Q131948: DOGS: TROUBLE.TXT Contents
Article: Q131948
Product(s): Microsoft Home Multimedia Titles
Version(s): WINDOWS:1.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s):
Last Modified: 11-DEC-1999
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Dogs for Windows, version 1.0
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SUMMARY
=======
The following article contains the TROUBLE.TXT file contained in the root
directory of the Microsoft Dogs CD.
MORE INFORMATION
================
Microsoft Dogs TROUBLE.TXT file:
Having problems running Microsoft Dogs? Read the text below.
RUNNING IN LOW MEMORY OR RUNNING SLOWLY
============================================
Microsoft Dogs uses your computer's system memory to run. You need a
minimum of 4 MB of Random Access Memory (RAM) to use Microsoft Dogs. To
determine how much total memory your computer has available, go to a
MS-DOS command prompt, type "mem" and press ENTER. If you do not have
at least 4 MB (4,096KB) of total memory, you will not be able to run
Microsoft Dogs until you add more memory.
Microsoft Dogs needs a minimum of 5 MB (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 or Windows NT, start Windows, and
from the Program Manager pull down the "Help" menu and choose "About
Program Manager."
If you find that Microsoft Dogs 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.
- Make sure you have a permanent Windows swap file on your hard disk.
A swap file of greater than 4 MB (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 display colors to 256. For instructions on how
to change your Windows display consult your Windows documentation.
CD-ROM PROBLEMS
===============
NOTE - Do not remove the Microsoft Dogs compact disc from your CD-ROM
drive while Microsoft Dogs is running!
If the Microsoft Dogs program cannot find the data files that it needs
from the Microsoft Dogs compact disc, check the following:
- Make sure the Microsoft Dogs compact disc is correctly inserted into
the CD-ROM drive.
- Make sure that the Microsoft Dogs 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:
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.
PRINTING AND COPYING
====================
The screens in Microsoft Dogs 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 Dogs. 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 Microsoft
Dogs 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 Microsoft Dogs, 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.
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.
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 versions 4.0, 4.1, and 5.0. And the affected printers include:
the DeskJet 500, 500c, 520, 540, 550, 550c, or 560c printer. 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.
DEMONSTRATION AND MUSEUM MODE
=============================
Microsoft Dogs has both a demonstration mode, for use in stores, and a
museum mode. Both begin an automatic random "slide show" of the
Microsoft Dogs pages if you haven't used the program for a specified
number of minutes. You can select either of these modes by pressing
Ctrl+Alt+D after starting Microsoft Dogs. If Microsoft Dogs is exited
while in one of these modes, Microsoft Dogs will show the
Demonstration Setup dialog box the next time you start Microsoft Dogs
so you can choose which mode to run in.
Museum mode has special features for stand-alone operation. If you use
museum mode, it is recommended that you do the following:
1. Run Microsoft Dogs in full-screen (640x480) mode.
2. Remove the keyboard.
3. If you are running Windows 95 or later, turn off the taskbar
properties: "Always on top" and "Auto hide."
VIDEO DISPLAY PROBLEMS
======================
Microsoft Dogs will run in 256-color (or higher) mode. Microsoft Dogs
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 or later 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, try setting you 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 Windows will not start after installing Microsoft Dogs, try
reinstalling your original video driver, or use the SVGA driver that
ships on the Microsoft Dogs CD in the \data\zdrivers directory. If
Windows still does not start or the display or videos in Microsoft
Dogs 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. Some drivers are included on the Microsoft Dogs CD
in the \data\zdrivers directory. For details on installing this
driver, see your Windows documentation.
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 Dogs CD in the \data\zdrivers directory. For details on
installing this driver, see your Windows documentation.
ATI Drivers: Microsoft Dogs is incompatible with some features of
video cards such as the Mach32 chip set running the ATI drivers. For
Microsoft Dogs 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 Dogs Images Appear in Black and White
-----------------------------------------------
Some color video cards display Microsoft Dogs 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 Dogs 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.
AUDIO PROBLEMS
==============
Audio problems can have many causes. Other applications that play
sounds may interrupt sounds in Microsoft Dogs, 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 Microsoft
Dogs.
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 in
Windows 3.1, check the Drivers section of the Windows Control Panel.
In Windows 95 or later, 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 Dogs 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 Dogs. 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 you Media Vision documentation for
information on configuring your sound card.
Microsoft IntelliType Keyboard Users
------------------------------------
If you have the Microsoft IntelliType Keyboard and have the keyboard's
sounds turned on, this can interfere with some of the sounds in
Microsoft Dogs. For example, if you notice in the "Dog Piano" that
when you press a key, the keyboard is making sound instead of
Microsoft Dogs, then you should turn off the keyboard sounds. To find
out how to change the Microsoft IntelliType Keyboard sound settings,
check the documentation that came with it.
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.
Additional query words: kbhowto 1995 mmtitles help
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Keywords :
Technology : kbHomeProdSearch kbDogs100
Version : WINDOWS:1.0
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