Sonoran Desert: A Multimedia Field Trip to the Cactus Desert of Arizona
READ ME File
Ransom Publishing
This file contains additional information about Sonoran Desert which is not contained in the User Manual.
To read this file on screen, use the Page Down and Page Up keys. You can also print the file by choosing the Print command from the File menu on any Windows Word Processing program.
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
Note that the minimum requirements to run Sonoran Desert are:
IBM compatible PC with 386SX processor, 4MB of RAM, CD-ROM drive, mouse and SVGA monitor. 9 MB of free space is required on a hard disk (for the recommended installation. You can perform a 'minimum' installation (which offers slower performance); this requires less than 1 MB of free space on a hard disk.
Windows 3.x or Windows '95 must be already running on the PC.
A faster PC with more memory (e.g. 486 or Pentium processor, with at least 8 MB of RAM) is recommended, particularly if using Windows '95. A double speed CD-ROM drive also helps; it is essential for using Sonoran Desert over a network.
** GRAPHICS DISPLAY **
Sonoran Desert contains almost one and a half thousand high quality images. To view these images at their best you should ensure that your computer is set up to display at least 32,000 colours. To change your display, see CHANGING YOUR DISPLAY below.
You can enjoy Sonoran Desert when your screen is set up to display 256 colours, but you will experience what is known as 'palette flashing'. WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR DISPLAY TO USE THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE NUMBER OF COLOURS.
INSTALLATION
To install Sonoran Desert:
1. Insert Sonoran Desert CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
2. Run Windows version 3.1 or higher.
3. Select File/Run from the Windows Program Manager. (If you are using Windows '95 Click on Start and select Run.)
4. In the Command Line box type x:\setup.exe, where x is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. For example, if your CD-ROM drive letter is D you would type: "D:\setup.exe".
5. Press Enter or click OK.
Follow the instructions on the screen. The installation program will ask for the drive and directory on which to install Sonoran Desert. The default drive and directory is C:\SONORAN, but you may change it.
The installation program creates a program group with the window title "Sonoran Desert", and places the Sonoran Desert program icon in it. Installation is now complete.
In spite of meeting the above technical requirements, you may experience problems in the following areas. The file contains information on possible problems with:
1. GRAPHIC DISPLAY
2. CD-ROM PROBLEMS
3. SOUND PROBLEMS
4. RUNNING IN LOW MEMORY OR RUNNING SLOWLY
If these points do not help to solve a problem, and support is still required, you may contact the following for technical support
Email biodiversity@pln1.nott.ac.uk or biodiversity@pln1.life.nott.ac.uk
or write to:
IBiS Multimedia, Department of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
Please include full details of your machine, with processor type, memory capacity, graphics display, sound card details as appropriate and a full description of the problem encountered.
Sonoran Desert will run with your screen set up to display 256 colours. However you will experience palette flashing. If you have a graphics card cpable of displaying more than 256 colours you should change your Windows set up to display more colours. The next step up from 256 colours is usually "32,000 colours" (or "32K") or "64,000 colours" (or "64K").
You can change your Windows set up as follows:
A) Some systems will be set up to use a specialized screen manager. This is normally available to use as an icon in Program Manager. If this is the case then this screen manager should be used in preference to following the instructions below. If you are not sure, consult the documentation that came with your computer.
B) To change the graphic display on a 'standard' Windows set up follow the instructions given below:
If you are running Windows version 3.x:
1. Double-click on the Windows Setup icon, which you will probably find in the Main Program Group.
2. Click on Options on the menu bar and select Change System Settings.
3. Click on Display and select the appropriate setting (it is likely to be 32K or 64K colours)
3. Click on OK.
You will be required to restart Windows for the new settings to take effect.
If you are running Windows 95:
1. Click on Start then Settings and select the Control Panel folder.
2. In Control Panel select Display.
3. Select the Settings tab and in Colour Palette change the setting to High Colour (16 bit) or True Colour (24 bit).
4. Click OK.
You will be required to restart Windows for the new settings to take effect.
2. CD-ROM PROBLEMS
Note: do not attempt to remove a CD from the CD-ROM drive when the Busy light is on.
The Sonoran Desert program itself will be installed on your hard disk. This program will need to refer to the CD disk for the database files. If Sonoran Desert cannot read the CD-ROM drive the program will not function correctly. Always ensure that the Sonoran Desert disk is inserted correctly.
If the CD-ROM disk still cannot be accessed, other disks should be inserted and the computer's ability to access them should be confirmed.
3. SOUND PROBLEMS
You may find that the sound sequences on the the CD-ROM sometimes 'break-up' or do not play continuously as you use Sonoran Desert. This is more likely to happen when you are accessing images and movie sequences at the same time as listening to a sound sequence, or if your CD-ROM drive is an old or slow model.
You can reduce this problem by increasing the amount of memory Windows uses to store information coming from the CD-ROM. To do this:
For users of Windows 3.x:
1. Double click on the Control Panel icon in Program Manager. The Control Panel window will open.
2. Double click on drivers and select the [MCI] Sound option.
3. Click on Setup. A pop-up window will appear, stating the amount of memory Windows allocates to the CD-ROM drive. The default is four seconds.
4. Move the slider to increase the setting to nine seconds.
5. Click OK.
For users of Windows 95:
1. Open the control panel folder and double-click on System. The system settings will be displayed.
2. Select the Performance tab and click on the File System button under Advanced Settings.
3. Select the CD-ROM tab and ensure that the access pattern is optimised for the type of CD-ROM drive which you have.
4. You can also move the slider to increase the Supplemental cache size.
5. Click on the OK buttons to close the windows.
4. RUNNING IN LOW MEMORY OR RUNNING SLOWLY
If you find that Sonoran Desert runs too slowly it is possible that your machine does not have enough memory available or that other applications are using system resources which Sonoran Desert needs. If this happens, close all other applications to free up those resources. Sonoran Desert needs a machine with at least 4 Mb of memory.
Other Windows tuning activities may help, such as setting up a permanent swap file on disk. Defragmentation of the hard disk may also help (preferably before installing Sonoran Desert). Ideally all this should be done as part of a series of tuning activities, in accordance with the Windows documentation.
