Shareware GOLD/SGOLD1.bin/nukem2/helpme.doc

Text File | 1994-03-15 | 15KB | 301 lines

         ░░▒▒▓▓██  "DUKE NUKEM II" ON-DISK TECHNICAL SUPPORT  ██▓▓▒▒░░

                         Copyright 1993 Apogee Software
       P.O. Box 496389 ■ Garland, TX 75049 ■ Tech Support: [phone]


                            ========================
                            BEFORE RUNNING THIS GAME
                            ========================

■ This game is not designed to be run under MicroSoft Windows.  Windows takes
  up far too many system resources that our programs require for efficient and
  proper operation.  When running this program, DO NOT LAUNCH FROM WINDOWS.
  Run it directly from DOS.  If you are in the Windows environment, quit
  Windows and then run the program.  (NOTE: Using the MS/DOS Icon does not exit
  you from Windows.  That is a shell from Windows.)

■ Any kind of menu program such as Dos Shell will most likely cause problems.
  We recommend running our programs completely from the DOS prompt.

■ Duke Nukem II requires at least MS/DOS 3.3 or greater. We recommend, however,
  using at least DOS 5, but preferably DOS 6+, because these versions have far
  better memory management than any previous versions of DOS.


                         ===========================
                         DUKE NUKEM II SPECIFIC HELP
                         ===========================

■ Duke Nukem II requires 560k of free conventional memory to execute properly.
  If you have a very small amount less than 560k, the game *MAY* run, but you
  are at extreme risk of lockups.  Please ensure that you have sufficient
  conventional memory before playing the game.

■ If the game appears to be running slowly, there is an option inside the game
  that allows you to adjust the speed of the game.  Adjust the game's speed to
  suit your tastes.  This would also apply if the game appears to be running
  too quickly on your system.

■ Not all clone sound cards properly emulate the Creative Labs Sound Card.
  This program was written for a Creative Labs Sound card, and functions
  properly on all Creative Labs cards.  Not all cards properly emulate the
  Creative Labs standard.  If your card is having problems, try the "SET
  BLASTER" idea mentioned in General Problem 1, Solution 3.  The music in this
  game is Adlib music, and all game play sounds are Sound Blaster effects.

■ If your IRQ is set to 10, you will not get proper sound performance, and your
  computer may also lock up.  Duke Nukem II requires that your IRQ be set at 7
  or less.  IRQ10 is a 16 bit sound IRQ, and since the sounds that Duke Nukem
  II makes are 8 bit, IRQ10 is unusable.


                               ==================
                               GENERAL PROBLEM #1
                               ==================

■ All of the problems in this section are generic.  They will also work with
  the majority of Apogee's products.  Most will work for Duke Nukem II, but
  the help in this section is not specific to Duke Nukem II.  If you try the
  generic help solutions, and you are still having problems, then try the ideas
  in the Duke Nukem II specific section.

■ Problem

The game locks up either during game play, or during the loading process.

■ Explanation 1

This can be any number of things, but is usually a conflict with a memory
manager, or a TSR(s) in your system.  It can also be a DMA conflict if you have
a Sound Blaster Sound card.  Apogee only directly supports the Sound Blaster
and AdLib family of cards, and any other card has to have 100% compatibility in
order to function properly.  Many other sound cards out claim to be 100%
compatible with the Sound Blaster standard, but in reality they are not.

■ Solution 1

Try the solutions under General Problem #1 first.

■ Solution 2

Turn off the digitized sounds completely.  If the game plays normally, a DMA
conflict most likely exists between your sound card and some other piece of
hardware in your computer.  You will need to change the DMA channel in order to
solve the DMA conflict.  Consult your sound card manual for instructions on how
to do this.  If you do indeed change the DMA channel, you must reflect said
change in the SET BLASTER line mentioned in the next solution.  Please note
that Duke Nukem II must have a DMA of 1 in order to function properly.  If
you do have it set for 1, and you determine you have a conflict, you will need
to change the DMA channel of some other piece of hardware in your system that
is also using DMA 1.  Please consult your appropriate manual for information on
how to do this.

■ Solution 3

Check your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to see if the SET BLASTER line is present.  If it
is not, this could be the source of the problem.  Even if you don't have a
Sound Blaster card, this line needs to be there.  The reason for this is that
the game expects your sound card to be at a certain default setting.  If it
isn't, the game looks for the environment variable BLASTER, and redirects the
sound output to those settings.  If you are not on the default settings, and
you don't have the proper SET BLASTER line, or it isn't there at all, a system
lockup may occur.

  SET BLASTER=Aw Ix Dy Tz

  Where w is the Address Number. (It's almost always 220)
  Where y is the DMA Channel (Almost always is 1)
  Where x is the Interrupt Number (it must be 7, 5, or 2.)
  Where z is the type of card.

  z should be either 1 or 3 if it's a Sound Blaster (1 for an old card)
  z should be either 2 or 4 if it's a Sound Blaster Pro (2 for an old card)
  z should be 6 if it's a Sound Blaster 16
  z should be 1 if it's a sound card other than a Creative Labs card
    (if 1 doesn't work, try 3)

  If you have a Sound Blaster 16, the D refers to the 8-bit DMA channel, not
  the 16 Bit DMA channel.  That's stored under a different variable, and is
  not used in any Apogee game.

Please note that at this time, no Apogee game supports an interrupt higher than
7.  If you do have the SET BLASTER line present, and the interrupt is higher
than 7, you MUST change it to 7 or lower, or you will continue to experience
problems.   Once you have made this change to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, you'll
need to reboot your computer for these changes to take effect.  After
rebooting, go to the directory the game is installed in, and delete the config
file for this game.  The config file stores the configuration information for
your system, and if you delete this file, it will force the game to rescan your
computer, and get the new information.  The new information will then be placed
in a newly created config file.  Any settings such as keyboard reassignments,
or control device selections will be lost when the configuration file is
deleted.


                               ==================
                               GENERAL PROBLEM #2
                               ==================

■ Problem

The program returns a message that says you do not have enough memory to run
the game, or the program behaves erratically when it is executed.

■ Explanation

There is not enough conventional memory available to execute the game you are
attempting to run.  When MicroSoft first made DOS 1.0, 640 kilobytes (KB) was
set aside as the highest amount of memory that a computer could have.  The
640KB of memory is what is called "conventional memory".  To maintain
compatibility with older versions, this was never changed.  Advances in memory
management have made access to memory beyond 640KB, but this memory can only
hold data; the program actually has to run in the first 640KB.  It is this
memory that you are running out of.

Conventional memory is used by DOS as well as device drivers and TSR's
(Terminate and Stay Resident Programs).  A TSR is a program that is loaded into
your computer's memory (usually from the CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT files) and
stays there.  Most programs remove themselves from memory after execution, a
TSR does not.  Device drivers and TSR's are programs that enable the computer to
use additional hardware such as a mouse, scanner, CD-ROM, expanded or extended
memory, etc.  When you first start up your computer, there are two files that
your computer looks at: CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT.  These two files contain
lists of device drivers and TSR's that are loaded into memory.

NOTE: It is possible that Apogee games may run with a figure of available
conventional memory that is less than the recommended amount.  It is very
likely, however that the program will behave erratically under these
conditions.  Even if the game appears to run with less than the recommended
amount of conventional memory, we recommend that you raise your amount of
conventional memory to ensure proper program execution.

■ Solution 1

Try removing some of your TSR's.

■ Solution 2

If you have some high memory available, and are running at least DOS 5.0, add
the following line to your CONFIG.SYS file.. "DOS=HIGH" (without the quotes).
This will load your DOS into high memory, and will make more room available in
the first 640k of memory mentioned in the explanation above.

■ Solution 3

If you are running MS/DOS 6+, skip directly to Solution 4.

a) If you are running a version of Stacker before v3.1, or some similar disk
   compression program that loads after your CONFIG.SYS file, copy our product
   to a section of your hard drive that is not compressed.  Stacker v3.1+, or
   similar compression programs that load before CONFIG.SYS do not need their
   files moved.
b) Place a diskette in drive A:.  (If A: is a High Density Drive, you'll need
   a high density diskette).
c) Switch to the C: prompt.
d) Type FORMAT A: /S
e) If necessary, press enter for the question about Volume Label.
f) Enter N to "Format another?"
g) LEAVE THIS DISKETTE IN YOUR A: DRIVE, and reboot your computer.
h) The computer should ask you for the date and the time.  Just press enter to
   these questions.  At this point, you will be at the A: prompt.  Now, switch
   to the C: drive, then change to the directory in which the game is installed
   and start the game.  You should no longer have this problem.  Please note
   that if this solution solves the problem, you will need to do this every
   time you wish to play the game.

■ Solution 4

This Solution is for MS/DOS 6.0+ users only.

a) If you are running a version of Stacker before v3.1, or some similar disk
   compression program that loads after your CONFIG.SYS file, copy our product
   to a section of your hard drive that is not compressed.  Stacker v3.1+, or
   similar compression programs that load before CONFIG.SYS do not need their
   files moved.
b) Reboot your computer.
c) When the message "Starting MS/DOS" appears, hold down the F5 key.  This
   does the same thing as steps 2 through 7 in Solution 3.  If your system
   boots normally, you waited too long to hit the F5 key. Reboot and try again.
d) If you are running MicroSoft DOS v6.2 and also are using DoubleSpace, you
   can press Ctrl-F5, and this will also bypass loading your DoubleSpace
   driver.  However, if you do this, you won't be able to get at your
   compressed drive.  If you use this step, please make sure that you've copied
   the game to an uncompressed drive on your computer.  Please note that this
   step is ONLY for DoubleSpace users who are using MS/DOS 6.2.  This will not
   work if you're using Stacker or any other disk compression program besides
   DoubleSpace.
d) You should see a message that says "MS/DOS is bypassing your CONFIG.SYS and
   AUTOEXEC.BAT files".
e) Switch to the C: drive, then change to the directory in which the game is
   installed and start the game.  Please note that if this solution solves the
   problem, then you will need to do this every time you wish to play the game.

NOTE: If you have a PS/1, and these steps do not work for you, please contact
IBM's Technical Support Department in order to find out how to boot from a
System Disk, since the procedure is extremely different and much more
complicated than what is described above.


                                ===============
                                ABOUT THIS FILE
                                ===============

This document will provide you with some basic Technical Support.  The
information is not intended to replace the Technical Support Department.  If
you attempt these solutions and are still having problems, then feel free to
call our Technical Support Department; they will be able to provide you with
further assistance.  They can be reached from the hours of 8AM-6PM CST Monday
through Friday.  If possible, please be in front of your computer when calling
for Technical Support; it may be difficult or impossible to assist you
otherwise.


                          ============================
                          CONTACTING TECHNICAL SUPPORT
                          ============================

Apogee thanks you very much for playing our games.  Customer satisfaction is a
high priority of Apogee's, and we strive to please everyone.  Our Technical
Support staff is available to assist all of our customers in solving any
technical problems that may be experienced.  Our Technical Support Department
is available to answer your questions Monday through Friday during the hours of
8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Central Standard Time.  The phone number for the Tech
Support Department is [phone].  Two other options are to contact us via
fax at [phone] 24 hours a day or write to us at POB 496389, Garland TX
75049.

Apogee Technical Support can also be contacted via a variety of electronic
medium.  Several major online services are monitored, and Apogee's E-Mail
addresses are listed below.   Also, a variety of Bulletin Board networks are
monitored as well, and those are also listed.

If you do contact our Technical Support department, please be at your computer,
and have it ready for assistance.  If you can't be at your computer, please
have printouts of the following things available, so that we may assist you
better.  It may be possible do provide technical support without these things,
but it will be much more difficult.

The needed files are CONFIG.SYS & AUTOEXEC.BAT.

■ Major Online Services

Internet       -> [e-mail]   Internet       -> [e-mail]
America Online -> APOGEE              CompuServe     -> 74200,553
Delphi         -> APOGEE              Genie          -> APOGEE
Prodigy        -> CXVP94A             NVN            -> JSIEGLER

■ Bulletin Board Networks

There are several BBS networks that are monitored for Apogee messages.  Our
Online Support Representative monitors all of the following BBS networks.

Fidonet, Relaynet (Rime), Intelec, Ilink, U'NI-Net, Smartnet, & City2City.

All of these BBS networks have Games and Shareware conferences.  In addition to
those, all but Fidonet also have an Apogee Vendor Support Conference.

And of course, we can be reached on Software Creations, the Apogee BBS!

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