Microsoft KB Archive/134249

Oceans: Readme.txt Contents

PSS ID Number: Q134249 Article last modified on 12-14-1995

1.00

WINDOWS

= SUMMARY =

The following article lists the contents of the Readme.txt file found in the root directory of the Microsoft Oceans CD-ROM:

= MORE INFORMATION =

Microsoft Oceans README file Microsoft Corporation July 17, 1995

This file contains additional information about Microsoft Oceans not included in the User’s Guide.

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 in any Windows word processing program. If you open this file in Windows Notepad, it will be easier to read if you select Word Wrap from the Edit menu. If you open this file in Windows Write, Microsoft Word, or another word processor, it will be easier to read if you select the entire document and format the text in 10-point Courier.

This README file contains important information on the following topics:

Section Description
1 RUNNING IN LOW MEMORY OR RUNNING SLOWLY How to make Microsoft Oceans run on low-memory machines.

2 CD-ROM PROBLEMS Hints on solving problems accessing CD-ROM drives.

3 PRINTING AND COPYING How to print and copy Microsoft Oceans screens.

4 DEMONSTRATION AND MUSEUM MODE How to make Microsoft Oceans automatically and randomly demonstrate all of its articles.

5 VIDEO DISPLAY PROBLEMS What to do when images don’t display properly or you experience video driver errors.

6 AUDIO PROBLEMS Descriptions of some common sound problems and how to fix them.

=
============================== 1. RUNNING IN LOW MEMORY OR RUNNING SLOWLY ===========================================

Microsoft Oceans uses your computer’s system memory to run. You need a minimum of 4MB of Random Access Memory (RAM) to use Oceans. Oceans may require more than 4MB of RAM in order to play all of its animations. To determine how much total memory your computer has, go to a MS-DOS command prompt, type mem and press ENTER. If you do not have at least 4MB (4,096KB) of total memory, you will not be able to run Oceans until you add more memory.

Microsoft Oceans needs a minimum of 5MB (5,120KB) of free memory in Windows for best movie performance. To check the amount of free memory Windows has available in Windows 3.1 and Windows NT, start Windows, and from the Program Manager pull down the “Help” menu and choose “About Program Manager.”

If you find that Microsoft Oceans runs slowly, if you are unable to play the videos, or if you encounter out-of-memory errors, the program probably doesn’t have enough memory to run efficiently. Consider doing the following to improve your computer’s performance:


 * Close all unnecessary applications.
 * In Windows 3.1, make sure you have a permanent Windows swap file on your hard disk. A swap file of greater than 4MB (4,096KB) is recommended. See your Windows documentation for more information.
 * Defragment (“clean up”) your hard disk by running a defragmentation program such as DEFRAG, which comes with MS-DOS version 6 or higher. A disk defragmenter is also included in Windows 95.
 * If you are using more than 256 colors in your monitor display, you may want to lower your video colors to 256. For instructions on how to change your Windows display, consult your Windows documentation.

=
====== 2. CD-ROM PROBLEMS ===================

NOTE: Do not remove the Microsoft Oceans compact disc from your CD- ROM drive while Oceans is running!

If the Microsoft Oceans program cannot find the data files that it needs from the Oceans compact disc, check the following:


 * Make sure the Oceans compact disc is correctly inserted into the CD-ROM drive.
 * Make sure that the Oceans program is looking for the compact disc on the correct drive. Check to see if the drive letter for your CD-ROM drive has changed. In Windows 3.1, you can use the Windows File Manager to determine which drive letter is assigned to the CD-ROM drive. The Select Drive command in the Disk menu will say “CD-ROM” next to the CD-ROM drive letter. In Windows 95 or later, double-click the My Computer icon to determine which drive letter is associated with the CD-ROM drive.
 * If you have an external CD-ROM drive, make sure that the drive is connected to your computer, plugged in, and turned on. If you still encounter problems after checking the points above, check the documentation that came with your CD-ROM drive or contact the company that supplied the drive.
 * Make sure that your CD-ROM drive is MPC-compatible. MPC- compatible drives meet the following criteria:
 * An average seek time of less than one second;
 * A transfer rate of 150KB per second while using less than 40% of the CPU bandwidth.

Check the documentation that came with your CD-ROM drive to make sure it meets these requirements.. A CD-ROM drive that does not meet the MPC specifications will exhibit slow performance, audio blips, or interruptions when sound is played.

=
=========== 3. PRINTING AND COPYING ========================

The screens in Microsoft Oceans are large color pictures. Depending on the type of printer you have, printing a picture of the screen may take several minutes. Also, screen resolution and printer resolution are often not the same, so the resulting printout may not match the quality you see on the screen.

You should be able to print grayscale images from Microsoft Oceans. If you have a black-and-white laser printer, you might need to upgrade your printer driver. Call the dealer from whom you bought the printer or the printer manufacturer. It is also possible to print Oceans screens in color on a color printer.

Some dot-matrix printers may not print pictures properly with the “Low / Faster” quality setting in the Print Dialog. On these printers change the quality setting in the Print Dialog to “High / Slower.”

You cannot print a frame from a video window. If you attempt to print while playing a video, you will get a printout of the background screen.

Because the pictures can be quite large, you may have difficulty copying or printing in low-memory conditions. In this case, close all other unnecessary running applications and try again.

If you copy a picture from Microsoft Oceans, and paste it into another Windows application, you may encounter palette problems (the picture will have incorrect colors), because some Windows applications (like Write and Paintbrush) don’t support full-color palette control. To get a true color copy, paste into an application that supports color control, such as Paint in Windows 95, or Microsoft Word for Windows.

Hewlett-Packard DeskJet Printers
You may get poor results when printing to certain Hewlett-Packard DeskJet printers. The problem can occur with Hewlett-Packard DeskJet drivers version 4.0, 4.1 and 5.0. The affected printers include: the DeskJet 500, 500c, 520, 540, 550, 550c, and 560c printers. Either obtain the Hewlett-Packard DeskJet printer driver version 6.1d from Hewlett-Packard or do not use the DeskJet Automatic printing mode. To change the DeskJet printing mode, see the documentation that came with your printer.

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==================== 4. DEMONSTRATION AND MUSEUM MODE =================================

Microsoft Oceans has a demonstration mode for use in stores, and a museum mode. Both begin an automatic random “slide show” of the Oceans pages if you haven’t used the program for a specified number of minutes. Museum mode has special features for standalone operation.

You can select either of these modes by pressing Ctrl+Alt+D after starting Microsoft Oceans.

=
============= 5. VIDEO DISPLAY PROBLEMS ==========================

Microsoft Oceans runs in 256-color (or higher) screen mode. Microsoft Oceans will not run in less than 256-color mode. If your computer is running in 16-color mode, and the video card will support 256 colors, you should switch to 256-color mode. In Windows 3.1, run the Windows Setup program to change the video driver. In Windows 95, you can change the Settings by opening the Control Panel and then the Display dialog box. For more information on changing video drivers, check your Windows documentation.

If you experience display problems, contact your video card manufacturer about obtaining updated video drivers. You can also try using the SVGA driver located in the directory on the Oceans CD. It may also help if you set your display resolution to 640x480. See your Windows documentation or the documentation that came with your video driver for information about changing the display resolution.

If you are unable to see the entire screen when you first run Microsoft Oceans, try adjusting the horizontal and vertical controls located on your monitor.

If you find after installing Microsoft Oceans that Windows will not start, try reinstalling your original video driver, or use the SVGA driver that ships on the Microsoft Oceans CD in the directory. If Windows still does not start or the display or videos in Microsoft Oceans are distorted, add the following line to the [drawdib] section of the WIN.INI file: dva=0

Specific Video Driver Issues on Windows 3.1
S3 Drivers: If you have a computer with an S3 video card, and are experiencing video display problems, you should install the latest driver available (currently version 2.41). This driver is included on the Microsoft Oceans CD in the directory. For details on installing this driver, see your Windows documentation. The 2.41 and 1.32 S3 drivers are designed only to work with the 86C801/805 chip set.

Generic S3 drivers may not be fully compatible with other applications or your PC Configuration. S3 drivers will not be supported by Microsoft or by S3, Inc.

Microsoft Super VGA drivers: If you are not using an S3 video card, and are experiencing video display problems, you should install the latest driver from your video card manufacturer, or install the Microsoft Super VGA driver. The SVGA driver is included on the Microsoft Oceans CD in the directory. For details on installing this driver, see your Windows documentation.

ATI Problems: Microsoft Oceans is incompatible with some features of video cards such as the Mach32 chip set running the ATI drivers. For Oceans to run on the ATI driver, the “256 color palette” control in the “Advanced features” of the “ATI Control Panel” needs to be set to ON. For more information, see the documentation for your video card.

Microsoft Oceans Images Appear in Black and White
Some color video cards display Microsoft Oceans images in black and white. This problem can be solved by updating your color video driver. Contact your video card manufacturer for these updated Windows video drivers.

Microsoft Oceans Videos are Only Partially Visible
In Windows 3.1 or Windows NT, if you only see a portion of the video image when it is playing, check to see if you have the “Zoom by 2” setting selected on the Microsoft Video for Windows driver. You can check this setting using the Windows Control Panel. Open the Drivers dialog box, click on “[MCI] Microsoft Video for Windows,” click Setup, and turn off “Zoom by 2” if it is on.

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===== 6. AUDIO PROBLEMS ==================

Audio problems can have many causes. Other applications that play sounds may interrupt sounds in Microsoft Oceans, because your computer cannot play two sounds simultaneously. This is generally a temporary clash that will resolve itself. However, a few applications that play sounds, such as some screen savers, may remove audio capability from all other Windows applications. If you suspect you have such an application, deactivate it or do not run it while running Oceans.

Sounds Play, But Not Very Well
Sounds that are distorted or “fuzzy” have several possible causes. The most likely one is simply that your speakers are not of high quality. Low frequency sounds may not reproduce well on some equipment.

It is also possible that the software settings on your sound board are causing distortion. For example, if the sound card volume or “WAVE file input” is set to near its maximum, it will produce amplification distortion, just as it would on a stereo system. To find out how to change your sound board settings, check the documentation that came with your sound board.

Your CD-ROM drive should be MPC-compatible. MPC-compatible drives meet the following criteria:


 * 1) An average seek time of less than one second;
 * 2) A transfer rate of 150KB per second while using less than 40% of the CPU bandwidth.

Check the documentation that came with your CD-ROM drive to make sure it meets these requirements. An incompatible CD-ROM drive may work; however, it may produce low-quality audio or cause the sound to be interrupted while playing.

Sound Doesn’t Play At All
If you don’t hear any sounds, make sure that the volume is set to an audible level.

If the volume is set to an audible level and you still hear no sounds, something may be wrong with your sound board setup. Check to see that the drivers are installed correctly and, if necessary, reinstall them. To determine if the sound drivers are installed in Windows 3.1, check the Drivers section of the Windows Control Panel. In Windows 95, check the System section of the Windows Control Panel. For more information on installing your sound drivers, refer to the documentation that came with your sound card. If you have any problems, contact your sound board manufacturer for assistance.

Please note that Microsoft Oceans requires an MPC-compatible sound board and is not intended to run with drivers which use the PC speaker, such as the unsupported “PC Speaker” driver. Such a driver will in most cases not play any sounds, and if the driver setup option “Enable Interrupts” is not checked, the system may lock up. If you have both a sound board and the PC Speaker driver installed, it is recommended that you remove the PC Speaker driver.

Media Vision Cards
A small number of Media Vision sound card drivers (Pro Audio - Spectrum cards) may have problems with sound in Microsoft Oceans. If you have a Media Vision card and do not hear sounds or are having fuzzy, skipping, or other sound problems, you might require updated drivers. You might try changing your DMA setting on the sound card to DMA 7. See your Windows documentation or your Media Vision documentation for information on configuring your sound card.

The third-party products discussed here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products’ performance or reliability.

KBCategory: kbmm kbreadme kbref KBSubcategory:

Additional reference words: kbhowto 1995 multi media multimedia multi-media mmtitles kbmm greyscale grey read-me readme-text readme-txt ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1995.