:GRAPHBVEN

Genoa Systems	GO CIS:GRAPHBVEN

Matrox	GO CIS:GRAPHBVEN

Cirrus Logic	GO CIS: IBMHW

Paradise	GO CIS:IBMHW

Orchid	GO CIS: IBMHW

Trident	GO CIS:IBMHW


soundcards
Sound Cards:

Sound Blaster	GO CIS:BLASTER

Pro Audio Spectrum 16	GO CIS:MEDIAVISION

Gravis Ultrasound	GO CIS:PCVENB

Logitech Soundman	GO CIS:LOGITECH


cdromdrives
CD-ROM Drives:

Gateway	GO CIS:GATEWAY

Others	GO CIS:CDROM

GO CIS:IBMHW


videoprobs
Video Problems

My buttons in the Magazine show up in black and white, hi-contrast.

Parts of it come up in all black.

The specified device is not open or not  recognized by MCI <two lines> 11263.

Load String Failed with ID: 4046

I have a Compaq Prolinea, and get garbage on the screen.

My Compaq video card seems to be having trouble playing the AVI files.

My video card uses the ET4000 chipset, and when I view AVI files with CC, the screen flips out.

I'm getting an error message that says 'vids:iv31  Video not available'

The CompuServe CD seems to be playing back VERY slowly on my system.

Whenever I play the animation files I get really choppy action.

Whenever I play the AVI files, the colors on everybody come out very, very wrong.

I get lockups, every time I try and run one of the AVI files.

Weird things happen when I view AVI files with my Mach-32 card


buttonsbw
My buttons in the Magazine show up in black and white, hi-contrast.

This is related to an older set of [Toolbook] settings in the WIN.INI file,   usually caused by having installed the Nautilus CD-ROM at one time or another.  In all cases so far, going into the WIN.INI file with SYSEDIT, or  another text editor, and deleting the ENTIRE [Toolbook] section will   take care of it.


partsblack
Parts of it come up in all black.

This is related to an older set of [Toolbook] settings in the WIN.INI file,  usually caused by having installed the Nautilus CD-ROM at one time or another.  In all cases so far, going into the WIN.INI file with SYSEDIT, or  another text editor, and deleting out the ENTIRE [Toolbook] section will  take care of it.


11263
The specified device is not open or not  recognized by MCI <two lines> 11263.

This may be coming from a few different places, but SEEMS to be associated  with  the Video for Windows drivers primarily.  The first thing to check is  in the Windows Control Panel, under the Drivers section, in the SETTINGS   for the "[MCI] Microsoft Video for Windows" driver.

 There are two settings there that are important, the first allows you to view AVI files at double-size, (marked as 2x), and the second causes the  AVI files to expand to full-size upon playback.  The 11263 error message seems to crop up more frequently with people who have the "2x" setting  marked, but the "Full Screen" setting doesn't appear to work at ALL, so   neither of them will want to be selected.

This problem seems to be coming up more and more  in addition to the times when a driver conflict with the Video for Windows  driver set for "2x" display.  In many of the cases, it seems that the way  that the drivers have been set up in the INI files may be what's causing  the difficulty, somehow, SOMETHING is case sensitive, where it shouldn't  be, and unless the drivers are entered into the SYSTEM.INI files with the proper case, the AVI player will spit this back when it tries to run.

Nothing specific yet as to what you might want to try to change, but try leaving a message with Microsoft as well, as they could at least verify the driver= lines in the SYSTEM.INI file, and the [MCI] and [DRIVERS] sections to make sure that the case is correct on all the appropriate letters.


loadstring
Load String Failed with ID: 4046

Check the Icon Properties for the three CompuServe CD icons, as this error  crops up in cases where the Working Directory (or Startup Directory, for  users of some non-Program Manager shells) is not set for C:\CSERVE\CCD.


compaqprolinea
I have a Compaq Prolinea, and get garbage on the screen.

People running the Prolinea may or may not have an easy fix for this one.  According to Microsoft, in the MS Windows Multimedia Forum, adding or editing a line in the WIN.INI file will take care of it.

Check in the [Drawdib] section of the WIN.INI file, and add the  following line, or edit the line to read the following:

         [Drawdib]

         DVA=0

This may not entirely take care of the problem, see also the selection  for "Compaq and ET4000 video cards" below for more possibilities.  We hope also to have more information on WHY this error is cropping up, in case there is something else that needs to be addressed with it.


compaqvid
My Compaq video card seems to be having trouble playing the AVI files.

Check in the [Drawdib] section of the WIN.INI file, and add the  following line, or edit the line to read the following:

         [Drawdib]

         DVA=0

According to the Video for Windows 1.1 Release Notes:

If your computer uses the ET4000 chipset, runs a VGA driver, and  full-screen playback does not work correctly, add the following line  to the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file:

       [386Enh]

      SysVMlnSecondBank=FALSE


et4000
My video card uses the ET4000 chipset, and when I view AVI files with CC, the screen flips out.

Check in the [Drawdib] section of the WIN.INI file, and add the  following line, or edit the line to read the following:

         [Drawdib]

         DVA=0

According to the Video for Windows 1.1 Release Notes:

If your computer uses the ET4000 chipset, runs a VGA driver, and  full-screen playback does not work correctly, add the following line  to the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file:

       [386Enh]

      SysVMlnSecondBank=FALSE


vids_iv31
I'm getting an error message that says 'vids:iv31  Video not available' .

This error arises when the Magazine tries to run the AVI files through  Microsoft Video for Windows, but VFW reports back that it has parts of  itself missing, or corrupted.

 Aside from being an incredibly difficult personal problem, it indicates that somewhere in the installation, the Video for Windows 1.1 install was unable to update the files already on disk, or write the files necessary.

This crops up most often when people have VFW 1.0 installed on their system, most especially when they have the  full-blown commercial release of  VFW installed.  Usually, it will be accompanied by several error messages during the installation indicating that some files were unable to be  overwritten.  Also, if ANYTHING else that uses the  VFW files is running in  the background, Windows will not let them be overwritten and updated, causing the files that  are left after installation to be "mixed" between  version 1.0 and version 1.1 files.

Easy solution?  None that I've been able to come across.  In MOST cases,  downloading the upgrade file to VFW from the Microsoft Windows Multimedia Forum on-line (GO CIS:WINMM, filename VFW11.ZIP).  That should bring EVERYTHING  up to version 1.1a of the VFW software.

If it doesn't do it, the only other possible thing you could try would be completely deleting ALL the files from the VFW installation.  There's a  file in the libraries here called UNINSTAL.TXT that lists the files that are installed by the CompuServe CD, including the VFW files and the CCD  Runtime Files.

Once those are all deleted, try the installation again, and see if that takes care of the problem as well.


slowcd
The CompuServe CD seems to be playing back VERY slowly on my system.

There are a lot of possible things happening here that you should look  into.  First, the CompuServe CD was  optimized to run AVI files off of a double-speed CD-ROM, so if you're using a single-speed drive, you're going to experience any number of the problems.  Most specifically, since you're  pushing a lot of information off the CD, if it's a single-speed drive, it  just can't get enough information through at one time to do it.

This is also very important if you're running your Windows in any other  video mode other than 640x480x256 colors.  The higher-resolution modes   generally have much slower screen refresh rates, which can slow things down  all along the flow of information, and the high-color drivers (32,000+ colors on screen at once) are very much slower, in that they're moving even  MORE information through per screen scan than the high-resolution drivers.

The next thing to look at is the icon properties for your CompuServe CD-ROM  icons.  If, for some reason, these have been set to point at the executable  files actually on the CD-ROM, rather than the installed executable files  that are copied to your hard drive, C:\CSERVE\CCD directory, then that's definitely one cause of the problem.  The files are copied to the hard drive specifically for the purpose of speeding things up, and if you try and run them from the CD-ROM, you're going to really bog things down.

Finally, there is one other important note from Microsoft concerning slow  AVI playback in Video for Windows that may have other effects throughout  the CD-ROM that you'll want to look at:

If your computer uses the double buffering feature of MS-DOS 6, AVI  files may play slowly on your computer. If your CONFIG.SYS file  contains the command that starts SMARTDRV with the DOUBLE_BUFFERING parameter, add the /L switch to the SMARTDrive command in your   AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

If adding the /L switch doesn't increase the playback speed enough, try removing the DOUBLE_BUFFERING parameter altogether.  Before you remove the DOUBLE_BUFFERING parameter, consult your Windows documentation or MS-DOS Help to determine whether your computer needs the parameter to run correctly.


choppy
Whenever I play the animation files I get really choppy action.

There are a lot of possible things happening here that you should look  into.  First, the CompuServe CD was  optimized to run AVI files off of a double-speed CD-ROM, so if you're using a single-speed drive, you're going to experience any number of the problems.  Most specifically, since you're  pushing a lot of information off the CD, if it's a single-speed drive, it  just can't get enough information through at one time to do it.

This is also very important if you're running your Windows in any other  video mode other than 640x480x256 colors.  The higher-resolution modes   generally have MUCH slower screen refresh rates, which can slow things down  all along the flow of information, and the high-color drivers (32,000+ colors on screen at once) are VERY much slower, in that they're moving even  MORE information through per screen scan than the high-resolution drivers.

The next thing to look at is the icon properties for your CompuServe CD-ROM  icons.  If, for some reason, these have been set to point at the executable  files ACTUALLY ON THE CD-ROM, rather than the installed executable files  that are copied to your hard drive, C:\CSERVE\CCD directory, then that's DEFINITELY one cause of the problem.  The files are copied to the hard drive specifically for the purpose of speeding things up, and if you try and run them from the CD-ROM, you're going to really bog things down.

Finally, there is one other important note from Microsoft concerning slow  AVI playback in Video for Windows that may have other effects throughout  the CD-ROM that you'll want to look at:

If your computer uses the double buffering feature of MS-DOS 6, AVI  files may play slowly on your computer.  If your CONFIG.SYS file  contains the command that starts SMARTDRV with the DOUBLE_BUFFERING parameter, add the /L switch to the SMARTDrive command in your   AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

If adding the /L switch doesn't increase the playback speed enough, try removing the DOUBLE_BUFFERING parameter altogether.  Before you remove the DOUBLE_BUFFERING parameter, consult your Windows documentation or MS-DOS Help to determine whether your computer needs the parameter to run correctly.


avicolors
Whenever I play the AVI files, the colors on everybody come out very, very wrong.

Usually, problems like this are indications of a bad set of video drivers running on the system, either old ones, or high color drivers that don't  properly transmit pallet information to the AVI drivers.  The very first thing you should always do in a case like this is switch to a 640x480x256 color driver, and see if that improves things a bit.

The Video for Windows software must access the Profiling Display every time  the color pallet, and if it doesn't get the appropriate information back,  because of a driver conflict (or a rainy day), it could do almost anything.

In ANY case of doubt, try the following:

If you're not already running in 640x480x256 color mode, try running  in that, and possibly also try the drivers you have at 800x600x256  colors.  If that does not give you any better results, try using a  generic Microsoft SVGA driver for your 640x480x256 color video.  (These can be obtained in the Microsoft Software Library, on-line in GO MSL, under the name SVGA.EXE).

If those drivers work fine with the CD-ROM, then you'll know that  the problem is with the version of the video drivers that you're currently using.  If that is the case, check in the Graphics Vendor  Forums on-line (GO CIS: GRAPHVEN), or with the manufacturer of your video  card directly, as they may have an upgrade to the drivers that  solves some of the difficulties.


avilockup
I get lockups, every time I try and run one of the AVI files.

Usually, problems like this are indications of a bad set of video drivers running on the system, either old ones, or high color drivers that don't  properly transmit pallet information to the AVI drivers.  The very first thing you should always do in a case like this is switch to a 640x480x256 color driver, and see if that improves things a bit.

The Video for Windows software must access the Profiling Display every time  the color pallet, and if it doesn't get the appropriate information back,  because of a driver conflict (or a rainy day), it could do almost anything.

In ANY case of doubt, try the following:

If you're not already running in 640x480x256 color mode, try running  in that, and possibly also try the drivers you have at 800x600x256  colors.  If that does not give you any better results, try using a  generic Microsoft SVGA driver for your 640x480x256 color video.  (These can be obtained in the Microsoft Software Library, on-line in GO MSL, under the name SVGA.EXE).

If those drivers work fine with the CD-ROM, then you'll know that  the problem is with the version of the video drivers that you're currently using.  If that is the case, check in the Graphics Vendor  Forums on-line (GO  CIS:GRAPHVEN), or with the manufacturer of your video  card directly, as they may have an upgrade to the drivers that solves some of the difficulties.


avimach32
Weird things happen when I view AVI files with my Mach-32 card

Problems with the Mach-32 card can usually be taken care of by updating the drivers to the software, and in most cases, that's all that needs to be  done.  So why include this as a separate question?

The following note from the Video for Windows 1.1 release notes may be of  importance with people using ATI video cards, so it's included here:

Versions of ATI's video accelerator prior to 2.1 do not work well   with Video for Windows version 1.1.  installing the accelerator software after installing Video for Windows can overwrite Video for Windows 1.1 components with components from the previous version.

 Avoid installing any version of the video accelerator unless it is  specifically noted to be compatible with Video for Windows version 1.1.

 The vidc.rlec=ativdacc.drv entry in the [installable compressors] section of the SYSTEM.INI file can cause problems when playing large  RLE-compressed movies.  Remove this entry from the SYSTEM.INI file.

For updated drivers, contact ATI Technologies Inc.


install_readerrors
Installation and "Read errors"

I keep getting an error reading Drive <insert CD-ROM  drive letter here>.

Sometimes I can read the disk but sometimes I can't.

I get an error reading the CD-ROM drive every time I try and access the File Finder.

Other intermittent read problems

What files are installed by the CompuServe CD?


errorreading
I keep getting an error reading Drive <insert CD-ROM  drive letter here>.

There are usually one of two things that are happening in these cases, the first being that you may very well have received a defective disk in the mail.  For those cases, usually a message in the GO FEEDBACK area, or a  call to the Customer Service support number (1-800-848-8990) will get you  a  replacement.

In cases, however, where this is your second disk and it's still not able  to read the information, it's HIGHLY unlikely that the problem is in the  disk itself, but may be associated with the drive that you're using.  We  have had reports of three major drives that have troubles reading the disk, so check this list BEFORE you request another disk, and possibly check with the drive manufacturer to see if there is anything that can be done. See the NOTES  for each drive.


sometimescantread
Sometimes I can read the disk but sometimes I can't.

There are usually one of two things that are happening in these cases, the first being that you may very well have received a defective disk in the mail.  For those cases, usually a message in the GO FEEDBACK area, or a  call to the Customer Service support number (1-800-848-8990) will get you  a  replacement.

In cases, however, where this is your second disk and it's still not able  to read the information, it's HIGHLY unlikely that the problem is in the  disk itself, but may be associated with the drive that you're using.  We  have had reports of three major drives that have troubles reading the disk, so check this list BEFORE you request another disk, and possibly check with the drive manufacturer to see if there is anything that can be done. See  the NOTES  for each drive.


readerrorff
I get an error reading the CD-ROM drive every time I try and access the File Finder.

There are usually one of two things that are happening in these cases, the first being that you may very well have received a defective disk in the   mail.  For those cases, usually a message in the GO FEEDBACK area, or a  call to the Customer Service support number (1-800-848-8990) will get you  a second replacement sent out.

In cases, however, where this is your second disk and it's still not able  to read the information, it's HIGHLY unlikely that the problem is in the  disk itself, but may be associated with the drive that you're using.  We  have had reports of three major drives that have troubles reading the disk, so check this list BEFORE you request another disk, and possibly check with the drive manufacturer to see if there is anything that can be done. See  the NOTES for each drive


drivenotes
Notes on Problematic Drives

Sony CDU-31A

Mitsumi FX001D

NEC 3Xi or 3Xe


sonycdu_31a
Sony CDU-31A

This is the Sony drive that ships with many Gateway systems, and a number of users have reported problems with this drive in the CDROM Forum on-line,  (GO CIS:CDROM).  There is a file in the libraries there  called CDU31A.TXT that goes into a little more detail, and describes a possible hardware fix that will allow the drive to read some disks, but check with Gateway before jumping in too far.

There is a possibility that with some of these drives, the problem could just be an old CD-ROM drive (the drive is getting to be pretty old itself).  Upgrades of the drive may help as well.


Mitsumi FX001D

There are no notes in the CDROM Forum on-line that seem to indicate potential problems, although these double-speed drives do seem to have trouble reading the disk.  The only other coincidence seems to be that they're also drives that are shipped on a number of Gateway systems.

If you are using a Mitsumi driver for the CD-ROM (which you should), check to see if you are running the software on your system.  There is a known conflict with these two programs that may be causing a good number of the problems, and there is some evidence to suggest that QEMM7.0 has some of the same conflicts.

There is another known problem with this card being used on systems that have the Aztech controller card installed.  If you have an Aztech controller driving the Mitsumi FX001D drive, you are more than likely out of luck, as the two do not seem to be compatible at all.


nec3xi_3xe
NEC 3Xi or 3Xe

There seem to be two major factors involved with the NEC 3X series drives.  The most important factor seems to be that NEC recently underwent a firmware revision, from version 2.2 to version 2.5,  and this apparently corrected a LARGE number of  problems the NEC drives had when put through the Adaptec SCSI cards.  Of smaller note is that there  are apparently more differences between the 500 series drives and the 510 series than most people  realize.  The 510 series is an OEM drive that NEC will not support through its Customer Service, and there are many reports in the CDROM Forum of this drive not performing up to expected specifications.


otherreadprobs
Other intermittent read problems

There are two other things to note as well with the intermittent errors  reading the CD-ROM disk.  When the larger AVI files are running, or when  the CD-Audio is playing in the background, you can actually go back to the  Magazine, and attempt to click on other icons.  With some people's systems, since the CD-ROM is obviously busy playing the sound, the system will kick  back with this error message.  This does not happen in all cases, however.

Second, especially in cases where you get the error message when trying to    access the File Finder, check to see if you're running the Helix Netroom  Cloaked CD-ROM Extensions on a Networked system.  If you are, see about  replacing these with normal CD-ROM drivers, as there have been multiple reports of these causing conflicts with reading the larger files.


whatfiles
What files are installed by the CompuServe CD?

Installation of the CompuServe CD can actually involve 4 different programs.

There are the runtime files for the CompuServe CD itself, WinCIM, CompuServe Internet Dialer,  and Video for Windows. The Video for Windows installation will make some serious changes to the Windows ini files.

Files installed and INI changes:

CompuServeCD installed files

CompuServeCD AUTOEXEC.BAT and WIN.INI changes

Video for Windows list of installed files

Video for Windows changes to INI files

CompuServe Internet Dialer


files_list
CompuServeCD Files Installed

The CompuServe Files that are installed if you install WinCIM, and the CompuServe CD, are mostly located in the C:\CSERVE directory (or the directory you typed in during installation), with the CompuServe CD files being located in the C:\CSERVE\CCD directory.  If you are uninstalling, deleting the CCD subdirectory will get rid of the majority of the files that are installed to your hard drive from the CompuServe installation.

CompuServeCD creates an INI file in your WINDOWS directory during installation.  (If you also installed the MM-GIF viewer you will also have its INI file.

WINDOWS Directory:

CCD.INI

(MMGIF.INI)

In addition to these files, the CompuServe CD installation will update the following eight files into the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory for use with the File Finder and the Disc Index.   Many Shareware applications also require one or more of these files, including some of those provided on the CD-ROM or downloaded from the service.  CompuServeCD only copies these files if you don't have them or if you have an older version of any of them.

If you are uninstalling CompuServeCD, you should back these up before deleting them or you may find that other applications suddenly won't run.

Directory of WINDOWS\SYSTEM

 VBRUN300 DLL 	394,384 	11-19-93	12:00a

 PICCLIP  VBX	15,840 	04-28-93	12:00a

 MSOUTLIN VBX	24,000 	04-28-93	12:00a

 CMDIALOG VBX	18,688 	04-28-93	12:00a

 VBDB300  DLL	95,200 	04-28-93	12:00a

 MSAES110 DLL	33,280 	04-28-93	12:00a

 MSAJT110 DLL	710,528 	04-28-93	12:00a

 CTL3D.DLL	21,008	11-23-93	12:52p


vfwfiles
Video for Windows Files Installed or modified

Files installed by the Microsoft Video for Windows Runtime are provided in the following list of changes provided in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. (Document Number: Q108362, Publication Date: 25-FEB-1994, for reference)

If you are deleting these files, remember, these changes are made DIRECTLY to the Windows system files, so BE ABSOLUTELY SURE that you have a backup that you can restore from, just in case, and if you have any difficulties at all, contact Microsoft as soon as possible to determine what may have gone wrong.

Also, some of these files (such as MPLAYER.EXE) are also included with Windows itself or other applications, and only updated by VFW.  Deleting these files could cause other applications to no longer work.

Files Copied to the WINDOWS Directory

 MPLAYER.REG

 MCIOLE.DLL

 MPLAYER.HLP

 MPLAYER.EXE

 INDEO.INI

File Copied to the WINDOWS\SYSTEM Directory

 DVA.386

 DISPDIB.DLL

 ACMCMPRS.DLL

 CTL3D.DLL

 AVICAP.DLL

 MCIAVI.DRV

 AVIFILE.DLL

 COMPOBJ.DLL

 MSVIDEO.DLL

 IMAADPCM.ACM

 MAP_WIN.HLP

 MSADPCM.ACM

 MSACM.DRV

 MSACM.DLL

 MSRLE.DRV

 INDEOV.DRV

 MSVIDC.DRV

 IR21_R.DLL

 ICCVID.DRV

 IR30.DLL

 CLEANUP.REG

 OLE2.REG

 OLE2PROX.DLL

 OLE2CONV.DLL

 OLE2NLS.DLL

 OLE2DISP.DLL

 TYPELIB.DLL

 STORAGE.DLL

 OLE2.DLL

Files Modified in WINDOWS Directory (see INI File changes)

 ACCESSOR.GRP

 CONTROL.INI

 REG.DAT

 SYSTEM.INI

 WIN.INI


winsysini
Video for Windows Changes to WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI

WIN.INI

-----------

 [drawdib]

 vga.drv 640x480x4(0)=1,0,0,0

 [embedding]

 MPlayer=Media Clip,Media Clip,mplayer.exe,picture

 [mci extensions]

 avi=AVIVideo

SYSTEM.INI

------------------

 [386Enh]

 device=dva.386

 [drivers]

 VIDC.CVID=iccvid.drv

 VIDC.MSVC=msvidc.drv

 VIDC.IV31=indeov.drv

 VIDC.MRLE=MSRLE.drv

 VIDC.RT21=indeov.drv

 VIDC.YVU9=indeov.drv

 WaveMapper=msacm.drv

 MSACM.msadpcm=msadpcm.acm

 MSACM.imaadpcm=imaadpcm.acm

 [mci]

 AVIVideo=mciavi.drv

VFW's Changes to CONTROL.INI

 [drivers.desc]

 msacm.drv=Microsoft Sound Mapper V2.00

 msadpcm.acm=Microsoft ADPCM Codec V2.00

 imaadpcm.acm=Microsoft IMA ADPCM Codec V2.00

 mciwave.drv=[MCI] Sound

 mciseq.drv=[MCI] MIDI Sequencer

 mciavi.drv=[MCI] Microsoft Video for Windows

 timer.drv=Timer

 midimap.drv=MIDI Mapper

 iccvid.drv=SuperMatch Cinepak Codec

 msvidc.drv=Microsoft Video 1 Compressor

 indeov.drv=Intel Indeo(TM) Video Driver

 MSRLE.drv=Microsoft RLE Compressor


ccdautoexec
CompuServeCD Changes to AUTOEXEC.BAT and INI files

The search engine used by the CompuServeCD File Finder needs to have a directory it can use for writing temporary files.  For this reason, Setup asks if it can add a line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT.  This line takes the form of:

     SET FULTEMP=<your CCD path here>

If you do not have this environment variable set, the File Finder may not work reliably.  Specifically, you may get "Error 10" messages when you attempt to perform a search.

NOTE:  You may change this line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT as long as the directory specified in it exists and is writeable.

Example:

 Default:  SET FULTEMP=C:\CSERVE\CCD

Edited:  SET FULTEMP=C:\TEMP

Using a shorter path may help people who are short on DOS environment space.

WIN.INI

CompuServeCD makes only one change to WIN.INI.  If you do not have an association set up for the extension .NCD, then Setup associates this extension with the program file in your CCD directory.  This change is added to the EXTENSIONS section of WIN.INI


common_err_msgs
Common Error Messages

CD audio track 2, 3, etc... can't be found

Error reading Drive <insert CD-ROM  drive letter here>

Load String Failed with ID: 4046

No Wave device that can play files in the current format is installed.

The specified device is not open or not recognized by MCI <two lines> 11263

Use the Drivers option to install the Wave device.  11326

vids:iv31 Video not available


errmsg_cdtrack
CD audio track 2, 3, etc... can't be found

Somewhere in the installation of the nearly  infinite number of drivers necessary to run Windows, one of the ones that we need got missed.  This driver does  not install by default in most Windows installations, nor does it install  by default with the installation of most sound card drivers.

Check in the Windows Control Panel, in the Drivers section, and see if there is a driver there marked [MCI] CD Audio.  If it's not included in the list of installed drivers (most likely), go to the ADD button, and add  it from the list provided...inserting the appropriate Windows disks.

The CompuServe CD requires that this driver be installed to access the  control of the CD player itself from the Magazine, while most Shareware  programs to play music CD's don't need this, we do.


errmsg_readcd
Error reading Drive <insert CD-ROM  drive letter here>

There are usually one of two things that are happening in these cases,  the   first being that you may very well have received a defective disk  in the   mail.  For those cases, usually a message in the GO FEEDBACK area, or a  call to the Customer Service support number (1-800-848-8990) will get you  a second replacement sent out.

In cases, however, where this is your second disk and it's still not able  to read the information, it's HIGHLY unlikely that the problem is in the  disk itself, but may be associated with the drive that you're using.

We  have had reports of three major drives that have troubles reading the disk,   so check this list BEFORE you request another disk, and possibly check with  the drive manufacturer to see if there is anything  that can be done. See  the NOTES  for each drive


errmsg_loadstring
Load String Failed with ID: 4046

Check the Icon Properties for the three CompuServe CD icons, as this error  crops up in cases where the Working Directory (or Startup Directory, for  users of some non-Program Manager shells) is not set for C:\CSERVE\CCD.


errmsg_nowavedevice
No Wave device that can play files in the current format is installed.

The CompuServe CD does require that you have a sound card of some sort  installed on your system, and will not work with most of the PC Speaker drivers that are out there.  (It will work in some cases, but cause REAL  problems with the video output regardless).  As a result, if you do not  have a sound card installed on your system, and the  appropriate drivers to go with it, this error will crop up.

If you do have a sound card, your drivers for the card may be very out of date, or you may not have them installed properly.  Or, in some case, you may just have a card that does not have the capabilities to play 8-bit digital audio, such as an Adlib music synthesizer card.


errmsg11263
The specified device is not open or not recognized by MCI <two lines> 11263

This may be coming from a few different places, but SEEMS to be associated  with  the Video for Windows drivers primarily.  The first thing to check is  in the Windows Control Panel, under the Drivers section, in the SETTINGS   for the "[MCI] Microsoft Video for Windows" driver.

 There are two settings there that are important, the first allows you to view AVI files at double-size, (marked as 2x), and the second causes the  AVI files to expand to full-size upon playback.  The 11263 error message seems to crop up more frequently with people who have the "2x" setting  marked, but the "Full Screen" setting doesn't appear to work at ALL, so   neither of them will want to be selected.

This problem seems to be coming up more and more  in addition to the times when a driver conflict with the Video for Windows  driver set for "2x" display.  In many of the cases, it seems that the way  that the drivers have been set up in the INI files may be what's causing  the difficulty, somehow, SOMETHING is case sensitive, where it shouldn't  be, and unless the drivers are entered into the SYSTEM.INI files with the proper case, the AVI player will spit this back when it tries to run.

Nothing specific yet as to what you might want to try to change, but try leaving a message with Microsoft as well, as they could at least verify the driver= lines in the SYSTEM.INI file, and the [MCI] and [DRIVERS] sections to make sure that the case is correct on all the appropriate letters.


errmsg11326
Use the Drivers option to install the Wave device.  11326

The CompuServe CD does require that you have a sound card of some sort  installed on your system, and will not work with most of the PC Speaker drivers that are out there.  (It will work in some cases, but cause REAL  problems with the video output regardless).  As a result, if you do not  have a sound card installed on your system, and the  appropriate drivers to go with it, this error will crop up.

If you do have a sound card, your drivers for the card may be very out of date, or you may not have them installed properly.  Or, in some case, you may just have a card that does not have the capabilities to play 8-bit digital audio, such as an Adlib music synthesizer card.


errmsg_vidsiv31
vids:iv31 Video not available

This error arises when the Magazine tries to run the AVI files through  Microsoft Video for Windows, but VFW reports back that it has parts of  itself missing, or corrupted.

Aside from being an incredibly difficult personal problem, it indicates that somewhere in the installation, the Video for Windows 1.1 install was unable to update the files already on disk, or write the files necessary.

This crops up most often when people have VFW 1.0 installed on their system, most especially when they have the  full-blown commercial release of  VFW installed.  Usually, it will be accompanied by several error messages during the installation indicating that some files were unable to be  overwritten.  Also, if ANYTHING else that uses the  VFW files is running in  the background, Windows will not let them be overwritten and updated, causing the files that  are left after installation to be "mixed" between  version 1.0 and version 1.1 files.

Easy solution?  None that I've been able to come across.  In MOST cases,  downloading the upgrade file to VFW from the Microsoft Windows Multimedia Forum on-line (GO WINMM, filename VFW11.ZIP).  That should bring EVERYTHING  up to version 1.1a of the VFW software.

If it doesn't do it, the only other possible thing you could try would be completely deleting ALL the files from the VFW installation.  There's a  file in the libraries of the CCD Support Forum  called UNINSTAL.TXT that lists the files that are installed by the CompuServe CD, including the VFW files and the CCD  Runtime Files.

Once those are all deleted, try the installation again, and see if that takes care of the problem as well.


glossary
CompuServeCD

Glossary of Terms

CCD.INI

CompuServe Information Manager

CompuServe Navigator

CompuServe Store

Control Panel

Icon Properties

MCI

Microsoft Software Library

MIDI

MMGIF.INI

MS Windows MultiMedia Forum

OEM

Shareware

shell

SYSEDIT

SYSTEM.INI

VBRUN300 DLL

What's New

WIN.INI


otherprobs
Other Problems

Memory errors

General Protection Faults

Multiple ToolBooks


gls_ccdini
CCD.INI

This file contains startup information for the CompuServe CD.


gls_cim
CompuServe Information Manager

The CompuServe Information Manager for Windows - WinCIM(r), the CompuServe Information Manager for the Macintosh - MacCIM™, the CompuServe Information Manager for DOS - DOSCIM™, the CompuServe Navigator, Windows Version - CSNav™, the CompuServe Navigator for Macintosh - MacNav™, and the CompuServe for GEOS software are the six software packages distributed by CompuServe that were specifically designed to access the CompuServe Information Service. These packages, which were developed to simplify the user interface to CompuServe, take advantage of CompuServe's Host Micro Interface protocol (HMI) and CompuServe's B+ Protocol


gls_csnav
CompuServe Navigator

The CompuServe Navigator, Windows version is a communications software package for CompuServe members that utilizes the Microsoft Windows environment.

Navigator automates access to the CompuServe Information Service and reduces connect time by quickly retrieving/sending messages, files, and reports. Navigator allows you to set-up your entire session with CompuServe prior to establishing a connection.

Through prepared scripts, you select the CompuServe services to use during the on-line session, and Navigator does the rest -- automatically.  Navigator saves the retrieved information to a session file that can be reviewed off-line --while the billing clock isn't running.

You can use Navigator to access CompuServe Mail, forums, weather, quotes, and portfolio reports.  The Navigator terminal emulator can be used to access areas on CompuServe that are not supported by Navigator scripts. GO CSNAV on-line for additional information.


gls_csstore
CompuServe Store

The on-line ordering area of the CompuServe Information Service. GO ORDER takes you there.


gls_controlpanel
Control Panel

The Control Panel is located in Program Manager's MAIN program group.


gls_iconprops
Icon Properties

Icon Properties tell Windows what program to run, what files it should open when the application executes and what directory the program should start up in.

To check properties highlight the icon and press [ALT][ENTER].


gls_mci
MCI

Media Control Interface. MCI provides a standardized way to control hardware such as video and audio tape recorders.


gls_msl
Microsoft Software Library (MSL)

This is the area on CompuServe where Microsoft distributes updated drivers.


gls_midi
MIDI

Musical Instrument Digital Interface. MIDI is a way of allowing electronic musical devices to communicate with each other.


gls_mmgif
MMGIF.INI

This file contains configuration information for the MultiMedia GIF viewer.


gls_msmedia
MS Windows MultiMedia Forum

This is where Microsoft supports it's multimedia software. GO CIS:MSMM will take you there.


gls_oem
OEM

Original Equipment Manufacturer An OEM device is manufactured by one company and then sold under another company's name.


gls_shareware
Shareware

Many of the programs available on-line or included on the CompuServe CD are shareware.  Shareware is distributed on the "honor" system. You only pay the registration fee if you continue to use a program after the evaluation period.


gls_shell
shell

Programs that replace Program Manager. Examples include Usher, Norton Desktop for Windows, PC Tools, and Dashboard.


gls_sysedit
SYSEDIT

Sysedit is a Windows utility. To run it pull down the FILE menu in Program Manager, choose RUN and type in SYSEDIT.


gls_sysini
SYSTEM.INI

This file stores Windows configuration information. The settings in this file determine what parts of itself Windows loads based on whether you're running in standard or enhanced mode. It also determines what system drivers are loaded.


gls_vbrun300
VBRUN300 DLL

This is the Visual Basic V3 runtime file. It's required to run the many shareware and public domain programs written in Microsoft Visual Basic.


gls_whatsnew
What's New

What's New will appear the first 3 times you logon each week. It is updated every Monday. What's New is how CompuServe alerts you to new products, special events, and rate changes.


gls_winini
WIN.INI

This is the Windows environmental configuration file. It contains information on formatting, screen colors, printer and com port settings, etc.


WhatsNew
CompuServeCD

What's New and Improved

Here are the Major enhancements that we've made to the CompuServeCD:

The Overview

You can now launch CompuServeCD magazine, File Finder, CD Disk Index, and Feedback from the new CompuServeCD Overview.  The Overview gives you an easy way to launch the most commonly used features of CompuServeCD.

Click here to see the Overview

WinCIM 2.0 and NetLauncher 2.0

We have included the latest version of the CompuServe Information Manager for Windows, version 2.0.  WinCIM 2.0 includes the latest version of Net Launcher and CompuServe Mosiac to take you directly to the World Wide Web from within CompuServeCD.

Click here for more information on NetLauncher

Thanks to the input of our subscribers we have been able to implement these major changes and several smaller changes that you have asked for.  Please continue to supply us with you comments, concerns, and suggestions and we will continue to add those ideas to the CompuServeCD.

Click here to find out how to contact Customer Service


CID
CompuServe Internet Dialer

What is the CompuServe Internet Dialer (CID)?

The CompuServe Internet Dialer (or CID for short) is a stand-alone application that provides point-to-point protocol (PPP) access to the Internet through the CompuServe network.  CID makes Internet connection quick and easy by automatically using the same communications session settings that are already set up in your CompuServe Information Manager for Windows (WinCIM), CompuServe Information Manager for DOS (DOSCIM), Version 2.2 or later, and/or CompuServe Navigator, Windows Version (CSNav) software.  You must have the software already installed before you can use CID.

CID will also work in conjunction with Spry Mosaic-CompuServe Edition or any other Winsock-compliant TCP/IP application.  You do not need to do anything to start up CID.  It operates dial-on-demand, which means that when the application requires an Internet connection, CID automatically dials up the CompuServe network to begin connecting to the Internet.

CID will also work independently of any other application, so you can use it to initiate a PPP session by dialing the CompuServe network.  If necessary, you can change your communications session settings and/or your modem control settings.

The CompuServeCD uses CID along with Spry Mosaic-CompuServe Edition to allow you to access the World Wide Web when using CompuServeCD.


T_201556310116
CompuServeCD

What's New and Improved

Here are the Major enhancements that we've made to the CompuServeCD:

Net Launcher

CompuServeCD is pleased to be the first multimedia magazine to have direct access to the Internet.  With the introduction of the CompuServe Internet Dialer(CID) and Spry Mosaic - CompuServe Edition we can take you directly to the World Wide Web from inside the magazine.

Click here for more information on CID

WinCIM 1.4

We have included the latest version of the CompuServe Information Manager for Windows, version 1.4.

Animated Icons

We have replaced all of the icons throughout the magazine with new animated icons

Click here to see the new icons

New Video for Windows

To provide you with the latest technology we are including the newest version of Microsoft's Video for Windows, version 1.1e.

Thanks to the input of our subscribers we have been able to implement these major changes and several smaller changes that you have asked for.  Please continue to supply us with you comments, concerns, and suggestions and we will continue to add those ideas to the CompuServeCD.

Click here to find out how to contact Customer Service