About our CD-ROM and Easy Install
Disclaimer
System requirements
Setting up Easy Install
Using Easy Install
Previewing our Web site
Known problems
Tech support, broken discs, etc

 

About our CD-ROM

The PC User Offline CD-ROM can be used two ways. To install software easily and, where possible, run it straight from the CD, we have created our own Easy Install program.

We have also provided a sneak preview of our Web site on the CD. From these Web pages, you can go to the PC User Online or one of the many other Web sites on the CD for the latest information (if you have an Internet connection, of course). Jumping to our Web site from the PC User Offline Web pages also means that you don't have to download many of the graphics on our Web site -- meaning it will load faster.

Disclaimer

We have tested this CD-ROM and taken every care to scan for viruses and ensure the programs on this CD-ROM work as promised. However, Australian PC User cannot be held responsible for any damage to your system caused directly or indirectly by any software on the PC User Offline disc. Also, we cannot provide tech support for any of the third-party software on PC User Offline.

The Web pages on PC User Offline have been tested with Netscape Navigator 3.0 and MS Internet Explorer 3.0. We cannot guarantee it will look the best in any other browser, though it should still display accurately enough for you to use

Users follow the Internet links on the CD-ROM at their own risk. PC User takes no responsibility for any offensive sites that the user might encounter.

System requirements

The Easy Install program and a Web browser will run on any machine that can run Windows 95 or 3.1 and has a CD-ROM drive, though you’ll need to be patient on older machines and slower drives.

To run the Easy Install program and the latest Web browsers comfortably, you need at least a 486DX2/66 with 8Mb of RAM, a double-speed CD reader and video running at 640 by 480 or 800 by 600 resolution at least at 256 colours.

Individual programs and demos included on the disc have their own system requirements, which may be higher.

First time installation

The Easy Install program. There are two versions of our Easy Install program: a 32-bit version for Windows 95, called pcuser32.exe, and a 16-bit version for Windows 3.11, called pcuser.exe.

You can load Easy Install simply by running one of the above files (both are in the root directory of your CD-ROM drive), but an easier way for ongoing use is to install the PC User icon on your desktop, which will allow you run the Easy Install program any time simply by double-clicking on this icon. To do this, in Windows 95, select Run from the Start button menu, then run the file SETUP.EXE in the root directory of your CD-ROM drive (usually D:). Windows 3.1 users run the same file using the Run command in Program Manager's File menu.

This Setup program installs only icons onto your hard disk -- the Easy Install program runs straight from the CD.

Using Easy Install

The Easy Install program has no menu system and the interface has been designed to be as intuitive as possible. Anything you roll over that displays a pointed finger is clickable, so you should be able to find your way around easily.

To install the programs and other items on such an area menu, just click the obvious button. Some programs can be run straight from the CD so you can preview it before you install it your hard disk. This will be clear from the buttons.

Some programs do not come with an install routine. In these cases we have provided buttons to launch Win 95 Explorer or Win 3.1 File Manager so you can copy the files to your hard disk manually. Check out the Readme file accompanying any such program to see if there are any special installation instructions.

Of course, you don't have to use Easy Install at all. You can use Windows 95 Explorer, Win 3.1's File Manager or another file manager to browse the CD-ROM and install software. You'll find the directory structure, which is based on the categories in the software menu, easy to follow.

Next step: Preview our Web site

If you want to preview PC User’s Web site on the CD, you will need to use a Web browser that supports the HTML 3 format, such as recent versions of Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. We have made it easy to install one of these browsers from the Easy Install program.

If you already have one of these browsers installed, just tell your browser to browse the file pcuser.htm in the OFFLINE directory on your CD reader (usually D:). Alternatively, just use File Manager or Win 95’s Explorer and double-click on this file. Further help can be found in the readme.txt file in the root directory of your CD-ROM drive (usually D:) or by clicking on the Help buttons in the Easy Install program or in our Web pages.

Known problems

Okay, here's where we come clean. Here are the potential problems with our CD-ROM that we know about:

• If you are not using one of the latest versions of Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer for Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, or haven't used the default path to install one of these browsers, then clicking on the PC User Offline logo in the Easy Install program will not launch the PC User Offline Web pages. You will have to run the PCUSER.HTM page in the \OFFLINE directory of your CD-ROM drive.
• Sections of PC User Offline may not display correctly with certain video cards if your screen resolution is set to use large fonts. If this happens you will notice text apparently chopped short, or looking oversized.To resolve this you need to reset your screen resolution to use small fonts. You could also contact the manufacturer of your video card and see if there is an updated Windows driver that would fix this problem.
• The easy Install Program was created using Macromedia Director. There are known problems with Director and certain Print drivers, at least Under Windows 3.1, that result in a GPF failure as soon as you try to run the program. Drivers known to cause problems are the HP-5L, and Bitfax Fax driver. To fix this just change your default print driver to None temporarily.

Problems with the November CD-ROM. The redevelopment of our CD-ROM last month was a massive undertaking in a very short amount of time -- compare our development time of one month with what most software developers have! Also, technology was far from kind to us this month. Just one example: our CD-R drive bit the dust just as we were about to cut the final gold disc. Eventually, we had to outsource this job but in the meantime we lost several days. The result: although we were able to thoroughly test previous versions of the CD, testing of the final CD was far too rushed. Enough of the excuses, here are the main bugs that we found in the November disc:

• The Readme.txt file and Help Web page on the November disc referred to running a Setup.exe program to install icons for the Easy Install program. Unfortunately, a file was corrupted on the gold CD, meaning that this Setup.exe file won't work. However, this wasn't as big a problem as it sounds. The Setup.exe only installs icons -- the Easy Install program actually runs straight off the CD-ROM. The instructions on page 6 of the November PC User were correct.
• Some of the addresses and links in the Web pages were scrambled on the November disc because of a last-minute change which somehow affected these addresses.
• The installation instructions in the Web pages for the ISPs' software were unclear on the November disc.
• The Easy Install program was a bit slow to load on the November disc, but once it had loaded it worked just fine.

Sincere apologies for any inconvenience, but the good news is that these problems have been fixed for this month's disc (touch wood!)

Beta testers, please!

We've worked hard testing and retesting this CD-ROM, however we won't pretend that it's perfect. Software can always be improved -- and we'd like to do so as soon as possible. Please let us know if you've found a problem, or even if you have some suggestions.

Tech support, broken discs, etc

What we can help you with. We are happy to provide written technical support for the software created by Australian PC User, but unfortunately we cannot provide telephone support or any support for the third-party software on this disc, including Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. PC User software includes the Easy Install program and the PC User Offline Web pages.

Third-party software. If you need technical support for any of the third-party software you will need to contact the developer of that program. You will find details about the developer either in the program’s Help menu or a document file (usually named Readme) accompanying the program.

Damaged discs. We will, of course, exchange damaged discs. Just send the disc and a note with your name and postal address, to PC User Disc Exchange, GPO Box 4088, Sydney NSW 1028.

Contact information. For suggestions and technical support of PC User software, write to Philip Moore at PC User, GPO Box 4088, Sydney NSW 1028, e-mail him at pmoore@acp.com.au or send a fax to him on (02) 9267 4909. Please include full details about your system and any error messages you have encountered while running our disc.