Microsoft KB Archive/122466

Encarta 1995: README.WRI Contents (Part 1 of 2)

PSS ID Number: Q122466 Article last modified on 05-07-1999

WINDOWS

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========================================================= 1995 WINDOWS kbmm kbreadme kbmm kbfaq

= SUMMARY =

This article contains the first part of the README.WRI file that comes with Microsoft Encarta 1995 edition.

To view the second portion of README.WRI, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q122467 Contents of the Encarta 1995 README.WRI File (Part 2)

NOTE: This Readme document refers to the Microsoft Download Service (MSDL). As of 12/31/1998, the MSDL service is no longer available. To download support files, visit one of the following Microsoft Internet sites:

http://support.microsoft.com/support

ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles

= MORE INFORMATION =

Microsoft Encarta, 1995 Edition - README
Microsoft Encarta Tips:

This document contains that will help you get the most out of Encarta and your system.

To read this file on-screen, use the Page Down and Page Up keys on your keyboard. You can print the file by choosing the Print command from the File menu.

Sending suggestions, content enhancements, and errors

If you have suggestions for features you would like to see in future editions of Encarta or comments about the current version, please send them to:

Encarta Program Manager Consumer Division Microsoft Corporation 1 Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052-6399 FAX: (206) 936-7329 Internet: mswish@microsoft.com Comments about errors, comprehensiveness, or validity of information presented are welcome. Please send these comments by FAX, U.S. Mail, or E-mail.

Table of Contents
Section Description

    Problems During Setup     Encarta and Windows Performance Issues     Video Cards and Display Problems     Audio Problems     CD-ROM Problems     Word Processors and Encarta     Running Encarta on Windows NT     Using Encarta with Microsoft Works 3.0 for Windows </li>    Mouse Cursor Problem </li>   Credit Information </li>   General Multimedia Information </li></ol>

NOTE: Sections 5-11 are found in a separate Knowledge Base article.


 * 1) Problems During Setup

Because Encarta installs system files that may be shared with other applications, it is best to shut down other applications before setting up.

If Setup is interrupted by a loss of power, a power surge, or some other unexpected incident, then restart Windows before you run Setup again.

Refer to your Encarta User’s Guide for minimum system requirements.

<ol start="2" style="list-style-type: decimal;"> Encarta and Windows Performance Issues</li></ol>

There are several ways to make Encarta run faster. Many of the methods described below are general tips to improve the performance of any Windows application. Consult your Windows manual for more details.

Microsoft Encarta uses your computer’s memory (RAM) to display pictures and play animations and sound. If Encarta runs slowly or you see out-of-memory errors, Encarta may not have enough memory. Below are some tips to make the best use of your available memory.

<ul>  Close all applications that you are not using. </li>  Set up a permanent Windows swap file. Windows works best when there is hard disk space allocated for swapping a file into or out of your computer’s memory. To set up a permanent Windows swap file on your hard disk, open the Control Panel (usually in the “Main” program group of Program Manager), and click the icon “386 Enhanced.” Then use the “Virtual Memory” button to see if your current swap file is temporary or permanent, to check the size of the current swap file, and to make changes. Windows usually creates a temporary swap file by default, but if your disk is full or fragmented, this temporary file can become unavailable. If you can, make the size of the permanent swap file at least 4096KB. Look at the Help menu of the Windows Control Panel or in your Windows documentation for more information. </li>  Defragment or optimize your hard disk by running a defragmentation program. For example, MS-DOS 6.0 includes a utility called Microsoft Defrag. Some other popular utilities are PC Tools, Norton Utilities, and Mace Utilities. </li>  Add more RAM (memory) to your computer. You can determine how much memory is available by starting MS-DOS, typing “mem” and pressing ENTER. This starts a program that will tell you how much memory you have. You need at least 4 megabytes (sometimes listed as 4096 kilobytes or KB) of RAM, and 8 megabytes is recommended. </li>  Add a cache to your CD-ROM drive. SmartDrive in MS-DOS 6.2 and utilities like Norton Speedcache+ can significantly improve the performance of CD-ROM products by helping eliminate unnecessary seeks and reads. If you have an older or slow CD-ROM drive, the performance difference is very noticeable. </li></ul>

For more details on improving performance, consult your Windows and CD-ROM manuals or see the tips in your Encarta user’s guide.

<ol start="3" style="list-style-type: decimal;"> Video Cards and Display Problems</li></ol>

Encarta 95 will not run properly in 16-color mode. The standard VGA driver that comes with Windows and almost all video cards can show only 16 colors. However, unless you have a VGA-only video card or monitor, you can change to a higher color mode. For example, you can change to a driver that will display 256 colors. Your system may already have a driver installed that displays 256 colors or more. For instructions on how to determine what video driver you have installed, and on how to install or change drivers, see Help within Windows Setup. Click the Windows Setup icon, usually located in the Main group in the Windows Program Manager.

In some situations, Encarta may encounter video display problems when using high resolution video drivers from various video card manufacturers. The problems include:


 * Maps or illustrations in the article text appear grainy or flawed
 * Animations break up or do not display at all
 * Videos display garbled images or crash Encarta

There are several things you can do if you encounter problems like this:

<ul>  Obtain updated drivers from your video card manufacturer Most problems can be fixed by obtaining new drivers from your video card manufacturer. Contact the manufacturer of your video card to determine if there are newer versions available. Their phone number should be in the manuals that came with your video card or personal computer. Another option for obtaining updated drivers is the Microsoft Download service, an electronic bulletin board that can be accessed via a modem at (206) 936-MSDL (206-936-6735). </li>  Change to a different display mode An alternative to obtaining a new or updated display driver is to change your video mode to a standard video mode such as 640 x 480 resolution with 256 colors. </li></ul>

Special Note: USING ENCARTA 1995 WITH ATI VIDEO CARDS

If you are using an ATI Ultra driver, specifically the drivers ULTRA.DRV or ULTRABG.DRV, Encarta may “freeze” while running. If this happens, you will get no error message, and will have to use the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys to close Encarta and return to Windows. The solution to this problem is to get a newer driver from ATI (see below for how to contact ATI). A temporary workaround is to add the following line to your ENCARTA.INI file:

NoWatermark=1 To add this line, use Notepad to edit your ENCARTA.INI file. Add the line under [95Options]. ENCARTA.INI is found in your directory. This line will prevent Encarta’s “Watermarks” from being drawn, which will remove the source of the failure. Once you install new drivers, you can remove this line from the INI file.

If you are using an ATI video card and a “mach” video driver (mach8 or mach32) as your Windows display driver*, the Device Bitmaps setting for the video card must be set to “Off”. This enables the animations in Encarta to run properly. To check/change this setting, do the following:

1.Launch the Mach FlexDesk Control Panel by double-clicking the &quot;mach FlexDesk Control Panel&quot; icon usually found in the &quot;mach Utilities&quot; program group in Program Manager. The &quot;mach Utilities&quot; group is created when you run the ATI mach video driver setup program. 2.Click the Advanced button. 3.Make sure &quot;Device Bitmaps&quot; is set to &quot;Off&quot;, or set it to &quot;Off&quot; if it is not. (if the Advanced dialog box has no &quot;Device Bitmaps&quot; setting, read below on changing the setting through your WIN.INI file) 4.Click OK to close the FlexDesk Advanced Settings. 5.Click OK to close the FlexDesk Control Panel. You will need to restart Windows for the changes to take effect.

If the Advanced dialog box has no “Device Bitmaps” setting, you will have to make the change by altering your WIN.INI file. You can do this by running Notepad, which is normally located in the Accessories group in Program Manager. Open the file WIN.INI which can be found in your windows subdirectory. With the cursor placed at the top of the file, search for the word “devicebitmap” (do not enter the quotation marks, do not use any spaces). To search, select “Search” then “Find”. You should find a line that reads, “devicebitmap=on”. Change it to “devicebitmap=off” and save the file. You will need to restart Windows for the change to take effect.


 * You can verify the Windows Display driver selection by launching the Windows Setup icon found in the Main program group of the Windows Program Manager.


 * Also, if the ATI Crystal Fonts option is turned on, Encarta may not display the correct colors. We suggest turning this option off if you are running in 256 color mode and are experiencing color problems.

For information about ATI video cards or the ATI installation utility referred to above, contact ATI Technical Support at (905) 882-2626.

<ol start="4" style="list-style-type: decimal;"> Audio Problems</li></ol>

The following are some suggested solutions for common problems with playing audio in Encarta.


 * 1) Check the volume.
 * 2) If the volume is turned up and you still hear no sounds, something may be wrong with your audio card installation. Check to see that the audio card software is installed correctly and reinstall it if necessary. For further details, see the section below “MAKING SURE THE SOUND CARD IS INSTALLED PROPERLY”
 * 3) If the software is installed correctly, the audio card may need to be pressed more securely into its slot or have a jumper setting changed on the audio card.
 * 4) If you have both an audio card and special software that bypasses the audio card to play sounds through the PC speaker, we suggest you remove or disable the special software (the PC speaker driver). Encarta requires an MPC-compatible audio; it is not meant to run with just the PC internal speaker or any combination of that speaker and special software.

Sound distortion is often caused by sending a higher volume or amplitude of sound than the speakers are able to handle. Also, if the volume control on your audio card is set too high it may cause distortion from the amplifier on the audio card. Sometimes lower quality speakers will distort at a lower volume than better speakers will (compare a clock radio speaker to a big stereo system; the stereo speakers can play much louder with no distortion). For example, if the volume for your audio card or “WAVE file output” is set to near its maximum it will produce distortion just like a radio with the volume turned up too high. To learn how to change your audio card settings, check the manuals that came with your audio card. Changing the volume settings is normally done with either a volume dial on the back of your audio card (in the rear of your computer where the speakers plug in) or with a program that is often called a “mixer” that is usually installed in the Windows Control Panel of the Main program group. Some audio cards use both types of controls and they must both be adjusted.

Another possible cause is that you are using a 16-bit sound card set to a lower Direct Memory Access (DMA). Sounds that appear scratchy while using a low DMA will sound better using an upper DMA. In the case of the Media Vision Pro Audio 16 soundcard, a DMA setting of 7 will correct any scratchy sounds. To change the DMA channel you will have to go to the Windows Control Panel and select drivers. In the drivers section select the sound card driver and choose setup. You should be able to select a higher DMA setting here. If the driver will not allow you to change the DMA setting you may need to refer to your sound card manual.

If audio breaks up or skips periodically it is usually an indication that the CD-ROM drive does not fully meet the MPC (Multimedia PC) specification for the Data Transfer Rate. The MPC specification states that the CD-ROM drive needs to be capable of transferring data at a rate of 150 KB per second while utilizing 40% or less of the CPU. You can continue to use your CD-ROM drive to run Encarta, but will continue to experience this choppiness in audio and animation clips.

Most audio cards can play only one sound at a time; therefore, other sound- producing programs could interrupt the sounds from Encarta. Some sound producing programs may take over the audio capability and prevent other Windows programs from being able to make sounds. If you suspect you have such a program do not run it at the same time as Encarta.

If you get the error message “No wave device that can play files in the current format is installed. Use the drivers option to install the wave device.” when trying to play some sound clips or dialogues, then the Microsoft audio compression manager and drivers may not be installed correctly. There are 2 files in your Windows system directory that need to be up to date. You can compare the files MSACM.DRV and MSADPCM.ACM to those located on your Encarta CD. If these files are current, then you will want to make sure that your SYSTEM.INI file contains the right information. You can open the SYSTEM.INI in Notepad or any text editor. Make sure that the following sections and section entries appear:

[Drivers] wavemapper=msacm.drv

[MSACM] install=msadpcm.acm

When playing anthems in Encarta you may here softer sounds than when playing other audio. To increase the sound level, you need to adjust your mixer settings. To do this you must first locate your mixer. It should be in the group where your sound software is loaded. Refer to your audio card’s software manual for the exact location.

Once you find and run the mixer you can independently raise and lower the levels of the different types of sound. For example you can turn up wav audio and turn down the CD-audio. To get the anthems to play louder, turn up the midi setting

If you install Encarta from a network using UNC path names, the animation audio will not play. An example of a UNC path name is “\netloc”. When you install from a network location, you should use File Manager to connect to the network drive, and install using the drive letter assigned for that connection, rather than the UNC path name. For instructions on using a drive connection, see Help within the Connect Network Drive dialog box found under the Disk menu in File Manager.

If you receive an error message when you try to play audio that you’ve copied to another application, you may have one of the following problems.

1. If you have run the software package called Sound Impressions since you copied the audio, you need to run Sound Recorder, which can usually be found in the Accessories group in Program Manager. Sound Impressions makes changes to your system that running Sound Recorder will repair. Simply start Sound Recorder and, once it is open, close it.

2. If you have removed the file SOUNDREC.EXE from your windows subdirectory, you need to replace it in order to hear the copied audio clips. If you do not have a copy of the file elsewhere, you will need to re-install Windows. Consult your Windows manual for more information.


 * 1) Check to see that you can play MIDI from MS-DOS. Most sound cards come with a test utility or an MS-DOS program for playing MIDI or testing the card configuration. If MIDI does not work with these then the MIDI will not work in Windows either.
 * 2) Verify Port and IRQ settings by looking at the sound card and comparing the way it is set up to the way that the audio card software thinks it is set up. The audio card manual should explain how to configure the audio card settings.
 * 3) Make sure the sound card does not conflict with other hardware. This is done by comparing the setup of the audio card with the setups of other cards in your computer. It is important that no two cards try to use the same port or IRQ. This is a common source of problems when you are getting no sound at all.
 * 4) If you have a Sound Blaster 16 sound card, and you can’t hear sounds play, you may have to disable the 16-bit audio by switching the High DMA channel to match the Low DMA channel. Sound Blaster has utilities programs to help you do this. If you need to do this manually, you must change the current settings in both the AUTOEXEC.BAT and the SYSTEM.INI. COMMON SOLUTIONS TO MAKING SOUNDS PLAY: MIDI AUDIO

When a program that supports MIDI doesn’t play the MIDI audio, it is commonly due to one or more of the following reasons:

<ul>  The audio card is not installed properly, does not support MIDI, or is conflicting with another Windows device. </li>  A MIDI driver is not installed or is improperly configured. </li>  The MIDI Mapper is improperly configured. NOTE: Before attempting any complicated troubleshooting, try restarting Windows or rebooting your computer and see if your system functions correctly. </li></ul>

Media Player is a program that can play MIDI files. It is normally located in the Accessories group in the Program Manager. It allows you to check the MIDI installation in a simple way. After using the File Open command to load a .MID file into Media Player (there should be some .MID files in the Windows directory) press the Play button. The following message may occur:

The current MIDI Mapper setup refers to a MIDI device that is not installed on the system. Use MIDI Mapper to edit the setup. If this message appears, then your MIDI Mapper is not configured properly. The first thing to do in this case is to check to see if your MIDI Mapper configuration was changed. 1.) Look for a file called MIDIMAP.OLD in your directory. If this file exists, it means that your original MIDI Mapper configuration file was replaced. 2.) If you see a MIDIMAP.OLD, then rename MIDIMAP.CFG to MIDIMAP.BAK. 3.) Now rename MIDIMAP.OLD to MIDIMAP.CFG. 4.) Try playing a MIDI file in Media Player.

If this procedure fails or is inapplicable, run Control Panel (usually in the Main group of the Windows Program Manager) and check the setup in the MIDI Mapper.

For example, if the Ad Lib driver is installed in the Drivers part of the Control Panel, the MIDI Mapper should be set for Ad Lib. If a different MIDI device is installed, choose an appropriate setup for the device. For more information on setting up the MIDI device drivers, look in the manuals that came with your audio card.


 * 1) Check to see if the MIDI driver is installed by double-clicking the Drivers icon in the Control Panel. If the sound card is Ad Lib compatible, try using the Ad Lib driver that shipped with Windows 3.1.
 * 2) The Midi Sequencer command should be available in the Media Player’s Device menu.

To set the MIDI Mapper to use the Ad Lib setup:


 * 1) Run Control Panel.
 * 2) Run MIDI Mapper.
 * 3) Press ALT+S to show setups.
 * 4) Press ALT+A to move to the name field for setups.
 * 5) Use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys to set the name field to Ad Lib, and the description below the name field to “Base-level setup.”
 * 6) Close the MIDI Mapper to accept this setup.

Additional query words: kbhowto msn_encarta multi media multimedia multi-media

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Platform : WINDOWS ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1999.