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- POWERHOUSE
- Ver 1.1
- October 3rd 1995
- Thankyou For Upgrading Your Software.
-
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-
- 1. About this document.
- 2. Installing your Patch.
- 3. What Does it do?
- 4. Additional Gameplay help.
- 5. Trouble shooting steps.
- 6. Technical Support
-
-
-
-
- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- 1.) About this Document
-
- This document will show you how to setup the patchdisk and install it onto
- your system. It will explain what fixes were made and how to avoid future
- trouble.
-
- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- 2.) Installing your Patch.
-
-
- a. Place the patchdisk into either the 'A' or 'B' Drive.
- b. From the Program manager
- c. Select the pull-down menu "FILE"
- d. Select the "RUN" option
- e. Type "A:\Setup.exe" or "B:\Setup.exe"
- f. Follow the prompts
-
- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- 3.) What Does it do?
-
- This patch will update PowerHouse to version 1.1.
-
- In this version, A game length option will give you a choice, in
- years, of the length of the game. This gives you the ability to
- control the time you are given to play. You are given the choices of
- 20, 40, 60, 80, or 100 years.
-
- The following Error Messages are fixed:
-
- General Protection Faults:
- Power caused a general protection fault in POWER.EXE
- Power caused a general protection fault in USER.EXE
-
- Errors with Pipes are now fixed. Pipes can be removed without causing
- errors.
-
- Pallate Issues In Windows 95 have been addressed.
-
- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- 4.) Additional Gameplay help
-
- As described in the manual, you can turn the ENN video segments off if
- you find them distracting. If they are off you will still get
- necessary information - but via quicker, still-pictures. You can
- switch ENN off, on, or set it to "MIX". This setting will play full
- ENN video for occasional news stories only, and will usually give you
- a static picture.
-
- For the toughest challenge, set difficulty to "Hardest" from the
- 'Set The Challenge' box, and/or give yourself less starting cash.
- Difficulty level affects the cleverness of the AI players, and sets
- whether you first, second, third or fourth each turn.
- There is a display toward the bottom right of the main screen
- (just under the spinning E-mail 'e'). It serves as a rough guide to
- how well the four PowerHouses are doing, in three different areas.
- These areas are: current cash, energy supplied and environmental
- damage caused. Switch between these 3 areas by clicking on the icon
- to the left of the horizontal bar chart. The bar chart now displays
- performance levels of all PowerHouses in the area chosen. The number
- to the right of the chart is your standing in the chosen area.
-
- Sometimes you might make more energy in a territory than you can sell
- there. If so, you can move the excess energy to other territories
- using Transformers. Build a chain of Transformers between any square
- in the destination territory, and a square in the excess production
- territory. Transformers have a range of 5 - they will take energy
- from production sites or other Transformers, so long as these are
- five or less squares away.
-
- Each Transformer in the chain, even the first one, loses a percentage
- of its input, so make your chain with as few Transformers as possible.
- At tech level 1, you lose 23% at every Transformer. Each transformer
- has a capacity too. Again at tech level one, a Transformer site will
- only take in 60 units of energy per Transformer rig on that square.
- The Energy Needs screen shows the amount of energy lost to
- Transformers: This figure includes both through efficiency loss along
- the chain, and loss where more energy is sent to a transformer site
- than it has capacity for. Note: the 'Energy sold via Transformers'
- figure means the amount taken from this territory, and sold elsewhere.
- The 'Energy brought by Transformers' means the amount taken from other
- territories, and sold in this one. You can see your networks in detail
- by using the Power Network overlay option. This shows all your
- Transformers, connected by yellow lines. Green dots shows where your
- network ends, red dots show Transformers which pass energy on.
- Excess energy will be picked up and moved along the network until it
- reaches a Transformer which is sitting in a territory with unmet need.
- Then it will be sold, even if it hasn't reached the end of your network.
- Use the Utility Sites Report to check up on your Transformers.
-
- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
- 5.) Troubleshooting Steps
-
- NOTE: Before you begin troubleshooting, we strongly recommend
- completing steps 1 through 3 before doing anything else. This will
- help insure that the game is installed under an optimal environment
- and eliminate many basic problems. Corrupted or bad installations can
- cause a variety of problems; it is best to eliminate this possibility
- before you begin additional troubleshooting steps. The following
- steps can be used on any Sierra On-Line's Family Product unless
- otherwise indicated.
-
- 1.) Check for Corrupt Files or Other problems on the hard drive:
- Before you do anything else, run one of the following DOS
- Commands (listed below) on the hard drive where the game is
- installed. These commands will check for lost allocation
- units, corrupted files, cross-linked files, and other disk
- errors which can corrupt files and/or the game's installation.
- These commands will also correct the errors they find. For
- more information on these commands consult your DOS manual.
-
- CHKDSK /F <Enter>
- (This command is for users running MS-DOS 6.0 or earlier)
-
- SCANDISK <Enter>
- (This command is for users running MS-DOS 6.2 or higher)
-
- 2.) Check hard disk space:
- Run the CHKDSK command (regardless of the DOS version you are
- using) and check the available hard disk space ("Bytes
- Available on Disk"). Make sure you have sufficient space on
- the hard drive to install the game. Games installed on a
- compressed hard drive will need twice as much compressed disk
- space. (Example: If you use any disk compression, and you
- wish to install a game that requires 10 MB of disk space, be
- sure you have AT LEAST 20 MB of space available, preferably
- 25 MB to allow a safe margin.) After installation, it is best
- to have at least 3 MB of disk space available (roughly 5 under
- a compressed environment).
-
- 3.) Re-install the program:
- After completing the above steps, it is a good idea to install
- the game. Delete all files and sub directories for the game
- from the hard drive. It is highly recommended that you boot
- up with a basic boot disk prior to re-installing the game.
- This will help insure that no memory resident programs
- (especially virus checkers) will interfere with the game's
- installation.
-
- 4.) Manually install the program (Some Programs):
- Try a manual installation if all else fails. The instructions
- are available in the README file of many of the newer
- products, on the Sierra On-Line's BBS, or available by fax
- from Technical Support. NOTE: not all products can be
- manually installed.
-
- 5.) Check Available Memory:
- A) DOS Programs:
- Games require different types and amounts of memory.
- If you ever receive an error messages from a DOS
- program like "Out of Hunk", "Out of Heap Space", or a
- report of insufficient memory, then you will need to
- free up more memory to play the game. You can check
- to see how much memory you have available and how it
- is configured by typing MEM (then press ENTER) at your
- DOS prompt. Make sure that your system's memory is
- configured to provide enough memory for the game to
- function properly. If it is not, or you have
- encountered any of the above messages we recommend
- creating a boot disk for the game.
-
- B) Windows Programs:
- You can check available memory in Windows by selecting
- HELP from the Program Manager, then choose "About
- Program Manager". You will see a Dialog box
- containing the amount of memory in Windows. Also,
- check the size of your Windows Swap file and consult
- the section IIb "Configuring Windows for Sierra
- On-Line's Programs" for complete instructions on
- checking and establishing a Swap file. A boot disk
- can also help with memory problems under Windows,
- which takes us to our next suggestion....
-
- 6.) Make a boot disk!
- The boot disk is an important troubleshooting step. Along
- with freeing up more memory, using a boot disk creates a clean
- environment that helps to isolate potential conflicts. We
- also recommend using boot disks for Windows. Many of our
- current DOS games have an automatic boot disk maker you can
- access by running the INSTALL program and choosing "Make a
- Bootable Floppy Disk" from the menu. You will need a high
- density disk that fits in your A: drive. The boot disk is an
- important trouble shooting step. Along with freeing up more
- memory, using a boot disk creates a clean environment that
- helps to isolate potential conflicts. We also recommend using
- boot disks for Windows. We have a disk named BDALL which
- contains a boot disk creator program.
- You can call our
- Technical Support at (206) 644-4343 and request the disk be
- sent to you.
-
- 7.) Sound Card Problems:
- Configuring your sound card and the game's sound drivers
- correctly is important. If the sound card is not configured
- properly, or an incorrect driver or setting is chosen when
- your Sierra program is installed, your game may lock-up or
- give you error messages. Consult section III, General Sound
- Card Troubleshooting Steps for a list of steps to help
- resolve Sound Card problems.
-
- 8.) Mouse Drivers (DOS programs only):
- Sometimes incompatible mouse drivers can cause graphics
- distortion, lock-ups and other problems. If the game you are
- using does not require a mouse, create a boot disk and REM
- out the Mouse line in either the CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT
- file on the boot disk. Otherwise, use a different mouse
- driver or contact the mouse manufacturer for more
- troubleshooting information.
-
-
- II. Configuring Windows for Sierra On-Line's Games
- Sometimes you may need to make changes or adjust your Windows
- configuration in order to run your Sierra programs. This document
- contains steps for three of the most common Windows Setup issues that
- are encountered by our customers: Changing Video Drivers, Setting up
- a Swap file, and Setting up the MIDI Mapper.
-
- IIa. Changing Video Drivers
- IMPORTANT NOTE: While we can tell you HOW to change your video
- driver, we cannot determine the appropriate driver for the specific
- brand and model of video card you have installed in your computer.
- When selecting a video driver, you must select a video driver
- specific to the video card installed in your computer. Please refer
- to documentation that came with your specific video card installed in
- your system.
-
- Most Sierra On-Line and Brightstar Windows programs require 256
- colors. While most video cards are capable of displaying 256 colors,
- Windows must be setup to use a 256 color display driver (Windows
- default is 16-color). If you are running Windows with a 16 color
- driver and you try to run one of our games that requires 256 color
- graphics, you will most likely receive the error message "Your
- current Display Driver is not supported by this game." Additionally,
- running a high color driver, like 32,000 colors or more, can
- sometimes generate a similar error message, or cause graphics
- distortion or lockups. It is for this reason that we recommend
- running Windows with a 256-color driver for optimal results with
- Sierra On-Line's Windows programs. Below is a step by step set of
- instructions for changing your video driver in Windows.
- Most often, when you purchase a new video card, the Windows drivers
- will be included on floppy disks. If the video card came pre-installed
- with an entire computer system, the drivers should have been installed
- for you by the hardware manufacturer, or included on floppy disks. If
- you choose an incorrect video driver when changing drivers, Windows may
- not boot. Should this happen, don't panic. You can restore your
- previous video driver by running the SETUP program from the WINDOWS
- directory, in DOS. (Just go to your C:\WINDOWS directory when you are
- in DOS and type SETUP, then press ENTER).
-
- From within the PROGRAM MANAGER:
- 1.) Double-click the MAIN program group icon.
- 2.) Double-click the WINDOWS SETUP icon.
- 3.) You will see a dialog box with "Display" "Keyboard",
- "Mouse", and "Network".
- 4.) On the menu bar, click on OPTIONS..., then go down to
- CHANGE SYSTEM SETTINGS.
- 5.) You will see another dialog box, similar to the previous
- one. Click on the down arrow to the right of
- "Display". You will get a list of Video drivers
- available to you. You can use the scroll bar to
- scroll up and down the list of drivers. Select a 256
- color driver appropriate for your video card. If you
- are installing the driver from floppy disks or some
- other source, choose "Other Display", and you will be
- instructed to type a path to the driver, or to insert
- the disk with the drivers into your floppy drive.
- If you have any problems changing your video driver
- or need more information, consult your Windows
- documentation, or contact the hardware or video card
- manufacturer. Additionally, if you do not have the
- appropriate video drivers available to you, you will
- need to contact the hardware or video card
- manufacturer to obtain them.
-
- IIb. Setting up a Windows Swap file (Virtual Memory)
-
- Virtual Memory, also referred to as a Swap file, is essentially hard
- disk space that is used as memory. If you have a computer with 8 MB
- of RAM, and a 4 MB Swap file, Windows treats that as 12 MB RAM.
- Sometimes if you do not have enough Extended memory available to run
- a Windows program, Windows may be able to use Virtual Memory instead.
- Some Sierra programs require a small amount of Virtual memory in
- order to run properly.
- If you are experiencing "Insufficient Memory" messages in Windows,
- then it would be a good idea to check your Virtual Memory. (We also
- recommend a Windows boot disk for these problems as well.) We
- typically recommend a Swap file of around 4096k.
- To check and set up your Virtual Memory (Swap file):
- From within the PROGRAM MANAGER:
- 1.) Double-click the MAIN program group icon.
- 2.) Double-click the Control Panel icon.
- 3.) Double-click the 386 ENHANCED Icon.
- 4.) You will see a dialog box. Click on the button
- "Virtual Memory". This will bring up a second dialog
- box that will tell you the size, type (permanent or
- temporary), and the drive your Swap file is located
- on. To change the drive that the Swap file is located
- on, or the Type of Swap file being used, you can
- click on the arrow next to those options to view your
- other choices. You will also see the following
- information listed: Space Available (the amount of
- hard drive space available for use as a Swap file),
- Maximum Size (the largest size of Swap file
- available), Recommended Maximum Size (The largest
- setting of Swap file Windows will allow you to use),
- and New Size (You can specify the size of the Swap
- file by typing it into this box).
- 5.) IF you wish to change the size of your Swap file,
- you can type the size in the New Size box. Then click
- on OK. Windows will ask you if you are sure you wish
- to make changes. Click on "Yes". You will then need
- to restart Windows for your change to take effect.
- Again, we typically recommend using a permanent Swap
- file at least 4096k in size. A permanent swap file is
- best because it gives the fastest access time, but a
- Temporary Swap File doesn't use any hard drive space
- when you are not using Windows. After you make the
- swap file, you will be asked to restart Windows.
- Choose restart then start your Windows program. For
- further information on Swap Files, please consult your
- Windows documentation.
- NOTE: You cannot use compressed disk space as a Swap file.
- If you use disk compression, you can only establish a Swap
- file on either the non-compressed host drive, or another
- non-compressed hard drive. Creating or increasing the size
- of the swap file will take up hard drive space.
-
- IIc. Setting Up Your MIDI Mapper
- Since Sierra On-Line uses MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital
- Interface) music, in order to hear music in our games you
- must have your MIDI Mapper set up correctly. Normally, this
- is done when you install your sound card software, but many
- sound cards will default to an incorrect MIDI Setup.
- The instructions below are for setting up the MIDI Mapper for
- a standard FM sound card like a Soundblaster (Classic 8-bit,
- Pro and 16-bit varieties), Pro-Audio Spectrum, and other
- similar sound cards. These instructions will work for nearly
- all sound cards, though if you have a more advanced sound
- card like a Gravis Ultrasound, Sound cards using Wave table
- Synthesis, or a Roland MT32, RAP 10 or Sound Canvas, the set
- up instructions below will not provide the optimal MIDI
- configuration to take advantage of the advanced hardware.
- Please contact the hardware/sound card manufacturer if you
- need additional help configuring you MIDI Mapper for one of
- these more advanced sound modules.
- NOTE: When you install a Sierra Windows game, make sure you choose
- BASE level if you are prompted for a "Base" or "Extended". The
- Extended setting is strictly for users with MIDI devices like the
- Roland MT32 installed in their systems.
- From within PROGRAM MANAGER:
- 1.) Double-click your MAIN group.
- 2.) Double-click the CONTROL PANEL Icon.
- 3.) Double-click the MIDI MAPPER icon. NOTE: If you do
- not have this icon, go back to the CONTROL PANEL, and
- Double-click the DRIVERS section. Click on the "Add"
- button, and in the list of drivers presented to you
- highlight the MIDI MAPPER selection and click on OK.
- After the driver is installed, you will need to
- restart Windows and start at step 1 above.
- 4.) You will get a dialog box. Click on the NEW Button.
- 5.) Type in a name (any name will do), then click on the
- OK Button.
- 6.) Now you will get the MIDI SETUP screen. Find the Port
- Name Column, and go down it until you reach the box
- for channel 13. Click on the box, then click on the
- arrow and you should get a list of drivers.
- 7.) Select the driver that has "FM Synthesis" in it. The
- name may vary depending on the sound card you have,
- but some examples are "Voyetra SuperSapi FM Driver",
- "Yamaha OPL-3 FM Synthesizer", "SBP FM Synth".
- 8.) Repeat steps 7 and 8 for Channels 14, 15 and 16.
- 9.) Click on OK, and when the computer asks you if you
- want to save the setting, choose yes.
- 10.) Close the MIDI MAPPER.
- Additional Note: Always make sure you have the proper Drivers
- installed for your sound card, as well as the following
- standard Windows drivers: Timer, MIDI Mapper, [mci] CD Audio,
- [mci] Sound, and [mci] MIDI Sequencer. If these are not
- present, you can add them following the steps below:
- Again, from the CONTROL PANEL:
- 1.) Double-click the DRIVERS icon.
- 2.) You will get a list of drivers presented in a
- dialog box. Click on the ADD button.
- 3.) Select the driver you wish to add (Timer,
- MIDI Mapper, [MCI] CD Audio, Sound, or MIDI
- Sequencer)
- 4.) Click on OK. If you are asked to use the
- Current driver or a New one, click on Current.
- You may be asked to insert a Windows disk to
- install the driver from. Follow the
- instructions on screen.
- 5.) Once new drivers are installed, you will need
- to re-start Windows. If you have any
- difficulty installing the drivers, or need
- additional help with Windows, please contact
- Microsoft or your authorized hardware
- manufacturer.
- Finally, it's usually a good idea to have the latest sound drivers
- available for your sound card. You can contact the Sound card
- manufacturer to obtain the most current drivers.
-
- IId. Sierra On-Line's Troubleshooting Steps:
- General Protection Faults
- General Protection Faults are Windows errors that are
- typically caused by a memory conflict between one or more
- drivers or programs. Another type of error similar to a
- General Protection fault is a System Integrity Violation,
- caused by an MS-DOS program running Windows.
- NOTE: Sierra On-Line does not support running our DOS programs
- through Windows. If a Sierra DOS program causes any error messages
- or a System Integrity Violation, we recommend that you run that
- program in DOS.
-
- Before You Start
- Before you begin troubleshooting General Protection Faults,
- you must have a basic boot disk for your system. Boot disk
- instructions are available from FAX (document #2470). A file
- called BDALL, which contains a boot disk creator utility and
- a complete set of boot disk instructions for a variety of
- systems, is also available.
- You can contact us in Technical
- Support from FAX at 206-644-7697 or phone at 206-644-4343
- and have the disk sent to you.
- Finally, you will want a backup copy of your WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI
- files on this disk. Copy them to the boot disk using the following
- commands:
- COPY C:\WINDOWS\WIN.INI A: <ENTER>
- COPY C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI A: <ENTER>
- (NOTE: If your Windows directory is on another drive, use the letter
- of that drive instead of C:.
-
- Troubleshooting Steps
- 1.) First, correct any and all FAT table errors and lost
- allocation units by running SCANDISK or CHKDSK. Refer to
- Section I. General Troubleshooting Techniques for DOS and
- Windows programs, and read the instructions for Step 1 if
- you need additional information.
- 2.) Make sure your Windows System Resources are over 60
- percent. You can check this by going to the HELP menu in
- Program Manager, and choosing About Program Manager. If
- resources are below 60 percent, close any and all other
- Windows applications before continuing to the next step.
- 3.) Check the DOS version you are using. If you are using
- an OEM DOS version, such as IBM DOS or Compaq DOS, those
- should only be run on their respective OEM computer systems.
- (However, the Microsoft's DOS 5 and DOS 6 upgrades will work
- on all machines.)
- 4.) Run Windows in Standard Mode (Not available in Windows
- for Workgroups 3.11). You can run Windows in Standard mode by
- typing WIN /S and then pressing ENTER. If the GP fault occurs
- in Standard Mode and Enhanced Mode Windows, the problem could
- be a corrupted file or conflict between Windows and a
- hardware device.
- 5.) Run Windows without using your WIN.INI file. The best
- way to do this is to rename the WIN.INI file to something
- else. You can do this by going to DOS, then to your WINDOWS
- directory. Then type:
- REN WIN.INI WIN.OLD <ENTER>
- If running Windows without the WIN.INI file active corrects
- the problem, make sure the LOAD= and the RUN= lines in the
- [WINDOWS] section of the WIN.INI are blank, or insert a
- semi-colon (;) at the beginning of each line. (You can edit
- the WIN.INI with a text editor program like Windows Notepad.)
- This will prevent any other Windows software from loading. If
- this fails to correct the problem, Sierra On-Line recommends
- calling either MICROSOFT, or if you received your DOS/WINDOWS
- software with your computer system, you will need to contact
- the hardware manufacturer. They should be able to help you
- isolate the conflict between your WIN.INI file and your
- SIERRA program.
- 6.) Reinstall your Sierra Windows program, or the program
- that causes the GPF. Sometimes corrupted files and drivers
- (especially sound and/or video drivers in the case of Sierra
- On-Line Software) can cause GP faults, and re-installing them
- may correct the problem. Often times, updating to the latest
- available versions of these drivers will correct problems as
- well. Contact the software manufacturer if you need assistance
- re-installing and/or updating drivers.
- 7.) Eliminate any memory-resident software. Close any and
- all other applications, make sure the STARTUP group is empty,
- and disable any and all screen savers (including the standard
- Windows screen saver) and shell replacement programs like
- Norton Desktop for Windows, PC Tools, etc. Also, don't run
- Windows from a menu program like DOS Shell or similar
- programs.
- 8.) To check for a Video driver conflict, change your
- Video driver to "VGA". A number of Video Drivers from third
- party vendors will conflict with some Sierra Windows
- programs.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: If your SIERRA ON-LINE program requires a
- 256 color driver, use Microsoft's "SVGA" (640 by 480, 256
- color) driver if you have it available. If you do not have
- this driver available, use another driver for your video card
- and see if it makes a difference. You can contact Microsoft's
- BBS to obtain the driver from them.
- 9.) Check for other possible conflicts with other,
- third-party software drivers. Edit your SYSTEM.INI file and
- temporarily comment out any and all third party drivers,
- e.g. Adobe Type Manager, third party printer drivers,
- Bitstream, etc. You can use Windows Notepad to edit the
- SYSTEM.INI file, and insert a semi-colon (;) at the beginning
- of each line that loads a third party driver. In your
- SYSTEM.INI file, the [BOOT] section should be set to a
- standard Windows default, which is listed below:
- shell=progman.exe
- system.drv=system.drv
- keyboard.drv=keyboard.drv
- mouse.drv=mouse.drv
- display.drv=vga.drv
- comm.drv=comm.drv
- sound.drv=mmsound.drv
- 10.) Eliminate potential conflicts in DOS by creating a basic
- boot disk that loads only those drivers necessary to start
- your system and Windows. A minimum boot configuration is
- listed below:
- AUTOEXEC.BAT CONFIG.SYS
- __________________________ _________________________
- Path=c:\;c:\DOS;c:\windows Files=50
- Prompt $p$g Buffers=30
- Set temp=C:\ Device=c:\DOS\himem.sys
- Stacks=9,256
- Device=c:\windows\ifshlp.sys (WFW 3.11 ONLY)
-
- Depending on your particular systems, the files above may not
- be sufficient for your system to boot normally. If you need
- additional assistance creating a boot disk, see section I.6.
-
- If creating a boot disk corrects the problem, then your GP
- fault is caused by one of the memory resident DOS programs or
- Windows drivers that your system loads.
- This list is by no means exhaustive, but it does represent
- the most common solutions to General Protection Faults
- encountered with Sierra Windows Software. For additional
- assistance, you may wish to contact Microsoft or your
- Hardware dealer (if Windows came pre-installed on your
- computer).
- III. General Sound Card Troubleshooting Steps
- Due to the tremendous number of sound cards and drivers available
- today, it can often be difficult getting a sound card and a game's
- sound driver to work together correctly.
-
- Sierra On-Line has composed the following list of Sound Card
- troubleshooting steps to help resolve the most common problems
- experienced configuring a sound card to work correctly with a game
- (and vice-versa). Please note that we cannot possibly know
- everything about your specific sound card, it's drivers, set up
- requirements, or the related software that is packaged with it.
- Therefore, if you have any questions as to how to change the
- settings, re configure, or otherwise manipulate your sound card,
- please refer to your sound card's documentation or consult your
- sound card's manufacturer.
-
- Sound Card-Common Symptoms
- 1.) Lockups. Often times a DOS or Windows program will lock up
- the system if there is a sound card conflict. Often, the game
- will still appear to be playing normally -- you will be able
- to move the mouse, the background music will be playing, and
- you may even be able to access the Save/Restore functions.
- However, the mouse pointer will remain a "wait" cursor and
- all action in the game will effectively stop. Other times,
- even the mouse pointer will freeze (A "hard" lock up), and
- the sound card may become stuck on one continuous note.
- Occasionally this might even force the system to re-boot
- itself.
- 2.) No music and/or Sound effects. Sometimes you may hear music,
- but no speech or sound effects, or vice-versa.
- 3.) Distorted or garbled music or sound effects, possibly with
- crackling noises.
- 4.) Repeating or "broken record" type sound. Sometimes this will
- manifest itself in the form of one continuous, long musical
- note as well.
- 5.) DOS Error Messages:
- "Unable to initialize your audio hardware"
- "Unable to initialize your music hardware"
- 6.) WINDOWS Error Messages:
- "Wave Out Open Error"
- "Panic: Use Capabilities Function..."
- "Sound Device already in use by another application".
-
- Sound Card Troubleshooting Steps
- (DOS\WINDOWS): First and foremost, make sure you choose the
- appropriate sound drivers or sound choices when you
- install the game ! Don't always trust the default
- values, because sometimes installation programs will
- incorrectly detect your hardware. For example, if
- you have a standard Soundblaster, Soundblaster Pro or
- Soundblaster 16, and the game's installation program
- detects "Roland MT32", this isn't going to work.
- Sometimes choosing the correct driver can be tricky,
- but for most sound cards, selecting
- "Soundblaster/Ad-lib" for the music selection and
- "Soundblaster" for the Audio/Speech selection (if
- there is an Audio/Speech selection -- not all games
- will have one) is the best place to start if you do
- not see a driver listed for your specific sound card.
- If you experience problems with these selections, use
- some of the others -- it can't hurt. For Windows
- programs, if you are given a choice of selecting
- "Base" or "Extended", start with Base level.
-
- (DOS/WINDOWS): Check the DMA and IRQ settings for your sound card.
- Generally speaking, we recommend using DMA 1 and IRQ 5,
- I/O address 220 for best results. However, as a general
- rule, our DOS games will support DMA channels 1 and 3,
- and IRQ settings of 3, 5 and 7. If you are experiencing
- any of the previously mentioned problems, change the
- DMA and/or IRQ setting for your sound card and see if
- that works. Use our recommended settings if possible.
-
- (DOS/WINDOWS): If you are not hearing any music or sound, try the
- steps above. You should also run the mixer program
- for your sound card and turn up the music and sound
- effects volume levels. If you are having the problem
- under DOS, run the DOS-based mixer, if the problem is
- under Windows, run the Windows-based mixer program.
- Sometimes not hearing music or sound effects is just
- due to the volume levels that the sound card is set
- to.
- (DOS/WINDOWS): Running DOS-based games in Windows generally will not
- work. Symptoms include repeating sounds, no sound or
- music, or other error messages like "DMA Buffer Size
- is Too Small....". For best results, we recommend
- running DOS-based games in DOS.
-
- (DOS): Try new drivers ! For DOS-based games, it never hurts to check
- with Sierra On-Line Technical Support, CompuServe, AOL
- or our BBS to see if there are any updated sound
- drivers for some games. We can mail these drivers out
- free of charge.
- (WINDOWS) Make sure the MIDI Mapper is set up correctly. For a
- complete set of instructions on setting up the MIDI
- Mapper for standard sound cards, refer back to
- SECTION IIC: Setting Up Your MIDI Mapper.
-
- (WINDOWS): Always make sure you have the proper Drivers installed for
- your sound card, as well as the following standard
- Windows drivers: Timer, MIDI Mapper, [mci] CD Audio,
- [mci] Sound, and [mci] MIDI Sequencer. Also, it's
- usually a good idea to have the latest sound drivers
- available for your sound card. You can contact the
- sound card manufacturer to obtain the most current
- drivers. If you need help installing any of these,
- please refer to SECTION IIC: Setting Up Your MIDI
- Mapper.
-
- (WINDOWS): Some Windows sound enhancement programs or screen savers
- can conflict with games if they are running at the
- same time. Often, they produce error messages like
- "Wave Out Open Error" or "Panic: Use Capabilities
- Function...". Some examples of programs that can
- produce these types of errors are "Afterdark",
- "Wired for Sound", "Icon Hear-it" or "Icon Do-it",
- and "Microsoft Windows Sound Bits."
-
-
- 6.) Technical Support
-
- STILL EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS?
- If you continue to experience any problems, or if you have any questions
- concerning any of the above steps, our Technical Support Team will be
- more than happy to assist you. Please call (206) 644-4343 between 8:15 a.m.
- and 4:45 p.m., Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Friday, We can be
- reached by Fax at (206) 644-7697, or by mail at the following address:
-
- Sierra On-Line
- P.O. BOX 85006
- Bellevue, WA 98015-8506
- Attention: Technical Support
-
- You can also reach our Technical Support Team on one of the following
- services:
-
- Internet E-Mail support@sierra.com
- Sierra Web site http://www.sierra.com
- Compuserve Go: Sierra
- America's Online Keyword: Sierra
-
- Please outline the problems along with the specific information about your
- computer system, and we will gladly respond to your letter, Fax, or BBS
- message as soon as possible. When contacting us by Fax, or BBS please
- allow 24-48 hours for turnaround. During weekends or holidays, there may
- be some delays.
-
- To better serve our European customers with technical problems and disk
- replacements, Sierra U.K Customer Support or Coktel Customer Support can
- be reached at the following address:
-
- Sierra On-Line Limited Coktel Vision
- Unit 2, Theale Technology Centre, Parc Tertiaire de Meudon
- Station Road Immeuble "Le Newton"
- Theale, Berkshire RG7 4AA 25 rue Jeanne Braconnier
- United Kingdom 92366 Meudon La ForΩt Cedex
- [44] 1-734-303171 France
- Main: (33) 1-46-01-4650
-
- Sierra Technical Support provides this documentation as a reference to
- Sierra customers using Sierra software products. Sierra Technical
- Support makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the information
- contained in this documentation is accurate. However, Sierra makes no
- warranty, either express or implied, as to the accuracy,
- effectiveness, or completeness of the information contained in this
- documentation.
-
- SIERRA ON-LINE, INC. DOES NOT WARRANTY OR PROMISE THAT THE INFORMATION
- HEREIN WILL WORK WITH ANY OR ALL COMPUTER SYSTEMS. SIERRA DOES NOT
- ASSUME ANY LIABILITY, EITHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL, FOR THE USE
- OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN, INCLUDING ANY AND ALL DAMAGE TO OR LOST USE
- OF COMPUTER HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE PRODUCTS, LOSS OF WARRANTIES, OR LOST
- DATA BY THE CUSTOMER OR ANY THIRD PARTY. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN
- INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY SIERRA, ITS EMPLOYEES, DISTRIBUTORS,
- DEALER OR AGENTS SHALL CHANGE THE RESTRICTION OF LIABILITY OR CREATE
- ANY NEW WARRANTIES. IN NO CASE SHALL SIERRA'S LIABILITY EXCEED THE
- PURCHASE PRICE OF THE SIERRA SOFTWARE PRODUCT.
-
- Thankyou for Playing Sierra Games.
-