Q150664: Mastering Visual Basic: README.WRI Content
Article: Q150664
Product(s): Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
Version(s):
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbmm
Last Modified: 18-FEB-2002
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The information in this article applies to:
- MSPRESS Mastering Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 ISBN 1-55615-913-7
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SUMMARY
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The following article contains a copy of the information presented in the
Readme.wri file on the Mastering Visual Basic compact disc.
MORE INFORMATION
================
Mastering Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0: README File
-------------------------------------------------
9/21/95
Welcome to Mastering Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0. This file contains
information about Mastering Visual Basic not included in the online Help.
Multimedia technology, with its array of new hardware and software
combinations, can present a variety of potential performance and
configuration problems. This README file contains important and helpful
information on the following topics:
Section Description
1 Send Us Your Feedback
2 Problems During Setup
3 Removing Mastering Visual Basic
4 Potential Problems Running this Title
5 Labs and Sample Applications
6 Performance Issues
7 Hardware Problems
8 Audio Problems
9 CD-ROM Problems
10 Printing Problems
11 Running under Microsoft Windows NT
12 Running under Microsoft Windows 95
13 Generic Multimedia Information
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
virtually any Windows-based word processing program.
1 Send Us Your Feedback
We welcome your feedback. Let us know how Mastering Microsoft Visual
Basic 4.0 has helped you gain expertise in creating solutions with
Visual Basic 4.0. You can reach us via any of the following:
Internet: devtrain@microsoft.com
Mail: Mastering Series Products
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
Fax: (425) 936-7329
Attn: Mastering Microsoft Visual Basic
Please note that we receive a number of suggestions and comments
regarding Microsoft products and are unable to respond directly to each
one. However, be assured that your recommendations, ideas, and remarks
are recorded and will help shape future versions of our Mastering Series
products.
2 Problems During Setup
The Setup program's default settings will load the Mastering Visual
Basic title to your C: drive. You may assign application files to a
different drive; however, Setup will copy 3 MB of system files to your
WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory.
If you choose to have the Labs and Demos installed during Setup,
approximately 3.5 MB of files will be copied to a set of directories
under the \VB4PRG directory on your C: drive. It is important that
these files remain in this directory structure when you run the labs.
Setup will not complete properly if you remove the Mastering Visual
Basic CD-ROM during Setup, or attempt to start the application before
Setup is complete.
Because Mastering Visual Basic installs system files that may be shared
with other applications, you must shut down other applications,
including Microsoft Office, before running Setup. If you have closed all
other open applications and you encounter problems during Setup, make
sure your system meets the minimum requirements necessary to install
Mastering Visual Basic.
System Requirements
Mastering Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 will run on the following minimal
system; however, performance will improve with more RAM or a faster
CD-ROM drive.
* Personal computer with a 486DX or higher processor
running Windows 95, or Microsoft Windows NT
Workstation 3.51 or later.
* 10 MB of memory (16 MB or more recommended).
* 8 MB of available hard-disk space.
* MPC2-compatible CD-ROM drive.
* Super VGA or higher-resolution video adapter capable
of displaying 256 colors or greater.
* Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device.
* MPC2-compatible audio board for audio and video
instruction.
* Microsoft Visual Basic, Professional Edition or
Enterprise Edition, version 4.0 is required to work
the lab exercises.
3 Removing Mastering Visual Basic
To remove Mastering Visual Basic from your computer, run Setup again and
choose the Remove All option. (This removes only files specific to
Mastering Visual Basic. Shared files installed in the Windows System
directory, such as DLLs, VBXs, OCXs, and DRVs, are not removed.)
You may also need to do the following:
* Delete the Mastering Visual Basic icon. If you moved
the icon to a different program group since
installing the application, Setup will not be able
to detect the new location of the icon and cannot
delete it. After running Setup (with Remove All
selected), go to Program Manager and delete the
icon(s).
* Delete the MVB directory. The MVB directory (or the
directory you specified as the destination directory
during Setup) will not be removed. If this directory
is not being used for other files, you can delete it
by going to File Manager or Explorer, selecting the
directory, and then pressing Delete.
* Delete the Lab and Demo directory structure. If you
had Setup install the Labs and Demos, Remove All
removes all the files but leaves the directory
structure. If you haven't added any files to this
structure, you can delete C:\VB4PRG to remove the
entire structure.
4 Potential Problems Running this Title
This section describes problems you may experience when running
Mastering Visual Basic.
* Content: Articles located in the product's Library
and sample applications are based on pre-released
versions of Visual Basic 4.0. There may be
discrepancies between information referenced in
these sources and in the released version of Visual
Basic 4.0. Library articles included in this title
are not edited by the Mastering Visual Basic team.
You may encounter documentation errors, references
to page numbers, and formatting problems. Addresses,
phone numbers, and other contact information
appearing in this title may have changed since the
time of publication.
* Files: Several of the applications in the Files
section of the Library Technical Reference may
behave differently on different platforms. In
particular, graphics may not display in the
application VB Tips and Tricks 1995, and VB Tip of
the Day requires that VBRUN300.DLL is in the path.
* Graphics: This title is designed to run on machines
capable of displaying 256 colors or more. Though the
title does run on systems displaying 16 colors,
there is a noticeable drop in image quality. Some
large graphics may display out of the window when
running the title at 640 x 480 resolution. It is
recommended that you run this application in 800 x
600 mode or greater.
* Labs: The labs contain references and pointers to
the C:\VB4PRG directory. To run the labs without
modification, they must be in that directory
structure. If you did not have Setup install them,
you can run Setup again and select this option.
Refer to the Labs and Sample Applications section
for details.
* Out of Memory Error: An Out of Memory error may
occur if you re-size the application numerous times
during a session. If this occurs, restart Mastering
Visual Basic.
* Palette Flash: You may experience a palette flash
when running videos on particular hardware
configurations.
* Printing: The media represented by icons in the text
area (graphics, sample code, tips, videos, demos,
and answers) will not print when printing the
current screen. To print this information, click the
icon to display the media, then choose Print. If you
experience problems printing over a network, consult
your network administrator to make sure your printer
settings are correct. Solutions for common printing
problems are described in section 9, "Printing
Problems."
* Running under Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Windows for
Workgroups: While the product will run under Windows
3.1 and Windows for Workgroups, you will not be able
to print.
* Taskbar: Automatic hiding and display of the Windows
95 Taskbar may not work properly while this
application is active. If you experience a problem
with this, Alt+Tab to another application to display
the Taskbar.
* Text: If you have set your Windows color scheme to
display white text on a colored background, you will
have to change it in order to see anything in the
Navigation pane, as the background there is forced
to white.
* Toolbar: The Content on Top icon on the Toolbar is
referred to as the Small Size icon in the Tour.
* Video: The Demonstration and Point of View files
will run only if you have Microsoft Video for
Windows installed on your system. Setup will notify
you if it is not installed, and you can install it
by running Setup from the VFW directory on the
Mastering Visual Basic CD-ROM. Performance of video
clips will vary, depending on the capabilities of
your system. Switching applications (Alt+Tab) while
running video files can cause the video to stop. The
title is designed to run on systems conforming to
MPC2 specifications. Even with appropriate hardware,
you may experience long wait times while video files
are being loaded, and you may have errors in
video/audio synchronization during playback.
5 Labs and Sample Applications
Mastering Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 provides numerous Lab exercises
that illustrate programming concepts and techniques. These Labs are
listed at the end of each Chapter in the Table of Contents, as well as
in the Library under Labs.
There are project, solution, and demonstration files associated with
each Lab. These are stored on the CD-ROM in the appropriate subdirectory
of the MASTER\MEDIA\VB4PRG directory. If you chose to install the lab
demo applications during Setup, they are also in a subdirectory of the
C:\VB4PRG directory on your hard disk. If you did not install them
during Setup, you can run Setup again to do so.
To work without modification, the files must be in the C:\VB4PRG
directory. For example, some of the labs assume the Northwind database
(NWIND.MDB) is located in C:\VB4PRG. If you move the files to another
directory, you will need to make minor modifications to the lab programs
to specify the correct file locations.
Note: The lab and demo applications provided with Mastering Visual Basic
were tested with the 32-bit version of Visual Basic. Most of these labs
should work with the 16-bit version, but they are not guaranteed to do
so.
Labs
Each chapter has an associated lab. The instructions to complete the lab
assignment are at the end of each chapter. The solution to each lab is
included in the C:\VB4PRG\LABS directory. Some of the labs provide
partial solutions. For example, the solution to Lab 5 is provided as a
starting point to Lab 6. To start Lab 6, open the NWIND.VBP project in
the C:\VB4PRG\LABS\LAB06 directory. To see the solution to Lab 6, open
the NWIND.VBP project in the C:\VB4PRG\LABS\LAB06\SOLUTION directory.
Sample Applications
There are numerous sample applications that illustrate the concepts and
techniques taught in this title. These files can be installed in the
C:\VB4PRG\DEMOS directory during Setup, or by running Setup again.
When working through the chapter, some of the online demonstrations
refer to these sample applications. You can open the application in
the C:\VB4PRG\DEMOS subdirectory and review the code yourself.
6 Performance Issues
There are several ways to make Mastering Visual Basic run faster. Many
of the methods described below are general tips that will improve the
performance of any application under Windows. Consult your Windows
manual for more details.
Mastering Visual Basic uses your computer's random access memory (RAM)
to display pictures and play video and audio. If Mastering Visual Basic
runs slowly or you get error messages saying you are out of memory, you
may not have enough RAM available. Here are some tips 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 files into or out of your
computer's memory. To set up a permanent Windows
swap file on your hard disk, open the Windows
Control Panel (usually in the Main program group in
Program Manager), and click the Enhanced icon. Then
click 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 6096 KB.
Look at the Help menu of the Windows Control Panel
or check your Windows documentation for more
information.
* Defragment or optimize your hard disk by running a
defragmentation program. For example, MS-DOS 6.0 and
later includes a utility called Microsoft Defrag. A
disk defragmenter is also included in Microsoft
Windows 95. 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 10 MB of RAM, and 16 MB
is recommended.
* Add a cache to your CD-ROM drive.
SmartDrive in MS-DOS 6.2 and utilities such as
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 can be
very noticeable. For best performance, the CD-ROM
drivers should be loaded before you load SmartDrive,
otherwise SmartDrive won't cache the CD-ROM drive.
* If you are using more than 256 colors in your video
display, you may want to lower your video colors to
256. For instructions on how to change your Windows
display, consult your Windows documentation.
For more details on improving performance, consult your Windows and
CD-ROM manuals.
7 Hardware Problems
Mastering Visual Basic is designed to run at VGA (640 x 480) resolution
or higher with 256 colors. Though Mastering Visual Basic will run in
16-color mode, there will be a noticeable drop in image quality.
Mastering Visual Basic may encounter display problems when using
accelerated video drivers, video drivers with more than 256 colors,
or high-resolution video drivers. One example of these problems is a
video display with garbled images. Another is a crash occurring when
trying to play a video. There are several things you can do if you
encounter such problems:
1. Most problems can be fixed by obtaining new drivers
from your video card manufacturer. Contact the
manufacturer of your video card to determine if
newer versions are available. The manufacturer's
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 (MSDL), an electronic bulletin
board that can be accessed by modem at (425) 936-
MSDL (425-936-6735).
Drivers provided on MSDL are compressed with the
PKWare utilities and are in the form of executable
files (.EXE extension). It is best to download the
file or files you need into an empty directory on
your hard disk or a blank formatted floppy. To
decompress these drivers after downloading them,
either:
a) From Windows File Manager, double-click on the
filename that you downloaded (e.g., the the
appropriate file ending in .EXE).
-or-
b) From the DOS prompt, change to the directory the
containing the downloaded file, type the
filename, and then press ENTER.
2. 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.
To find out what video driver you are using, go to the Main group in
Program Manager and double-click the Windows Setup icon. To the right
of "Display" you will see the name of the video driver currently in use.
For instructions on how to install or change drivers, click Help (in
Windows Setup).
Cirrus Logic Driver
Cirrus Logic video drivers, v1.32, are incompatible with Video for
Windows 1.1. As a result, you may experience difficulties playing videos.
To update your Cirrus Logic video drivers, contact Cirrus Logic product
support at:
Cirrus Logic
3100 W. Warren Ave.
Freemont, CA 94538
(510) 623-8300
Using the Cirrus Logic driver v1.43, running 640 x 480 resolution at
16.8 million colors will cause the initial images of the Demonstrations
in Mastering Visual Basic to have a white background with horizontal
lines running through them. However, once a Demonstration starts playing,
the video plays correctly.
To correct this initial image problem, change your color setting to 256
colors or change your resolution to something other than 640 x 480.
The Cirrus Logic driver products referenced here are manufactured by
Cirrus Logic, a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty,
implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or
reliability.
Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16/16 ASP
Compressed audio clips may fail to play if you are using a Sound Blaster
16 or Sound Blaster 16 ASP sound card. This problem occurs because some
computers are unable to use the 16-bit DMA (direct memory access)
channel on the Sound Blaster cards.
To correct this problem, switch the HDMA channel to use DMA or 8-bit
DMA. You must change this setting in the following two places:
1. The Drivers dialog box in the Windows Control Panel.
2. The SBCONFIG.EXE configuration program included with
Sound Blaster cards.
To change the settings, follow these steps:
1. Open the Windows Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Drivers icon.
3. Select the Sound Blaster 16 Wave/MIDI driver, and then
click Setup.
4. Under the HDMA setting, set the selection to DMA.
5. Click OK, and then click Do Not Restart Now.
6. Exit Windows.
7. At the MS-DOS prompt, change to the SB16 directory and
run SBCONFIG.EXE.
Follow the instructions provided by this configuration
program. It assists you in selecting and testing the
following variables:
To test this variable . . . Select this
Base I/O port Autoscan
MidiPort address Autoscan
DMA interrupt Current
8-bit DMA Current
16-bit DMA Use 8-bit DMA
After you have finished making these selections, the
SBCONFIG program will restart your computer.
8. Restart Windows.
Compressed audio clips should now play correctly. For
more information about Sound Blaster cards and about
this problem, contact Creative Labs technical support
at (405) 742-6622.
Sound Blaster is manufactured by Creative Technology
Ltd., a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no
warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this
product's performance or reliability.
Media Vision Pro Audio Spectrum
Audio clips may sound "scratchy" or distorted when played from the
Media Vision Pro Audio Spectrum. To correct this problem, change the
Media Vision driver DMA setting to 7.
To change the driver settings:
1. Open the Drivers icon in the Windows Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Drivers icon.
3. Select the Media Vision Wave/MIDI/Aux driver, and then
click Setup.
4. Under the DMA setting, set the selection to 7.
5. Click OK, and then click Restart Now.
Audio clips should now play correctly.
For more information, call Media Vision, Inc. technical support at
(800) 638-2807 or (510) 770-9905. On CompuServe, Media Vision can be
reached by typing GO MEDIAVISION at any prompt.
The Pro Audio Spectrum driver products included here are manufactured
by Media Vision, Inc., a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no
warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance
or reliability.
Turtle Beach Monte Carlo
When using the Turtle Beach Monte Carlo sound card, sounds may play
correctly the first time then fail on subsequent attempts. To correct
this problem, run the Monte Carlo driver utility and change the Setup
to use the Standard drivers and not the V-synth driver. Audio clips
should then play correctly.
For additional information about using the Monte Carlo or Turtle Beach
drivers, consult the documentation from the hardware vendor. For more
information, contact Turtle Beach technical support at (717) 767-0200.
The Turtle Beach driver products included here are manufactured by
Turtle Beach, Inc., a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no
warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance
or reliability.
S3 V.1.1 Video Drivers
Problems such as random GP faults or crashes may occur on a system
with the S3 video driver version 1.1. To correct these, update to the
most recent S3 driver (V.2.41).
The S3 driver products are manufactured by S3 Inc., a vendor independent
of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these
products' performance or reliability.
Roland Rap-10
When using the Roland Rap-10 sound card you may experience problems
playing compressed audio. To correct this problem, make sure that you
are using Roland Toolworks software version 3.7 or later.
For more information, contact Roland technical support: (213) 685-5141.
The Roland driver products included here are manufactured by Roland,
Inc., a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or
otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.
Reveal MM Pro 16
Audio pronunciations may fail to play if you are using a Reveal MM Pro
16 sound card. To avoid this problem, disable 16-bit audio by setting
the Reveal MM Pro 16 16-bit DMA channel to None, as follows:
1. Open the Windows Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Drivers icon.
3. Select the MMPRO16 Wave/Midi/Aux driver, and then
click the Setup button.
4. Set 16-bit DMA channel to None.
The Reveal driver products referenced here are manufactured by Reveal,
a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or
otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.
Aztech Labs (AZI)
You may experience problems playing compressed wave audio when using any
of the following Aztech Labs (AZI) sound cards:
* Multimedia Pro
* NX Pro 16
* Sound Galaxy Basic 16
* Sound Galaxy Pro 16
To resolve this problem try the following:
1. Add a D=64 parameter at the end of the Device=EMM386
line in the CONFIG.SYS file. For example, if your
EMM386.EXE file is in the DOS directory on drive C,
you would use the following line:
Device=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE D=64.
2. Change the DMABufferSize setting in the [386Enh]
section of the SYSTEM.INI file to "DMABufferSize=064"
(without the quotation marks). If the line does not
exist, add it.
3. Do the following:
a) Note the driver listed in the Wave= line in the
[drivers] section of the SYSTEM.INI file.
b) Find the section by that name in the SYSTEM.INI
file.
For example, if Wave=mm16.drv, find the [mm16.drv]
section.
c) Add a "SingleModeDMA=True" line (without the
quotation marks) to this section.
d) If the driver in the Control Panel for the
particular AZI card has separate 8-bit and 16-bit
DMA settings, try setting the 16-bit to None.
Some 16-bit AZI sound card drivers do not have separate 8-bit and 16-bit
DMA settings. If the problem still persists, you may need a sound driver
update. For more information, contact Aztech Labs technical support at
(800) 886-8879 or Sound Galaxy Support at (510) 623-8988.
The Aztech products discussed here are manufactured by Aztech, a vendor
independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise,
regarding these products' performance or reliability.
Special Note: Using ATI Video Cards
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. To check/change this setting, do the
following:
1. Double-click 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 Settings button.
3. Make sure Device Bitmaps is set to Off, or set it to
Off if it is not. (If the Advanced dialog box has no
Device Bitmaps setting, read the information below to
change 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 need to
alter your WIN.INI file (located in your Windows subdirectory). You can
do this by opening the WIN.INI file in Notepad, which is normally
located in the Accessories group in Program Manager. Place the cursor at
the top of the file and search for "devicebitmap" (without quotation
marks). 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 double-clicking 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,
Mastering Visual Basic 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.
The ATI products discussed here are manufactured by ATI, a vendor
independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise,
regarding these products' performance or reliability.
8 Audio Problems
This section offers solutions to common problems that may occur when
playing audio in Mastering Visual Basic.
Sound does not play at all
If you hear no audio when running the introductions, demonstrations, and
expert point of view videos on Mastering Visual Basic, follow these
steps to locate the problem.
1. Check the volume setting on the speakers and in your
audio software.
2. If the volume is turned up and you still hear no
sound, 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
you may need to change a jumper setting 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). Mastering
Visual Basic requires an MPC2-compatible audio card;
it is not meant to run with the PC internal speaker or
any combination of that speaker and special software.
Note Some speakers come with built-in amplifiers. If the speakers do
not have power (by batteries or adapter) and the amplifier is turned on,
you won't hear anything.
Sound plays but is distorted or "fuzzy"
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 (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) channel. Sounds that are scratchy
while using a low DMA address will sound better using an upper DMA
channel. In the case of the Media Vision Pro Audio 16 sound card, a DMA
setting of 7 will correct any scratchy sounds. To change the DMA
channel, go to the Windows Control Panel and select Drivers. In the
Drivers section, select the sound card driver, and then 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.
Sound plays but skips
Audio that breaks up or skips periodically 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-2 specification states
that the CD-ROM drive must be capable of transferring data at a rate of
300 KB per second while utilizing 60 percent or less of the CPU. You can
continue to use your CD-ROM drive to run Mastering Visual Basic, but
will continue to experience choppiness in audio clips.
Sounds are cut off
Most audio cards can play only one sound at a time; therefore, other
sound-producing programs could interrupt the sounds from Mastering
Visual Basic. Some sound- producing programs may take over the audio
capability and prevent other Windows-based programs from being able to
make sounds. If you suspect you have such a program, do not run it at
the same time as Mastering Visual Basic.
Making sure the sound card is installed properly
1. Verify Port and IRQ settings by looking at the sound
card and comparing the way the Port and IRQ settings
are set up with the way that the audio card software
specifies they be set up. The audio card manual should
explain how to configure the audio card settings.
2. Make sure the sound card does not conflict with other
hardware. This is done by comparing the Setup of the
audio card with the Setup 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.
3. 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
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.
9 CD-ROM Problems
Mastering Visual Basic requires at least a double-speed CD-ROM drive to
function properly. A CD-ROM drive that does not meet the MPC2
specifications will exhibit slow performance, audio blips, or
interruptions when sound is played.
Note Do not remove the Mastering Visual Basic compact disc from your
CD-ROM drive while running Mastering Visual Basic. Removing the CD-ROM
will cause errors and/or incorrect displays or functionality.
If Mastering Visual Basic 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 Mastering Visual Basic compact disc is
correctly inserted into the CD-ROM drive.
* Make sure that the drive is connected to your computer
correctly and that it is functioning in MS-DOS. If you
have an external CD-ROM drive, make sure the power is
turned on. You can test the functionality by viewing a
directory of the drive in MS-DOS or Windows.
* Make sure that the Mastering Visual Basic program is
looking for the compact disc on the correct drive.
If you still see an error message after checking the points above,
consult 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.
10 Printing Problems
Screen resolution and printer resolution are often not the same, so the
resulting printout may not match the quality you see on the screen.
If you encounter a general protection fault when you print a topic,
check your printer driver. Switch to a more current version of the
driver, if one is available. Additionally, ensure that the printer is
online and that you can print to it from another application. If the
problem persists, one of the following procedures may solve the problem:
* In Control Panel, double-click the Fonts icon. Click
the TrueType button in the Fonts dialog box, and turn
off the Enable TrueType Fonts option.
* In Control Panel, choose Setup and Options for your
printer. Turn off the Color option, and restart
Windows.
If you are using an HP LaserJet printer, make sure that you have the
most current printer driver or try setting the printer resolution to
300 dpi (graphics may not print properly at 600 dpi).
You should be able to print grayscale images from Mastering Visual
Basic. If you have a black and white laser printer, you may need to
upgrade your printer driver. Call the dealer from whom you bought the
printer or call the printer manufacturer.
Basic Screens in Color on a Color Printer
It is not possible to print a frame from a video you are playing. If you
attempt to do so, the text displayed in the Content pane will be printed.
Because the text areas can be quite large, you may have difficulty
copying or printing in low-memory conditions. In this case, close
all unnecessary applications and try again.
11 Running under Microsoft Windows NT
To run Mastering Visual Basic under Windows NT, Setup may need to copy
some files to your system directory. In order for Setup to do this, you
must be a member of the Administrator group when you log on. Otherwise,
Setup will not be able to copy these files to your drive. You can check
your user status from the User Manager.
Mastering Visual Basic runs well on Windows NT with the following
exceptions:
* The videos in Mastering Visual Basic will not run on
Windows NT version 3.5. You must have Windows NT
version 3.51 or later.
* Mastering Visual Basic will fail on exit if Run in
Separate Memory Space is selected in the Properties
dialog (in Program Manager, select the Mastering
Visual Basic program icon, click File, and then click
Properties). The default setting has this option
turned off so that Mastering Visual Basic will run
properly.
* Mastering Visual Basic will not run on non-Intel
machines running Windows NT.
12 Running under Microsoft Windows 95
If you want to change the display resolution, select Settings and then
Control Panel from the Start button. In the Control Panel, click the
Display icon. Change display attributes on the Settings tab.
13 Generic Multimedia Information
For more information regarding Multimedia PCs (MPCs), MPC titles, and
other general multimedia topics of interest, please contact the MPC
Marketing Council:
Multimedia PC Marketing Council, Inc.
1703 M Street, Suite 700
Washington DC 20036
(202) 452-1600
For information regarding a specific MPC product, contact the
manufacturer of that product.
Additional query words: 1.00 multi media multimedia multi-media mmtitles
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