TECHNICAL TIPS We have found that many of the common problems our customers experience with their games have simple answers. If you are having one of the problems listed below, the solution provided should be tried first before you search any further for answers. 1. WHY DOES IT SAY "ABNORMAL PROGRAM TERMINATION" WHEN I TYPE IN THE GAME COMMAND? The "ABNORMAL PROGRAM TERMINATION" error usually indicates that a program cannot run because the system has not been configured to free up enough conventional memory. Under DOS, conventional memory is limited to 640 Kilobytes (K) total (regardless of how much RAM is installed in the machine) and is reduced by DOS and various Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) programs. Most of our games will comfortably run with 585K or better of free conventional memory, though some configurations might need more. To find out which version of DOS you are using, type "VER" at any DOS prompt; this will return a message that says "MS-DOS version n.nn" where "n.nn" refers to some number, "6.20" for example. To find out how much conventional memory is free: Type "CHKDSK" and find the value of "BYTES FREE". If the free memory value is less than 585k, the system configuration needs to be changed to increase the free conventional memory. Three methods to increase free conventional memory: a. For DOS 6.0 or higher, run MEMMAKER (If the drive is compressed in some way, make sure the device driver is loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file so that it can be properly placed in upper memory). If this doesn't free up enough memory, create a boot disk, as described below. b. Alter your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to load DOS, device drivers and other TSRs into upper memory at boot up (consult your DOS manual for specifics on how this is done). c. Create a Game/Boot Disk. Boot disk instructions are included at the end of this file. 2. WHY DOESN'T MY MOUSE WORK? If your mouse does not work at all: -Is the mouse installed for DOS? Windows uses its own drivers, and therefore works without a properly installed DOS mouse driver, so you cannot assume that because a mouse works with a Windows system that a mouse driver for DOS programs is currently installed. To find out whether or not such a driver is installed: -enter a DOS application that supports a mouse, such as the EDIT utility (DOS 5.0 or later) or a DOS word processor (or anything else, besides Windows, that loads from the DOS prompt and uses a mouse). If the mouse does not respond at all in such a program, then the DOS driver is not properly loaded. Check the disk or manual that came with your mouse for instructions on how to install it. -Do you have enough conventional memory free? Some programs incrementally sacrifice sound or mouse functionality when sufficient memory resources are not available. Create a boot disk to free up more conventional memory. If the mouse works sporadically (jumping around, not clicking properly, etc.): -You may not have a 100% Microsoft compatible mouse driver (This has nothing to do with hardware, only software). Check your hard disk for a file called MOUSE.COM, as some upgrade versions of DOS include this Microsoft mouse driver (type "dir mouse.com /s" at the C:\ root directory prompt). If not already on your system, such a driver can be obtained from either the vendor or manufacturer of your computer. 3. HOW DO I SET UP MY SOUND CARD? Setting sound card parameters: To use a sound card with an Impressions program, it is sometimes necessary to set a number of parameters using the setup utility located in the game directory. The significant values are the I/O Address, the Interrupt Request Channel (IRQ) and the Direct Memory Access (DMA) values of the relevant sound card. These can sometimes be found on a line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, which is found in the root directory of the main hard disk (C:\); if, for example, you own a Sound Blaster or compatible the line might begin with something like: "SET BLASTER" (if the card is something other than a Sound Blaster, it might be something else, "SET PROAUDIO" for example) followed by a sequence of letter/number combinations including: Annn, In, Dn (where n represents a numerical digit); Annn is the address, In is the IRQ and Dn is the DMA value. The setup program allows for specification of the type of sound card as well as the Address and IRQ values of the installed card (DMA is usually assumed to be 1 which usually cannot be changed in the setup utility); If any of these are incorrectly set, sound will not work with the program. If no SET BLASTER, or similar, line is found in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, consult either the sound card manual or the technician who installed the device to obtain the Address, IRQ and DMA values. Sound card emulation: If you are using a card that is not listed as an option in the setup program, it probably emulates something else. It is usually a good idea to use the oldest version of whatever card your system is emulating (ie. choose SoundBlaster over SoundBlaster pro), as the older cards are usually better documented so that emulation of those works better. 4. MEMORY MANAGERS Third party memory managers, such as QEMM, 386Max, etc. sometimes cause problems. They make certain assumptions about memory use which are not true of many high performance graphics intensive programs. If you are using one of these memory managers and encounter graphics distortions, try temporarily disabling third party memory managers. Creating a boot disk with the instruction in this file will disable any third party memory managers. 5. WHY IS MY CD-ROM GAME RUNNING SO SLOWLY? CD-ROM drives are much slower than hard drives. When running a program from a CD-ROM, if you don't run a disk caching utility, the program may run slowly. A disk cache program sits between the physical disk drive and the program, reserving an area of memory that stores the information most recently read from, or sometimes written to, the drive. This speeds the system by keeping data that a program might need to look at more than once in memory instead of on the disk; for a computer, looking at memory is much faster than looking at the disk. Some CD drives come packaged with caching software, but the most common such utility is MS-DOS Smartdrive (C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE), which also caches other disk drives. All versions of Smartdrive that come with or after MS-DOS version 6.2 (file date 9/30/93) can cache CD-ROM disks. MSCDEX (C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE) is a program that comes with DOS and is packaged with some CD-interface or drive hardware. Along with a properly loaded CD-ROM device driver, it lets DOS see the CD as a disk drive; without MSCDEX, you cannot access a CD-ROM drive through DOS or Windows. To make sure Smartdrive and MSCDEX are set up properly, check your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. So long as your CD drive has been properly installed, there should be a line that loads in MSCDEX and possibly a line that loads in Smartdrive, or some other cache program that might have come with your drive. Make sure the line that loads in the caching program comes after the line that loads in MSCDEX; if you don't do this, the caching software will not work. The line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file that loads MSCDEX looks something like: "C:\DOS\MSCDEX...", and usually includes other things after the "MSCDEX" such as the DOS name of the CD device and a number of other things; assume all these things after the "MSCDEX" are necessary if you are going to cut and paste between configuration files. The line that loads in Smartdrive should look something like: "C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE". If using a version of DOS later than 5.0, you should add "LOADHIGH" and a space at the beginning of the line If you have changed or moved lines in your AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS files you should rerun MEMMAKER, and be sure to specify no EMS when asked about it. If running DoubleSpace or Stacker with DOS 6.0 or higher, always be sure that a DEVICE or DEVICEHIGH line loads it in the CONFIG.SYS file or MEMMAKER will ignore it and it will certainly load low, wasting valuable conventional memory. STILL HAVING PROBLEMS? BEFORE YOU CALL... In order to allow us to help you more effectively, please try to follow the suggestions below before you call for help. This will assist us in finding the answer to your problem as quickly as possible so that you can begin playing and enjoying your new game. 1. READ AT LEAST THE FIRST FEW CHAPTERS OF YOUR DOS MANUAL. The more you know about the operating system your machine is running the easier it will be for any technical support to help you solve any problems. You should at least be familiar with how DOS commands work, what disk files and directories are and what utilities are available on your machine for editing text files. 2. FIND OUT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ABOUT HOW YOUR MACHINE IS CONFIGURED. What version of what brand operating system is running on the machine? (At the command prompt, type "VER" and hit enter to find out what version of DOS is running) What kind of chip is running your machine? ('486? '386? '286? 8086?) How much memory is in the system? How much conventional memory is free? (Free conventional memory should be above 590k or so) How much hard disk space is free? What kind of video card is in your machine? (SVGA? VGA? EGA? Brand name?) What kind of sound card, if any, is in your system? Do you have a CD-ROM drive? Are you using Stacker, Doublespace or some other kind of disk compression? Are you using QEMM or some other third party memory manager? If Windows 3.1 is installed on the machine, you can run Microsoft Diagnostics to find out some of these things, if you do not already know about them (type "MSD", then hit at the command prompt). If necessary, call whomever it was that originally configured your system to answer these questions. It's also a good idea to print out your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files (usually in the root directory of C:) and keep the printouts handy. 3. SET UP THE COMPUTER NEAR THE PHONE WITH THE PROGRAM INSTALLED ON THE HARD DRIVE. It is very difficult for technical support to troubleshoot a computer problem over the phone without having access to the machine in question while it is running. If this is not an option, list every detail about the occurance of the problem, including all pertinent system configuration information (such as that described in the previous paragraph), and keep this list handy when calling tech support. 4. DEFRAG YOUR HARD DISK. Non-contiguous files on a hard disk can sometimes cause strange and mysterious things to occur. While in the game directory, type "CHKDSK *.*", then hit at the DOS prompt to find out if all the game files are contiguous or not. A hard disk can be defragmented, or defragged, by using a disk utility program such as SPEEDISK, which is packaged with Norton Utilities, or DEFRAG, a program included with MS-DOS version 6.0 or above. This reorders disk space, making stored files contiguous. If a hard drive has not been defragged for more than a month, and has been used even moderately, it is likely that many of the files on the disk have become non- contiguous. 5. CHECK FOR VIRUSES. Viruses can mess up even the most carefully configured system. Use a memory-resident virus checker (such as VSAFE, a utility that comes with MS-DOS version 6.0 and above) whenever you insert new disks into your machine, and run an anti-virus utility (such as MSAV, another utility that comes with MS-DOS v.6.0 and above) before you call. TECHNICAL SUPPORT MS-DOS Boot Disk Instructions for IBM compatibles using MS-DOS 5.0 or above (revised 6/1/95) Sierra Technical Support provides this documentation as a reference to Sierra customers using Sierra software products. Sierra Technical Support makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the information contained in this documentation is accurate. However, Sierra makes no warranty, either express or implied, as to the accuracy, effectiveness, or completeness of the information contained in this documentation. SIERRA ON-LINE, INC. DOES NOT WARRANTY OR PROMISE THAT THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL WORK WITH ANY OR ALL COMPUTER SYSTEMS. SIERRA DOES NOT ASSUME ANY LIABILITY, EITHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL, FOR THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN, INCLUDING ANY AND ALL DAMAGE TO OR LOST USE OF COMPUTER HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE PRODUCTS, LOSS OF WARRANTIES, OR LOST DATA BY THE CUSTOMER OR ANY THIRD PARTY. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY SIERRA, ITS EMPLOYEES, DISTRIBUTORS, DEALER OR AGENTS SHALL CHANGE THE RESTRICTION OF LIABILITY OR CREATE ANY NEW WARRANTIES. IN NO CASE SHALL SIERRA'S LIABILITY EXCEED THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE SIERRA SOFTWARE PRODUCT. IMPORTANT NOTE: Please read the entire instructions prior to starting at Step 1. You can skip Steps 3 and 4 if you are not playing a CD game. STEP 1 FORMATTING THE DISK To make a boot disk, format a high density diskette in the A: drive. (It is necessary to reformat the disk if it is already formatted.) Formatting the disk with the /S switch will transfer the "system files" to the disk and allow the computer to boot up correctly. The disk must be in the A: drive; the computer will not boot from the B: drive. Type the FORMAT command as follows: FORMAT A: /S If you get a "Bad command or file name" error message, type: PATH=C:\DOS Then retype the FORMAT command above. If you receive the error again, the MS-DOS FORMAT command may not be on your system, or it may have been renamed. Programs such as PC Tools and Norton Disk Utilities sometimes rename the FORMAT command to prevent accidental loss of data. If you are using a program of this type, check your documentation to find out how to format a SYSTEM DISK, then proceed to Step 2. STEP 2 LOCATING THE MOUSE DRIVER If you are playing a game that uses a mouse, the Microsoft compatible mouse driver must be loaded into memory with the boot disk. There are two kinds of mouse drivers available: those that load in the CONFIG.SYS file and those that load in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. CONFIG.SYS mouse drivers have an extension of .SYS (MOUSE.SYS) and AUTOEXEC.BAT drivers have either a .COM or .EXE extension (MOUSE.COM, MOUSE.EXE). You must load at least one of these drivers, but it is not necessary to load them all. If you do not know where the mouse drivers are located on your system, the command below should help you locate them. Type the following at the C:\ prompt: DIR MOUSE* /S This command will cause the system to search all subdirectories for a file called MOUSE. If the system locates a MOUSE file, it will display the path where the file is located. For example, if the MOUSE.COM file is located in a C:\MOUSE directory, the system will display: Directory of C:\MOUSE MOUSE.SYS 55160 03-10-92 3:10a MOUSE.COM 56408 03-10-03 6:00a If this procedure does not locate a MOUSE file, your mouse driver may have a different name. Some common names for mouse drivers are IMOUSE, GMOUSE and HPMOUSE. Your should check your mouse documentation for the exact file names and how to install them. Once you have located the mouse driver, you must copy it to the boot disk. The following example assumes that the mouse drivers are located in the C:\MOUSE directory as shown in the step above. To copy the MOUSE files to the boot disk, type: COPY C:\MOUSE\MOUSE.* A: Substitute the appropriate path and file names for your mouse drivers in the command above. After you press ENTER, you should see a message indicating that some files were copied. STEP 3 LOCATING THE CD ROM DEVICE DRIVER (skip if not playing a CD game) The CD ROM drive requires a device driver loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file. This driver must be loaded correctly or you will be unable to access your CD ROM drive. To make sure that the device driver loads correctly on the boot disk, look at the CONFIG.SYS on the hard drive and copy the driver line from there. At the C:\ prompt, type: TYPE CONFIG.SYS|MORE NOTE: The | is called a "pipe" command and is created by pressing . Step 3 continued... The CONFIG.SYS file will display on the screen. Look for the line that loads the CD ROM device driver. This line will contain the same "/D:" switch as the MSCDEX line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Using the MSCDEX example above, you would be looking for a line containing "/D:MSCD001". The line should look something like this: DEVICE=C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS /D:MSCD001 /P:220 DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS /D:MSCD001 /P:220 DEVICEHIGH /L:14652 =C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS /D:MSCD001 /P:220 The device driver in your CONFIG.SYS may differ slightly from those listed above. Carefully write down the line for use in your boot disk. Leave out the "/L:" information, if any. Your CD ROM device line should appear as follows: DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS /D:MSCD001 /P:220 NOTE: If you have a SCSI CD ROM drive, there may be an additional driver in your CONFIG.SYS that must be loaded for the CD ROM device drivers to load correctly. Check your CD drive documentation for more information. STEP 4 LOCATING THE MSCDEX CD ROM EXTENSION (skip if not playing a CD game) In addition to the CD ROM device driver in the CONFIG.SYS, your CD ROM drive requires MSCDEX, the Microsoft extension for CD ROM drives. If this extension is not loaded correctly in the AUTOEXEC.BAT, you will be unable to access your CD ROM drive. To make sure that MSCDEX loads correctly on the boot disk, look at the AUTOEXEC.BAT on the hard drive and copy the MSCDEX line from there. At the C:\ prompt, type: TYPE AUTOEXEC.BAT|MORE The AUTOEXEC.BAT file will display on the screen. Look for the line that loads the MSCDEX extension. It should look something like this: C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 LH C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 LOADHIGH /L:14429 C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 The MSCDEX line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT may differ slightly from the ones above. Carefully write down the line for use in your boot disk. Leave out the "/L:" information, if any. If the "LH" is missing, add it. For example, any of the above lines will appear on your boot disk as follows: LH C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 STEP 5 LOCATING THE SOUND CARD DRIVERS Many sound cards have drivers or initialization lines that must be loaded in the AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS. Some sound cards that require these drivers or initialization routines are the SoundBlaster 16, MAD16 and the Aria 16. Check your sound card documentation for information on what needs to load in the AUTOEXEC.BAT and/or CONFIG.SYS. STEP 6 CREATING THE CONFIG.SYS FILE To create the CONFIG.SYS file on the boot disk, switch to the A: drive and type the following: COPY CON CONFIG.SYS (the cursor will drop down one line and blink) DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS (Skip this line if you're playing PowerHouse, Front Lines, or High Seas Trader) DOS=HIGH,UMB FILES=30 BUFFERS=20 If you are using the MOUSE.SYS file to load your mouse, add the following line to the CONFIG.SYS: DEVICEHIGH=A:\MOUSE.SYS If you're playing a CD game, add the CD ROM device driver as you wrote it down in the "Locating the CD ROM Device Driver" section. For example: DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS /D:MSCD001 /P:220 If you need to load any sound card drivers, copy them from the "Sound Cards" section now. The following example lines are for the SoundBlaster 16: DEVICEHIGH=C:\SB16\DRV\CTSB16.SYS /UNIT=0 /BLASTER=A:220 I:5 D:1 H:5 DEVICEHIGH=C:\SB16\DRV\CTMMSYS.SYS Complete the file by pressing . STEP 7 CREATING THE AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE To create the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the boot disk, switch to the A: drive and type the following: COPY CON AUTOEXEC.BAT (the cursor will drop down one line and blink) @ECHO OFF C:\ SET COMSPEC=C:\COMMAND.COM PROMPT SIERRA BOOT DISK $_$P$G PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\SIERRA If you are using the MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.EXE file to load your mouse driver, add the appropriate line: LH A:\MOUSE.EXE If you're playing a CD game, add the MSCDEX line as you wrote it down in the "Locating the MSCDEX CD ROM Extension" section. For example: LH C:\DOS\MSCDEX /D:MSCD001 If you need to run any sound card initialization programs or load any drivers, copy them from the "Sound Cards" section now. The following example lines are for the SoundBlaster 16: SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 T6 SET SOUND=C:\SB16 SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E C:\SB16\SB16SET /M:220 /VOC:220 /CD:220 /MIDI:220 /LINE:220 C:\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S Complete the file by pressing . STEP 8 REBOOT THE SYSTEM AND START THE GAME Reboot your system by pressing the button on your computer or by using the key sequence on your keyboard. Refer to your game documentation for the steps to start the game. IF YOU STILL HAVE PROBLEMS... If you continue to experience problems, or if you have any questions concerning any of the above steps, Sierra Technical Support will be happy to assist you. You can reach Technical Support at (206) 644-4343 between 8:15 am and 4:45 pm, Monday through Friday. We can also be reached by fax at (206) 644-7697 or by mail at the following address: Sierra On-Line Technical Support PO Box 85006 Bellevue, WA 98015-8506 In Europe, please contact our office in England. The Customer Service number is (44) 1734-303171, between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The BBS number is (44) 1734-304227 and the fax number is (44) 1734-303201. Customer Service can also be reached at the following address: Sierra On-Line Limited 4 Brewery Court The Old Brewery Theale, Reading, Berkshire RG7 5AJ UNITED KINGDOM You can also contact our Technical Support Team on one of the following services: Sierra BBS (206) 644-0112 (settings 8, N, 1, up to 38,400 baud) CompuServe GO SIERRA America Online KEYWORD SIERRA Internet 76004.2143@compuserve.com If you decide to write or fax, please fill out the attached "Technical Support Request" form and return it to "Sierra Technical Support. This will give us the information we need to help you as efficiently as possible. Thanks! Sierra Technical Support Request To help us help you, please fill out this information and return it to Sierra Technical Support. Name: Fax number: Phone number: Address: Game name, version number and S/N number (from disk #1): What problem are you having? Be VERY specific. Is there an error message? What is it? Where does it occur? Does it happen the same way each time? Floppy or CD? Are you playing in Windows or DOS? Type of computer (386, 486, etc.) Brand of video card (Trident, Diamond, etc.) Amount of RAM (4 meg, 8 meg, etc.) DOS version (MS-DOS 6.0, PC-DOS 6.2, etc.) Windows version (3.1, WFWG, Win95, etc.) Brand of sound card and sound card settings (SoundBlaster Pro, Forte16, Mozart, etc. Please be VERY specific with the brand name. Sound card settings include DMA, IRQ and I/O values.) Any disk compression? What kind? (Doublespace, Stacker, etc.) Any third-part memory manager? What kind? (QEMM, 386MAX, etc.) Largest executable program size or bytes free after booting with the boot disk. (Type MEM to find out.) What have you tried so far? (Boot disk, no sound, etc.) Please attach copies of your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT from your hard drive and the boot disk.