README for Pinochle 2.1 Pinochle 2.1 is a shareware program by Christopher Chapman. It plays Double Deck Pinochle on computers with Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. I hope you enjoy the program! Contents of this file 1. System requirements 2. Installing Pinochle 2.1 automatically 3. Installing Pinochle 2.1 manually 4. Running the program 5. Uninstalling Pinochle 2.1 6. Restoring the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory 7. Undoing the registration 8. How to report problems 9. History of program 10. Future plans 11. Legal Stuff 1. System Requirements Pinochle 2.1 requires Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. It should run on almost any computer that runs Windows 3.1. The program requires an 80386 or higher processor, 2mb of extended memory, and just over 1mb of hard disk space. Recommended minimum configuration is 80486 or Pentium at 20mhz or faster, and 6mb or more of RAM. 2. Installing Pinochle 2.1 automatically Pinochle 2.1 was designed for Windows 3.1, but also works in Windows 95. You should use the INSTALL program in either version of Windows. You may use the automatic installation if you run Windows from a local hard drive or a network with full write privileges. This should be the case unless you have a quite unusual system setup. If this is not the case, then follow the directions in part (3) below for a manual installation. Installation Procedure First, CLOSE ANY PROGRAMS YOU HAVE RUNNING WITHIN WINDOWS. This is a good safety precaution before you install any new programs. Copy all the unzipped files to a subdirectory where you wish to keep the program. This program does not require its own subdirectory and does not create one for itself. For example, you may do something like the following, at the DOS prompt: MD \PINOCHLE MOVE PINOCHLE.ZIP \PINOCHLE CD \PINOCHLE PKUNZIP PINOCHLE.ZIP Now run the program INSTALL.EXE from Windows. At the program manager, select FILE | RUN ... and input the directory name where you have the program, plus \INSTALL.EXE. If you followed the above directions, this would be: \PINOCHLE\INSTALL.EXE Press OK. The installer will copy necessary files to your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory, and will notify you that it is making backups of any previous versions of files found there. The installer does *not* create a program group in Windows, since most users add Pinochle to a group of other games. The install program does *not* change or add anything to WIN.INI or CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT After the installer has finished, you may add the PINOCHLE.EXE file to any program group. For example, if you followed the above, you would: Open a program group in Windows Select: FILE | NEW | PROGRAM ITEM Input: \PINOCHLE\PINOCHLE.EXE That's all. You may now enjoy the game! It is probably best if you exit and restart Windows after any program installation. 3. Installing Pinochle 2.1 manually To install Pinochle manually, following the instructions above to move the distributed files to any subdirectory you like. Then copy the following files from the Pinochle location to your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM or equivalent subdirectory (wherever you run Windows from): BIVBX11.DLL CTL3DV2.DLL MHRUN300.DLL MHCARDS.DLL MHCD200.VBX You may then delete these files from the Pinochle location. Add PINOCHLE.EXE to any program group in Windows, and you are ready to play! No changes need to be made to WIN.INI or CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT. In Windows 95, no additions are made to the system registry. 4. Running the program Simply run PINOCHLE.EXE from the Windows Program Manager, either by using the FILE | RUN ... command or by adding PINOCHLE.EXE to a program group or to the Windows 95 Start menu. If you know how to play Pinochle, then the program should be pretty self- explanatory. For more information, or to learn how to play Pinochle, check out the online help system. Select HELP | CONTENTS from the main menu. Note: If you are an experienced Double-Deck Pinochle player, this program may use a different meld system from the one you use. There are *many* different scoring systems out there. Check out HELP | MELD TABLE from within the program to see how this program scores. Also, note that the 3.0 version of Pinochle will include options for setting up your own meld table. This upgrade will be free to registered users of Version 2.1. Note also that you may print the Meld Table from with Windows Help. Windows 95 Note: For users with 640x480 screens, some of the buttons in Pinochle 2.1 may be obscured by the Windows 95 task bar. You may compress the vertical spacing of elements in Pinochle 2.1 by selecting FILE | WINDOWS 95 MODE from the main menu. Note that this option does *not* have anything to do with Windows 95 as such; it may be used or not used according to personal taste in either Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. 5. Uninstalling Pinochle 2.1 If you decide not to keep Pinochle 2.1, simply delete the following files from the directory where it resides: PINOCHLE.EXE PINOCHLE.HLP PINOCHLE.CFG README.TXT REGISTER.TXT INSTALL.EXE You should not delete the .DLL and .VBX files from \WINDOWS\SYSTEM, since they may be used by other programs, too. However, you may wish to read the next section on \WINDOWS\SYSTEM if you wish to delete some of those files. 6. Restoring the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory If you uninstall Pinochle 2.1, or if you experience problems with other programs after its installation (very unlikely!), then you may wish to restore your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory as follows. Generally, this should not be necessary, even after uninstalling the program, and I do *not* recommend tinkering with the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory. Only follow my suggestions below if you already know what you're doing! It is always a good idea to backup your system before performing tasks like this, since a mistake could be costly! Do not attempt these tasks unless you are highly familiar with Windows installation. A. Move to the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory B. See if any of the following backup files exist: BIVBX11.D~L CTL3DV2.D~L MHRUN300.D~L MHCARDS.D~L MHCD200.V~X C. Delete the following files: BIVBX11.DLL MHRUN300.DLL MHCARDS.DLL MHCD200.VBX D. If any backup files were found in (B.) then copy those backup files to their original file names (replace the '~' with a 'B' or 'L'). Example: COPY CTL3DV2.D~L CTL3DV2.DLL E. Once you are *sure* that everything is working properly, you may then delete the files listed in (B.) above. 7. Undoing the registration If you have registered Pinochle 2.1 but for some reason wish to undo the registration (e.g., if you wish to change the capitalization of your name), then move to the Pinochle location and delete the file PINOCHLE.CFG. This will reset the program to "unregistered" and will erase your win/loss record. You may then re-register Pinochle if you wish, by following the initial registration procedure with your name and registration number. You may e-mail the author at cnchapman@aol.com if you have registered but lost the registration number. 8. How to report problems I hope that Pinochle 2.1 is bug free. It has been thoroughly tested, but unfortunately problems may always exist out in the "real world"! General Problems Note that some video drivers cause problems with a variety of programs. If Pinochle 2.1 does not run at all, or if it gives a "General Protection Fault" then you should try using a different video driver, or update your video drivers from your manufacturer or by downloading from an online service. To determine whether the problem is with video or with another aspect of your system or with Pinochle 2.1, you may wish to try using the generic VGA or SVGA drivers from Microsoft by running SETUP from the Windows Main program group. If you have problems that are not resolved by changing video drivers, then also try running Pinochle 2.1 without any other programs running in Windows. You could have a shortage of Windows resources (memory, virtual disk space, file handles, etc.) Note that your DOS path specified in AUTOEXEC.BAT should contain the path for your Windows system. If not, Pinochle might have difficulty finding its system components. Other Problems If you do have a problem to report, please write or e-mail me with as much information about the problem as you can gather. If the program crashes: Note any error messages / numbers that appear If you were playing a game: Note the game number from the title bar Write to: Chris Chapman, P.O. Box 555, Uniontown, AR 72955 or email: cnchapman@aol.com 9. History of the program Pinochle 1.0 was a DOS version of the program. It had a primitive interface, but was a very small program and played very quickly. It would make a nice program for an old 8088 system or a laptop. It is available free for the asking to registered users of Pinochle 2.1 Version 2.0 was for Windows, and had improved in several areas, especially overall playing and bidding. Version 2.1 is an upgrade to 2.0. It corrects some minor playing problems, and adds some new options (see the "Options" menu inside the program). 10. Future plans I plan to continue work on the program in the future. Upgrades to the program will be free for registered users of Version 2.1. Following are some options I am considering for the upgrade: User-definable meld table and scoring system Modifiable personalities for the computer players Difficulty levels (both easier and more difficult than current) Ability to adjourn a game without forfeiting (restart it later) Let me know if you have any suggestions! 11. Legal Stuff Pinochle 2.1 is copyright (c) 1994-96 by Christopher Chapman. All rights reserved, except that this program may be distributed freely or for duplication costs only, provided that it is unaltered and that all files included in the original PINOCHLE.ZIP file are included. If you use Pinochle 2.1 for more then 15 days, then you must register it with the author. Follow the instructions in the online HELP | REGISTER command from within the program, or read the file REGISTER.TXT. THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING TO TRY PINOCHLE 2.1. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE GAME. -- Christopher Chapman -- cnchapman@aol.com