Explorapedia: Troubleshooting Sound Problems (124711)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Explorapedia series: World of Nature for Windows 1.0
  • Microsoft Explorapedia series: World of People for Windows 1.0
This article was previously published under Q124711

SUMMARY

This article gives very general troubleshooting guidelines for sound problems in Explorapedia. If you are experiencing a specific problem, please look at the following article in the Microsoft KnowledgeBase for more information:

129453 "Explorapedia: Error Messages When Running Explorapedia"

If Sounds Are Not Played At All

  • Check the volume on the sound card, speakers, and sound card software.
  • Verify that system sounds are enabled.
  • Play a .WAV file from Sound Recorder to see if Windows sounds are working correctly.
  • Verify that the PC Speaker driver software is not installed. If so, disable it. Explorapedia is not designed to run with PC Speaker software.
  • Verify that the sound card software is installed correctly.
  • Check the card to see that it is seated firmly and correctly and that the speakers are plugged in correctly. Check the card jumpers.

If Sounds Are Played, but They Are Distorted or Fuzzy

  • Verify that the volume is not set too high. If the volume is too high, sound will be distorted or fuzzy.
  • Check the DMA settings for your sound card.

If Sounds Are Played, but They Skip or Are Cut Off

  • This may be an indication that your CD-ROM drive is not fully MPC (Multimedia PC) compliant (sustained transfer rate of 300K/second while consuming no more than 40-percent of the CPU bandwidth), or it may indicate that you are using a SINGLE speed CD-ROM. If you are using a single speed CD-ROM, you may experience drop-out during videos or animation.
  • Only one sound can be played at a time; therefore, other applications that produce sound can interrupt Explorapedia's sounds. Do not run other programs while you are running Explorapedia.

If Narration and Tad's Voice Play, But Not the Music

  • Verify that the only sound drivers installed are the ones for your current sound card. For more information about how to perform this task in Windows, see your Windows printed documentation or online Help.
  • Remove any old or incorrect sound drivers from the drivers list. (This would include PC Speaker drivers or sound drivers for a sound card that you have replaced.)
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/7/2003
Keywords:kbhowto KB124711
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