HIYA Gang!

This file is intended to indicate some troubleshooting techniques and 
Question/Answers about installing UltraSoft Door Games.

Q: I can run the Saratoga Door fine in local mode, but online I keep
   getting ERROR 52, Bad File Name or Number. What is happening?

A: Earlier versions of Saratoga Raceway were getting false Error 24's.
   as the result of some other error occuring first. This should be
   completely eliminated in later versions such as v3.1 or above. If 
   you haven't yet, please upgrade to level 3.1 or above.

Q: Sometimes when a 2400 Baud caller is online, I hear beeping sounds, 
   and sometimes the callers are logged out of the game. But it doesn't 
   happen to high speed callers. How come?

A: In some earlier versions of Saratoga Raceway, and UltraSoft Animated
   BackGammon, there was not enough modem delay built in, to always 
   handle all lower speed callers. The beeps are Device Time Outs on your 
   modem, waiting for responses from the remote modem. This has been 
   compensated for in versions above level 1.X and should only occur in
   rare cases of an actual faulty connection. 

Q: My copy of Saratoga Raceway gets Error 68 "DEVICE NOT AVAILABLE" when 
   I run it on my BBS under DesqView, but if I run it LOCAL or without
   DesqView, it operates fine, and I DO have a COM2!! How come?

A: In one known case, a Fossil Driver was hiding the existance of the 
   COM Port from the Door software. At UltraSoft, we do not support  
   Fossils, and can only refer you to the creator of the Fossil Driver.
   So we were unable to support the repair for this error. But the 
   user discovered the fossil problem and implemented a fix.

A: DesqView includes definitions for DV Windows in both DVSetup and in
   each Operating Window, for Communications. We have included 2 small
   utilities with this package called TESTCOM.EXE, and SETCOM.EXE. From a 
   DOS window within DV use the command TESTCOM. It will print out the Low 
   Memory Port Address Pointer area for COM1 - COM4. These pointers are 
   normally located at Low Memory address 0000:0400(Hex) and your program 
   output should appear like this:

   Running UltraSoft's TESTCOM Utility  (c)1994...               
   0000:0400 ³ F8 ³ 03 ³ F8 ³ 02 ³ E8 ³ 03 ³ E8 ³ 02 ³           
               -COM1-    -COM2-    -COM3-    -COM4-  <-(for ref - not printed)
   
   IF Communications are enabled and you have 4 COM Ports. If you have 
   less than 4, the associated two bytes will be 00 00.  
   
   I.e. I have COM1 - COM2:     
   
   Running UltraSoft's TESTCOM Utility  (c)1994...               
   0000:0400 ³ F8 ³ 03 ³ F8 ³ 02 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³           
               -COM1-    -COM2-                      <-(for ref - not printed)
   
   If the output is: 
   
   Running UltraSoft's TESTCOM Utility  (c)1994...               
   0000:0400 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³ E8 ³ 03 ³ E8 ³ 02 ³   -OR-        
   
   Running UltraSoft's TESTCOM Utility  (c)1994...               
   0000:0400 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³ 00 ³           

   or if any part of it is zeroed out, where you should show a COM Port, 
   then as far as DOS knows you have no COM Ports attached and something 
   has disabled any Communications. In this case it is most likely 
   DesqView, which will do this if not properly configured.

FIX: 
   Bring up SETUP from the DOS Line inside the \DV subdirectory. Go into 
   Advanced Setup and select the <P>erformance option. Configure it for: 
   Optimize Communications - "Y". Then end that process and Save it. 
   
   Now go into DV, pull up CHANGE WINDOW, and make sure that your screen 
   for the BBS Window includes USES SERIAL PORTS - "Y". Then try the above 
   TESTCOM procedure again as shown above. Your pointers in Low Memory 
   should now be correct.

   Note: Some programs do not depend on these Low Memory pointers being
   there to define Communications addresses, and as such may be a source 
   of confusion. But others do, and they SHOULD be there as intended by
   DOS, IF running communications software. So if you set it up this way, 
   you will be better off and be able to run many more programs that use 
   communications than the other way, including UltraSoft Doors under DV.

   If for some reason the above procedure does not suffice, the utility
   SETCOM.EXE may be used inside the batch file that calls the UltraSoft
   Game, to set these pointer addresses for you. Simply include SETCOM
   inside the .BAT file just prior to the line which starts the game..

   ----------------------------------------------------------------------

   If contacting UltraSoft Support BBS for assistance, at (808)833-1525, 
   please have as much information available to upload as possible, prior
   to your call, including:

   ,/ The specific UltraSoft program you are running
   ,/ System setup 286/386/486, DesqView, OS/2, Fossils if any, etc
   ,/ BBS Locked Rate if applicable
   ,/ Modem type(s) and speeds, Digiboards, other specialized hardware, etc.
   ,/ COM Ports on your system and which operating Nodes they service
   ,/ BBS Software you are running
   ,/ DOOR.SYS or DORINFOx.DEF as applicable
   ,/ DORERROR.DAT File from within the Game Directory (VERY Necessary)
   ,/ As much about the error as possible in a text file

   Please Zip it all up and call it your own name or BBS Name, so we can 
   keep track of who is who. This has been something of a problem in the 
   past. Callers upload DORERROR.DAT, which overwrites the previous one,
   and with no way to know who it is from, and with no other details..

   In most cases UltraSoft Doors run well with a wide variety of BBS 
   Software, but there are always exceptions. The more you information you 
   provide us, the easier it will be to determine what is creating your 
   specific error..
                                                        Thanks
                                                        UltraSoft