Important: To improve video quality in this product we recommend that you set your display to use more than 256 colors. Refer to section 10 of this ReadMe for more information.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. System requirements for running Earth Quest
3. Installing QuickTime¬ 2.5
4. Installing and running Earth Quest
5. Performance problems
6. Running Earth Quest with low memory
7. Sound problems
8. Screen size and color configuration
9. Printing and copying
10. Playing video
11. Error messages
12. Care of compact discs
13. Connecting to the Internet
1. Introduction
About Dorling Kindersley
DK Multimedia titles are available wherever CD-ROMs are sold. New titles will be available on a regular basis. For more information, contact us at DK Multimedia, 9 Henrietta Street, London, WC2E 8PS.
You may also visit us on the World Wide Web at:
http://www.dk.com
About this Readme file
This Readme file is designed to address most of the problems you may encounter when using Earth Quest. Please take a look at the table of contents above to see if your particular problem is addressed.
If you are still having problems or need further technical support on any Dorling Kindersley product, please call the Multimedia Helpline with details of the problem, including any error messages that were produced, and the full specification of your Macintosh.
The numbers in New York, USA are:
Telephone: 1-800 DKMM 575
Fax: 212 213 5240
E-mail: DKMM@phantom.com
The numbers in London, United Kingdom are:
Telephone: 0171 753 3488
Fax: 0171 753 7575
E-mail: SUPPORT@dkmm.co.uk
2. System requirements for running Earth Quest
The minimum computer specification required for running Earth Quest is as follows:
An Apple Macintosh 68LC040 25MHz computer, or above, that supports a 640 x 480 pixel monitor displaying 256 colors (thousands of colors recommended), 8Mb RAM (12Mb required for PowerPC), a double-speed CD-ROM drive, and System 7.0 or later.
Earth Quest also requires a certain amount of free RAM in order to run. You can check the minimum amount of free RAM required by Earth Quest in the following way:
1. Insert the Earth Quest CD into the CD-ROM drive.
2. Double-click on the Earth Quest Folder, then click on the Earth Quest icon to highlight it.
3. From the File menu, select Get Info.
4. Under the memory requirements section, look for the figure in the Minimum Size box. This is the minimum amount of free RAM that Earth Quest needs in order to run.
PowerPC users with only 8Mb RAM should make sure that Virtual Memory is switched on before trying to run Earth Quest. Check this by looking in the Virtual Memory section of the Memory control panel. If Virtual Memory is set to 'Off' you should set it to 'On' and then restart your Macintosh before trying to run Earth Quest again.
Please note that if you have other titles in the Eyewitness VR series, it is not possible to 'connect' to these via the elevator.
3. Installing QuickTime¬ 2.5
Even if you already have QuickTime¬ installed on your system, you should run the QuickTime¬ Installer provided on the Earth Quest CD-ROM. The Installer will automatically detect which, if any, of the system components on your Macintosh require updating.
1. Locate the Install QuickTime¬ 2.5 folder on the Earth Quest CD-ROM, then double-click to open it.
2. Double-click on the Install QuickTime¬ icon, then follow the instructions that appear on your screen.
4. Installing and running Earth Quest
Ñ Drag the Earth Quest Folder to your hard disk. Open the folder and double-click on the Earth Quest icon.
Ñ If you are having problems logging onto the Earth Builder game, or if the questions do not appear properly, then this is probably due to the file Builder.dbf being corrupt. The solution to this problem is to delete the corrupt file from your hard disk. Builder.dbf is located in the System/Preference folder. Please note that deleting the builder.dbf will also result in all the information about the Earth Builder game that is currently saved being lost. This means that you will have to start the Earth Builder game from scratch.
5. Performance problems
If Earth Quest runs slowly or sound output is interrupted, try the following suggestions:
Ñ Running Earth Quest with less than the minimum amount of free RAM can cause problems (see section 2, System Requirements for running Earth Quest). If your Macintosh has more than the minimum amount of free RAM available (you can check this by opening the About This Macintosh dialog box from the Apple menu in the Finder), the program can be set to take advantage of this. To do this, first install the program on your hard disk (see section 4, Installing Earth Quest). Select the Earth Quest icon and choose Get Info from the File menu in the Finder. You can then use the Get Info dialog box to increase the amount of memory set aside for Earth Quest. Allocating more memory to the program can improve performance.
Ñ Running Earth Quest with your Macintosh in Virtual Memory mode can cause sound break-up. In Virtual Memory mode, your Macintosh uses a section of its hard drive to emulate RAM. Although this increases the free RAM available to Earth Quest, access to that RAM can be slow. For best performance, use the Memory control panel to turn Virtual Memory off and then restart your Macintosh, unless you are low on memory. If this is the case, you may have no choice but to leave Virtual Memory switched on.
Ñ An old or slow CD-ROM drive will impair the program's performance. The only solution to this problem is to upgrade your CD-ROM drive.
Ñ SCSI termination problems can affect your CD-ROM drive. Your CD-ROM drive must be either internally or externally terminated. Consult your Macintosh documentation for more information on SCSI termination.
If Earth Quest crashes, or freezes up, the most likely cause is a problem with memory. You should try the following solution:
1) Press OPTION (Alt) + COMMAND (APPLE) + ESC to force Earth Quest to shut down. Do this only if the application has truly crashed; we do not recommend you try this other applications.
2) From the Apple menu, choose Control Panels, then Memory.
3) In the Memory control panel, make sure that the Modern Memory Manager is set to Off. DO NOT click Use Defaults.
4) Now restart your computer and try to run Earth Quest again.
6. Running Earth Quest with low memory
Earth Quest requires a minimum amount of free RAM to run. You can check how much free RAM is required by doing the following:
1. Insert the Earth Quest CD into the CD-ROM drive.
2. Double-click on the Earth Quest Folder to open it, then click once to highlight the Earth Quest icon.
3. From the File menu, select Get Info.
4. Under the Memory Requirements section, look for the figure in the Minimum Size box. This is the minimum amount of free RAM that Earth Quest requires in order to run.
You can check on the amount of free RAM available by opening the About This Macintosh dialog box from the Apple menu in the Finder. If you do not have enough free RAM to run Earth Quest, try the following suggestions to free up additional RAM:
Ñ Make sure you have only one application running at a time.
Ñ You may be able to reduce the amount of memory used by your system software by removing unused Apple menu items, fonts, extensions, sounds, etc., from your system folder. These items can occupy considerable amounts of memory and their removal may allow Earth Quest enough RAM to run efficiently. Consult your Macintosh documentation for more information on how to remove these items.
Ñ If you still have less than the minimum amount of free RAM, you can allocate some hard disk space to work as Virtual Memory. You can set your Macintosh to use Virtual Memory by using the Memory control panel, found in the Control Panels folder within your System folder, then restart your Macintosh. Using Virtual Memory will, however, slow your Macintosh's access time to RAM and may cause sound and video breakup, so only switch it on if it is really necessary.
Ñ If your Macintosh is set to more than 256 colors you can reduce the amount of memory that Earth Quest uses by setting the monitor control panel to 256 colors. To do this, select Control Panels from the Apple menu, and then select Monitors. From the list of settings for your selected monitor you should choose 256 colors.
Ñ Earth Quest can be set to run in less than the recommended amount of RAM. To do this, first install the program to your hard disk (see section 3, Installing Earth Quest). Select the Earth Quest icon and choose Get Info from the File menu in the Finder. You can then use the Get Info dialog box to decrease the amount of minimum and preferred memory set aside for Earth Quest. Allocating less memory to the program may allow the program to run, but will also affect the program's performance.
Ñ Try reducing the disk cache size to 128K. From the Apple menu, select the Memory control panel. Restart you Macintosh and before trying to run Earth Quest again.
Ñ Do not set the preferred memory size to more than or equal to the amount of free RAM on your system as this may cause problems.
If Earth Quest crashes, or freezes up, the most likely cause is a problem with memory. You should try the following solution:
1) Press OPTION (Alt) + COMMAND (APPLE) + ESC to force Earth Quest to shut down. Do this only the application has truly crashed; we do not recommend you try this with other applications.
2) From the Apple menu, choose Control Panels, then Memory.
3) In the Memory control panel, make sure that the Modern Memory Manager is set to Off. DO NOT click Use Defaults.
4) Now restart your computer and try to run Earth Quest again.
7. Sound problems
If Earth Quest produces no sound at all, check the following points:
Ñ Use the Sound control panel to check that the sound volume level on your machine is turned up.
Ñ If you have external speakers, check that they are on and that their volume control is turned up.
Ñ If you wish to use either the internal or external speakers, make sure that you have not left headphones plugged in.
If Earth Quest produces interrupted or distorted sound, check the following points:
Ñ If the sound volume level in the Sound control panel is set at maximum volume, it may cause sound to distort. The same problem may occur with external speakers set at maximum volume. Experiment with different volume levels until you find a comfortable sound level.
Ñ Running your Macintosh in Virtual Memory mode can cause sound breakup. In Virtual Memory mode your Macintosh uses a section of its hard drive as RAM. Although this increases the free RAM available to Earth Quest, access to sounds stored in that RAM can be slow. For best performance, use the Memory control panel to turn Virtual Memory off, and then restart your Macintosh. Users who are low on memory may, however, have no choice but to leave Virtual Memory switched on.
Ñ The built-in speakers supplied with Macintosh computers vary in quality depending on the age and model of the machine. A poor quality speaker may cause distorted sound, especially at high volume levels.
Ñ Earth Quest requires the Macintosh to have some spare memory available to generate the sounds. For this reason, do not allocate quite all the available memory to Earth Quest when you start it up. See section 5, on Running Earth Quest with low memory for more details on how to set the memory allocation.
8. Screen size and color configuration
Ñ Earth Quest will run on any color monitor with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, and which supports 256 colors or more. The program will work on a grayscale monitor, but is not designed to work in black and white.
Ñ Earth Quest is not designed to run on multiple monitors. If you have such a setup, the program will run on your primary monitor only.
Ñ Setting your display to use more than 256 colors will improve the quality of videos in Earth Quest (if your computer is capable of this). Select Control Panels from the Apple Menu, and then select Monitors. From the list of settings for your selected monitor, you should choose Thousands. If performance is adversely affected we suggest that you revert to 256 colors.
9. Printing and copying
Ñ Some users may find that some copied text appears differently once pasted into another application, or that the title/heading is not separarted from the main text. This problem can be overcome by manually editing the copied text.
Ñ Screens in Earth Quest are stored and displayed as color pictures. They are optimized for screen rather than print reproduction. Screen images can be printed, however, and will be of the same quality as a picture made with a screen-capture function.
Ñ Black and white prints will be of poor quality. If you have a laser printer, better quality images will be achieved by using the color/grayscale option.
Ñ Both Print and Copy functions may be affected by low memory. Refer to section 5, Running Earth Quest with low memory.
10. Playing Video
Ñ If Earth Quest fails to play any video at all, the most likely reason is that QuickTime¬ is not installed on your system. (QuickTime¬ is normally installed as part of System 7.5, but even if your Macintosh is running System 7.5, there is no guarantee that QuickTime¬ is available ╤ someone may have removed it from your Macintosh system). If you suspect that QuickTime¬ is not installed see section 3, Installing QuickTime¬ 2.5.
Ñ If the videos played in Earth Quest are slow or jumpy this may be due to Virtual Memory being turned "on" on your Macintosh. Use the Memory control panel to make sure that Virtual Memory is switched off, then restart your Macintosh. Note: Users who are low on memory may have no choice but to leave Virtual Memory switched on. Another possible cause is that your system is low on memory ╤ consult section 6, 'Running Earth Quest with low memory'. Users with base specification machines with 8Mb RAM will find that video quality can also be improved by upgrading to 12Mb RAM.
Ñ Networking can also cause a delay in access to video files. If your Macintosh is connected to a network, try disconnecting it by selecting Control Panels, then AppleTalk. From the AppleTalk control panel, choose Options, and set AppleTalk to Inactive. For more information, refer to your Macintosh documentation.
Ñ If your Macintosh supports more than 256 colors you can improve the quality of videos in Earth Quest by setting the monitor control panel to thousands. To do this, select Control Panels from the Apple menu, and then select Monitors. From the list of settings for your selected monitor you should choose Thousands. If performance is adversely affected we suggest that you revert to 256 colors.
11. Error Messages
Ñ If the error message, "Unable to increase the system memory allocation" is displayed whilst running Earth Quest, or if the error message, "The application Earth Quest could not be opened because QuickTimeLib could not be found" is displayed whilst starting Earth Quest :
1) Install Earth Quest onto your hard disk.
2) Whilst no programs are running, find out the amount of free memory by opening the About This Macintosh dialog box from the Apple menu, and noting down the "Largest Unused Block"
3) Set the preferred memory size of Earth Quest to the value of the Largest Unused block minus 500K. To do this, select the Earth Quest icon on your hard disk, and choose Get Info from the File menu in the Finder. You can then use the Get Info dialog box to decrease the amount of preferred memory.
This will allow the System Software to expand when it needs to.
12. Care of Compact Discs
Contrary to early reports, compact discs (CDs) are very easily damaged if treated carelessly. Such damage has a much greater effect on the digital data of a CD-ROM than on the information of a music CD. A dirty or damaged CD-ROM is quite likely to malfunction. With CD-ROM drives becoming ever faster and more disc-sensitive, this is an increasing problem.
The surface of the disc can quickly gather dirt and is very easily scratched. To protect the data from scratches, fingerprints, dust particles, and smears, do not touch the readout side (unlabeled side) of the disc or place it face down on a hard surface.
Should the CD become dirty, clean it with a soft cloth lightly moistened with CD cleaning fluid or ethyl alcohol, working from the center to the edge. Do not use any type of solvent, such as benzine, lacquer thinner, anti-static agents, or LP record cleaners as they may damage the surface.
Never leave the disc in a place subject to direct sunlight, high temperature, or high humidity. Recommended storage conditions are:
Ñ Temperature: 10íC to 50íC (50íF to 122íF)
Ñ Humidity: 10% to 80%
13. Connecting to the Internet
Please note: If you would normally pay telephone charges to connect to your Internet Service Provider, or for the time that you use the Internet, these charges will continue to apply while you are using the Online feature in this product. You should always ask permission from the person who will pay the bill before you use the Online feature described below.
If you are able to connect to the Internet from your computer, and if you have a Web Browser installed, then you can take advantage of a feature of Earth Quest called Science Online. If you do not have Internet access, or a Web browser, then you will NOT be able to make use of this feature.
Warning: If you have already connected to Science Online and try to connect again, then a second, concurrent browser session will be started. Each subsequent attempt to connect to Science Online will start a new, concurrent browser session ╤ this is a feature of browsers. Running multiple sessions in this way may cause your computer to run out of memory and may result in your computer crashing. Therefore, we recommend that you run only one browser session at a time.
Connecting to Science Online
1. Click on the Online Link console, or alternatively click the Online Link button on the Navigator, located on the top right-hand side of the screen.
2. If an installed Web browser is detected on your machine you will see a dialog box listing the detected Web browsers, and with the following message:
"You need to have a Web browser installed to connect to the Internet.
Select a browser from the pop-up menu"
3. If you select a Web browser from the list, then you should be automatically connected to Science Online. Your Web browser name will be stored so that subsequent connections to Science Online will happen automatically. If you select 'Cancel,' or if an installed Web browser was not detected on your machine, you will see a dialog box with the following message:
"To use the Online features in this title, you need to have a Web browser installed on your computer.
If you do have a Web browser, click on 'Locate' to find it.
Otherwise, click on 'Cancel' and install a browser first.
See 'Connecting to the Internet' in the Readme file for more information."
4. If you're thinking of clicking 'Cancel' because you're not sure where your Web browser is located, you can try looking for it as described next:
a) Select 'Find' from the 'File' drop-down menu in the Finder.
b) In the 'Find Items' box make sure that your Macintosh's hard disk is selected.
c) The next two boxes should say 'name' and 'contains', respectively. In the blank box you should type netscape navigator if your browser is Netscape¬ Navigator, or whatever the name of your Web browser application happens to be.
d) Click the 'Find' button.
e) The location of your browser will be displayed if it is found.
5. If you still don't know where to locate your browser, but know that you have a working Internet connection, you should click 'Cancel', then exit Earth Quest and connect to the Internet in your usual way. When you restart Earth Quest and try to connect to Science Online again, you will be presented with a dialog (shown in step 6), stating that this product's Internet address has been copied to the clipboard.
If you choose 'Locate' you will see a 'Please locate your Web browser.' dialog box. You should locate and select the Web browser application that you wish to use, for example, Netscape¬ Navigator or Microsoft¿ Internet Explorer¬.
6. From the 'Please locate your Web browser' dialog box, if you choose 'Cancel', you will see a dialog box with the following message:
"The Internet Web site address for this product has been copied to the clipboard.
To use this address, connect to the Internet and run your Web browser software, then paste the Web site address into your browser's Internet address field .
If you would prefer to run your Web browser software and locate this Web site automatically,
please select the Online Setup button."
If you wish you can then start your Internet connection in your usual way and paste the Science Online Internet address into your browser. In Online Setup you can configure Earth Quest to automatically open your Web browser and take you to Science Online when you click the Online Link button in the future.
From the 'Please locate your Web browser' dialog box, if you choose 'Open' you will see a dialog box with the following message:
"You have selected [name of your selection] as your Web browser.
If this does not work, use the Online Setup button to change the setting."
8. If you choose the 'Back' option you will be returned to the 'Please locate your Web browser' dialog box. If you choose the 'Finish' option you should be connected to Science Online. The name of your Web browser selection will be stored for future sessions.
If your connection is not successful check the following:
Ñ That you can connect to the Internet and use your browser in the normal way. If you cannot do this, then there is a problem with your Internet connection. For example, make sure that your modem is correctly connnected and switched on.
Ñ Try starting your Internet connection and Web browser first, and then start up Earth Quest and try the Online Link button.
If you select the wrong application, or simply decide that you'd rather use a different browser from the one you selected, then you can select a different browser by clicking the 'Online Setup' button.
If your Macintosh is low on memory the Earth Quest program will be closed when your Web browser starts up. If this happens you will need to restart Earth Quest once you have finished using the Internet.
