Oceans: Trouble.txt Contents (134319)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Oceans for Windows 1.0

This article was previously published under Q134319

SUMMARY

The following information is the contents of the Trouble.txt file found in the root directory of the Microsoft Oceans CD:

MORE INFORMATION

Having problems running Microsoft Oceans? Read the text below. If you don't find the information you need here, check the README file on the Oceans CD-ROM.
=======================================
RUNNING IN LOW MEMORY OR RUNNING SLOWLY
=======================================

Microsoft Oceans uses your computer's system memory to run.  You need
a minimum of 4 MB of Random Access Memory (RAM) to use Oceans.  Oceans
may require more than 4 MB of RAM in order to play all of its
animations.  To determine how much total memory your computer has, 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 Oceans until you add more memory.

Microsoft Oceans 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 and Windows NT, start
Windows, and from the Program Manager pull down the "Help" menu and
choose "About Program Manager."

If you find that Microsoft Oceans runs slowly, if you are unable to
play the videos, or if you encounter out-of-memory errors, the program
probably doesn't have enough memory to run efficiently.  Consider
doing the following to improve your computer's performance:

    * Close all unnecessary applications.

    * In Windows 3.1, 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 video 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 Oceans compact disc from your CD-
ROM drive while Oceans is running!

If the Microsoft Oceans program cannot find the data files that it
needs from the Oceans compact disc, check the following:

    * Make sure the Oceans compact disc is correctly inserted into
     the CD-ROM drive.

    * Make sure that the Oceans 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 Oceans 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 Oceans.
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 Oceans
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."

You cannot print a frame from a video window.  If you attempt to print
while playing a video, 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 Oceans, and paste it into another
Windows application, you may encounter palette problems (the picture
will have incorrect colors), because some Windows applications (like
Write and Paintbrush) don't support full-color palette control.  To
get a true color copy, paste 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 version 4.0, 4.1 and 5.0.  The affected printers include: the
DeskJet 500, 500c, 520, 540, 550, 550c, and 560c printers.  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 Oceans has a demonstration mode for use in stores, and a
museum mode.  Both begin an automatic random "slide show" of the
Oceans 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 Microsoft Oceans.

=======================
VIDEO DISPLAY PROBLEMS
=======================

Microsoft Oceans runs in 256-color (or higher) screen mode. Microsoft
Oceans 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, 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 your 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 you find after installing Microsoft Oceans that Windows will not
start, try reinstalling your original video driver, or use the SVGA
driver that ships on the Microsoft Oceans CD in the \data\zdrivers
directory.  If Windows still does not start or the display or videos
in Microsoft Oceans 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 (currently version 2.41).  This driver is included on
the Microsoft Oceans CD in the \data\zdrivers directory.  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
Microsoft Oceans CD in the \data\zdrivers directory.  For details on
installing this driver, see your Windows documentation.

ATI Problems:  Microsoft Oceans is incompatible with some features of
video cards such as the Mach32 chip set running the ATI drivers.  For
Oceans 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 Oceans Images Appear in Black and White
-------------------------------------------------

Some color video cards display Microsoft Oceans 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 Oceans 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 Oceans, 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 Oceans.

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.

Sounds Don'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,
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,
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 Oceans 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 Oceans.  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 your Media Vision
documentation for information on configuring your sound card.
				

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/8/2001
Keywords:KB134319