ALPHA FOUR INSTALLATION TROUBLE SHOOTING This document is designed to cover common installation problems that occur with Alpha FOUR. Even though the installation was designed to be as simple as possible, there are still areas where things can go wrong. This document will troubleshoot some of the problems and give solutions to the most commonly asked questions concerning the Alpha FOUR installation process. The document is divided into two major sections. The first section covers questions and problems related to all installations, whether single or multi-user. The second section deals only with the multi-user installation and its pitfalls. These sections contain separate portions that deal with error messages that may appear during the installation. Common Installation Problems The installation process for the single and multi-user copies of Alpha FOUR is similar in many respects. There are many problems which are common to both these installations and will be dealt with here in one explanation. The document will be presented in a problem-solution format for easy reference. Just find the situation that matches the problem and a solution will follow. PROBLEM: When you type SETUP (or INSTALL in the case of Alpha FOUR version 1), nothing happens. 1. Make sure you are at the proper drive (A: or B:) when you type the command. Also, check to make sure the proper disk is in the drive and the drive door is closed. Do a directory of the Installation disk and make sure there is a file named SETUP.EXE. If the installation disk has no files or if you cannot do a directory of the installation disk, then the installation disks may be damaged. Contact Alpha Tech Support and request a set of replacement disks. 2. If the screen goes blank and the system locks up then there may be a video conflict between the setup program and the computer. Call Alpha Tech Support and request a set of manual installation instructions. If the installation disks are for version 2.00.04 or later the manual installation instructions can be found on the installation disk in a file labeled A4SETUP.TXT. If the manual installation does not work, this may indicate a bad disk. Please request a set of replacement disks from Alpha Software. PROBLEM: When you answer yes to the question "Do You Have a Color Monitor?" the machine locks up. There may be a video conflict between the setup program and the computer. See paragraph 2 in the answer of the problem above. PROBLEM: Type in a path when prompted and an error message occurs. Check to see what path the setup program is asking for. There are two places that the setup program prompts for paths during the installation. The first prompt asks where the program will be installed from. This is the disk drive which contains the installation disk (A: or B:). The second prompt asks where the files will be installed to. This is the path and directory where the setup program will place the Alpha FOUR program files. The setup default is C:\ALPHA4V2. This can be changed to any path desired. As long as the file can be created where specified (a network path may not work if proper rights are not given to the person doing the installation), the setup program will accept the path and install the program files in the specified directory. PROBLEM: Keeps prompting for the same disk over and over (i.e. "Please insert disk 4 and press any key to continue"). 1. If booting from a floppy disk when starting the machine, place the BOOT disk in the drive and press ENTER. Now place the required installation disk and proceed. The installation program is searching for the COMMAND.COM file located on the BOOT disk. Once this file is found, the installation can proceed normally. 2. If the machine is not booted from a floppy disk (if it boots from the hard drive), check to make sure COMMAND.COM is located in the root directory or that \DOS\ is in the path statement of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If not, load COMMAND.COM into the root directory of the hard drive. Otherwise, check the disk that is being prompted for. Do a directory of the disk and see if files are there and check the size of the files. The disk may be damaged. If so, call Alpha Tech Support and request a new set of installation disks. At this point the setup program will begin unzipping the files and installing them in the proper directory. Any problems at this point will be from error messages which are covered in the following section. ERROR MESSAGE: "Cannot Start Windowing System" 1. Make sure the installation program is being initiated from the proper prompt. If the setup command is typed at a C: prompt and Windows is loaded on the system then this error message may appear, or the Windows setup program may begin. Make sure SETUP is being typed from the proper floppy drive (A: or B:) containing the Alpha FOUR installation disk. 2. If setup is being run from the proper drive, make sure the proper video display of 80x25 is active. Use the DOS MODE command to insure proper video setup. Type MODE CO80 for a color monitor and MODE BW80 for a monochrome monitor. These command will insure the proper video screen display. If this does not work, there may be a video conflict. Try a manual installation. See the answer to PROBLEM 1 above for solution. ERROR MESSAGE: "Not Enough Conventional Memory" or "Not Enough Hard Disk Space". Alpha FOUR needs at least 512K conventional RAM memory free and at least 3 MEGS hard disk space for a quick installation (5.4 MEGS for a full installation). Use a DOS CHKDSK command to find out how much conventional memory and hard disk space is available. If less than 512k of conventional memory is available, then memory must be freed up. Try removing any memory resident programs (TSRs) to free up extra RAM. IF not enough hard disk space is free, then files will need to be removed from the hard drive to make enough room for the Alpha FOUR program. ERROR MESSAGE: "Error Unzipping file.ext" The setup program may be looking for the COMMAND.COM file. See problem 4 above. If it is not looking for COMMAND.COM then the file may be damaged. Contact Alpha Software Tech Support and request a new set of installation disks. ERROR MESSAGE: "Data CRC Error" One of the files on the installation disks is corrupted. Please contact Alpha Software Tech Support and request a new set of installation disks. Multi - User Installation The Alpha FOUR multi-user installation is more complex than the single user installation because there are more options available, thus there is more chance for problems in a multi-user installation. The problems specific to this type of installation will be covered below, along with certain error messages specific only to the multi-user installation. The first question when doing a multi-user installation is whether it will be for a single user on a network, or if many people will share the program. If a single user will be using the network copy, then the SETUP program will be used for the installation. Please refer to the section above on general problems if the SETUP program is being run. If many people will share the program, then a MASTER installation will be run. This is done by typing MASTER at the drive prompt (A: or B:) from which the installation will take place. Most network installations use the MASTER setup program. There are three steps to completing a MASTER installation. 1.The first step is to run the MASTER installation program. 2.The second step is to create users using the USER program which will be available in the Alpha FOUR program directory once the MASTER installation is complete. Type USER at the program prompt and follow the on screen instructions to create user sub directories. If you want to create user sub directories on a local computer (the individual work station), be sure to start from that computer so the local C: drive can be entered when the installation program prompts for the location of the user sub directory. 3.The third step is to increase the user count. There are a few ways to increase the user count depending on how many network licenses were purchased and in which form they were purchased. If a bump disk was purchased then all that needs to be done is to run the BUMP program located on the bump disk itself. Just put the bump disk in the floppy drive (A: or B:) an type BUMP. This will initiate a program that walks through the user count increase. If a single copy or a 3 for 1 of the multi-user program was purchased, then a different procedure will be followed. Place the disk labeled INSTALLATION DISK into the floppy drive and type MASTER. It will prompt for some information including the installation path. You will then see a menu with the choices Master Installation and Increase the User Count. Choose Increase the User Count. This will run through an automated process that merges the A4.NET files and increases the user count for the network copy of the program. Below are some of the problems and error messages that are specific to the multi-user installation. If the problem being experienced is not listed here, check the problems in the section above. PROBLEM: When you type MASTER the screen goes blank or nothing happens. This is the same as typing SETUP and having nothing happen. Please see the answer to the first problem under Section One. PROBLEM: You type in a path and directory to indicate where you want to install the program, and the installation program won't accept it or it gives an error message. 1. You may not have rights on the network to create the directory on the requested drive and path. Check with your network administrator to make sure that you have the proper rights to create directories. Also check to make sure there is enough room on the drive you specify. 2. If the installation program won't accept the path or if it terminates your network connection, check to see what type of network card you are using. If it is an Arcnet card, then there may be a memory address conflict between Alpha FOUR and the Arcnet card. Both programs use the memory address of 2EOH, thus a conflict occurs when trying to load Alpha FOUR. To remove the conflict you can change the address setting for the Arcnet cards, or request a copy of the 2.1 Upgrade. ERROR MESSAGE: When you go to run Alpha FOUR you receive the message "Lan Error Reading Lan Pack: A4.NET file". The A4.NET file may have become damaged. Rename the A4.NET file located in the program directory on the file server. Copy the A4.NET file from the original installation disk into the Alpha FOUR program directory. If necessary increase the user count again by merging the Lan Packs as described above. If no A4.NET file is found on the server or the installation disks please contact Alpha Tech Support and request a new set of installation disks. The above suggestions cover many of the most common installation problems, but is by no means an all inclusive reference, and should not be used as a replacement of the original installation instructions. If any problems being experienced are not covered in this document, or if problems persist after trying suggestions contained herein, please contact Alpha Software Technical Support for further assistance.