Q110368: Encarta 1994: README.WRI Contents
Article: Q110368
Product(s): Microsoft Home Multimedia Titles
Version(s): 1994
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s):
Last Modified: 26-MAY-2001
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Encarta 1994 The Complete Multimedia Encyclopedia
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SUMMARY
=======
The following is the complete text of the README.WRI file that comes with
Microsoft Encarta 1994 edition.
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://www.microsoft.com/support
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles
MORE INFORMATION
================
Microsoft Encarta, 1994 Edition - README
Microsoft Encarta Tips
This document contains information about Microsoft Encarta that was
unavailable when the User's Guide was printed.
To read this file on-screen, use the Page Down and Page Up keys on your
keyboard. You can also 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
Comments about errors, comprehensives, or validity of information
presented are very welcome. Please send these comments by FAX or U.S. mail.
Table of Contents
Section Description
1. Problems during Setup
2. Encarta and Windows Performance Issues
3. Video Cards and Display Problems
4. Audio Card Problems
5. CD-ROM Problems
6. Word Processors and Encarta
7. Running Encarta on Windows NT
8. General Multimedia Information
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, please restart Windows before you run Setup
again.
2. Encarta and Windows Performance Issues
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 ideas to make the best use of your available memory.
* Close all applications that you are not using.
* 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 Windows Control Panel
(usually in the "Main" program group of Program Manager), and click on
the icon "386 Enhanced." Then use the "Virtual Memory" button to see
whether 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 2048K.
Look at the Help menu of the Windows Control Panel or in your Windows
documentation for more information.
* 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.
* 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 four megabytes
(sometimes listed as 4096 kilobytes or KB) of RAM, and at least two
megabytes in your hard disk's Windows swap file to run Encarta.
* 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 difference is very noticeable.
For complete details on improving performance, consult your Windows and
CD-ROM manuals or see the tips in your Encarta user guide.
3. Video Cards and Display Problems
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 have
'glitches'
- 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:
* 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 (6735).
* 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.
* Use the standard VGA driver
You can use the standard VGA driver that comes with Windows with almost
all video cards. However, the VGA driver can only show 16 colors and
most images may not display as clear as they would in 256 colors.
Also, image display takes slightly longer when running in 16 color mode.
For instructions on installing or changing video drivers, please see
Help within Windows Setup. You can start Windows setup from an icon
usually located in the Main group in the Windows Program Manager.
Special Note: USING ENCARTA 1994 WITH ATI VIDEO CARDS
If you are using an ATI video card and one of the "mach" video drivers
(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 on the
"mach FlexDesk Control Panel" icon usually found in the "mach
Utilities" program group in Program Manager. The "mach Utilities"
group is created when you run the ATI mach video driver setup program.
2. Click the "Advanced..." button.
3. Make sure "Device Bitmaps" is set to "Off", or set it to "Off" if
it is not.
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.
* 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.
For information about ATI video cards or the ATI installation utility
referred to above, contact ATI Technical Support at (905) 882-2626.
4. Audio Card Problems
The following are common problems and some suggested solutions for
playing audio in Encarta.
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SOUND DOES NOT PLAY AT ALL
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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 a 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 card to be installed; it
is not meant to run with just the PC internal speaker or any
combination of that speaker and special software.
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SOUND PLAYS BUT IS DISTORTED OR "FUZZY"
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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 speakers
that are not of high quality 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. This 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.
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SOUND PLAYS, BUT HAS SKIPS
--------------------------------------------------
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.
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SOUNDS ARE CUT OFF
-------------------------------------
Most audio cards can only play 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.
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MAKING SURE THE SOUND CARD IS INSTALLED PROPERLY
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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.
COMMON SOLUTIONS TO MAKING SOUNDS PLAY: MIDI AUDIO
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MIDI AUDIO DOES NOT PLAY IN WINDOWS OR A WINDOWS PROGRAM
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When a program that supports MIDI doesn't play the MIDI audio, it is
commonly due to one or more of the following reasons:
* The audio card is not installed properly, does not support MIDI, or
is conflicting with another Windows device.
* A MIDI driver is not installed or is improperly configured.
* 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.
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MIDI TROUBLESHOOTING WITH MEDIA PLAYER
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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 in the Windows directory) please 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, it means that 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 \windows\system
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.
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MAKING SURE THAT THE MIDI DRIVER IS INSTALLED
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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.
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SETTING MIDI MAPPER
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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.
5. CD-ROM Problems
COMMON SOLUTIONS FOR PROBLEMS WITH CD-ROM DRIVES
NOTE: Do not remove the Encarta compact disc from your CD-ROM drive
while running Encarta.
If Encarta cannot find the data files it needs to run, you will see an
error message prompting you to correct the problem. To find the source
of the problem, do the following:
* Make sure the Encarta compact disc is correctly inserted into the
CD-ROM drive.
* If you have an external CD-ROM drive make sure that the drive is
connected to your computer correctly, the power is turned on and it
is functioning in MS-DOS. This can be done by viewing a directory
of the drive at an MS-DOS prompt. To do this, change to the CD-ROM
drive at an MS-DOS prompt, type DIR and press ENTER.
* Make sure that the Encarta program is looking for the compact disc
on the correct drive. Check that ENCARTA.INI file in the WINDOWS
directory. The section called [94Options] should have a entry
called "BookPath". The path should be set to the \encyc95\
directory on the drive that you CD-ROM appears as. For example, if
your CD-ROM drive is drive D:, the entry would appear like the
following:
[94Options]
BookPath=D:\encyc94\
If you still see an error message after checking the points above,
check the manuals that came with your CD-ROM drive for information on
how a CD-ROM is to be set up, or contact the company that supplied the
drive.
6. Word Processors and Encarta
USING ENCARTA WITH WORD PROCESSORS - TIPS AND TROUBLESHOOTING
Encarta allows you to create multimedia reports by copying and pasting
pictures and sounds into Microsoft Write or your word processor of
choice. Audio clips can be pasted as icons into other applications.
Double-clicking on these icons will play the audio clip. Photos,
illustrations, and maps can be pasted into other applications also.
Note that some applications will use black or white "placeholders" for
pictures when they are pasted into that application. This is to
improve performance, since actual pictures in word processing documents
can slow down scrolling and other functions.
If you print a document that has been using placeholders for pictures,
the pictures should appear properly.
Remember that anything that you copy into another application should be
credited with a footnote or acknowledgment. See the Encarta manuals
for details. Please obey copyright laws.
SELECTING A CUSTOM WORD PROCESSOR TO CALL FROM ENCARTA
By clicking the Options menu selection under the MENU button, you can
use the Choose Word Processor button to select any Windows application
as the "word processor" that you will call up with Encarta's Word
Processor menu item. Note that after finding and selecting your word
processor in the Choose Word Processor box, you must click OK to close
the box, or Cancel to ignore the change.
TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS FOR CALLING WORD PROCESSORS FROM ENCARTA
A few tips will help you in using Encarta's Word Processor menu:
1. If you Choose a Word Processor in Options, you must then make sure
that this word processor is not already open in Windows. If you
have it open when you select the Word Processor menu item in
Encarta, a second instance will be launched.
2. Once you open your application with the Word Processor menu item,
you can use this menu command to bring the Word Processor back
after you have minimized it. This makes research and report
writing more convenient.
3. Certain Windows applications do not respond to the command used by
Encarta's word processor menu to bring the word processor back
after it has been minimized. These applications generally have
complicated execution commands that Encarta cannot call properly.
The next item, # 4, explains how to work around this problem to
switch back and forth from Encarta to your word processor.
4. If you encounter problems bringing your personal Word Processor
back up with the Encarta Word Processor command, you can use
several methods to switch to your word processor. In each case,
make sure your Word Processor is open before using the Task List.
a. Hold down the ALT key, and press TAB repeatedly. This will cycle
each open Windows application to the foreground in order. When
you see the application you want, let go of the ALT key, and that
application will appear.
b. Use the Windows Task List to Switch To another application. There
are three ways to bring up the Task List:
* Click once on the Encarta System Menu (the one you use to see the
Close command). At the bottom of the list of menu commands, click
on "Switch To".
* Double-click anywhere on the Windows desktop that is outside a
window. The Windows Task List will appear.
* Press the CTRL key and hit the Escape key. The Windows Task List
will appear.
When the Task List is open, click once on your Word Processor in the
list to highlight it. Then press the Switch To button. This will bring
your Word Processor to the foreground. You can then use the same
method from within your Word Processor to get back to Encarta.
5. You will get an Error Message from the Encarta Word Processor
command if you select a word processor and then delete that word
processor from your hard disk, or if Encarta can not find a valid
Windows application from your selection. In this case, you must
choose a new word processor using Options before the Word Processor
command will work for you.
7. Running Encarta on Windows NT
Encarta runs well on Windows NT with the following exceptions:
* The NT version of the CinePak video decompressor from SuperMac was
not officially released and tested when Encarta 1994 was completed.
Therefore, only the standard Windows decompressor is included, so
videos will not play on NT.
* If you have a non-Intel Windows NT machine (i.e. Mips or Alpha
processor) then you will need to manually install two DLL's that do
not have the 80386 code found in the DLLs installed by default.
These files are in the \encarta\nt directory on the CD and are called
ENC94IMG.DLL and POEMWINC.DLL. To install these files, do the following:
- Do a complete setup of Encarta. You must choose the "Faster"
installation option so that the files to be replaced run from the hard
driver.
- Copy the two files from the \encarta\nt directory on the CD into the
same directory you designated in Setup (C:\ENCARTA by default). These
files replace the ones setup copied there.
N.B. On non-Intel NT machines the Encarta Dictionary/Thesaurus should
not be run since it will cause a crash.
8. General Multimedia Information
For more information regarding Multimedia PCs, MPC titles, and other
general multimedia topics of interest, please refer to the MPC
Marketing Council at the following location:
Multimedia PC Marketing Council, Inc. 1703 M Street Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 452-1600
For more information regarding other Microsoft Multimedia titles write to:
Microsoft Multimedia Publishing Group
Consumer Division
1 Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052-6399
For information regarding a specific MPC product, contact the
manufacturer of that product.
Additional query words: kbhowto 1994 multi media multimedia multi-media readme.txt text read me txt file MediaView
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Keywords :
Technology : kbHomeProdSearch kbEncartaSearch kbEncartaEncycSearch kbEncartaEnCyc1994
Version : 1994
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