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The Sierra Troubleshooting Guide This document is intended to help Sierra customers who are experiencing trouble with our Software. Within these pages you will find all of our standard troubleshooting steps, Windows configuration information, boot disk instructions, and general sound card troubleshooting steps. The information contained in this document should help our customers resolve almost all common problems you can experience with our software. The Sierra Troubleshooting Guide is broken up into four basic sections: I. General Troubleshooting Steps Some basic steps to start with II. Windows Configuration & Troubleshooting Configuring Windows for Sierra games a. Changing Video Drivers b. Setting up a Windows Swapfile c. Setting up your Midi Mapper d. Troubleshooting General Protection Faults III. General Sound Card Troubleshooting Steps to resolve sound card conflicts IV. Boot disk instructions Steps to create a boot disk for nearly any configuration I. General Troubleshooting Techniques for DOS and Windows programs NOTE: Before you begin troubleshooting, we strongly recommend you begin by using steps 1 through 3 of this section before doing anything else. This will help insure that the game is installed under an optimal environ- ment and eliminate any basic problems from the beginning. Corrupted or bad installations can cause a variety of problems, and it is best to eliminate this possibility before you begin additional troubleshooting steps. 1.) Check for Corrupt Files or Other problems on the hard drive (All Programs): Before you do anything else, try running one of the following DOS Commands (listed below) on the hard drive where the game is installed. These commands will check for lost allocation units, corrupted files, cross-linked files, and other disk errors which can corrupt game files and/or the game's installation. These commands will also allow you to correct such errors if they find them. For more information on these commands, consult your DOS manual. CHKDSK /F <Enter> (This command is for MS-DOS 6.0 or earlier) SCANDISK <Enter> (This command is for MS-DOS 6.2 or higher) If you DO find any errors at all, once you have corrected them with the commands above (or other disk utility programs like Norton Disk Doctor, PC Tools, or similar programs), proceed to Step 2, and then Step 3 below. 2.) Check hard disk space (All Programs): Run the CHKDSK command (regard- less of the DOS version you are using) and check the available hard disk space ("Bytes Available on Disk"). Make sure you have sufficient space on the hard drive to install the game, and remember that our games generally double in size if installed to a compressed drive. Therefore, if you use any disk compression, and you wish to install a game that requires 10 MB of disk space, be sure you have AT LEAST 20 MB of space available, preferably 25 MB to allow a safe margin. After installation, it is best to have at least 3 MB of Disk space available (roughly 5 under a compressed environment). 3.) Re-install the program (All Programs): Once you have tried the steps above, even if no problems are found, sometimes it is a good idea to try re-installing the game anyway. Delete all files and sub directories off the hard drive and reinstall from scratch. It is highly recommended that you try booting up with a basic boot disk prior to re-installing the game. This will help insure there are no memory resident programs that may (for whatever the reason) interfere with the game's installation. 4.) Manually install the program (Some Programs): Try a Manual Installation if all else fails. We have the instructions available on many of the newer product's README files, the Sierra BBS, and available by fax from Technical Support. However, not all products support or can be manually installed. 5.) Check Available Memory: A) DOS Programs: Different games require different types of memory in different amounts. If you ever receive any error messages from a DOS program like "Out of Hunk", "Out of Heap Space", or if it just reports an insuf- ficient memory message, then you will probably need to free up more memory to play the game. You can check to see how much memory you have available and how it is configured by typing MEM (then press ENTER) at your DOS prompt. Make sure that your system's memory is configured so as to provide enough memory for the game to function properly. If it is not, or you have encountered any of the messages above, then we recommend creating a boot disk for the game. B) Windows Programs: Most Sierra Widnows-based programs require a minimum of 2 or 4 MB of free memory to run under Windows. Go to the menu bar of the Program Manager and select HELP and then "About Program Manager". A screen will come up with memory information at the bottom. To maximize available Extended Memory (the type of memory that Windows uses, try making a Windows Boot Disk as outlined in the boot disk instructions included with this document. Also, try increasing your Swap File size (also called Virtual Memory). Instructions for this are included under "Configuring Windows for Sierra Games". Also make sure you disable any and all other memory-resident programs (screen savers, shell programs like Norton Desktop, virus checkers, etc.) prior to playing your game. 6.) Make a boot disk! Many of our newer DOS games have an automatic boot disk maker that you can access by running the program's INSTALL program and choose "Make a Bootable Floppy Disk" from the menu. You will need a high density disk that fits in your A: drive. The boot disk is worth a try even if there is enough memory! Using a boot disk creates a clean environment that helps in isolating potential conflicts, along with freeing up more memory. We also recommend using boot disks for Windows as well. We have a disk called BDALL which not only has a boot disk creator program, but also has a compilation of boot disk instructions for a variety of configurations (including Windows systems), in case you need to make a boot disk manually. You can download this disk via our BBS at 206-644-0112, or you can call Technical Support at 206-644-4343 and request the disk to be sent to you. We have also included instructions with this document so you can try creating a boot disk manually. 7.) Sound Card Problems: Sound card conflicts are one of the most common causes of lockups or other problems you can experience with games. See our section on Sound Card Troubleshooting for a suggestions regarding different types of sound card problems. 8. CD ROM Drivers: Generally, it is a good idea to make sure you have the latest available drivers for your CD ROM drive. You can obtain these from the CD ROM manufacturer. Additionally, it is a good idea to have the latest version of the Microsoft CD ROM Extensions (MSCDEX), which is currently 2.23. Sometimes older drivers can contribute to 'Drive Read Errors', 'xxxxx Not Found' type messages, 'CDR101' errors, or 'Drive not Ready' errors. You can check your MSCDEX version by typing MSCDEX and pressing ENTER at your C:\ prompt. 9. Mouse Drivers (DOS programs only): Sometimes, incompatible mouse drivers can cause graphics distortion, lock-ups and other problems. If the game you are using does not require a mouse, try creating a boot disk and REM out the Mouse line in either the Config.sys or Autoexec.bat file on the boot disk. Otherwise, try using a different mouse driver or contacting the mouse manufacturer for more troubleshooting information. II. Configuring Windows for Sierra Games Sometimes you may need to make changes or adjust your Windows configuration in order to run your Sierra programs. This document contains steps for three of the most common Windows Setup issues that are encountered by our customers: Changing Video Drivers, Setting up a Swapfile, and Setting up the Midi Mapper. IIa. Changing Video Drivers Most Sierra and Brightstar Windows programs require Windows to be run using a 256 Color Display driver. Even though almost all video cards are capable of displaying 256 colors, for Windows to be able to display 256 colors it must be using a 256 color display driver. If you are running Windows with a 16 color driver and you try to run one of our games that requires 256 color graphics, you will most likely receive an error message like "Your current Display Driver is not supported by this game." Additionally, running a high color driver, like 32,000 colors or more, can sometimes generate a similar error message, or cause graphics distortion. It is for this reason that we recommend running Windows with a 256 Color Driver for optimal results with Sierra Windows programs. Below is a step by step set of instructions for changing your video driver in Windows. IMPORTANT NOTE: While we can tell you HOW to change your video driver, we cannot tell you the exact driver you need to choose because it is directly related to the specific brand and type of video card you have installed in your computer. When selecting a video driver, you must select a video driver specific to the video card installed in your computer. Most often, when you purchase a new video card, those drivers will be on floppy disks. If the video card came pre-installed with an entire computer system, the drivers should have been installed for you by the hardware manufacturer, or you should have received the drivers on floppy disks. If you choose an incorrect video driver when changing drivers, Windows will not boot. Should this happen to you, don't panic. You can restore your previous video driver by running the SETUP program from the WINDOWS directory, in DOS. (Just go to your C:\WINDOWS directory when you are in DOS and type SETUP, then press ENTER). From within the PROGRAM MANAGER: 1.) Double-click the MAIN program group icon. 2.) Double-click the WINDOWS SETUP icon. 3.) You will see a dialog box with "Display" "Keyboard", "Mouse", and "Network". 4.) On the menu bar, click on OPTIONS..., then go down to CHANGE SYSTEM SETTINGS. 5.) You will see another dialog box, similar to the previous one. Click on the down arrow to the right of "Display". You will get a list of Video drivers available to you. You can use the scroll bar to scroll up and down the list of drivers. Select a 256 color driver appropriate for your video card. If you are installing the driver from floppy disks or some other source, choose "Other Display", and you will be instructed to type a path to the driver, or to insert the disk with the drivers into your floppy drive. If you have any problems changing your video driver and need more information, consult your Windows documentation, or contact the hardware or video card manufacturer. Additionally, if you do not seem to have the appropriate video drivers available to you, you will need to contact the hardware or video card manufacturer to obtain them. IIb. Setting up a Windows Swapfile (Virtual Memory) Virtual Memory, also referred to as a Swapfile, is essentially hard disk space that is used as memory. If you have a computer with 8 MB of RAM, and a 4 MB Swapfile, Windows treats that as 12 MB RAM. Sometimes if you do not have enough Extended memory available to run a Windows program, Windows will try to use Virtual memory instead. Some Sierra programs require a small amount of Virtual memory in order to run properly. If you are experiencing "Insufficient Memory" messages in Windows, then it would be a good idea to check your Virtual Memory. (We also recommend a Windows boot disk for these problems as well.) We typically recommend a Swapfile of around 4096k. To check and set up your Virtual Memory (Swapfile): From within the PROGRAM MANAGER: 1.) Double-click the MAIN program group icon. 2.) Double-click the 386 ENHANCED Icon. 3.) You will see a dialog box. Click on the button "Virtual Memory". This will bring up a second dialog box that will tell you the size, type (permanent or temporary), and the drive your Swapfile is located on. To change the drive that the Swapfile is located on, or the Type of Swapfile being used, you can click on the arrow next to those options to view your other choices. You will also see the following information listed: Space Available (the amount of hard drive space available for use as a Swapfile), Maximum Size (the largest size of Swapfile available), Recommended Maximum Size (The largest setting of Swapfile Windows will allow you to use), and New Size (You can specify the size of the Swapfile by typing it into this box). 4.) IF you wish to change the size of your Swapfile, you can type the size in the New Size box. Then click on OK. Windows will ask you if you are sure you wish to make changes. Click on "Yes". You will then need to restart Windows for your change to take effect. Again, we typically recommend using a permanent Swapfile at least 4096k in size. A permanent swap file is best because it gives the fastest access time, but a Temporary Swap File doesn't use any hard drive space when you are not using Windows. After you make the swap file, you will be asked to restart Windows. Choose restart then start your Windows program. For further information on Swap Files, please consult your Windows documentation. NOTE: You cannot use compressed disk space as a Swapfile. If you use disk compression, you can only establish a Swapfile on either the non-compressed host drive, or another non-compressed hard drive. IIc. Setting Up Your Midi Mapper Since Sierra uses MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) music, in order to hear music in our games you must have your Midi Mapper set up correctly. Normally, this is done when you install your sound card software, but many sound cards will default to an incorrect Midi Setup. The instructions below are for setting up the Midi Mapper for a standard FM sound card like a Soundblaster (regular, Pro and 16 varieties), Pro-Audio Spectrum, and other similar sound cards. These instructions will work for nearly all sound cards, though if you have a more advanced sound card like a Gravis Ultrasound, Sound cards using Wave table Synthesis, or a Roland MT32, RAP 10 or Sound Canvas, or any other advanced MIDI device, the set up instructions below will probably not provide the optimal Midi configuration to take advantage of more advanced hardware. Please contact the hardware/sound card manufacturer if you need additional help configuring your Midi Mapper for one of these more advanced sound modules. NOTE: When you install a Sierra Windows game, make sure you choose BASE level if you are prompted for a "Base" or "Extended". (Or "Other sound cards" or whatever is appropriate). The Extended setting is strictly for users with Midi devices like the Roland MT32 installed in their systems. Even if the game you are playing and the sound card you are using support an "Extended" level Midi Setting, we recommend trying a Base level setting if you experience any problems. From within PROGRAM MANAGER: 1.) Double-Click your MAIN group. 2.) Double-click the CONTROL PANEL Icon. 3.) Double-click the MIDI MAPPER icon. [NOTE: If you do not have this icon, go back to the CONTROL PANEL, and Double-click the DRIVERS section. Click on the "Add" button, and in the list of drivers presented to you highlight the MIDI MAPPER selection and click on OK. After the driver is installed, you will need to restart Windows and start at step 1 above.] 4.) You will get a dialog box. Click on the NEW Button. 5.) Type in a name (any name will do), then click on the OK Button. 6.) Now you will get the MIDI SETUP screen. Find the Port Name Column, and go down it until you reach the box for channel 13. Click on the box, then click on the arrow and you should get a list of drivers. 7.) Select the driver that has "FM Synthesis" in it. The name may vary depending on the sound card you have, but some examples are "Voyetra SuperSapi FM Driver", "Yamaha OPL-3 FM Synthesizer", "SBP FM Synth". 8.) Repeat step 7 for Channels 14, 15 and 16. (NOTE: For an "Extended" Midi Setup, you would configure channels 1-10 and leave 11-16 as "None") 9.) Click on OK, and when the computer asks you if you want to save the setting, choose yes. 10.) Close the MIDI MAPPER. Additional Note: Always make sure you have the proper Drivers installed for your sound card, as well as the following standard Windows drivers: Timer, Midi Mapper, [mci] CD Audio, [mci] Sound, and [mci] Midi Sequencer. If these are not present, you can add them following the steps below: Again, from the CONTROL PANEL: 1.) Double-click the DRIVERS icon. 2.) You will get a list of drivers presented in a dialog box. Click on the ADD button. 3.) Select the driver you wish to add (Timer, Midi Mapper, [MCI] CD Audio, Sound, or Midi Sequencer) 4.) Click on OK. If you are asked to use the Current driver or a New one, click on Current. You may be asked to insert a Windows disk to install the driver from. Follow the instructions on screen. 5.) Once new drivers are installed, you will need to re-start Windows. If you have any difficulty installing the drivers, or need additional help with Windows, please contact Microsoft or your authorized hardware manufacturer. Finally, it's usually a good idea to have the latest sound drivers available for your sound card. You can contact the Sound card manufacturer to obtain the most current drivers. IId. Sierra Troubleshooting Steps: General Protection Faults General Protection Faults are errors that occur in Windows. They are typically the results of a memory conflict between one or more drivers or programs. One program may inadvertently overwrite another program's code, corrupting both programs and causing a General Protection Fault. Another type of error similar to a General Protection fault is a System Integrity Violation, which is basically a General Protection Fault caused by an MS-DOS program running Windows. However, Sierra does not support running our DOS programs through Windows, so this document will be focused on troubleshooting Windows General Protection Faults. If a Sierra DOS program causes any error messages or a System Integrity Violation, we recommend that you run that program in DOS. Preparing to Troubleshoot Before you begin to troubleshooting General Protection Faults, you must have a basic boot disk for your system. At the end of this document are a complete set of boot disk instructions. We also have boot disk instructions available via FAX (document #2475), and a also have a disk called BDALL which contains a boot disk creator utility and a complete set of boot disk instructions for a variety of systems. This disk can be downloaded via our BBS at 206-644-0112, or you can contact us in Technical Support via FAX at 206-644-7697 or phone at 206-644-4343 and have the disk sent to you. In addition to the standard boot disk files, however, it is important to copy your DOS text editor (including Qbasic.EXE) to the boot disk as well. You can do this using the following commands, entered at the C:\ prompt: COPY C:\DOS\EDIT.COM A: <ENTER> COPY C:\DOS\QBASIC.EXE A: <ENTER> Finally, you will want a backup copy of your WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files on this disk. Copy them to the boot disk using the following commands: COPY C:\WINDOWS\WIN.INI A: <ENTER> COPY C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI A: <ENTER> (NOTE: If your Windows directory is on another drive, use the letter of that drive instead of C:). Troubleshooting Steps 1.) First, correct any and all FAT table errors and lost allocation units by running SCANDISK or CHKDSK. Refer to Section I. General Trouble- shooting Techniques for DOS and Windows programs, and read the instructions for Step 1 if you need additional information. 2.) Make sure your Windows System Resources are over 60 percent. You can check this by going to the HELP menu in Program Manager, and choosing About Program Manager. If resources are below 60 percent, close any and all other Windows applications before continuing to the next step. 3.) Check the DOS version you are using. If you are using an OEM DOS version, such as IBM DOS or Compaq DOS, those should only be run on their respective OEM computer systems. (However, the Microsoft's DOS 5 and DOS 6 upgrades will work on all machines.) 4.) Run Windows in Standard Mode (Not available in Windows for Workgroups 3.11). You can run Windows in Standard mode by typing WIN /S and then pressing ENTER. If the GP fault occurs in Standard Mode and Enhanced Mode Windows, the problem could be a corrupted file or conflict between Windows and a hardware device. 5.) Run Windows without using your WIN.INI file. The best way to do this is to rename the WIN.INI file to something else. You can do this by going to DOS, then to your WINDOWS directory. Then type: REN WIN.INI WIN.OLD <ENTER> If running Windows without the WIN.INI file active corrects the problem, make sure the LOAD= and the RUN= lines in the [WINDOWS] section of the WIN.INI are blank, or insert a semi-colon (:) at the beginning of each line. (You can edit the WIN.INI with a text editor program like Windows Notepad.) This will prevent any other Windows software from loading. If this fails to correct the problem, Sierra recommends calling either MICROSOFT, or if you received your DOS/WINDOWS software with your computer system, you will need to contact the hardware manufacturer. They should be able to help you isolate the conflict between your WIN.INI file and your SIERRA program. 6.) Reinstall your Sierra Windows program, or the program to which the GPF seems to be specific. Sometimes corrupted files and drivers (especially sound and/or video drivers in the case of Sierra Software) can cause GP faults, and re-installing them may correct the problem. Often times, updating to the latest available versions of these drivers will correct problems as well. Contact the software manufacturer if you need assistance re-installing and/or updating drivers. 7.) Eliminate any memory-resident software. Close any and all other applications, make sure the STARTUP group is empty, and disable any and all screen savers (including the standard Windows screen saver) and shell replacement programs like Norton Desktop for Windows, PC Tools, etc. Also, don't run Windows from a menu program like DOS Shell or similar programs. 8.) To check for a Video driver conflict, change your Video driver to "VGA 3.0". A number of Video Drivers from third party vendors will conflict with some Sierra Windows programs. IMPORTANT NOTE: If your SIERRA program requires a 256 color driver, use Microsoft's "SVGA (640 by 480, 256 color) driver if you have it available. If you do not have this driver available, try using some other drivers for your video card and see if they make a difference. You may try contacting Microsoft to see if you can obtain the driver from them. Refer to step 6 for more information. 9.) Check for other possible conflicts with other, third-party software drivers. Edit your SYSTEM.INI file and temporarily comment out any and all third party drivers, e.g. Adobe Type Manager, third party printer drivers, Bitstream, etc. You can use Windows Notepad to edit the SYSTEM.INI file, and insert a semi-colon (;) at the beginning of each line that loads a third party driver. In your SYSTEM.INI file, the [BOOT] section should be set to a standard Windows default, which is listed below: shell=progman.exe system.drv=system.drv keyboard.drv=keyboard.drv mouse.drv=mouse.drv display.drv=vga.drv comm.drv=comm.drv sound.drv=mmsound.drv 10.) Eliminate potential conflicts in DOS by creating a basic boot disk that loads only those drivers necessary to start your system and Windows. A minimum boot configuration is listed below: AUTOEXEC.BAT CONFIG.SYS Path=c:\;c:\dos;c:\windows Files=50 Prompt $p$g Buffers=30 Set temp=c:\temp Device=c:\dos\himem.sys Stacks=9,256 Device=c:\windows\ifshlp.sys (This last line is only for WFW 3.11) Depending on your particular systems, the files above may not be sufficient or meet the minimum requirements for your system to boot normally. If you need additional assistance creating a boot disk, continue on to Section IV. MS-DOS 5.0 and up Boot Disk Instructions. If creating a boot disk seems to correct the problem, then your GP fault was caused by one of the memory resident DOS programs or drivers that your system loads. Try adding in, one at a time, any drivers REMed or excluded from your boot disk, then see if the problem occurs. Continue this step until you've isolated the specific driver that is causing the problem. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it does represent the most common solutions to General Protection Faults encountered with Sierra Windows Software. For additional assistance, you may wish to contact Microsoft or your Hardware dealer (if Windows came pre-installed on your computer). III. General Sound Card Troubleshooting Steps Due to the tremendous number of sound cards and drivers available today, it can often be difficult getting a sound card and a game's sound driver to work together correctly. Unfortunately, while most sound cards claim to be 100% Sound Blaster compatible, the differences in the various methods of achieving this compatibility makes the claim itself dubious at best. Add to that the different methods of programming games and their sound drivers, it is not uncommon to encounter a conflict between a game's sound driver and your sound card. Sierra has composed the following list of Sound Card troubleshooting steps to help resolve the most common problems experienced when trying to configure a sound card to work correctly with a game (and vice-versa). Please note that we cannot possibly know everything about your specific sound card, it's drivers, set up requirements, or the related software that is packaged with it. Therefore, if you have any questions as to how to change the settings of your sound card, re configure it, or otherwise manipulate it in a manner specific to the sound card itself or its software, please refer to your sound card's documentation or consult your sound card's manufacturer. UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOUND CARD SOUND There are four main types of sound used by games and played through sound cards. These are briefly explained below to help you understand a little a bout the different types of sound and how sound cards work. Digital Sound: Digital Sound (also called Waveform Audio, Sampled Sound, or DAC Sound) is sound that is recorded just like you would record something on a tape recorder. Digital Sound can be virtually any type of sound. Some examples include speech, gunshots, footsteps, explosions, and most sound effects used in current games. Digital Sound is often described as '8 bit' or '16 bit', but in laymans terms all you really need to know is that 16 Bit Audio will sound sharper and clearer than 8 Bit Audio. Digitized Sound is often referred to as 'DAC' sound. DAC actually stands for "Digital to Audio Converter." Small DAC chips on your sound card convert recorded signals into audible sounds. Midi Music: MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. MIDI technology allows a sequence of commands to call up sounds from a music synthesizer, which has significant advantages over digitized audio. Each command instructs the synthesizer to play another note, or substitute a different sound, or adjust the synthesizers' audio output level, etc. These commands are only a few bytes in length, regardless of the duration of the sound, so MIDI data is very compact. In addition, since MIDI music isn't interpreted until playback, it is possible to modify a MIDI performance at any time and in any way imaginable with proper software tools. For MIDI songs to play properly on your MIDI system, it is important that your synthesizer be able to produce the sounds intended by the music author. Not all synthesizers can provide the same sound (or sound quality) in response to a single command via MIDI. For this reason, most pre-recorded MIDI material is written to the General MIDI format found on the Roland RAP-10, SC-7, SCC-1, SC-55 and SC-300 as well as the TG-100 from Yamaha. This format has been endorsed and recommended for general purpose use by all MIDI manufactures as well as IBM, Microsoft and Apple. As an alternative, song data is also available for the Roland MT-32, CM-32L and LAPC-1. FM Synthesis: Most sound cards used today employ inexpensive FM Synthesizers (such as the Yamaha OPL3) to generate music. These chips synthesize musical instruments and are responsible for the music playback from your sound card. CD Audio: Sound that is recorded to and played from a CD is called. Playing CD Audio is the same as a playing a music CD. In order for sound cards to play CD Audio, a special CD Audio cable is required and must be connected from the CD ROM drive to the sound card. The sound card itself is not responsible for playing any music on the CD, however. It is just being used as a conduit, so to speak, so you can hear the music through the speakers connected to the sound card. You can also hear CD Audio by plugging in headphones to the headphone jack on your CD ROM drive. TYPICAL SYMPTOMS OF SOUND CARD CONFLICTS AND RELATED PROBLEMS 1) Lockups. Often times a DOS or Windows program will lock up the system if there is a sound card conflict. Often, the game will still appear to be playing normally -- you will be able to move the mouse, the background music will be playing, and you may even be able to access the Save/Restore functions. However, the mouse pointer will remain a "wait" cursor and all action in the game will effectively stop. Other times, even the mouse pointer will freeze (A "hard" lock up), and the sound card may become stuck on one continuous note. Occasionally this might even force the system to re-boot itself. 2) No music and/or Sound effects. Sometimes you may hear music, but no speech or sound effects, or vice-versa. 3) Distorted or garbled music or sound effects, possibly with crackling noises. 4) Repeating or "broken record" type sound. Sometimes this will manifest itself in the form of one continuous, long musical note as well. 5) DOS Error Messages: "Unable to initialize your audio hardware" (or something similar) "Unable to initialize your music hardware" (or something similar) "Invalid General Protection Fault" followed by lots of numbers and code. 6) WINDOWS Error Messages: "Wave Out Open Error" "Panic: Use Capabilities Function..." "Sound Device already in use by another application". COMMON SOLUTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR SOUND CARD PROBLEMS AND CONFLICTS IN DOS OR WINDOWS Listed below are suggestions and the most common solutions to resolving sound card conflicts. Some of these fixes are specific to DOS, some to Windows, and many will apply to either DOS or Windows. We recommend reading ALL of these steps, even if some of them may not seem to directly apply to the problem you may be experiencing with your game. (DOS/WINDOWS): First and foremost, make sure you choose the appropriate sound drivers or sound choices when you install the game ! Don't always trust the default values, because sometimes installation programs will incorrectly detect your hardware. Obviously, if you have a standard Soundblaster, Soundblaster Pro or Soundblaster 16, and the game's installation program detects "Roland MT32", this isn't going to work. Sometimes choosing the correct driver can be tricky, but for most sound cards, selecting "Soundblaster/Ad-lib" for the music selection and "Soundblaster" for the Audio/Speech selection (if there is an Audio/Speech selection -- not all games will have one) is the best place to start if you do not see a driver listed for your specific sound card. If you experience problems with these selections, try using some of the others -- it can't hurt. For Windows programs, if you are given a choice of selecting "Base" or "Extended", start with Base level. (DOS/WINDOWS): Check the DMA and IRQ settings for your sound card. Generally speaking, we recommend using DMA 1 and IRQ 5, I/O address 220 for best results. However, as a general rule, our DOS games will support DMA channels 1 and 3, and IRQ settings of 3, 5 and 7. If you are experiencing any of the previously mentioned problems, you might try changing the DMA and/or IRQ setting for your sound card and see if that works. Try our recommended settings if possible. (DOS/WINDOWS): If you are not hearing any music or sound, try the steps above, but also try running the mixer program for your sound card and turning up your music and sound effects volume levels. If you are having the problem under DOS, run the DOS-based mixer, if the problem is under Windows, run the Windows-based mixer program. Sometimes not hearing music or sound effects is just due to the volume levels that the sound card is set to. (DOS/WINDOWS) Some games use CD Audio (music/audio played directly off of the CD like a music album), and if you do not have a CD Audio cable connecting the sound card to the CD Rom drive, you won't be able to hear CD Audio. An easy way to test this is to plug in some headphones to the jack on the CD ROM drive and listen. If you hear sound through the head- phones, then you are hearing CD Audio, but most likely you do not have a CD Audio cable connecting the drive to the sound card. You can get a CD Audio cable from some computer supply stores, or the CD Rom manufacturer may be able to sell one to you. (DOS/WINDOWS): Running Dos-based games in Windows will generally not work, and produce either repeating sounds, no sound or music, or other error messages like "DMA Buffer Size is Too Small....". Run DOS based games in DOS for best results. (DOS): Try new drivers ! For DOS based games, it never hurts to check with Sierra Technical Support or our BBS to see if there are any updated sound drivers for some games.We have enclosed a list of our current drivers available on the BBS. We can also mail these drivers out free of charge. (DOS) If you experience audio that 'stutters' or sounds a little 'broken up', there may be a DMA or an IRQ conflict. However, the problem may also be either insufficient audio buffering, or too much audio buffering. There is usually a setting in the MSCDEX line in the Autoexec.bat file, like /M:20, or something similar. Try changing this number to 8, 10, 12, or maybe 15. Also, try removing the /M: <number> entirely, or if it is not present, add it to the end of the MSCDEX line with a value (like /M:10). We recommend making changes only in the Autoexec.bat file on a boot disk. (DOS) Make sure all the appropriate drivers and configuration lines specific to your sound card are being loaded, especially if you are using a boot disk created by the game. While boot disk creators can generally recognize common drivers and set them up in your Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files, drivers specific to particular sound cards will not be recognized, and the boot disk maker will most likely not set the Autoexec.bat and/or the Config.sys file on the boot disk up to load the drivers. You may need to add these drivers or settings manually. We have a list of common drivers typically loaded by various sound cards included in this document. However, for more specific information, consult your sound card's documentation or the manufacturer of the sound card. (DOS) Sometimes if you are playing an older game on a faster computer (usually a 486 or higher), the computer may be to fast for the game to initialize the sound card, resulting in no sound or music. This is often accompanied by the message "Unable to initialize your Audio/Music Hardware", but not always. Try turning off your computer's TURBO switch (if it has one) and starting the game. Usually, this will let the game initialize the sound card, and you can turn the Turbo back on after the game has started. Consult the drivers list towards the end of this document for information about our updated driver 486SBDRV, which can correct this problem for a number of games. (WINDOWS) If you are not hearing any music in your game, and you are playing under WINDOWS, make sure the Midi Mapper is set up correctly. First, make sure you install the game for "BASE" level Midi. Then use the following steps to correctly set up the Windows Midi Mapper for a standard sound card (Soundblaster, Pro-Audio Spectrum, etc. 1) Double-Click your Main group, then double-click the Control panel icon, then double-click the Midi Mapper icon. 2) Click on the NEW Button. Type in a name (any name will do), then click on the OK Button. 3) Now you will get the MIDI SETUP screen. Find the Port Name Column, and go down it until you reach the box for channel 13. Click on the box, then click on the arrow and you should get a list of drivers. 4) Select the driver that has "FM Synthesis" in it. The name may vary depending on the sound card you have, but some examples are "Voyetra SuperSapi FM Driver" and "Yamaha OPL-3 FM Synthesizer". 5) Do the same thing for Channels 14, 15 and 16. 6) Then click on OK, and when the computer asks you if you want to save the setting, choose yes. 7) Close the Midi Mapper and play the game. You should now get music in your game. (WINDOWS) If you experience 'stuttering' or 'broken' audio with a Windows game, it may be caused by either insufficient or excessive audio buffering. Try this: There will usually be a line like "DMABufferSize=32" (or some other number) in the [386ENH] section of the SYSTEM.INI file, which is located in the Windows directory. Make a backup copy of the SYSTEM.INI file. Then open the SYSTEM.INI file with Windows NOTEPAD or any other text editing program, and find the DMABufferSize line. Try setting the value to 256. Other valid values are 128, 64, or 32. We do not recommend going above 256. If you cannot find a DMABufferSize line, add it to the end of the [386ENH] section. It should look like: DMABufferSize=256 (Case is important, so make sure it matches the example exactly.) (WINDOWS): Always make sure you have the proper Drivers installed for your sound card, as well as the following standard Windows drivers: Timer, Midi Mapper, [mci] CD Audio, [mci] Sound, and [mci] Midi Sequencer. Also, it's usually a good idea to have the latest sound drivers available for your sound card. You can contact the Sound card manufacturer to obtain the most current drivers. (WINDOWS): Some Windows sound enhancement programs or screen savers can conflict with games if they are running at the same time. Often, they produce error messages like "Wave Out Open Error" or "Panic: Use Capabilities Function...". Some examples of programs that can produce these types of errors are Afterdark, Wired for Sound, Icon Hear-it or Icon Do-it, and Microsoft Windows Sound Bits. Try closing these programs or removing the drivers. SIERRA DRIVER UPDATES -- CURRENT AS OF 10/1/94 This list contains all the current sound driver updates and revisions currently available from Sierra. If you would like to obtain one of these, you can contact Technical Support at 1-206-644-4343 and request it, or you can download the driver via the Sierra BBS at 206-644-0112, Compuserve, or America On-Line. Filename Description 486SBDRV Many older Sierra programs will produce an "Unable to Initialize Audio/Music Hardware" message when they are run are 486 systems. This updated Soundblaster driver will correct this. GUS32 This driver will allow Gravis Ultrasound users to use their Gravis Ultrasound with Sierra's 32 bit DOS games, which currently include Police Quest 4, Gabriel Knight, Quest for Glory 4, and the CD ROM version of Leisure Suit Larry 6. GUSDRV This is a Gravis Ultrasound driver that will work with the following games: The Dagger of Amon Ra (CD), Hoyle Classic Card Games, King's Quest 6, Pepper's Adventures in Time, Quest for Glory 3, Freddy Pharkas, Island of Dr. Brain, Eco Quest 2, Police Quest 1, and Slater & Charlie go camping. MGCD486 This is an updated Sound Blaster driver for Mixed Up Mother Goose (CD-ROM). This will correct "Unable to Initialize Music/Audio Hardware" messages when trying to run the game under DOS on a 486 system. SB16DRV This is an updated SoundBlaster 16 driver. It will correct sound problems with games that will only play one digitized speech or sound sample, then stop playing them. This will work for most games released after King's Quest 5 (11-15-90), but not including King's Quest 5 (disk or CD version). SBSCI32 This Sound Blaster driver is for Sierra's 32 bit games (refer to the list under GUS32 for a list of these), and will allow you to use an I/O address other than 220 for your sound card. "ERROR 29" is the usual indicator that you need this driver. SOME TRICKS OF THE TRADE We have included in this section some common solutions and work arounds to some problems our customers have experienced with specific sound cards. ENSONIQ SOUNDSCAPE Common Problem: Varies; usually no sound or unusual sound Windows & DOS (general): First, make sure you have Ensoniq's latest Windows and DOS drivers. These have corrected a lot of problems experienced by Ensoniq users with our software. Ensoinq's number is given at the end of this document, and the Drivers are also available via Compuserve. Front Page Sports Baseball & Football 95' Generally these games do not work with the Ensoniq Soundscape. Select No Sound. Aces of the Pacific / Aces Over Europe: These games will generally work one of two ways: 1) Using 'MT32', in which case the music will be great but the DAC sound will sound odd; or 2) Using Soundblaster, the sound effects will sound OK but the music will sound strange. No other work arounds are known at this time. Sierra's Quest Games (King's Quest, Police Quest, Space Quest, Quest for Glory) - All sound fine in Windows if there is a Window's version of the program. For the DOS versions, during installation for the MUSIC setting, you will want to choose GENERAL MIDI if it is listed or SOUNDBLASTER/ ADLIB OR COMPATIBLE. For the SPEECH/AUDIO/SOUND settings you will want to choose THUNDERBOARD or SOUNDBLASTER, one or the other should work properly. One exception is King's Quest 6 (Dos version): It will loose the sound when you are in the bookstore. Unfortunately, there is no work around other than playing through Windows. SOUNDBLASTER 16 Common Problem: Lock ups. Most commonly, the game will appear stuck "thinking" about something. Solution: This won't work for all games, but it will work for most of our more recent titles. Run the game's Installation program from the game's directory on your hard drive. Choose "Thunderboard" for your Audio instead of "Soundblaster". For older games, choose "Ad-lib" for your sound card choice. Common Problem: No Sound or Audio, or messages like "Incorrect INT setting in System.INI file" when starting Windows. Solution: This usually happens when using a boot disk that doesn't have the necessary configuration lines for the Soundblaster 16 sound card. You will need to add one or more of these lines to the boot disk manually. These lines usually look like: SET SOUND=C:\SB16 SET BLASTER= A220 I5 D1 C:\SB16\SBCONFIG.EXE /S There may also be a line containing SB16SET that we would recommend adding as well. MULTIMEDIA PRO 16 (also Sound Galaxy sound cards) Common Problem: Inaudible Speech or Sound FX (sometimes music too) Solution: First, you need to run the game's Installation program and choose "Soundblaster" for Music and "Microsoft Windows Sound System" for Audio. Then you need to go to the MMP16P\UTILITY directory and type SETMODE /MSS (and press Enter). Then play your game, and you should get speech and sound effects. Just remember to run the SETMODE program before you run the game, and the speech and sound effects should work fine. Alternately, sometimes we find it necessary to run the mixer program for the card also. If the SETMODE command doesn't seem to do the trick by itself, try typing: SETMODE /MSS (press Enter) SG16MIX (press Enter) SG16MIX /Q (press Enter) Then try running your game. If you still have troubles, contact Reveal. Their number is listed below. MOZART & DIAMOND SONIC SOUND Common Problem: Inaudible Speech or Sound FX (sometimes music too) We find these cards, like the Sound Galaxy, also tend to work better when used to emulate a Windows Sound System sound card. The commands to enable this are as follows: Mozart Sound Card: CD\MOZART (press Enter) MZTMODE/WSS (press Enter) Diamond Sonic LX: CD\DIAMOND (press Enter) SNDINIT/WSS (press Enter) As with the Sound Galaxy cards, you must remember to run these commands prior to starting the game. GRAVIS ULTRASOUND & ULTRASOUND MAX (under Windows) Common Problems: No music under Windows; often 'Divide by Zero' error messages can also occur. Most Sierra products do not currently support patch caching for sound cards, which the GUS in its default configuration requires for MIDI output. To get MIDI music working with a GUS, follow the instructions in the GUS Windows Help file to put the GUS in non-patch caching mode. The instructions in a nutshell (do the following steps once:) 1) Open the Control Panel, then open the MIDI mapper. 2) Select the setup labeled "Ultra???" where ??? represents the amount of memory installed on your Ultrasound. (The GUS Max comes with 512K, the GUS with 256K). Close the MIDI mapper and the Control Panel. If you don't find a setup with the correct name (or a similar name -- different revisions of the software named the setups differently), re-install your GUS software. Do the following steps each time before running a Sierra game: 1) In File Manager, go to your \ULTRASND\MIDI directory and double-click the file labeled "load???.mid" where again ??? represents the amount of memory on your GUS. (If you don't find the file there, look in other subdirectories -- different GUS installation versions put the files in different places.) This should launch the Media Player and play a 10-second MIDI file that will load all the patches your GUS needs. (Advanced tip: by dragging the .MID file above into the Sierra group in the program manager, you can make an icon that will always be handy when you are about to run a Sierra program.) 2) If double-clicking the .MID file doesn't load Media Player, try running Media Player directly (it's in the Accessories group of Program Manager), then selecting "Open..." and opening the file. Then click the Play button. 3) Run the Sierra game. DRIVER & CONFIGURATION INFORMATION While we can't possibly know everything about all possible sound cards or their drivers, we have compiled a general list of drivers and configuration lines necessary to the proper setup of certain sound cards. This information may be especially useful if you have used one of our automatic boot disk maker programs. Boot disk makers can typically only detect the most common types of sound configuration lines and drivers, but not sound card specific drivers that many of today's newer cards require for proper configuration. Below is a list of various sound cards and the necessary configuration and/or driver lines that must be present in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and/or the CONFIG.SYS files. Most boot disk makers will be able to identify and correctly place the SET BLASTER= and SET SOUND= lines in the Autoexec.bat file on the boot disk, but any other lines you may need to add manually. If you have any further questions or require additional information regarding the correct setup of your sound card, please consult the documentation for your sound card or contact the sound card manufacturer. Sound Card: Adlib Autoexec.bat: NONE Config.sys: NONE Notes: Can play music only Sound Card: Aria 16 Autoexec.bat: SET ARIA= SET BLASTER= C:\DOS\SOUNDCLT.COM Config.sys: DEVICE=C:\ARIA\BIN\SOUNDCFG.SYS DEVICE=C:\ARIA\BIN\SNDSAVER.SYS Notes: Used in a number of IBM models Sound Card: Diamond LX Autoexec.bat: SET SONIC= C:\SONIC\SONIC /B/C* SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4 Config.sys: NONE Notes: *Use the /C switch for Soundblaster mode, use the /B switch for Microsoft Sound System Mode Sound Card: Ensoniq Soundscape Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= SET SNDSCAPE= C:\SNDSCAPE\SSINIT /I* Config.sys: NONE Notes: *Older drivers use /FM for Soundblaster mode, /GM for General Midi mode. Sound Card: Forte 16 Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= SET GALAXY= SET SOUND= C:\FORTE16\EMUTSR Config.sys: NONE Notes: Shipped mainly with Packard Bell computers. Sound Card: Gravis Ultrasound Autoexec.bat: SET ULTRASND= SET ULTRADIR= C:\ULTRASND\ULTRINIT SBOS.BAT SET BLASTER= Config.sys: NONE Note: The SBOS.BAT line must be loading to enable the card's Sound Blaster emulation. Sound Card: ISP 16 Autoexec.bat: C:\ISP16\ISPINIT /B/M* Config.sys: NONE Note: */B is used for Soundblaster mode, /M is used for a Microsoft Sound System Mode Sound Card: Jazz 16 Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= Config.sys: DEVICE=C:\JAZZ\JAZZ.SYS D:* Q:* Note: THE D: DESIGNATES THE DMA CHANNEL. THE Q: DESIGNATES THE IRQ SEETTING. This card is basically identical to the Proaudio Spectrum 16. Specific values and directories may be different on your system than what is printed here. Sound Card: Mad 16 Autoexec.bat: SET MAD16= SET BLASTER= C:\MAD16\M16INIT /B /M * Config.sys: NONE Note: */B is used for Soundblaster mode, /M is used for a Microsoft Sound System Mode Sound Card: Magic S20 Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= SET SOUND= C:\MAGICS20\SNDINIT /B /M* Config.sys: NONE Note: */B is used for Soundblaster mode, /M is used for a Microsoft Sound System Mode Sound Card: Mozart Sound Card Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= SET SOUND= C:\MOZART\MTZVOL.EXE Config.sys: DEVICE=C:\MOZART\MZTINIT.SYS Sound Card: Orchid Gamewave Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= SET SOUND= C:\GW32\GW32.EXE Config.sys: NONE Sound Card: Pro Audio Spectrum 16 Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= Config.sys: DEVICE=C:\SPECTRUM\MVSOUND.SYS D:* Q:* Note: THE D: DESIGNATES THE DMA CHANNEL. THE Q: DESIGNATES THE IRQ SEETTING. This card is the same as a Jazz and sold/packaged with systems under different names. Specific names, values and directories may be different depending on the system. Sound Card: Pro Sonic Sound Card Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= Config.sys: DEVICE=C:\PROSONIC\PROSYS.SYS P220 I5 D1 E1 Sound Card: Sound-blaster 16 Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= SET SOUND= C:\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S* Config.sys: DEVICE=C:\SB16\DRV\CTSB16.SYS /UNIT=0 /BLASTER=A:220 I:5 D:1 H:5 DEVICE=C:\SB16\DRV\CTMM.SYS Note: THESE LINES ARE ONLY REQUIRED TO ENABLE THE SOUND CARD'S CD ROM INTERFACE. * On some older Soundblaster 16 cards this may appear as C:\sb16\sbconfig.exe /s There may be other lines such as SET MIDI and SB16SET in the Autoexec.bat on some systems. Sound Card: Sound 16A Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= SET GALAXY= C:\AUDIO\SNDINIT.EXE /B SET SOUND16= Config.sys: NONE Note: Usually shipped with Packard Bell systems. Sound Card: Sound 144 Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= SET GALAXY= SET SOUND= Config.sys: NONE Note: Usually shipped with Packard Bell Systems Sound Card: Vibra 16 Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= SET SOUND= C:\VIBRA16\DIAGNOSE /S C:\VIBRA16\MIXERSET /P/Q Config.sys: DEVICE=C:\VIBRA16\DRV\VIBRA16.SYS DEVICE=C:\VIBRA16\DRV\CTMMSYS.SYS (TO ENABLE CD ROM INTERFACE) Note: As far as we have seen, the Vibra 16 is virtually identical to the Soundblaster 16 sound card. Sound Card: Voyetra Sound Autoexec.bat: SET BLASTER= SET ISP16= C:\ISP16\ISPINIT /B Config.sys: NONE Note: This card appears to be the same as an ISP 16. SOUND CARD MANUFACTURERS Listed below are some of the more popular sound card manufacturers in case you need to contact them for more information, or help in configuring your sound card or using its accompanying utility software. Ad-lib Inc. Ad-lib, Ad-lib Gold Tech Support: 800-463-9676 Aztech Sound Galaxy, Sound Galaxy Pro 16 Tech Support: 800-886-8879 CompuAdd Multimedia Compuadd Computer Systems with Compuadd sound Cards Tech Support: 512-250-1489 Creative Labs Gameblaster, Sound Blaster, Soundblaster Pro, Soundblaster 16, AWE 32 Tech Support: 405-742-6622 BBS: 405-742-6660 Ensoniq Ensoniq Soundscape, Soundscape Daughterboard Tech Support: 215-647-3930 Gravis Ultrasound, Ultrasound Max Tech Support: 604-431-1807 BBS: 604-451-9358 FAX: 604-431-5927 Media Vision Thunderboard, Pro Audio Spectrum, Pro Audio Spectrum/Studio 16 Tech Support: 510-770-8600 BBS: 510-770-0968 Packard Bell Computers Packard Bell typically packages one of the following sound cards with their systems: Sound 16A, Sound 144, Sound Galaxy, Multimedia Pro 16, Forte 16, ISP 16 sound cards. Tech Support: 800-733-4411 BBS: 818-773-7207 FAX: 818-773-9831 Reveal Multimedia Pro, Multimedia Pro 16. Reveal cards are bundled with a variety of systems, most frequently Packard Bell systems. Tech Support: 818-704-6300 FAX: 818-340-2379 SIERRA ON-LINE MS-DOS 5.0 + Boot Disk Instructions The following instructions have been prepared by Sierra's Technical Support Department as an added service to our customers. PLEASE NOTE: Sierra does not make any claims, guarantees, and/or PROMISES THAT THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS WILL WORK ON ANY AND/OR ALL COMPUTER SYSTEMS. These instructions are only for 386, 486 and Pentium computers using MS DOS 5.0 and above. Step 1: Determining the type of boot disk you need: The first thing you need to do before creating a boot disk is determine the requirements of the game and the system for which you are creating the boot disk. Consult the documentation for the game, the SRL label (the small label on the box listing the game's requirements), the game's documentation, and if necessary your system documentation to help determine the requirements necessary to make a functional boot disk for your system. Of key importance is the type of memory the game requires. In short, there are three main types of Boot Disks you need to be aware of: WINDOWS BOOT DISKS: Windows Boot disks should free up as much Extended (XMS) Memory as possible. Windows Boot disks do NOT need Expanded (EMS) Memory, nor do they need to be concerned with freeing up Conventional memory. Windows boot disks do not need to load mouse drivers because Windows has its own mouse driver. To summarize, you need to keep these things in mind when creating a Windows Boot Disk: A Windows Boot Disk should free up as much Extended Memory as possible. To do this HIMEM.SYS must be loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file. Windows is not generally concerned with the amount of free Conventional Memory. Windows has its own mouse driver. You do not need to load a DOS mouse driver. STANDARD DOS BOOT DISKS: The purpose of these boot disks is to provide as much free Conventional Memory (out of 640k) as possible, and in many cases Expanded (EMS) Memory as well. Most older Sierra games fall into this category, as well as many more recent titles. (Some examples are given below). To summarize, a Standard Dos Boot Disk should: Maximize the amount of free Conventional Memory available out of the base 640k. If necessary, configure the computer to provide Expanded Memory. To enable Expanded (EMS) Memory, and maximize Conventional Memory your boot disk must load HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE. Load all necessary drivers for sound cards, CD Rom drivers, mice, etc. King's Quest 1-6 Space Quest 1-5 Police Quest 1-3 Leisure Suit Larry 1-5 Quest for Glory 1-3 Aces Over Europe* Aces of the Pacific* FPS: Football Pro (all)* Betrayal at Krondor* FPS: Baseball* *denotes a game requiring Expanded (EMS) Memory Note that there are exceptions to those listed above. For example, King's Quest 6 CD can be run in Windows, so you would want to make a Windows boot disk for it if you were going to install and run it under Windows. (DOS) SCI 32 BOOT DISKS: SCI 32 games use programs called DOS Extenders, which handle all the memory management functions for the game. Because of this, SCI 32 Boot disks don't need to load ANY memory managers, such as HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE. SCI 32 Boot disks also aren't concerned with freeing up conventional memory, like Standard Dos Boot Disks (q.v.) are. IMPORTANT NOTE: You only need to concern yourself with these guidelines if you intend to run your SCI 32 game in DOS. If you are going to run it in Windows (and it can be run in Windows), then you want to create a WINDOWS boot disk. To summarize, a DOS SCI 32 Boot disk should: Not load any memory management, such as HIMEM.SYS, EMM386.EXE, QEMM, etc. Load all necessary drivers for sound cards, CD Rom drivers, mice, etc. Listed below are our currently released SCI 32 programs: Police Quest 4 Gabriel Knight Quest for Glory 4 Leisure Suit Larry 6 (VESA CD version only) Inca II Aces of the Deep EarthSiege Battledrome Once you know the general type of boot disk you need to make, consult the following list to help determine what individual drivers may be necessary for your boot disk. Does your game or system require... 1.) CD ROM ? Most games on CD will require CD ROM drivers to be loaded for the game to play properly, though this is not always the case. Some CD games can install to the hard drive and be played without the CD, such as Aces Over Europe\Pacific and Betrayal at Krondor. 2.) A Mouse ? For many DOS-based games a mouse is recommended or even required, and to allow the mouse to operate in a DOS game a Mouse Driver, (a memory-resident program that tells DOS how to communicate with your Mouse), must be loading from either the Autoexec.bat or Config.sys file on the boot disk. Some examples include Sierra's "Quest" titles like Police Quest, King's Quest, etc. 3.) Disk Compression Drivers ? If you use STACKER, DBLSPACE, DRVSPACE, or any other Disk Compression program, you will need to load a special memory resident device driver for your compression program. 4.) Sound card drivers ? Some sound card's require special memory resident Device Drivers to be loaded so DOS can use your sound card. Some popular examples include the Pro Audio Spectrum 16 and the Gravis Ultrasound. Once you have determined your requirements, proceed to STEP 2: FORMATTING THE DISK. IMPORTANT NOTE: Please read the entire set of instructions prior to creating the boot disk. STEP 2: FORMATTING THE DISK PLEASE NOTE: It is necessary to format the disk even if the disk is already formatted. The /S switch will transfer files to the boot disk which are necessary for the disk to work correctly. To make a Boot Disk, you need to format a high density diskette in the A: drive. Note: This will not work in the B: drive. Type the command as follows: FORMAT A:/S <ENTER> (Add a space and then the /F:360 or /F:720 parameter to the end of the command before pressing ENTER if you are using a low density diskette) For more information on using the FORMAT command, consult your DOS manual. If the system responds with a "Bad command or file name" message after entering this command, then type: PATH=C:\DOS <ENTER> Now retype the FORMAT command above. If you still receive the same error, the MS DOS FORMAT command may not be on your system or it may have been renamed. Programs such as PC Tools and Norton Disk Utilities can rename the format command to prevent accidental loss of data. Once you have completed the step above and the disk has been properly formatted, you will need to create the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files for your Boot Disk. The easiest way to create these files is using the DOS "EDIT" Command, which brings up the DOS editor, a simple, easy to use text editing program that functions like a simple word-processor. All you need to do is type in the first line of the file you are creating, then press ENTER to go to the next line. You can move the cursor with a mouse or keyboard to navigate the menus in order to save or open files. For more information regarding the DOS editor program, consult your DOS documentation. Go to your C:\ prompt. With floppy disk in the A drive, type: A: <ENTER> Now you can create the CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file by typing: EDIT CONFIG.SYS <ENTER> OR EDIT AUTOEXEC.BAT <ENTER> If the system responds with a "Bad command or file name" message after entering this command , then type: PATH=C:\DOS <ENTER> The DOS Editor will create a new file called CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT, and you should get a blank blue screen where you can input the data to create and save the CONFIG.SYS for AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you need help using the DOS editor or EDIT command, consult your DOS manual. We will be creating the CONFIG.SYS file first. SUGGESTION If possible, we strongly recommend making a printout of the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS on your hard drive (C:) to use as a reference while creating the boot disk. If you cannot make a print out, you can view the AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS on your hard drive for reference at any time by going to your C:\ prompt and typing: TYPE AUTOEXEC.BAT | MORE <ENTER> OR TYPE CONFIG.SYS | MORE <ENTER> NOTE: The | symbol is called a "pipe" command and is created by pressing <SHIFT> \ (backslash). If you are working on creating the CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and decide you need to view the AUTOEXEC.BAT and/or CONFIG.SYS on your hard drive, be sure to SAVE your work prior to exiting the DOS EDITOR. You can do this either clicking the mouse on "FILE" and then "SAVE", or by pressing the ALT key, holding it down, pressing the F key, and then pressing the "X" key. The DOS Editor will ask you if you wish to save the file. Respond by pressing "Y" for "Yes". STEP 3: Creating the CONFIG.SYS File Go to your A: drive and type EDIT CONFIG.SYS and press ENTER, as outlined above. This will bring you into the DOS editor program so you can begin creating your boot disk files. Below are instructions as to what to type into your CONFIG.SYS (and later the AUTOEXEC.BAT file). Listed next to each line below are notes providing information about the line, and whether or not you may need that particular line for the game or system for which you are creating the boot disk. Additionally, make sure you type in each line exactly as it appears, in the order in which it appears. After you type in a line, go to the next line by pressing ENTER or cursoring down with the arrow keys. If you come to a line that does not apply to the game or system for which you are creating the boot disk, skip to the next line. Read the instructions thoroughly to make sure you create the best possible CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT for your system and the game you wish to run. DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS This line is necessary for virtually all DOS (except SCI 32) boot disks, and absolutely REQUIRED for a Windows Boot disk. It allows access to Extended (XMS) memory and it is also necessary to establish Expanded (EMS) memory should your DOS game require it. DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS This line is necessary for Standard Dos Bootdisks. It allows access to upper memory and expanded memory. If the game you are creating the boot disk for requires Expanded Memory, use the second EMM386 line instead of this one. (you don't need both!). EMM386 is not needed for a Windows Boot disk, so ignore this line if you are making a boot disk for Windows. DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386 RAM 1024 For Programs requiring 1 MB of Expanded (EMS) Memory. If the game requires more than 1 MB of EMS, substitute the amount of RAM necessary. For example, put 2048 instead of 1024 if the game reequires 2 MB of RAM, 3072 for 3 MB of Ram, etc. DOS=HIGH,UMBFILES=30BUFFERS=20DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE These four lines are necessary and/or suitable for any boot disk configuration.STACKS=9,256This line is only required for Windows boot disks. If the boot disk you are making is not for Windows or a Windows game, you do not need this line.If you use Disk Compression: The following section list some common lines you may need to add to your CONFIG.SYS file if you use disk compression software, like Doublespace, Drivespace, Stacker or Superstor. If you do not use any disk compression on your hard drive, skip to the next section. DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\DBLSPACE.SYS /MOVE For DOS 6.0 or 6.2 users using Doublespace you need this line. DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\DRVSPACE.SYS /MOVE For DOS 6.22 users using Drivespace, you need this line. DEVICEHIGH=C:\STACKER\STACHIGH.SYS For Stacker 3.1 AND MS-DOS 6.0 users, you need this line. DEVICE=C:\STACKER\STACKER.COMDEVICE=C:\STACKER\SSWAP.COM For Stacker 3.1 and MS-DOS 5.0 or below you need these lines. DEVICEHIGH=SSTORDRV.SYS DEVICE=DEVSWAP.COM For Superstor users, you need these lines For CD-ROM games: If your game requires CD ROM, the next line should be the line loading your CD ROM device driver. If you are unsure of what this line is (it will be different from system to system), proceed to the boxed section titled Reference Box A: "Locating your CD ROM Device Driver for the Config.sys file." Make sure you save the work you've done so far by going to FILE and then SAVE from the menu bar in the DOS Editor. Once you have located the line loading your CD-ROM device driver, write it in the line below. Then begin at STEP 3 above and add the line you wrote down to the CONFIG.SYS file on our boot disk. Then proceed on. Your CD ROM DEVICE DRIVER LINE: _______________________________________ For systems requiring a driver for their sound card to be loaded: Some sound cards require specific drivers to be loaded in the CONFIG.SYS for the computer to be able to recognize and use them. DEVICEHIGH=C:\PROAUDIO\MVSOUND.SYS D:3 Q:7 DEVICEHIGH=C:\ROAUDIO\MVSOUND.SYS D:3 Q:7 J:1 DEVICE=C:\PROAUDIO\MVSOUND.SYS D:3 Q:7 S:1,220,1,5 These three lines are different examples of the device line used for a Pro Audio Spectrum 16 sound card set to DMA 3 and IRQ 7. Note that the actual line may appear similar to one of these, but it may not be identical. DEVICEHIGH=C:\JAZZ\JAZZ.SYS D:3 Q:7 This is for a Jazz 16 sound card (which is the same as a Pro Audio Spectrum 16 actually) set to DMA 3 and IRQ 7. For more specific information regarding your sound card's device driver (if it uses one), try consulting the Drivers & Configuration Information section of the Sound Card Troubleshooting steps (Section III). You might also wish to consult your sound card's documentation, the AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS file on your C: drive, or your Sound Card Manufacturer. For DOS-based games requiring a mouse, or if you wish to use a mouse with your DOS program: Some Mouse Drivers need to be loaded in the Config.sys file, but more often it will need to be in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file instead. If you are unsure of how the line loading your mouse driver should look, refer to REFERENCE BOX A: "Locating your Mouse driver." (Before you go hunting for your Mouse Driver, make sure you save the work you've done so far by going to FILE and then SAVE from the menu bar in the DOS Editor. ) STEP 4: CREATING THE AUTOEXEC.BAT: Once you have created the CONFIG.SYS file, you will need to make an AUTOEXEC.BAT file. (Again using the command EDIT AUTOEXEC.BAT at your A: prompt to bring up the DOS editor. SET COMPSPEC=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM PROMPT $P$G PATH C:\DOS These three lines can and should be used on any and all boot disks. For systems requiring a driver for their sound card to be loaded: Some sound cards require specific drivers to be loaded for the computer to be able to configure, recognize and/or use them. One popular example is the Soundblaster 16 sound card, which requires these two lines: SET BLASTER=A220 Ix Dx A220 is the port address for your sound card. Another possible value is 240. The x will equal the IRQ and the DMA setting for your Soundblaster 16 card, respectively. Typical settings are DMA 1 and IRQ 5, in which case the line would look like: SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1. C:\SB16\SBCONFIG.EXE /S This configures the Soundblaster 16 card. Another possible variation of this line (depending on the make of the Soundblaster 16 you might have) may appear as C:\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S. For more specific information regarding your sound card's device driver and/or configuration lines (if necessary), you will need to consult your sound card's documentation and/or manufacturer. We also recommend consulting the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on your C: drive. If your game requires the use of a CD-ROM drive: The next line should load the "MSCDEX" line so your computer can recognize and use the CD ROM drive. If you are unsure of how this line should look, please refer to "Reference Box C: Locating MSCDEX." (Again, make sure you save the work you've done so far by going to FILE and then SAVE from the menu bar in the DOS Editor. ) Your MSCDEX Line: ______________________________________________________ For DOS-based games requiring a mouse, or if you wish to use a mouse with your DOS program: You MAY need to load a mouse driver in the CONFIG.SYS file, but more often it will need to be in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file instead. If you are unsure of how the line loading your mouse driver should look, refer to REFERENCE BOX A: "Locating your Mouse driver." (Before you go hunting for your Mouse Driver, make sure you save the work you've done so far by going to FILE and then SAVE from the menu bar in the DOS Editor. ) REFERENCE BOX A LOCATING THE CD ROM DEVICE DRIVER FOR THE CONFIG.SYS FILE In order to recognize and access the CD ROM drive, your computer must load t he correct device driver for your CD ROM drive. This driver is loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file. The best way to locate and identify the correct CD ROM device driver is to consult the CONFIG.SYS file on your hard drive. If you were able to print out your CONFIG.SYS as a reference, look for a line that is something like the example provided and write it in the space provided below (or just mark it on your print out.). If you do not have a print out of your CONFIG.SYS file, view it using the instructions provided in the "Suggestion" box at the beginning of this document. Once you have the file on screen, look for the line that contains CD ROM device name which immediately follows the same "/D:" switch as the MSCDEX line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Using the example above, we would be looking for a line containing "MSCD001" or something very similar. This line should look something like one of the following lines. DEVICE=C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS /D:MSCD001 /P:220 DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS /D:MSCD001 /P:220 DEVICEHIGH /L:14652 =C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS /D:MSCD001 /P:220 Your line may differ from the ones listed above. Please write down the entire line following the drive letter in the space provided below. Be sure and include the full drive and path to your CD ROM device driver. For example, any of the above lines should appear as follows: DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS /D:MSCD001 /P:220 YOUR CD-ROM DEVICE DRIVER (in the CONFIG.SYS file): DEVICEHIGH= REFERENCE BOX B LOCATING THE MOUSE DRIVER If you plan to use a mouse with your game, it will be necessary to first load the mouse driver. To do this, locate the mouse driver and copy it to the boot disk in your A: drive. There are two types of mouse drivers available, MOUSE.SYS, which must be loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file and MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.EXE which must be loaded in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Note: You do not need to load both MOUSE.SYS and MOUSE.COM. Locate the MOUSE.SYS or MOUSE.COM file. Because the file MOUSE.SYS is usually smaller than MOUSE.COM we recommend that the MOUSE.SYS file be used in order to free more memory. a) Locating the mouse drivers: If you do not know where the MOUSE.SYS or MOUSE.COM files are located on your system, the command below should help in locating your mouse drivers. For users of MS DOS 5.0 or above, try typing the following commands at the C:\> prompt to help you locate your mouse drivers. DIR \MOUSE /S <ENTER> DIR ?MOUSE /S <ENTER> DIR ??MOUSE /S <ENTER> This command only works with MS-DOS 5.0 or above and will cause the system to search all sub-directories for a file called mouse. If the system locates a file called mouse, it will display the path where the mouse files are located. For example, if the MOUSE.SYS file is located in a C:\MOUSE> directory, the system will display: Directory of C:\MOUSE MOUSE SYS 55160 03-10-92 3:10a MOUSE COM 56408 03-10-93 6:00a If the system does not locate a mouse, your driver may have a different name or these files may not be currently installed on the system. Some other common names for mouse drivers are IMOUSE, GMOUSE, and HPMOUSE. Your mouse drivers may have been included on a floppy disk which came packaged along with your mouse. For information on the proper name for your mouse, check the owners manual which came with your mouse. Listed below are some fairly common lines that load mouse drivers. Consulting your mouse or system documentation, or your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file on your C: drive, write the line loading your mouse driver on the line provided below: (For the CONFIG.SYS file) DEVICEHIGH=C:\WINDOWS\MOUSE.SYS DEVICEHIGH=C:\MOUSE\MOUSE.SYS (For the Autoexec.bat file) LOADHIGH C:\MOUSE\MOUSE LH C:\MSMOUSE\MOUSE YOUR MOUSE DRIVER: _______________________________________________ REFERENCE BOX C LOCATING MSCDEX MSCDEX is the Microsoft extension for CD ROM drives. It must be loaded in order for your CD ROM drive to operate. The following steps should assist you in locating this file on your system To locate MSCDEX, at the C:\ prompt, view your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (see instructions at the beginning of this document if you do not know how to do this). C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 LH C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 LOADHIGH /L:14429 \DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 Your MSCDEX line may differ from the ones listed above. Please write down the entire line following the drive letter in the space provided below. Be sure and include the full drive and path to your MSCDEX file. For example, any of the above lines could appear as follows: LH C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 Your MSCDEX line: _____________________________________________________________ A SAMPLE CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT file for a STANDARD DOS BOOT DISK Below are three basic examples of an Autoexec.bat and a Config.sys file. These configurations are intended only as examples, not how your files should read. The boot disk configurations below were created for a system running DOS 6.0 and Windows 3.1, Additionally, our fictitious computer that we are creating the bootdisk for has a CD ROM drive, a Soundblaster 16 sound card, and a hard drive that is compressed via DOUBLESPACE. Our first example is for a fictitious game called Banana Quest that requires 570k of free Conventional Memory, 1024k (1 MB) of Expanded (EMS) Memory, a CD ROM drive, and a mouse driver. CONFIG.SYS File: DEVICE =C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM 1024 DOS=HIGH, UMB FILES=30 BUFFERS=20 DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\DBLESPACE.SYS /MOVE DEVICEHIGH=C:\SB16\DRV\SBCD.SYS /D:MSCD001 AUTOEXEC.BAT File: SET COMSPEC=C:\COMMAND.COM SET SOUND=C:\SB16 SET BLASTER= A220 I5 D1 C:\SB16\SBCONFIG.EXE /S PROMPT $P$G PATH=C:\DOS LH C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 LH C:\MOUSE\MOUSE.COM A SAMPLE CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT file for a WINDOWS BOOT DISK Let's pretend Banana Quest (used in the example above) can also be run under Windows. A Windows boot disk for it could look like this: CONFIG.SYS File: DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS DOS=HIGH, UMB FILES=30 BUFFERS=20 DEVICE=C:\DOS\DBLESPACE.SYS /MOVE DEVICE=C:\SB16\DRV\SBCD.SYS /D:MSCD001 AUTOEXEC.BAT File: SET COMSPEC=C:\COMMAND.COM SET SOUND=C:\SB16 SET BLASTER= A220 I5 D1 C:\SB16\SBCONFIG.EXE /S PROMPT $P$G PATH=C:\DOS C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 A SAMPLE CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT file for a DOS SCI 32 BOOT DISK Now let's pretend Banana Quest is actually an SCI 32 game, and we want to run it under DOS. Now our boot disk might look like this: CONFIG.SYS File: FILES=30 BUFFERS=20 DEVICE=C:\DOS\DBLESPACE.SYS /MOVE DEVICE=C:\SB16\DRV\SBCD.SYS /D:MSCD001 AUTOEXEC.BAT File: SET COMSPEC=C:\COMMAND.COM SET SOUND=C:\SB16 SET BLASTER= A220 I5 D1 C:\SB16\SBCONFIG.EXE /S PROMPT $P$G PATH=C:\DOS C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 C:\MOUSE\MOUSE Take some time to examine the different types of boot disks and note the differences in how they were made. Using these instructions will help you create a similar boot disk for your Sierra Game. Remember, however, that a proper boot disk's Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files not only depend upon the game for which you are creating them, but the computer system the game is being run on. We cannot account for each and every sound driver, mouse driver, CD ROM driver, etc., that is on a specific computer system. Hopefully, however, these instructions will help you create the proper boot disk for your computer system and your game, and give you a little understanding about the different types of boot disks and how they configure your memory.