500 Nations: README.TXT Contents
  
PSS ID Number: Q129018
Article last modified on 12-15-1995
 
1995
 
WINDOWS
 

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1995
WINDOWS
kbreadme kbref kbmm
 
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The information in this article applies to:
 
- Microsoft 500 Nations for Windows, version 1.0
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SUMMARY
=======
 
The following article contains the text of the README.TXT file found in the
root directory of the Microsoft 500 nations CD-ROM.
 
MORE INFORMATION
================
 
500 Nations README file
Microsoft Corporation
April 12, 1995
___________________________________________
 
This file contains additional information about 500 Nations 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 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 500 Nations 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 500 Nations screens.
 
   4      DEMONSTRATION AND MUSEUM MODE
           How to make 500 automatically and
           randomly demonstrate all of its Stories.
 
   5      VIDEO DISPLAY PROBLEMS
           Images don't display properly or video driver errors.
 
   6      AUDIO PROBLEMS
           Some common sound problems and how to fix them.
 
1.  RUNNING IN LOW MEMORY OR RUNNING SLOWLY
============================================
 
500 Nations uses your computer's system memory to display pictures.
If you find that 500 Nations runs slowly or if you encounter
out-of-memory errors, the program probably doesn't have enough
memory.  Consider doing the following to improve your computer's
performance:
 
* Close all unnecessary applications.
 
* Determine how much total memory your computer has available.  At
the MS-DOS command prompt, type "mem" and press ENTER.  500 Nations
will run best if you have at least 8MB (8192 KB) of total memory. If
you do not have at least 4MB of memory, you will not be able to run
500 Nations until you add more memory.
 
* 500 Nations needs a minimum of 5 MB free in Windows for best movie
performance.  To check the amount of free memory Windows has
available, start Windows, and from Program Manager pull down the
"Help" menu then choose "About Program Manager."
 
* If you are running Windows 3.1, make sure you have a permanent
Windows swap file on your hard disk.  A swap file of greater than 4MB
(4,096K) 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 500 Nations compact disc from your CD-ROM
drive while 500 Nations is in the process of playing a sound, movie,
or slideshow, or is running in Random mode.
 
If the 500 Nations program cannot find the data files that it needs
from the 500 Nations compact disc, you'll see a message that asks you
to select the drive containing the files. To find the source of the
problem, do the following:
 
* Make sure the 500 Nations compact disc is correctly inserted into
the CD-ROM drive.
 
* Make sure that the 500 Nations 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.  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.
 
* 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
see the error message 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:
 
  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. 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 500 Nations 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 500 Nations.  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 500
Nations 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".
 
If you attempt to Print while playing a video, you will not be able
to print a frame from the video window. 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 500 Nations, and Paste it into another
Windows application, you may encounter Palette problems (the picture
will have incorrect colors). This is because some Windows
applications (like Write and Paintbrush) don't support full color
palette control. For example, you can get a correct color image by
pasting into an
application that supports color control such as Paint in Windows 95,
or Microsoft Word for Windows.
 
4.  DEMONSTRATION AND MUSEUM MODE
===================================
 
500 Nations has both a demonstration mode, for use in stores, and a
museum mode.  Both begin an automatic random "slide show" of the 500
Nations 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 500 Nations.
 
5.  VIDEO DISPLAY PROBLEMS
===========================
 
500 Nations runs in 256-color screen mode. The program will
automatically detect which mode you are running and display pictures
accordingly.  500 Nations 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 can run the Windows Setup program to change
the video driver. For more information on changing video drivers,
check your Windows documentation.
 
SPECIFIC VIDEO DRIVER ISSUES
============================
 
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 500 Nations CD in the \nations\zdrivers. 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 500
Nations CD in the \nations\zdrivers directory. For details on
installing this driver, see your Windows documentation.
 
500 NATIONS IMAGES APPEAR BLACK AND WHITE
====================================================
 
Some color video cards display 500 Nations 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.
 
ATI PROBLEMS
============
 
500 Nations is incompatible with some features of video cards such as
the Mach32 chip set running the ATI drivers.  For 500 Nations 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.
 
6.  AUDIO PROBLEMS
===================
 
Audio problems can have many causes.  Other applications that play
sounds may interrupt sounds in 500 Nations, 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 500
Nations.
 
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
at all, 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,
check the Drivers 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 500 Nations 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.  Check
the "Drivers" configuration in your Windows Control Panel.  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 500 Nations.  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 in Control Panel \ Drivers
in the Media Vision Wave/MIDI driver to 7.  If this does not work
contact Media Vision for current driver information.
 
KBCategory: kbreadme kbref kbmm
KBSubcategory: win31 multi media multimedia multi-media
 
Additional reference words: kbhowto 1995
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Keywords          : win31 media multi multi-media multimedia 
Version           : 1995
Platform          : WINDOWS
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Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1995.