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V R E A D M E . T X T (Rev. 1.1) This is the latest VREADME.TXT file. All changes to it were added at the end of the file for the sake of those who already read ver. 1.0. This file contains some suggestions for getting The Seventh Guest to run on your computer. It is intended to be the definitive guide for solving problems with The Seventh Guest (T7G.) This file was written by the programmers at Trilobyte (The company that developed T7G.) We will do our best to keep this file updated to include any fixes and or workarounds that we discover or that are brought to our attention. Before using these suggestions, please note the following: LEGAL DISCLAIMER The suggestions below are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time that this was written. However, some of the suggestions below involve modifications to the hardware of your computer. If you are not familiar with the procedures suggested below, we recommend that you do not perform them, or have someone who is familiar with them perform them. There is always some risk when making changes to the hardware of a computer. In no event shall either Trilobyte or Virgin Interactive Entertainment be responsible for any damages whatsoever (including, but not limited to, damage to equipment, loss of data, loss of profits, business interruption, or other pecuniary loss) resulting from following the suggestions in this file, or the use of the utility programs bundled with this file. Have a nice day. First of all, this text file came with the latest version of V.EXE, the executable file for The Seventh Guest. You should copy V.EXE and the other files that came with this file to the C:\ID\T7G directory and replace the previous version of that file. This new version of V.EXE requires only about 470 K bytes of conventional memory. (more on memory problems and solutions later.) It also solves a whole host of other problems that have occurred with some computer configurations. After loading the new version of V.EXE, try running T7G and see if that solves your problems. If not, you can download updated drivers, or... **************************************************** * Backup your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files! * **************************************************** Whenever you are going to make changes to your AUTOEXEC.BAT or your CONFIG.SYS files it is a good practice to make copies of these files before you alter them. Then, should you have problems, you can always restore the original versions. After backing up your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files try to eliminate all unnecessary drivers from your CONFIG.SYS file, and also eliminate any unnecessary Terminate and Stay Resident programs (TSR's) from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The best way to do this is to type "REM " in front of the DEVICE= of unnecessary device drivers in your CONFIG.SYS file and in front of unnecessary TSR's in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. This will "remark" them out, while making it easy to undo the changes. With earlier versions of DOS, putting "REM " in front of lines in the CONFIG.SYS file causes DOS to complain of an error, but it still works because the line is ignored. One of the biggest problems with getting T7G to work occurs when there are IRQ conflicts and DMA conflicts. If you have unused COM ports, you can disable these in order to free up their IRQ's. COM 1 is usually associated with IRQ 4 and COM 2 is usually associated with IRQ 3. The IRQ's for the disabled COM ports can then be reassigned to your sound card or SCSI interface card. Microsoft's MSD.EXE program can be used to detect IRQ usage. This program is shipped with later versions of MS-DOS and Windows. The program that runs T7G can also be used to diagnose and help solve some problems. From your \ID\T7G directory type "V ?" at the command line. You should see something like this: C:\ID\T7G>V ? GROOVIE Player (c) 1993 Trilobyte Version 1.31: 08/10/93 @ 12:43:45 VESA compatible video card Mouse driver installed Running on an 80486DX CPU (running in virtual mode, you may experience problems with PCM sound) XMS driver version 2.0 installed - 2,048 KBytes largest free XMS block 16,384 bytes for DMA transfer 300 ticks per second internal clock C:\ID\T7G>_ Note the Version number on the second line. If yours does not say "Version 1.31: 08/10/93...." then you have not loaded the new version of V.EXE and should do so. If the line after that does not say "VESA compatible video card installed" then you would be well advised to get and install a VESA driver for your video card. You will probably have to do this, even if you have a VESA local bus video card. There are drivers for many of the popular cards on the market located on CD-ROM #2 of T7G. Look in the VESA subdirectory for a subdirectory with the name of your video card. You should also find a text file to tell you about that driver. For instance, many of the popular video cards use Tseng Labs ET4000 chip, or its predecessor the ET3000 chip. (Take a close look at the integrated circuit chips on your video card to see if one of them is a Tseng chip.) If you have one of these cards, you would look on CD-ROM #2 in the \VESA\TSENG directory, and copy the file TLIVESA.COM to a directory in your path (for example, you could copy it to your C:\DOS directory.) You would then put the line "C:\DOS\TLIVESA" in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you cannot find a VESA driver for your board on CD-ROM #2, try contacting your board manufacturer or the company that sold you the equipment to see if they can get you a VESA driver. If your video card came with a drivers or utilities floppy then you may find a VESA driver on that floppy. ************************************************** * EMS, XMS, EMM386, QEMM, AND ETC. ETC. * ************************************************** This section deals with conventional, extended, and expanded memory usage. In the example of "V ?" above, the line after "Running on an 80486DX CPU" says that the computer is: "running in virtual mode, you may experience problems with PCM sound" This is usually due to the presence of memory managers such as the EMM386.EXE. The "PCM sound" that is referred to is the sound mode that is usually used with the actor's voices. If you are able to avoid using the EMM386.EXE driver (or other memory managers) altogether, then T7G will run faster, and problems with chopped up voices will (hopefully) disappear. THIS IS THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY TO RUN T7G. As long as you are able to load the drivers for running T7G into conventional memory and still have 470 K of memory free, then you should not use any memory managers (such as EMM386, QEMM, or 386MAX.) The 470 K of memory that T7G uses is the OPTIMAL amount. That is to say that if you are able to use a memory manager, load device drivers and TSR's into upper memory, and free up 620 K of conventional memory, T7G is still only going to use 470 K of it. The remainder of the conventional memory will not be used. The easiest way to see what device drivers and TSR's are loaded and how much conventional memory is available to you is by typing "MEM /C | MORE" at the command line. In any event, you should ALWAYS load the XMS driver (HIMEM.SYS or its equivalent) so that T7G can access your extended memory. As a bare minimum, you should have AT LEAST 1024 K (1 Meg.) of extended memory available in order for T7G to run. Performance will be greatly improved if you can provide 2048 K of extended memory or more. There is not an upper limit to the amount of XMS memory that T7G can use. T7G will use as much XMS memory as you can give it. The Seventh Guest does NOT use expanded memory at all, HOWEVER, the MSCDEX program can make use of expanded memory to store sector buffers if you add the /E switch to the MSCDEX command line (usually located in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.) This will mean using EMM386.EXE or its equivalent to get the expanded memory. Using expanded memory in this way can help solve problems with T7G. The MSCDEX command line should also contain the parameter /M:20 which sets up how many sector buffers to allocate. (Use the /M:20 switch even if you do not use the /E switch.) Another switch to add to your MSCDEX command line is the /V switch. The /V switch causes MSCDEX to print extra information about the configuration at load time. You may be using a version of MSCDEX that is in some directory other than the DOS directory. This is not a problem so long as the version that you are using is the most up to date. If you are having problems, you might try using the version that came with DOS (if indeed your version of DOS came with an MSCDEX.EXE file.) You can verify the parameter settings in the DOS version by typing "HELP MSCDEX" at the DOS command line. If you are unable to avoid using EMM386.EXE, then adding the parameter "D=128" might help with running T7G. Using D=128 in the EMM386 command sets DOS's DMA buffer size to 128K. You can check this parameter by typing "HELP EMM386.EXE" from the DOS command line to see if your version of DOS supports the "D=" parameter. ************************************************* * U P D A T E D D R I V E R S * ************************************************* If after trying the suggestions above, you are still having problems, then you might benefit from obtaining an updated set of device drivers. These can be downloaded from Compuserve, America Online, or Genie. The name of the driver file is T7GF3A.ZIP (You can upload it to your favorite BBS and share it with your favorite retailer with our blessings and thanks if you like.) The T7GF3A.ZIP file contains drivers for many cards including: Pro Audio Studio 16 Pro Audio Studio 16 (alternate driver) Pro Audio Spectrum Plus/16 Pro Audio Spectrum 16 (alternate driver) Pro Audio Spectrum Pro Audio Spectrum (alternate driver) Sound Blaster ASP/16 Sound Blaster Pro 2 Sound Blaster Pro 1 Sound Blaster Pro (alternate driver) Sound Blaster or compatibles Sound Blaster (alternate driver) General Midi Roland MT-32 or LAPC/1 Adlib Gold Adlib Gold (alternate driver) Adlib Aria Tandy Sensation Microsoft Windows Sound System ATI Stereo FX Covox Sound Master II T7GF3A.ZIP also contains the 1.31 version of V.EXE that is included with this file. Unzip the T7GF3A.ZIP file and put the unzipped files in the \ID\T7G directory. Then try running T7G and see if the new drivers fix your problems. If not, try running the (new) install program in the \ID\T7G directory. If this doesn't fix it then you may want to retry some of the suggestions mentioned earlier in this file. *********************************************************** * H A R D W A R E M O D I F I C A T I O N S * *********************************************************** It may be that you have a card loaded in one of the slots of your computer that is slowing you down and causing problems with T7G. This can happen with serial cards, modems, network cards, etc. As a last resort, you might try pulling all unnecessary cards out of your computer to see if one of them might be interfering with T7G. (Please note the legal disclaimer above.) Whenever you are going to remove any cards from your computer, there are a couple of rules to follow that will protect both you and your computer. First of all, UNPLUG YOUR COMPUTER FROM ALL POWER SOURCES. Also unplug any peripherals such as printers, external CD-ROMS, external modems, etc. from their sources of power. You not only want to remove all sources of power, from the computer and its connected peripherals, but you also want to disconnect any grounds before opening the computer's case. When working inside the case of the computer, the greatest danger comes from STATIC ELECTRICITY. Static electricity can instantly destroy the integrated circuits in your computer, transforming your powerful personal computer into an attractive, if not somewhat heavy, PAPERWEIGHT. The amount of static electricity that it takes to destroy an integrated circuit is so small that you can destroy an integrated circuit without even feeling the static spark. BE CAREFUL!!!! Before you touch any circuit board or other electrical component, touch the metallic case of the computer or its power supply to bleed off any static charge that you might be carrying. It is then safe to touch the cards in your computer. After removing the screw, gently lift the card from its connector, taking care not to bend or twist the card or the motherboard (from which you are removing the card.) If you need to hand a card to someone, first touch their hand with your hand, and then give them the card. Before setting a card down, touch the surface onto which you will be laying the card and then lay the card down. Before picking a card up, touch the surface that the card is lying on before touching the card. WORK SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY. When inserting a card into the computer, use gentle pressure, and never force the card. Sometimes wiggling the card a bit and readjusting it will align it so that it can slip right into the socket. Some materials (like styrofoam and fuzzy sweaters) tend to create a great deal of static electricity and should be kept away from your work area. If you are not in a great hurry (and you shouldn't be,) boil some water to raise the humidity in the air and thereby reduce the potential for static electricity. (Enjoy a nice cup of tea in a ceramic cup before you start to work.) If you don't have time to boil water, get a plant sprayer, adjust it to a fine mist, and mist the area around your workstation. If after removing some peripherals, you are able to make T7G work correctly, then reinsert the peripherals one by one until you find the offending peripheral. ***************************************** * T U R T L E B E A C H * ***************************************** The Turtle Beach sound cards will work in FM mode only. ********************************************************* * P R O A U D I O S P E C T R U M * ********************************************************* There are several workarounds for PAS user who are having problems. First, try not loading the SoundBlaster emulation driver (by putting a "REM " in front of it in your CONFIG.SYS file as mentioned above.) This should also reduce the amount of conventional memory that you use which might in turn enable you to eliminate your memory manager (such as EMM386.EXE.) as mentioned previously. If that does not fix your problems, then try running the new install program and tell it that you have a SoundBlaster card. You will, of course, have to re-enable your SoundBlaster emulation driver, and also run SB_ON.COM or whatever equivalent program that you have for turning SoundBlaster mode on. ************************************************* * M A K E L I F E E A S I E R * ************************************************* If you have MS-DOS 6.0 or above you can make things easier on yourself by creating a CONFIG.SYS menu system. This will make it much easier for you to run T7G. Along with the V.EXE program you will find files named AUTOEXEC.60 and CONFIG.60. These are template files. Copy them onto the root directory of your boot drive, and then type "COPY AUTOEXEC.60+AUTOEXEC.BAT" from your root directory. this will append a copy of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to the AUTOEXEC.60 file. Then type EDIT AUTOEXEC.60 and cut and paste the copy of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file into the section after the line that says, "rem copy the contents of your original AUTOEXEC.BAT file below this line" Save this file, exit the editor, make a backup copy of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and then type "COPY AUTOEXEC.60 AUTOEXEC.BAT". Follow the same procedure to copy your CONFIG.SYS file into the CONFIG.60 file and then rename CONFIG.60 to CONFIG.SYS (after moving the contents of your file into the designated space.) When you reboot, your computer it will come up with a menu that enables you to select NORMAL boot up or T7G boot up. If you do not make a choice within 10 seconds it will default to NORMAL boot up. If you want to, you can add other menu choices by following the example of the "T7G" sections. If you have a copy of DOS that does not support CONFIG.SYS menuing (such as MS-DOS 5.0 or below,) you can use the RUNT7G.BAT file that is enclosed to start T7G, but first you will have to copy CONFIG.T7G, AUTOEXEC.T7G, and RESETT7G.BAT to your C:\ID\T7G directory. REBOOT.COM can be copied to either the C:\ID\T7G directory or somewhere else in your path. Then edit CONFIG.T7G as if it was the CONFIG.SYS file that you will use to run T7G, and edit AUTOEXEC.T7G so that it contains the TSR's and commands that you need to run T7G. Executing the RUNT7G.BAT file will then do the following: 1) It will place a copy of your original CONFIG.SYS file in C:\ID\T7G. 2) It will then copy the file C:\ID\T7G\CONFIG.T7G to C:\CONFIG.SYS, thus overwriting your original CONFIG.SYS file. 3) Then it will place a copy of your original AUTOEXEC.BAT file in C:\ID\T7G 4) After which it will copy the file C:\ID\T7G\AUTOEXEC.T7G to C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT, thus overwriting your original AUTOEXEC.BAT file. 5) It will then execute the REBOOT.COM file which will reboot your computer with the ".T7G" versions of CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. 6) After the AUTOEXEC.BAT file loads the TSR's to run T7G it will run the file C:\ID\T7G\RESETT7G.BAT. 7) RESETT7G.BAT will copy the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files from C:\ID\T7G thus returning your boot up files to their normal condition. 8) RESETT7G.BAT will pause, and then run T7G, after which it will reboot the computer, thus restoring the system to normal operation. This method of starting T7G has the added benefit of automatically backing up your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files each time you play T7G. The enclosed programs REBOOT.COM and COLDBOOT.COM perform a warm and a cold boot of your computer when executed. We hope you find them useful. ************************************************* * From README.TXT file in T7GF3A.ZIP * ************************************************* Windows 3.1 sound drivers -------------------------- If you have been running Windows, and using a Windows sound driver, it is recommended that you reboot your machine before playing The Seventh Guest, these drivers sometimes leave the sound card in an unstable state. General MIDI devices --------------------- Please reset your General Midi device before starting The Seventh Guest. Pro Audio Spectrum 16 devices ------------------------------ Before playing The Seventh Guest, please adjust your mixer settings using the PAS program, the best way of doing this is to type "PAS *". No sound during introduction ----------------------------- Sound is playing throughout the introduction, but it is playing from the CD drive itself. Make sure that your CD-ROM drive is hooked up for sound as well as your sound card(s). Using IBM OS/2 or Microsoft Windows NT --------------------------------------- Under OS/2 2.1 it is possible to play The Seventh Guest, although it is recommended that you use MS-DOS. If you are experiencing problems running under OS/2, try booting DOS before calling Virgin Games Customer Service. Windows NT is not compatible at this time with The Seventh Guest. Aborted Games are saved ------------------------ If your game should for some reason abort (playing from a Windows shell for instance), the game will save a file called "save.z". Rename this file to save.0 through save.9 (just one) and you will be able to load back your current game. This may not always work, so save often anyway. Open House! ------------ Once you have completed The Seventh Guest, it will save a special game in your save game zero (0) slot. This saved game will be called "OPEN HOUSE" it allows you to roam the house freely and play all the puzzles as many times as you want. A D D I T I O N S S I N C E 1 . 0 --------------------------------------- Getting past the INTRO --------------------- Many people have reported problems with their computers locking up during the intro. Obviously, it would be best to get the computer working correctly so that the game plays normally, without any problems whatsoever. In the mean time though, it would be nice to have a quick fix that would get you past the place where the computer locks up, and into the game. Here's how to do just that: Included in this executable file is a file named save.9. Whenever you save your game, T7G writes it out as a SAVE.# file (Where # is a number from 0 to 9.) The number of the extension is the number that you choose when you save a game, and it is the number that you choose when you reload a saved game. The SAVE.9 file is a file that I made by saving the game at the very beginning, just at the end of the intro video. When the SPHINX board first comes up, You can choose LOAD instead of NEW GAME, and then select #9 from the next SPHINX screen. This should put you into the game, just past the intro, and the only thing you will have missed is a couple of minutes of intro video that explains what a nasty guy Stauf is. You will still have the approximately 11 hours of game play (on average) still in front of you. Bug report concerning V.EXE 1.31 -------------------------------- We have confirmed one known bug with V.EXE version 1.31. It occurs inside the microscope puzzle, and involves video breaking up and locking with some video boards. If this happens to you, we recommend switching back to an earlier version of V.EXE in order to get through the microscope puzzle, and then switching back to version 1.31 when you are past that puzzle. (You can find an earlier version of V.EXE on CD-ROM #2 in the \T7G\INSTALL dir.) If using an earlier version of V.EXE doesn't work for you, then you can go to the library 3 times and skip the puzzle. (Don't worry you won't miss anything, and the door with the gears, racks and pinions won't open, even if you solve the puzzle the first time you try it.) In the mean time, we are working to get the bug fixed and will post a new version of V.EXE as soon as we have it. We are sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience. While there is a known bug in V.EXE 1.31, it never-the-less fixes a number of more serious bugs, and so should be used in favor of the earlier versions. Troubleshooting without audio ----------------------------- When troubleshooting a problem, it is helpful to eliminate as many potential causes as you can, thus zeroing in on the actual cause of the problem. One of the potential trouble makers is the audio card. The following proceedure will cause T7G to run without any audio (silently). If you do the following proceedure and the problem remains, then the problem is unrelated to your audio card. If you do this and the problem goes away, then you need to pay attention to your audio card, and maybe look for possible IRQ and DMA conflicts. In any event, it will help narrow the problems down. 1) Make a backup copy of the GROOVIE.INI file that is located in the \ID\T7G directory of your hard drive. (You will restore from the backup copy later.) 2) Use a TEXT EDITOR (not a word processor!) to edit the GROOVIE.INI file and make the following changes: 3) Locate the line that says "midi=XXXXXXXX" (where XXXXXXXX is the name of your sound card) and change it to say "midi=None". 4) Then locate the line that says "pcm=XXXXXXXXX" and change it to say "pcm=None". 5) Now save the new version of GROOVIE.INI after MAKING SURE THAT YOU HAVE A BACKUP OF THE ORIGINAL GROOVIE.INI FILE. 6) Try running T7G now and see if the game runs correctly (though silently). 7) If there are still problems, try REMarking out the lines in your CONFIG.SYS file and AUTOEXEC.BAT file that load the sound drivers. (Don't rem out the ones that load your SCSI drivers though.) 8) Then see if the video of T7G runs normally. 9) after this test is complete, unREMark the drivers in your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files and restore GROOVIE.INI from the backup that you made. The LATEST VESA drivers ----------------------- Some problems can be solved by making sure that you have the latest VESA driver installed when you start seventh guest. Objectionably slow video is one of the problems that can sometimes be solved with the latest VESA driver. If the VESA drivers on the CD-ROM (mentioned previously) don't fix the problem, then locating newer VESA drivers might help. If you are have a Compuserve account, you can try typing GO VESA which will take you to the IBM programming forum that has a VESA library section (LIB # 12) with all kinds of VESA drivers. If you cannot find a driver for your board, you might try downloading the universal VESA driver from SciTech Software (of Melbourne Australia) and trying that version to see if it will work for you. It is in LIB 12 and the file name for it is UVBE42.ZIP. However, be advised that this product is Shareware, so you can try it to see if it works, but if it works and you want to continue to use it, you will need to register your copy. (Read the documents that come in the UVBE42.ZIP file for more details). Another means of getting the latest driver is to call the manufacturer of your video card and see if they have a BBS from which you can download the latest driver. Names and addresses of many of the video card manufacturers are listed at the end of this file. Diamond Viper ------------- If your video card is the Diamond Viper, you will need to load the VESA driver by typing "VPRMODE VESA" at the command line prior to running T7G. You will also want to make sure that you are using the latest VESA driver available. Older S3 Video Cards -------------------- Older S3 video cards with earlier versions of the S3 chip (especially the 911 series) can run very slowly. To fix this, (again) make sure that you have and are properly loading the latest VESA driver in addition to using ver. 1.31 of V.EXE. With some of these cards you may need to run in MCGA mode. Video Testing during Installation --------------------------------- Some people report that the video test says that their card is 100% and yet the game runs slowly. This is probably because the video test that is in the installation program performs all of its tests in MCGA mode. If you got 100% rating and it still drags, you may need to run in MCGA mode. (Sorry!) Running T7G from within Windows ------------------------------- Some people who are having problems with the audio have reported that if they run T7G from a DOS shell in Windows, then their audio problems go away, and everything works well. The reason that this works for some people is that Windows virtualizes the DMA chip, and this virtualized DMA chip works better FOR SOME PEOPLE (This won't work for everyone, but it is certainly worth a try). Cirrus Logic VLB ---------------- We have had complaints about problems with Cirrus Logic VLB cards. Cirrus Logic has said that these problems have been solved by using version 1.24 of V.EXE. They would not send us any cards with which to test and verify that version 1.24 of V.EXE solves their problems, so we will take their word on this. If you have a Cirrus Logic VLB card and version 1.31 of V.EXE does not fix your problems, you can download the file V124.ZIP and try it, but be advised that you will probably still need 570 K of conventional memory free (unlike ver. 1.31.) Miscellaneous Tips ------------------ If you remove the EMM386.EXE from your CONFIG.SYS file, or remark it out, you will also need to make sure that you change all of the DEVICEHIGH= commands into DEVICE= commands in your CONFIG.SYS file, and you will need to remove the LH (loadhigh's) from in front of the TSR's in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Some of these commands (especially when setup with MEMMAKER.EXE) can contain other characters that need to be removed, such as the "/L:nnnn,nnnn" (where the nnnn's are numbers) These appear in after the LH or DEVICEHIGH, and before the TSR's filename or device drivers filename. Don't remove extra characters that appear after the filenames. Miscellaneous Tips (Cont.) -------------------------- One of the peripheral devices that can slow the game down a great deal is a secondary monitor and video card (such as a monochrome monitor and card used for debugging.) Removing the secondary monitor and video card may fix you right up. Check with the manufacturer of your video and/or sound card. We try to keep as current as we can on these, but sometimes the manufacturers may know a trick or a tip that we have missed. If you learn any such tips and or tricks, please tell us about them, and we, in turn, will pass them on. THANK YOU! How to get help online ---------------------- Under Trilobyte's agreement with Virgin, Virgin is supposed to provide technical support for T7G. Consequently Trilobyte does not have any full-time technical support people. Those who are providing support are doing so in addition to their regular duties of getting the latest Trilobyte products written and out the door. And while all of us here are glad when we can get a problem resolved for a customer, we don't often have the time to hold peoples hands and solve their problems for them without their having to take an active role in the troubleshooting process. The active part that we would like you to take is to carefully read the preceding file and try all of the suggestions in it that are applicable to your situation. If after trying all of the suggestions above, you are still not able to solve the problem, THEN WE VERY MUCH WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU, and we will try our best to help you through your particular problem. If you send us a message online, you should first of all let us know that you have read this VREADME.TXT file version 1.1 and which of the suggestions in it you have tried, and what happened when you disabled the audio. When your message starts by telling us these things, we will respond personally to your problem and do our best to help you. If you don't start by telling us that you read this file, we may send you back a form letter in response to your message asking that you read this file before proceeding. (This is the only way that we are going to get our next product out anywhere near to its deadline.) In order to make it easier for all of us, we have numbered the fixes suggested in this file, and you can refer to them as follows: 1) Copied the new V.EXE into your ID\T7G dir and VERIFIED the new version number with the V ? command. 2) Removed all unnecessary device drivers from the CONFIG.SYS file. 3) Removed all unnecessary TSR's from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. 4) Downloaded and installed the revised drivers in T7GF3A.ZIP. 5) Ran the new version of the INSTALL.EXE program from T7GF3A.ZIP. 6) Disabled all unnecessary COM ports and LPT's. 7) Checked that there were no IRQ conflicts or DMA conflicts. 8) Checked your video card's VESA compatibility with the V ? command. 9) Obtained and loaded the newest VESA driver for your video card. 10) Checked with the manufacturer of video and audio cards for tips or tricks (and pass them on to all of us.) 11) Verified that you have a sufficient amount of EXTENDED memory. 12) Verified that you have enough conventional memory available. 13) Tried eliminating your memory manager (such as EMM386.EXE.) 14) Used the /E switch with MSCDEX.EXE if you have any expanded memory. 15) Added the /M:20 switch to MSCDEX.EXE (or increased the /M: to 20) 16) Made sure that you were using the best MSCDEX.EXE available to you. 17) Added the "D=128" line to EMM386.EXE (if used.) 18) Removed all unnecessary peripheral devices from your computer. 19) Made sure that you are not trying to run T7G after exiting Windows. 20) Made sure that the audio channels of your CD-ROM drive were connected to the appropriate inputs on your sound card. 21) Used a DOS based audio mixer to set voice and music levels before starting T7G. 22) Bypassed the intro using a saved game. 23) Disabled audio in T7G to narrow problem's down. When you send us messages, Please try to start them out something like this: "I have read all of VREADME.TXT ver. 1.1 and have tried all of the fixes except for 13 and 16, When I disabled the audio my problem...... etc." or words to that effect. Once we read that, we will take your problem VERY SERIOUSLY and do our best to help you fix it. Thank you for your cooperation. Video card makers phone numbers ------------------------------- Actix Systems Inc. Tel: 800-927-5557 408-986-1625 Fax: 408-986-1646 BBS: Advanced Integration Research Inc. Tel: 800-866-1945 408-428-0800 Fax: 408-428-0950 BBS: Ahead Systems Tel: 510-623-0900 Fax: ??? BBS: 510-623-0961 American Megatrends Inc. Tel: 800-828-9264 404-263-8181 Fax: 404-263-9381 BBS: Appian Technology Inc. Tel: 800-727-7426 408-730-5400 Fax: 408-730-5473 BBS: ATI Technologies Inc. Tel: 416-882-2626, 416-882-2600, 905-882-2626 Fax: 416-756-0720, 416-882-2620, 905-882-2620 BBS: 416-764-9404 Email: 74740.667@compuserve.com Boca Research Tel: 407-997-6227 407-241-8088 (Tech Support) Fax: 407-997-0918 BBS: 407-241-1601 Cardinal Technologies Inc. Tel: 717-293-3049 Fax: 717-293-3055 BBS: Chips and Technologies Tel: 408-434-0600 Fax: BBS: Cirrus Logic Tel: 510-623-8300 510-226-2300 Fax: 510-226-2180 BBS: 510-440-9080 415-623-8300 CRYSTAL Semiconductor Corporation Tel: 512-445-7222 Fax: 512-445-7581 BBS: Diamond Computer Systems Tel: 408-736-2000 (Tech Support) Fax: 408-730-5750 BBS: 408-730-1100 Elitegroup Computer Systems Tel: 800-829-8890 510-226-7333 Fax: 510-226-7350 BBS: ELSA America Inc. Tel: 800-272-3572 415-615-7799 Fax: 415-588-0113 BBS: Everex Microsystems Tel: 415-683-2230 (Customer Services) 415-498-1115 (Tech Support) Fax: ??? BBS: 510-438-4650 Focus Information Systems Inc. Tel: 800-925-2378 510-657-2845 Fax: 510-657-4158 BBS: Genoa Tel: 408-432-9090 (Tech Support) Fax: BBS: 408-943-1231 Headland Technology Tel: 800-553-1850 (Tech Support) 415-623-7857 Fax: BBS: 415-656-0503 Hercules Computer Technologies Tel: 800-523-0600 (Tech Support) 510-623-6050 (Tech Support) 510-623-6030 (which one of the last two is correct?) Fax: 510-623-1112 BBS: 510-623-7449 (14400 bps) 510-623-7034 (9600 bps) 510-623-7142 (2400 bps) +49-40-65737335 (V.32bis) [a "mailbox" in Germany with files only] Email: 71333.2532@compuserve.com (Hercules Support, Dylan Rhodes) Compuserve: GO HERCULES Matrox Electronic Technology Inc. Tel: 800-361-1408 514-685-2630 Fax: 514-685-2853 BBS: Metheus Corp. Tel: 800-638-4387 503-690-1550 Fax: 503-690-1525 BBS: Micro-Labs Inc. Tel: 214-234-5842 Fax: 214-234-5896 BBS: National Design Inc Tel: 512-329-5055 800-253-8831 Fax: ? BBS: 512-329-6327 NCR Corporation Tel: 316-636-8000 Fax: BBS: Nth Graphics Ltd. Tel: 800-624-7552 512-832-1944 Fax: 512-832-5954 BBS: Number Nine Computer Corp. Tel: 800-438-6463 617-674-0009 Fax: 617-674-2919 BBS: Oak Technologies Tel: Fax: BBS: 510-657-9451 Orchid Technlogy Tel: 800-767-2443 510-683-0323 (Tech Support) 510-683-0300 Fax: 510-490-9312 BBS: 510-683-0327 RealTek Tel: 800-521-2471 215-387-6055 Fax: BBS: S3 Incorporated Tel: 408-986-8144 408-980-5400 Fax: 408-980-5444 BBS: Sigma Designs Inc. Tel: 800-845-8086 510-770-0100 Fax: 510-770-2640 BBS: SPiDER Graphics Inc. Tel: 408-956-1231 Fax: 408-956-1342 BBS: STB Systems Inc Tel: 214-234-8750 Fax: ??? BBS: 214-437-9615 Tseng Labs Tel: 215-968-0502 Fax: ??? BBS: 215-579-7536 Trident Microsystems Inc Tel: 415-691-9211 Fax: ??? BBS: 415-691-1016 VidTech Microsystems Inc. Tel: 800-752-8033 612-780-8033 Fax: 612-780-2040 BBS: Volante Inc. Tel: 800-253-8831 512-329-5055 Fax: 512-329-6326 BBS: Western Digital Imaging (Paradise) Tel: 800-832-4778 (Tech Support) 415-960-3360 714-932-4900 (Tech Support) 44-372-360387 (UK) Fax: 712-932-6498 BBS: 714-753-1068 (9600 bps) 714-753-1234 (2400 bps) 331-69-85-3914 (France) 49-89-922006-60 (Germany) Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) Ph: 408-435-0333 Fax: 408-435-8225 BBS: The preceding list of vendors was excerpted from a list that was uploaded by Kendall Bennett (of SciTech Software). The complete list is in LIB 12 (The VESA Lib) of the IBM Programming forum and it is named VFAQ1.ZIP.