Microsoft KB Archive/157245

Contents of Gex Readme.txt

PSS ID Number: Q157245 Article last modified on 06-02-1999

WINDOWS:1.0

WINDOWS

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The following information is contained in the Microsoft Gex 1.0 Readme.txt file. This file is copied to the Gex 1.0 directory by Setup. This text has not been modified and appears as is.

README.TXT FILE

GEX 1.0 Readme September 1996 (c) Microsoft Corporation, 1996

This document contains important or late-breaking information that supplements the GEX 1.0 online Help and jewel case booklet.

GENERAL AND INSTALLATION NOTES


 * To play GEX, you must have DirectX 2.0 installed on your computer.
 * To play GEX, you must have the GEX disc in your CD-ROM drive.
 * You may experience DirectX-related problems when installing GEX. If Direct Setup repeatedly installs DirectX drivers, restart your computer and install GEX again. During installation, DirectX 2.0 may attempt to install the DirectX drivers again. If this occurs, press the Cancel button in the Version Checking dialog box. When the Abort screen appears, click the No button to abort the installation. GEX will then run normally.

CONTENTS

A. WHERE TO FIND HELP B. HARDWARE AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND RECOMMENDED FEATURES C. ERROR MESSAGES D. HOW TO PLAY E. AUDIO TROUBLESHOOTING F. VIDEO TROUBLESHOOTING G. HARDWARE AND SYSTEM COMPATIBILITY H. GENERAL GAME PERFORMANCE TROUBLESHOOTING

A. WHERE TO FIND HELP To open the GEX Help file: * Press F1 at any time while GEX is open.

B. HARDWARE AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND RECOMMENDED FEATURES

To run GEX, you will need: * Pentium 75 with local SVGA bus video, 256-color display. * Microsoft Windows 95. * 2X CD-ROM drive. * 8 MB of memory (RAM). * 10 MB of available hard disk space. * DirectX 2.0.

Recommended features: * Pentium 100 with local SVGA bus video, high-color (16-bit) display. * 4X CD-ROM drive. * 16+ MB of memory (RAM). * 2 MB of video memory. * Joystick or four-button game pad. * Windows 95-compatible sound card.

C. ERROR MESSAGES


 * “The drive or network connection that the shortcut ‘Gex.lnk’ refers to is unavailable. Make sure that the disk is properly inserted or the network resource is available, and then try again”: If you receive this message, insert the GEX disc in your CD-ROM drive and then try running GEX again.
 * “Invalid dynamic link call to a .dll file.”: This message usually means that GEX is trying to access DirectX drivers that are not present or compatible with the video driver you are using. To remedy this problem you can:
 * Reinstall your previous video drivers for your video card.
 * Obtain and install the latest DirectX 2.0-compatible drivers from your video card manufacturer.
 * “Cannot find Dsound.dll”: If you receive this message when you cancel DirectX installation, simply reinstall GEX.

D. HOW TO PLAY

To progress through the game, GEX must collect the remote control in each level to continue to the next level.

Keyboard controls:

X– Jump/Enter TV Z– Tail whip/Remote bar C– Tongue lash V– Run F1– Help F2– Start a new game F3/PAUSE– Pause F4– Toggle between full screen and window F5– 320 x 224 window F6– 640 x 448 window ESC– Exit the game

E. AUDIO TROUBLESHOOTING

If your game sound isn’t working correctly, try the following troubleshooting steps:


 * Verify that your speakers and Windows 95 volume control are enabled and turned up.
 * Verify that sounds are enabled and recognized by GEX. To verify that sounds are enabled and recognized by GEX: Start GEX. On the Options menu, click Sound. Verify that the Sound Effects, Voice, and Music check boxes are checked. Verify that the volume sliders for each sound are at the maximum (the top).

If the sound items in the Sound options dialog box are unavailable, you will need to restart GEX in order to access sound effects, voice, and music.


 * Verify that a sound driver is enabled. To verify that a sound driver is enabled: Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the System icon. Click the Device Manager tab. Click the plus sign next to Sound, Video, And Game Controllers.

If there is a yellow exclamation mark next to the name of the device, there is a conflict. If there is a device conflict, you may need to install updated sound drivers. Contact your hardware manufacturer for updated drivers.

If you purchased your sound card before the release of Microsoft Windows 95, you should install the latest sound drivers. For the current sound drivers, contact your hardware manufacturer.

F. VIDEO TROUBLESHOOTING

High-Color Mode

GEX is optimized for high-color (16-bit) mode. If your video card is capable of running in high-color (16-bit) mode, change your display mode to high color.

To change your display mode to high color: Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the Display icon. Click the Settings tab. Under Color Palette, click High Color (16-Bit).

If you’re not sure that your video card supports high color, contact your video card manufacturer.

3D Accelerated Graphics Cards


 * GEX does not use enhanced features of 3D accelerated graphics cards. Many of these cards require drivers that are still in a pre-production state, and you may experience problems using such drivers. For updated drivers, contact your hardware manufacturer.
 * Your video card may not be DirectX-compatible. If you’re not sure that your video card is DirectX-compatible, contact your video card manufacturer.

GEX Game Graphics


 * If you having trouble seeing all of the menu items on your screen, you should change your Windows 95 font size to a smaller setting. To change your Windows 95 font size: Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the Display icon. Click the Appearance tab. On the Item list, click Menu. Change the font size by clicking the Size box arrow.
 * If you purchased your video card before the release of Microsoft Windows 95, you should install the latest video drivers. For the current video drivers, contact your hardware manufacturer.

G. HARDWARE AND SYSTEM COMPATIBILITY


 * The GEX disc must be in the CD-ROM drive while you are playing the game. If you remove the disc from the CD-ROM drive while you are playing, your computer may crash. To avoid this, leave the disc in the CD-ROM drive the entire time you are playing GEX.
 * If System Agent starts an event such as Defrag, Scandisk, or Low Disk Space notification while you are playing GEX, turn System Agent off while you are playing the game.

To turn off System Agent: Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Agent. On the Advanced menu, click Suspend System Agent. A check mark will appear next to the menu item. To reactivate System Agent, repeat this process.


 * GEX is not compatible with NexGen chips earlier than the Nx586 model, as these are 386-class chips that emulate a Pentium. GEX requires a Pentium or better chip in order to run.
 * There are two minor performance issues related to Windows 95 on the NexGen Nx586 processor. NexGen has addressed these issues by making its Windows CPU Identifier applet available from their Web site. You can download the VL and PCI versions of this applet from the following address: http://www.amd.com
 * GEX does not run on Windows NT 3.51.
 * If you experience choppy gameplay or sound in GEX, verify that your CD-ROM drive is optimized for Windows 95, or modify the display options in GEX.

To verify that your CD-ROM drive is optimized for Windows 95: Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the System icon. Click the Performance tab, and then click the File System button. Click the CD-ROM tab. Drag the Supplemental Cache Size slider to Large, and then select the speed of your CD-ROM drive.

To modify display options in GEX: Click Options on the GEX menu, and then click Display. In the Window Size box, click 320 x 224 or click Full Screen.


 * If GEX keyboard controls don’t work:
 * Make sure all connections between your keyboard and computer are properly secured.
 * Certain key configurations will not allow three simultaneous key presses, which often results in not being able to perform certain game actions simultaneously. You will hear a keyboard “tick” from the PC speaker when this happens.
 * If your game pad or joystick doesn’t work:
 * Make sure all connections between your game pad or joystick and computer are properly secured.
 * Make sure that your controller is enabled. To verify that your controller is enabled: On the Options menu, click Controller. On the Controller tab, make sure that the Enable Controller check box is selected.
 * Although Windows 95 contains several built-in game pad and joystick drivers, you may need to obtain a Windows 95-compatible driver from your game pad or joystick manufacturer.
 * If you continue to have problems, make sure your controller is properly configured. To verify that your joystick is properly configured: On the Options menu, click Controller. On the Controller tab, click Settings, and then follow the directions in the Configuration dialog box.

Microsoft SideWinder Game Pad * You can customize the keys and functions on the Microsoft SideWinder game pad using the GEX Controller dialog box or the Microsoft SideWinder game pad Profiler. When adding GEX to the Profiler, be sure to use Gex.exe, and not Loader.exe. * If you assign the F3 key or Pause to one of the SideWinder game pad buttons, you may find that the button works to pause the game, but does not resume play. To resume play, press F3 or PAUSE on the keyboard.

DirectX 2.0


 * You may experience DirectX-related problems when installing GEX. If Direct Setup repeatedly installs DirectX drivers, restart your computer and install GEX again. During installation, DirectX 2.0 may attempt to install the DirectX drivers again. If this occurs, press the Cancel button in the Version Checking dialog box. When the Abort screen appears, click the No button to abort the installation. GEX will then run normally.
 * Known problems with specific video cards:
 * Alliance Promotion: Video card driver version 4.1.3409 can cause problems with DOS sessions when using Windows 95 after playing GEX. To correct this problem, use video driver version 4.1.21 or earlier. If you do not have this driver, contact your hardware manufacturer.
 * ATI Rage 3D: As of this writing, GEX will run on this card. However, other games that use Direct3D may not run on this card because of incomplete video drivers. Contact your hardware manufacturer for updated drivers.
 * Diamond Stealth 3D 2000: If you experience bad flickering or a garbled screen when running GEX in Full Screen mode, you may have an early version of the video driver from Diamond. Contact Diamond Multimedia to obtain the latest drivers for this card.
 * Diamond GT: The DirectX installation overwrites the Diamond GT video driver with an incorrect driver. Contact your hardware manufacturer for updated drivers.
 * Imagine 128 Series 2: DirectX installs a faulty video driver for Imagine 128 Series 2 video cards. If you experience bad flickering or a garbled screen, reinstall the original video driver for this card or contact #9 to obtain the latest drivers.
 * Matrox Impression: Currently there is no DirectX support for Matrox Impression cards.
 * Matrox Mystique: As of this writing, GEX will run on this card. However, other games that use Direct3D may not run on this card because of incomplete video drivers. Contact your hardware manufacturer for updated drivers.
 * Orchid Fahrenheit: DirectX installs a faulty driver for the Orchid Fahrenheit video card. Contact your hardware manufacturer for updated drivers.
 * Rendition Verit: As of this writing, the current set of drivers for the Rendition Verit chip set does not allow GEX to run in Full Screen mode. Refer to your manufacturer for the latest update to the Rendition card with DirectX 2.0 compatibility.
 * S3 Virge: As of this writing, GEX will run on this card. However, other games that use Direct3D may not run on this card because of incomplete video drivers. Contact your hardware manufacturer for updated drivers.
 * Weitek: Currently there are only beta drivers available for Weitek video processors, which includes Diamond Viper and SDIS video cards. Contact your hardware manufacturer for these drivers.
 * If your screen saver appears while you are playing GEX, simply turn off or disable the screen saver.

To disable AFTERDARK screen savers: Activate the AFTERDARK program. In the upper-right corner of the AFTERDARK control panel, click the activation switch to Off.

To disable Windows 95 screen savers: Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. In Control Panel, double-click the Display icon. Click the Screen Saver tab. Under Screen Saver, click (None).


 * If you have a different key layout than is used on English language keyboards (such as French or German), you may need to remap your keys for better performance.

To remap GEX keys: On the GEX Options menu, click Keyboard. On the Keyboard tab, click the box with the key you want to change, and then type the new key for that function.

H. GENERAL GAME PERFORMANCE TROUBLESHOOTING

If gameplay is not as fast as you would like, make sure you are not logged onto a network and close any open applications. If gameplay is still slow, try the following troubleshooting steps.


 * Run GEX in Full Screen mode.
 * If you are running GEX in a window, switch your game window size to 320 x 224.
 * Restart your computer and Windows 95.
 * Make sure your computer is at least a Pentium 75 with a minimum of 8 MB of RAM, and that it has a double-speed (2X) CD-ROM drive. Running the game on a computer with a lower configuration may result in performance difficulties.
 * If your computer has a turbo button, make sure it is turned on.
 * Change your display mode to high color (16-bit color) for best performance. GEX can be played in higher or lower-color modes; however, you may experience slower gameplay and minor game graphics color changes.

To change your display mode to high-color: Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the Display icon. Click the Settings tab. Under Color palette, click High Color (16 Bit).


 * Playing the game in a large or maximized window may result in screen “tearing,” poor frame rate, or slow gameplay. For better game performance, change your GEX screen resolution.

To change your GEX screen resolution: On the GEX Options menu, click Display. Select either 320 x 224 or Full Screen. Click OK.


 * If you still experience slow gameplay, make sure you are not running any background applications while playing GEX. Utilities that automaticaly perform functions at given intervals, such as System Agent, and applications that perform auto-scans and auto- defragmentation cause slower game performance during these functions. Running GEX in conjunction with these utilities may also interrupt gameplay.
 * If GEX freezes or crashes:
 * Make sure your computer is at least a Pentium 75 with a minimum of 8 MB of RAM. Running GEX on a computer with a lower configuration may result in hardware and performance difficulties.
 * Disable the Sound Effects option in the Sound page of the Properties box contained in GEX.

Additional query words: 1.00 read me

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Version : WINDOWS:1.0 Platform : WINDOWS Issue type : kbinfo ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1999.