Acorn Risc Technologies StrongARM CD-ROM

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Text File | 1996-07-23 | 25.6 KB | 503 lines

·------------------------------------· | Archimedes Public Domain Library | | | | Frequently Asked Questions | ·------------------------------------· This file has been added to the catalogue in self defence. I often get phone calls, letters, or discs returned with a complaint that there's something wrong, and often the problem is that the user is either missing the blindingly obvious or is new to Acorn computers and doesn't understand what 'everybody knows' and no-one has bothered to explain. This file (as the name suggests) tries to answer the questions that are most often asked. In 99% of cases the answer is R.T.F.I., which is an abbreviation for Read The F%^&*ing Instructions. We will TRY to help, but normally we don't know very much about the program, and if you can't find the answer in the instructions (sometimes with the use of a bit of common sense or 'suck it and see') then it might be best (and quicker) if you contact the Author directly. If you have a problem -*< READ THIS FILE FIRST >*- I can't guarantee you'll find the answer, but the chances are you will, or an idea that will lead you to it. If you have queries about ordering or difficulties with any of the APDL ordering software there is a section at the end of this file. If you have written a program or programs or want to 'swap' something see the section before that. If you have problems -*< DON'T JUST SEND BACK THE DISCS >*- There's probably nothing wrong with them. -<* PHONE, WRITE OR EMAIL FIRST *>- If possible phone, if you can't phone then fax, email or write. If you just send back a lot of discs without bothering to do any of these first and there's nothing physically wrong with them then it's up to you to pay our costs for them to be returned to you. Phoning is by far the best method of resolving a problem. You can't easily hold a conversation any other way, and experience shows that I nearly always need to ask questions. If you write or email then, unless it's something like a damaged disc, PLEASE include details of your computer (A3000, A5000, RPC 600, etc), how much RAM you have, what type of monitor, and any other relevant information. DON'T fax unless I can send a return fax. If your fax machine is on a shared line with your phone so I have to ring first then I will NOT mess about sending a reply - you might just as well have phoned in the first place! If you write please include an SAE. I can be reached by any of these means - Phone - 0181 778 2659 (any *reasonable* time, 7 days a week) Fax - 0181 488 0487 email - info@apdl.co.uk Messages with problems that are explained in this file will be ignored, so read it FIRST. Repeated email of this nature will mean that I will soon not bother to read your messages before I dump them, so if you do eventually have something important to say it will never be read! ========== F A Q s ====================================================================== 1. The disc is full of blank white icons - where are the programs? Almost all discs are supplied with the programs compressed using !ArcFS. The advantage of this is that it allows a LOT more material to be put onto a disc - often over 1½ Mb on an 800K disc. Sometimes there is room on the disc for a copy of !ArcFS, in which case the compressed archives will look and behave like a normal directory folder. If there isn't a copy of !ArcFS on the disc then use the one on the catalogue disc. ======================================================================= 2. When I try to run the program or use some function I get an error message 'Not open for update' or 'Can't open file'. This normally means the program is trying to write something to disc and for some reason it can't. If you are running it from a floppy disc make sure the disc is not write protected. If you are running it from an archive you will need to de-archive it before it will work properly. The version of !ArcFS supplied is 'Read Only'. This means it can Read or Load files or data from an archive, but not Write or Save to it. If the program tries to do so it will generate an error. Think of the archive as like a directory folder, but you can only take things OUT of it, you can't put anything in, or change or delete anything that's in there. ======================================================================= 3. So how do I de-archive it? If you have a hard disc just double-click on the archive to 'open' it and then drag the CONTENTS of the archive to wherever on your hard disc you want to put it, just as you would drag the contents of any normal directory folder. If you don't have a hard disc you will need to copy it to another floppy. The easiest way to do this (and avoid lots of disc swapping) is to use a RAM disc as an intermediary. Obviously you will need a RAM disc big enough to hold the archive. You can create one by clicking SELECT on the Switcher Icon (that's the Acorn icon at the right hand end of the icon bar) and scrolling down the Task Window until you get to the Memory Allocation section. One item here is RAM disc. Put the mouse pointer about half an inch to the right of the size (which will be 0K if you don't have one), hold down SELECT, and a 'slider' will appear which you can 'drag' to the size RAM disc you want. Now close the Task Window and you will see the RAM disc icon has appeared. Click on this to open the RAM disc filer window and then drag the archive to this from your floppy disc. Put a blank floppy disc in the drive, double-click on the archive on the RAM disc to 'open' it, and drag its contents to the new floppy. ======================================================================= 4. My discs have arrived damaged - do I need to contact APDL before sending them back? This is one time when you DON'T need to contact us before returning the discs. The Post Office is normally very good, but sometimes discs are damaged in transit. Discs which don't reach you in good condition will be replaced free of charge. The most common damage is a bent metal slider. If the slider looks damaged or doesn't slide freely DON'T USE THE DISC. A bent slider can jam in the drive, and the small spring could come out and get into the works. If the slider is damaged and you can't wait for a replacement remove it completely, making sure that you also remove the small spring. Be careful no dust gets into the disc, but it is perfectly safe to use it like this and it will ensure that it doesn't damage your drive. If possible do phone before returning damaged discs, it may save you the trouble of sending them back. ======================================================================= 5. When I try to Run a program or Verify the disc I get the message 'Disc Error at....' All discs are verified before despatch, but errors do sometimes appear later, either because of minor defects on the disc's surface or damage in transit. Any disc with physical errors will be replaced free of charge (but see below). ======================================================================= 6. When I put the disc in the drive I get the message 'Disc not formatted' or 'Disc Error at :0 000000' It's possible that something is wrong with the disc, and if so we will replace it -*< BUT >*- the most common cause of this error is trying to read a hi-density (HD, 1.6Mb) disc in a double density (DD, 800K) drive. If you have one of the older machines (A310, A400, A540 or A3000) you can only use double-density discs. Look at the top right-hand corner of the disc. If it has 'HD' written there it could be a hi-density disc (not always now - see below). If you ordered hi-density by mistake you won't be able to use the disc. If it was a genuine error we will often replace the discs if you return them, but if it was your mistake then we may charge 40p for each disc. That's 40p for each 800K disc, so if you ordered a single 1.6Mb disc when you really wanted 2 x 800K it could cost you 80p). If you have a friend who has a machine with a hi-density drive you might be able to get him/her to copy the contents to two 800K discs. ======================================================================= 7. I have a double-density drive. You have sent hi-density discs but I can read them OK on my computer. Was this a mistake? As the majority of computers are now fitted with hi-density drives we find that most of our customers can use these discs. To reorganise the entire Library to 1.6Mb would be almost impossible, and would mean two completely different catalogues. So that customers with hi-density drives don't get left with lots of 800K discs they don't want we often use hi-density discs formatted to 800K. This is perfectly OK if the discs are formatted to this size from new (DON'T reformat a 1.6Mb disc to 800K) and it means that people with hi-density drives can just reformat them to 1.6Mb if they like. ======================================================================= 8. There don't seem to be any instructions with the program. Most PD programs have a textfile or a Help Reader application, and this is normally INSIDE the application directory. To open the application directory hold down either SHIFT key and double-click on the program icon. You might find a file called !Help, Manual, ReadMe, or a directory called Docs in which there are several files, or there might be an application called !Help which you can just double-click on. Programs may not have separate instructions but rely on Acorn's Interactive Help utility. You will find this in the Apps directory of a Risc PC or on the Applications Disc 1 of other machines. If you run this it might give help on the program's various windows and menus. Some PD programmers use StrongHelp instead of a textfile. You will find this on APDL disc B093 Games often have instructions available from the start-up screen, or as a scrolltext. In some cases there are simply no instructions. Sorry - but you may find that the program is so easy to use that it doesn't really need any. ======================================================================= 9. The program has a large instructions file and I would like to print it but it takes *ages* when I use !Printers with my dot matrix printer. Is there a quicker way to print it? The easiest way is to load it into !Zap and use the Quick Print option. If you don't have a copy of !Zap (!) then, on pre RPC machines, press F12 and type - Filer_OpenDir Printer: (don't miss out the colon at the end). Press RETURN twice to get back to the desktop and you will find that a small window titled 'Printer' has appeared. Just drag the file to this and it will be sent to the printer. This doesn't work on the RPC and it won't work if you are using something like Computer Concepts Turbo Driver which thinks it owns the printer port exclusively and won't let anything else get a look-in. ======================================================================= 10. When I try to run the program on my Risc PC I get an Address Exception error message but the catalogue says that it should work. There are several answers, one of which is that I could be wrong! However, assuming it *does* actually work the most likely answer (especially if it's a game or demo) is that one of the Modules it uses causes the error when it is loaded. This is common with some music players and quite often it will be OK if you just run it again. Because the Module that's causing the problem will already have been loaded you will probably find that the program will run OK the second time. Another common reason is that the Wimpslot setting it too small. Memory is allocated on the Risc Pc in 4K 'pages', but on earlier machines it could be in up to 32K pages. For example, a program that asked for 48K on a 4Mb A5000 would actually get 64K (2 x 32K pages) but on the Risc PC you would actually get 48K (12 x 4K pages), and it might not be enough. Load the !Run file into !Edit and look for a line - Wimpslot -min 48K -max 48K and change it to - Wimpslot -min 64K -max 64K One final possibility is that the program might only work with Game On. This is an essential tool for all Risc PC users (especially if you have old software - it's not just for games). ======================================================================= 11. When I try to run this game/demo on my Risc PC the screen goes all funny Assuming that the program actually works the probable cause is that you don't have a definition for a suitable screen mode in your Monitor Definition File. If you need to ask the question then it will probably be beyond your capabilities to write one, but again Game On could solve the problem as it has several definition for popular games modes. ======================================================================= 12. When I try to run a Genesis application I get the error message 'External FN/PROC not found'. Some Genesis applications (eg. 'Customs') have special modules which they need to work properly and which are not part of the standard Genesis Browser. For this reason we have a complete Genesis Browser with all of these external modules on discs B263 and B369. If you get this error make sure that you are using this version. ======================================================================= 13. How can I make this game run slower on my RiscPC/A5000/ARM3 ? Some games were written to work on an ARM 2 and later processors are quite a bit faster. Press F12 and type - cache off This will slow down any machine fitted with an ARM3 or later. To restore normal speed press F12 and type - cache on ======================================================================= 14. After running a program my RiscPC desktop seems very slow The program could have switched off the cache (see above), but the most likely cause is that it has set the Font Cache to zero. This was often done on older programs to maximise available memory, but a RiscPC uses 'fancy' fonts in the desktop so the Font Cache needs to be at least 64K. Click on the Switcher Icon (the Acorn icon at the right hand end of the icon bar) and scroll down the Task Window until you get to the Memory Allocation section. Look for the Font Cache and drag out the slider, 128K is about right. ======================================================================= 14. The program quits with an error message saying there's not enough System Sprite memory. Open the Task Window (see above) and allocate some memory to the System Sprites. The amount required will depend on the program, but it will probably need at least 64K and perhaps as much as 300K ======================================================================= 15. The program says I don't have enough memory. Quit all other applications you are running, and a RAM disc if you have one. Use the Task Window to minimise memory in the Module Area and anywhere else you can. If you have been using the computer for a while there may be Modules which are taking up memory, and it might be easier to reset the computer (or switch off and on again) to get rid of them. You could try switching to a more economical screen mode, especially if you are using a large 256 colour mode. For example, Mode 40 takes 320K, Mode 12 only 96K. If it still won't work perhaps you really don't have enough memory. Once most people only had 500K, then 1Mb, and now 2Mb is the recognised minimum standard. Most programs work with 2Mb, but some won't with 1Mb. We do try to warn if a program requires more than 2Mb but sometimes it isn't noticed. ======================================================================= 15. The program gives a messgae 'File System:Modules.xxx not found' The program has expected to find a particular Module in your !System directory. Whenever possible I try to notice this and put the module in the Application Directory so this problem won't arise, but sometimes it gets missed. I have therefore just added a disc containing all the most frequently required items (B369) and this disc will also have the latest Genesis Browser. In future I will probably not bother to put modules in the application directories so you may need to get this disc. ======================================================================= 16. When I try to decompress or run a file with ArcFS it complains that it doesn't have enough memory ArcFS uses the Relocatable Module Area (RMA) as it's workspace (except Risc PC, see next question). If you get this complaint use the Task Window to increase free memory in the RMA. With large files this may cause a problem if you don't have much RAM. You may not have enough memory to run the program from the archive because you will need both the RAM to decompress it and run it simultaneously. In this case you will have to decompress it to another disc, reduce the free memory in the RMA, and then run it. ======================================================================= 17. I have tried using ArcFS on my RiscPC but it keeps telling me I don't have enough memory. I've tried increasing free memory in the RMA but with no effect. This is one that stumped me (and the Author of ArcFS, Mark Smith) for a while. On the RiscPC ArcFS uses 'dynamic' memory allocation, but for this to work with files you must have Interactive File Copying switched on. If, like me, you prefer to have this off then ArcFS can't claim any memory. The solution will require you to edit the !Run file in ArcFS. Load this into edit and look for the line - RMEns. UtilityModule 3.50 Set Alias$OSSpec RMEns. ArcFSMemMan 1.10 RMLoad <ArcFS$Dir>.MemManRMA Put a vertical bar (|) in fromt of this so it will be ignored, This will stop ArcFS from using dynamic memory allocation and force it to use the 'old' method af using the RMA as workspace. You will have to allocate RAM 'manually ' in the RMA (see above) but it will cure the problem. ================================================= ============= Sending programs to APDL and disc 'swaps' ============== ================================================= 1. I have written a couple of programs - can I send them to you? _ _ Yes, YES, \/|_ |_ / |_ _| There are many ways that we get new material, but the best is if the Author sends it to us. That way we have a direct contact and know we have the latest version and the Author's consent for distribution. We always return your disc(s) with whatever you want on them, and people who keep in contact and send us regular updates get various other 'special considerations', such as regular free subscription discs. I will not list here all the things we try to do for our 'regular' Authors but you will not be disapointed. ======================================================================= 2. I have some programs you don't have or later versions of ones you do have - will you 'swap' with things that I want? Normally, yes. We often do this on a 'two discs for one' basis, but don't be reedy. Quite often by the time we get your discs we may already have what you are sending, but if it was sent in good faith and the programs have only recently been added or updated we normally respond generously. Please DON'T send lots of discs of GIF or JPEG pictures unless they are something special, or can be put into a specific catagory to make up a compilation disc or set of discs. Take a look at the type of things that we have in the catalogue first. People who include a short textfile with new programs describing what they do will get preferential treatment because it will save me work when I add them to the catalogue! Anyone who sends magazine programs or other copyright material (or X-rated GIF's - yes, I do get them), will certainly NOT get a favourable response and will probably not get a reply at all! ======================================================== ========== Queries about ordering and the ordering programs ========== ======================================================== The programs !Order, !GIForder and !PCorder, have been in use since mid 1994, so THOUSANDS of people have used them. There have been problems, but they are (by now) fairly bug-free, but there are some 'features' that might give difficulties. 99% of these wouldn't occur if people would -*< READ THE INSTRUCTIONS >*- As well as the short 'help' text available from the Menu, with all these programs you will find in their application directory a compressed file called 'instrucs'. This is longer and more detailed and you will probably find the answer there. ======================================================================= 1. When I try to print the order nothing happens. The printing routine is deliberately very crude. It works by sending the characters directly to the printer port. This is intended for quick, simple, printing with a dot matrix printer, but it will work with most straightforward printers. It WON'T work if you use something like Turbo Driver or an unusual printer. The reason this system is used is because it is so quick and easy to print the order with a cheap printer. If you have something more exotic just Save the order as a textfile (keep a copy for reference) and then drag the textfile to your Printer Driver. Whatever printing system you use if your Printer Driver is correctly configured it will be able to print a straightforward textfile. ======================================================================= 2. When I print there's a blank line between each line. You didn't read the instructions, did you? On the Menu of the application there is an item 'Linefeeds'. By default this is 'ticked', which means that at the end of each line the printer is sent a Carriage Return (CR) character and a Linefeed (LF). To work properly with an Acorn computer your printer should have been configured to 'expect linefeeds from host', but if this hasn't been done then every time it gets a CR it automatically goes to the next line. When the LF arrives it goes down one more line, so you get a blank line. Click on the Menu so 'Linefeed' isn't ticked and the blank lines will vanish. ======================================================================= 3. What do all those funny bits at the top of the order file mean? They tell me something about your computer and the version of the program and catalogue you have. -*< PLEASE DON'T DELETE IT >*- This information can be very useful, especially if there is a query with your order or if you have ordered something that I can see is unsuitable for your machine. There is nothing here that is 'sensitive' in any way. ======================================================================= 4. Why do you want my phone number? Most of the time I don't. But if there IS a problem I can phone you and sort it out quickly. If there's no phone number I may have to return your order. This is especially important if you are paying by 'plastic' as it's very easy to mistype one of the numbers. ======================================================================= 5. Do you keep my details on a database, and if so what information do you keep and who sees it? Transactions are recorded for VAT and accounting purposes, so we have a record of every customer. Other than your name and address and records of purchases we do not record any other data. We NEVER keep credit card numbers on computer. Your details are NEVER made available to anyone else. ======================================================================= 6. How do I send an order on disc? DON'T send it as an Order File, save a text file and send that. This is much better for me (I can print it more easily) and it will be a lot smaller. If you copy it onto the catalogue disc (you can always delete something to make room) I can update the catalogue and return it with your order. It's best if you include a small piece of paper with your name and address or phone number in case the disc gets damaged in transit. If I can't read the disc for any reason and I don't know who you are I can't contact you! ======================================================================= 7. What about ordering by credit/debit/switch card? If you are sending your order on disc then you should also include a brief SIGNED note authorising the transaction. If you send a printed order you MUST sign it. ======================================================================= 8. Can I order by phone? Normally there's no problem, but we prefer 'hard' orders (it's quicker and easier). We can't accept orders for individual programs, GIF files, PC files, Tracker tunes etc. by phone, it takes too long and it's too easy to make mistakes. There is a minimum charge of £5 for telephone orders. ======================================================================= 9. Can I send my order by email? In theory, yes, but email is not secure, so there's no easy way for you to send a credit card number. If there's a demand then I will work out a system of encryption for card numbers and some sort of authorisation, so if you would like to be able to order by email let me know. At present you must first send a SIGNED note giving your credit card details and authorising APDL to debit your card. You should then refer to this in your email order and this means that you don't need to include your card number where it might be read by anyone. ======================================================================= 10. Why is my address printed at the bottom of the order as well as at the top? To avoid mistakes we cut out the name and address at the bottom of the order and use it as a return label. If you use a textfile and alter it before printing please DON'T delete the second address.