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Matinee Technical Support Tips
If this document doesn't answer your questions, please call our Multimedia BBS at (510) 848-6805 or our 24-hour immediate response line at (510) 848-3095. Technical support is also available via our CompuServe Forum (Access Softek).
I. I've installed Matinee, but the videos are really hard to see.
For good performance, Matinee requires a Super VGA (SVGA) video card, which displays at least 256 colors. Most displays default to VGA, which displays only 16 colors. If the video clips in Matinee don't look clear and clean, your computer is probably set for 16-color display.
To change your display, follow the step-by-step instructions below. Note: Since you will have to restart Windows or your system after changing your display, it is a good idea to close all your running applications first.
1. Run Windows and enter Windows Setup in the Main program group.
2. From the Options menu, choose Change System Settings.
3. Click on the arrow at the right of the Display line to open the drop-down driver list.
4. Highlight your video card. If you don't know the name of your video card, stop here (choose the Cancel button) and read the instructions in section II. If your card isn't listed, move to section III.
5. Choose the OK button.
6. From the Options menu, choose Exit.
7. Restart Windows. The new setting will be in effect.
II. I don't know what kind of SVGA video card is installed on my computer.
To identify your SVGA board, run Microsoft Diagnostics (MSD) from C:\windows in DOS.
1. Go to DOS by closing Windows. (Do not use the MS-DOS Prompt icon in the Main program group.)
2. At the C: prompt, type [cd\windows] and press [Enter].
3. At the C:\windows prompt, type [msd] and press [Enter].
4. Type [v] to enter the Video window. Information about your video card, including the manufacturer's name, will be displayed.
5. To exit the Video window, press [Enter]. To exit MSD, press [F3].
III. My video card isn't listed on the drop-down driver list.
Windows 3.1 supplies 256-color drivers only for Video 7 SVGA boards. If you have another manufacturer's SVGA board, you must install the drivers for it. These come bundled with your video board on a floppy disk labelled "VGA Utilities" or "OEM Disk." To install them, you simply need to give their path and Windows will read them off your OEM disk. Use File Manager to identify this path, as follows:
1. Run Windows and enter File Manager.
2. Insert your OEM disk into drive A (or other drive) and click on the icon for that drive. Your files will be displayed.
3. Look for the file called "oemsetup.inf" in the Windows 3.1 directory. The name of this directory is the path for your drivers.
Now install your driver, following the instructions below. Note: You may need your Windows 3.1 disks to complete this process.
1. Enter Windows Setup in the Main program group.
2. From the Options menu, choose Change System Settings.
3. Click on the arrow at the right of the Display line to open the list of drivers. Highlight the last entry: "Other display (Requires disk from OEM)." A dialog box will ask you to specify the path of your display drivers.
4. Put the OEM disk in drive A (or other drive), close the drive door, and type the path to the driver; for example, [A:\win31]. Then choose the OK button. A list of video drivers will be displayed. Highlight the driver for your board and choose the OK button.
5. You may be prompted to insert a Windows 3.1 disk. Follow the prompts in the dialog boxes until you return to the main Setup window.
6. From the Options menu, choose Exit.
7. Restart Windows. The new setting will be in effect.
IV. I installed a 256-color driver and my screen went crazy.
You selected the wrong video driver, probably a Video 7 SVGA driver. To correct your display, run Setup from C:\windows in DOS, as follows. Note: You can quit Setup at any time by pressing [F3].
1. Close Windows by typing [ALT+F4] and pressing [Enter]. This returns you to DOS. (Do not use the MS-DOS Prompt icon in the Main program group.)
2. At the C: prompt, type [cd\windows] and press [Enter].
3. At the C:\windows prompt, type [setup] and press [Enter].
4. To restore your screen, reinstall the VGA driver. Use the up or down arrow to highlight the Display line and press [Enter] to view your display options. Now use the up or down arrow to highlight the line that reads "VGA." Press [Enter].
5. Press [Enter] to accept the new setting. This will return you to the DOS prompt.
6. When you restart Windows, the new setting will be in effect. Now install the correct SVGA driver by following the instructions in sections II and III.
V. I don't have an OEM disk with drivers for Windows 3.1.
If your "Video Utilities" disk is out of date (i.e., for Windows 3.0) or missing altogether, order a new disk from the video board manufacturer, or call the store or company where you bought your computer or video card. This should be free of charge. We've listed below the most common SVGA boards, with their manufacturers' phone and fax numbers.
Q Vision
Compaq
800/345-1518
713/374-9679 (fax)
WARPspeed
Cardinal Technologies
717/293-3000
717/293-3055 (fax)
Paradise Accelerator Card for Windows
Western Digital
714/932-6250
714/932-6498 (fax)
Graphics Ultra
ATI Technologies
416/756-0718
416/756-0720 (fax)
Graphite Card
Hercules
800/532-0600
510/623-1112 (fax)
Windows VGA Model 8800, 8860
Genoa Systems
408/432-9090
408/434-0997 (fax)
SpeedStar 24X, Stealth VRAM
Diamond Computer Systems
408/736-2000 ext. 252
408/730-5750 (fax)
Fahrenheit 1280
Orchid Technology
510/683-0300
510/490-9312 (fax)
SXVGA1, SVGAX2, SXVGA5
Boca Research
407/997-6227
407/997-0918 (fax)
Win-VGA
SPEA-Video 7
510/656-7800
510/659-9285 (fax)
Truevision Video VGA
Truevision
317/841-0332
317/576-7770 (fax)
VI. Matinee crashes on Install.
Matinee calls on the Windows Auto-Detect function, which automatically detects the video chip installed on your computer and suggests which drivers to install. On some computers, however, this function causes problems. You can bypass this problem by turning off the video chip detector, as below. (If your computer crashes before you get to the Auto-Detect box during the install, move to section VII.)
1. Reinstall Matinee.
2. When the Auto-Detect dialog box is displayed, uncheck Auto-Detect.
3. In the subsequent install window, manually select your video chip. If you don't know your video chip type or it isn't listed, keep the "Unknown" default option.
VII. Matinee crashes on Install BEFORE I get to the Auto-Detect box.
1. Press [Control+Alt+ Delete] once, then press [Enter]. This should bring you to the next dialog box in Matinee Setup. If it doesn't, follow the alternate instructions immediately below.
2. Choose "Unknown" as your video controller chip type.
OR
1. Remove the write-protection on the first Matinee disk by sliding the write-protection notch down to cover the square hole on the right side of the disk. Insert the disk into your drive A or B.
2. Run Windows and enter Notepad in the Accessories program group.
3. From the File menu, choose Open and type [A:\matinee.mst] or [B:\matinee.mst] in the File Name box.
4. From the Search menu, choose Find. Type [videotype] as one word In the "Find What?" box and choose the Find Next button.
5. Highlight the entire line reading "VideoType% = GetVideoInfo()." Note: Before continuing, make sure that you have highlighted only this line.
6. Press [Delete] on your keyboard.
7. From the File menu, choose Save and then Exit.
8. From Program Manager, open the File menu and choose Run.
9. Type [A:\setup.exe] or [B:\setup.exe] in the "Command Line" box.
10. Follow the prompts on your screen until you get to the Video Controller Chip Type dialog box. Check "Unknown."
11. The Install will be interrupted by an error message reading "file copy error, etc." Choose the Ignore button.
12. Matinee will now install properly.
VIII. During Install, I get the error message "No free file handles."
1. Run Windows and enter Notepad in the Accessories program group.
2. From the File menu, choose Open and type [C:\config.sys] in the File Name box.
3. Increase the number of file handles by changing the line reading [files=(number)] to [files=99].
4. Restart Windows. The new setting will be in effect.
5. Reinstall Matinee.
IX. After Matinee installs, I get the error message "Could not open file C:\dos\doshlp."
Choose the Ignore button and restart Windows.
X. When I click on the Matinee Edit or Matinee Play icon, I get the error message "No application is associated with this file."
Restart Windows after installing Matinee.
XI. When I click on applications other than Matinee Edit or Matinee Play, I get the error message "No association exists for this file."
1. Exit Windows.
2. At the DOS Prompt, type [edit c:\windows\win.ini].
3. Go the line reading [Programs=scr] (about the ninth line down).
4. Change this line to read: [Programs=com exe bat pif scr].
5. From the File menu, choose Save and then Exit.
6. Restart Windows. The new setting will be in effect.
XII. When I click on the Matinee Edit or Matinee Play icon, I get the error message "This application cannot run in standard mode."
To play Matinee, run Windows in enhanced rather than standard mode, as follows:
1. Close Windows.
2. Type [win /3] at the C:\prompt. This runs Windows in enhanced mode.
If your computer automatically runs Windows after booting, you will need to edit your autoexec.bat file.
1. Enter Notepad in the Accessories program group.
2. From the File menu, choose Open and type [C:\autoexec.bat] in the File Name box.
3. Change the last line from [Win] or [Win /s] to [Win /3].
4. Restart Windows. The new setting will be in effect.
XIII. Matinee installed, but instead of video I have horizontal lines or static.
Reinstall Matinee, choosing Unknown as your Video Controller Chip Type.
XIV. Matinee doesn't play inside the television.
Reinstall Matinee, choosing Unknown as your Video Controller Chip Type.
XV. I get the error message "REEL.LST is damaged."
You have put too many video clips on your film strip.
1. Enter File Manager in the Main program group.
2. Click on the c: icon to display the files on your C: drive.
3. Delete the file called REEL.LST from the C:\MATINEE directory.
XVI. I can't use Matinee because I have Idylwild autoload when I start Windows.
1. Run Windows and enter Notepad in the Accessories program group.
2. From the File menu, choose Open and type [C:\win.ini] in the File Name box.
3. Change the line reading [load=(idylwild.exe)] to [load=].
4. Restart Windows. The new setting will be in effect.
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