Article: Q149825
Product(s): Microsoft Home Kids Products
Version(s): 1.20
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s):
Last Modified: 31-DEC-2000
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Explorapedia series: World of Nature for Windows, version 1.2
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SUMMARY
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The following article contains a copy of the information in the Readme.wri file
included with Microsoft Explorapedia World of Nature for Windows, version 1.2.
NOTE: This Readme document refers to the Microsoft Download Service (MSDL). As of
12/31/1998, the MSDL service is no longer available. To download support files,
visit one of the following Microsoft Internet sites:
http://www.microsoft.com/support
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles
MORE INFORMATION
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Readme.wri File
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Microsoft Explorapedia Tips
This document contains information that will help you get the most
out of Explorapedia and your system.
To read this file on-screen, use the Page Down and Page Up keys on
your keyboard. You can print the file by choosing the Print command
from the File menu.
Sending suggestions, content enhancements, and errors
If you have suggestions for features you would like to see in future
editions of Explorapedia or comments about the current version,
please send them to:
Explorapedia Program Manager
Consumer Division
Microsoft Corporation
1 Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
FAX: (425) 936-7329
Internet: mswish@microsoft.com
Comments about errors, comprehensiveness, or validity of information
presented are welcome. Please send these comments by FAX, U.S. mail,
or e-mail.
Table of Contents
Section Description
1. Dual-Installation Product
2. Problems During Setup
3. General Tips
4. Explorapedia and Windows Performance Issues
5. Video Cards and Display Problems
6. Audio Problems
7. CD-ROM Drive Problems
8. Running Explorapedia on Windows NT
9. Mouse/Cursor Function
10. Administering User Names (Login Administrator)
11. Removing Explorapedia
12. Credit Information
1. Dual-Installation Product
Your Explorapedia disk includes two versions of Explorapedia:
* A 16-bit version for Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11
* A 32-bit version for Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51 and later.
Setup installs the appropriate Explorapedia software for your
system. The version for Windows 95 and Windows NT is most
appropriate for those operating systems, so if you upgrade your
Windows 3.1, you should also re-run Explorapedia Setup to update
your application.
2. Problems During Setup
Because Explorapedia installs system files that may be shared with
other applications, it is best to close other applications before
setting up.
If Setup is interrupted by a loss of power, a power surge, or some
other unexpected incident, restart Microsoft Windows before you run
Setup again.
Refer to your Explorapedia User's Guide to find out about minimum
system requirements.
If you receive the error message "WinG has encountered a problem
with your video display driver. Contact the manufacturer of your
video card to obtain the most recent driver. Your WinG applications
will still run, but at reduced speed," it most likely means that
you have old video drivers. Check the documentation that came with
your video card or computer to find out where you can get the latest
video drivers for your system. Refer to Section 5, "Video Cards and
Display Problems" in this document for more information about how to
obtain more recent drivers.
MISSING AUDIO/VIDEO COMPRESSION DRIVERS
The Windows 95/Windows NT versions of Explorapedia require certain
video and audio compression software to be preinstalled on your
system. This software comes standard with Windows 95 and Windows NT,
but can be removed during Windows Setup or using the Control Panel
Drivers application.
On Windows 95, Explorapedia Setup will automatically run Windows
Setup to install the required components. Windows Setup will prompt
you to insert your original installation media (CD-ROM disc or
diskettes) before proceeding with the driver installation.
On Windows NT, Explorapedia Setup will prompt you to run the Control
Panel Drivers application to add the deleted components. You can
switch out of Explorapedia Setup, run Control Panel, and add each
driver that is missing. You don't have to restart Windows NT each
time you add a driver; just click "Don't Restart Now," switch back
to Explorapedia Setup, and continue until all the required drivers
have been added. To ensure the drivers were properly installed, you
should then restart Windows NT before running Explorapedia for the
first time.
SETUP INITIALIZATION ERROR ON WINDOWS NT
If you get a "Setup Initialization Error" claiming "insufficient
memory or disk space to run Setup," click the "Run in Separate Memory
Space" option in the File-Run menu option in Program Manager/Start
Menu.
3. General Tips
AUTOPLAY ON WINDOWS 95
On Windows 95, Explorapedia automatically starts when you insert the
disc in the CD-ROM drive. To avoid Autoplay, hold down the SHIFT key
while you insert the disc.
HELP FROM TAD
You can always press the F1 key on your keyboard to get help from Tad.
FINDING THINGS
Using "Find a certain word" is a quick alternative to get to any
topic. Click on Find in the ship or on the Exploratron (or click on
Tad and then click on "Find something"), and then click on "A
certain word" on the list.
SHIP'S WINDOW
The labels at the top of the ship window (which change as you move
the cursor) correspond to the different scenes in Explorapedia.
CHANGING SETTINGS
To change audio settings, Little Kid's Mode, scene actions, and/or
color of leap words, click the "Settings" button in the ship, or
click on Tad to see a list of options.
CONNECTING TO A WRITING OR PAINTING APPLICATION
There are three ways to establish connections to a Writing or
Painting application:
1. Click on the notepad or easel in the ship. This is the most
direct way to connect to the application.
2. Click the "Settings" button in the ship. Then, choose
"Connections to writing or painting programs."
3. Click on Tad, and then choose "Something else," then "Change
Settings," and finally "Connections to writing or painting
programs."
Once you've reached the "Stand by. I'll connect you to your program"
bubble, you must next click the "Connect" button. A dialog box will
appear. By selecting an executable program (a file with an .EXE file
extension) and clicking OK, you will establish the connection.
Subsequent clicks on the appropriate icon will IMMEDIATELY start that
application.
On Windows 95, don't connect to the Write.Exe or Pbrush.Exe files
located in the Windows directory. Instead, use the WordPad.Exe and
MSPaint.Exe files located in the \Program Files\Accessories folder.
4. Explorapedia and Windows Performance Issues
There are several ways to make Explorapedia run faster. Many of the
methods described below are general tips to improve the performance
of any Windows application. Consult your Windows user's guide for
more details.
Microsoft Explorapedia uses your computer's memory (RAM) to display
pictures and play animations and sound. If Explorapedia runs slowly
or you see "out-of-memory" errors, Explorapedia may not have enough
memory. Below are some tips to make the best use of your available
memory.
* Close all applications that you are not using.
* On Windows 3.1 and 3.11, set up a permanent Windows swap file.
Windows works best when there is hard disk space allocated for
swapping a file into or out of your computer's memory. To set
up a permanent Windows swap file on your hard disk, open Control
Panel (usually in the Main group of Program Manager), and then
click 386 Enhanced. Click the Virtual Memory button to see if
your current swap file is temporary or permanent, to check the
size of the current swap file, and to make changes. Windows
usually creates a temporary swap file by default, but if your
disk is full or fragmented, this temporary file may be
unavailable. If you can, make the size of the permanent swap
file at least 8192 KB.
Look at the Help menu in Control Panel or in your Windows
documentation for more information.
* Defragment or optimize your hard disk by running a defragmentation
program.
For example, Windows 95 includes a utility called Disk
Defragmenter, installed under the Accessories-System Tools start
menu. Some other popular utilities are PC Tools, Norton Utilities,
and Mace Utilities.
* Add more RAM (memory) to your computer. You need at least 4
megabytes (sometimes listed as 4096 kilobytes or KB) of RAM, and 8
megabytes is recommended. To determine how much memory is on your
computer, use the following procedures:
On Windows 95: Click the Start button, choose Settings, and
double-click the System icon in Control Panel. Click the
Performance tab and look at the memory and system resources
settings.
On Windows 3.1: Start an MS-DOS command box. From the command
line, type mem and press ENTER. This displays various memory
statistics including "Total Memory."
* Add a cache to your CD-ROM drive.
On Windows 95, the CD-ROM drive is generally cached automatically.
See your Windows 95 documentation for details.
SmartDrive in MS-DOS 6.2 and utilities such as Norton Speedcache+
can significantly improve the performance of CD-ROM products by
helping to eliminate unnecessary seeks and reads. If you have an
older or slow CD-ROM drive, the performance difference is very
noticeable.
* Run Microsoft MemMaker from MS-DOS.
MS-DOS versions 6.0 and later feature a utility called MemMaker
that can increase the amount of low memory available to
applications. This can improve the performance of many Windows
applications as well as MS-DOS applications. Refer to your MS-DOS
user's guide for more information on MemMaker.
For more details on improving performance, consult your Windows and
CD-ROM manuals.
5. Video Cards and Display Problems
Explorapedia does not run in the 16-color mode provided by standard
VGA video drivers. Explorapedia requires a minimum 256-color display.
Fortunately, most video cards support the 256-color mode, provided
you use the correct video driver within Windows.
Windows 95 does a good job of detecting 256-color video cards and
installing the appropriate driver software. If you're running
Windows 95, you can check for 256-color mode by checking Display
Settings. Just right-click your desktop and choose Properties from
the menu. Click the Settings tab and click the arrow on the Color
Palette box. You will see the various color settings available on
your system. Select the 256-color setting.
On Windows 3.1, unless you have a VGA-only video card or monitor,
you can change your display to 256 colors. Your system may already
have a driver installed that displays 256 colors or more. For
instructions on how to determine what video driver you have installed
and how to install or change drivers, go to the Help menu in Windows
Setup. To get there, click Windows Setup, usually in the Main group
of Program Manager.
AUTOMATIC RESOLUTION SWITCHING ON WINDOWS 95
The artwork in Explorapedia was designed to fit on a 640x480 screen.
If you are running in higher resolution modes, such as 1024x768, the
artwork will appear smaller. On 256-color displays, the 32-bit
version of Explorapedia automatically switches to 640x480 resolution
when started. It switches back to the higher resolution when closed,
or when you switch to another application while the product is
running.
To disable the automatic resolution switching:
1. Click the Start menu, and choose Run.
2. Type "regedit" as the program name, and click OK. This
starts the Registry Editor.
3. The left side of the application looks like a directory of
folders. Browse into the following folder:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft Kids\Explorapedia
4. Double-click the "SwitchResolution" entry on the right side
of the window.
5. In Value Data, type 0 (zero).
6. Click OK and exit Registry Editor.
MISSING VIDEO COMPRESSION DRIVERS
If you see a "video not available" message in place of that cool
Exploratron video you were hoping to see, you may have lost a video
compression driver. Just re-run Explorapedia Setup to restore the
missing driver. You might be prompted to insert your Windows Setup
disc to complete Setup.
OTHER VIDEO DISPLAY PROBLEMS
In some situations, Explorapedia may encounter video display
problems when using high-resolution video drivers from various
video-card manufacturers.
There are several things you can do if you encounter problems like
this:
* Obtain updated drivers from your video-card manufacturer
Most problems can be fixed by obtaining new drivers from your
video-card manufacturer. Contact the manufacturer of your video
card to determine if there are newer versions available. The
company's phone number should be in the manuals that came with your
video card or personal computer. Another option for obtaining
updated drivers is the Microsoft Download service, an electronic
bulletin board that can be accessed via a modem at (425) 936-MSDL
(425-936-6735).
* Change to a different display mode
An alternative to obtaining a new or updated display driver is to
change your video mode to a standard video mode, such as 640 x 480
resolution with 256 colors.
6. Audio Problems
The following are some suggested solutions for common problems with
audio in Explorapedia. The first step is to determine whether ANY
audio is playing within Windows.
SOUND DOES NOT PLAY AT ALL
Check the following common problems.
1. Check the volume. Make sure it's turned up high enough to hear.
Also, make sure your speakers are plugged into the correct port
on the back of the sound card.
2. If the volume is turned up and you still hear no sounds,
something may be wrong with your audio card installation. Check
to see that the audio card software is installed correctly, and
reinstall it if necessary.
3. If the software is installed correctly, the audio card may need
to be pressed more securely into its slot or have a jumper
setting changed.
4. If you have both an audio card and special software that
bypasses the audio card to play sounds through the PC speaker,
we suggest you remove or disable the special software (the PC
speaker driver). Explorapedia requires an MPC-compatible audio
card; it is not meant to run with just the PC internal speaker
or any combination of that speaker and special software.
5. Some audio compression drivers may have been accidentally
deleted from your system. Re-install Explorapedia by running
Setup. Setup will restore the drivers or tell you how to restore
them yourself.
SOUND PLAYS BUT IS DISTORTED OR "FUZZY"
Sound distortion is often caused by sending a higher volume or
amplitude of sound than the speakers are able to handle. Also, if
the volume control on your audio card is set too high it may cause
distortion from the amplifier on the audio card. Sometimes lower-
quality speakers will distort at a lower volume than better speakers
will (compare a clock radio speaker to a big stereo system; the
stereo speakers can play much louder with no distortion). For
example, if the volume for your audio card or "WAVE file output" is
set to near its maximum it will produce distortion just like a radio
with the volume turned up too high. To learn how to change your
audio-card settings, check the manuals that came with your audio
card. Changing the volume settings is normally done either with a
volume dial on the back of your audio card (in the back of your
computer where the speakers plug in) or with a program that is
often called a "mixer" (usually found in Control Panel in the Main
group). Some audio cards use both types of controls, and they must
both be adjusted.
Another possible cause of distortion is that you are using a 16-bit
sound card set to a lower Direct Memory Access (DMA). Sounds that
appear scratchy while using a low DMA will sound better using a
higher DMA. In the case of the Media Vision Pro Audio 16 sound card,
a DMA setting of 7 will correct any scratchy sounds. To change the
DMA channel, go to Control Panel and choose Drivers. In the Drivers
section, select the sound card driver and then choose Setup. You
should be able to select a higher DMA setting here. If the driver
will not allow you to change the DMA setting, refer to your
sound-card manual.
SOUND PLAYS BUT HAS SKIPS
If audio breaks up or skips periodically, it is usually an
indication that the CD-ROM drive does not fully meet the MPC
(Multimedia PC) specification for the Data Transfer Rate. Since
Explorapedia requires a double-speed CD-ROM drive, any audio
skipping or breakup should be minimal. If you are trying to run
Explorapedia with a single-speed drive, you may experience audio
loss during videos and animations.
SOUNDS ARE CUT OFF
Most audio cards can play only one sound at a time; therefore,
other sound-producing applications could interrupt the sounds from
Explorapedia. Some sound-producing applications may take over the
audio capability and prevent other Windows applications from being
able to make sounds. If you suspect you have such an application, do
not run it at the same time as Explorapedia.
ERROR MESSAGE: "NO WAVE DEVICE THAT CAN PLAY FILES . . "
If you get the error message, "No wave device that can play files in
the current format is installed. Use the drivers option to install
the wave device" when trying to play some sound clips or dialogues,
the Microsoft audio-compression manager and drivers may not be
installed correctly. Run the Explorapedia setup program from the CD-
ROM to correct the problem.
7. CD-ROM Drive Problems
COMMON SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS WITH CD-ROM DRIVES
NOTE: Do not remove the Explorapedia compact disc from your CD-ROM
drive while running Explorapedia.
Explorapedia requires a double-speed CD-ROM drive.
If Explorapedia cannot find the data files it needs to run, you will
see an error message prompting you to correct the problem. To find
the source of the problem, do the following:
* Make sure the Explorapedia compact disc is correctly inserted into
the CD-ROM drive.
* Make sure that the drive is connected to your computer correctly and
it is functioning in MS-DOS. If you have an external CD-ROM drive,
make sure the power is turned on. You can test the function in MS-
DOS by viewing a directory of the drive at an MS-DOS prompt. To do
this, change to the CD-ROM drive at an MS-DOS prompt, type dir, and
then press ENTER.
* Make sure that Explorapedia is looking for the compact disc on the
correct drive. Check that the EXPLORA.INI file is in the Windows
directory.
If you still see an error message, try running the setup program
from the Explorapedia CD-ROM again.
8. Running Explorapedia on Windows NT
Explorapedia may need to copy some files to your system directory.
In order for Setup to do this, you must be a member of the
Administrator group when you log on. Otherwise, Setup will not be
able to copy these files to your drive. You can check your user
status with the User Manager.
Explorapedia does not support Windows NT version 3.1 or 3.5. You
must have Windows NT version 3.51 or later in order to run
Explorapedia.
Non-Intel Windows NT machines (i.e., Mips or Alpha processor) are
not supported.
9. Mouse/Cursor Function
If you find that the mouse cursor jumps around on the screen when
you perform certain actions in Explorapedia, and you are using
Microsoft Intellipoint mouse software, you need to turn off the
"snap-to" option. Open Control Panel (found in the Main group in
Program Manager, or on the Start menu under Settings in Windows 95),
and choose the Mouse option. Turn off the "snap-to" option in the
Mouse Manager dialog box, and close Mouse Manager and Control Panel.
10. Administering User Names (Login Administrator)
Explorapedia includes a simple utility, Login Administrator
(LOGINADM.EXE), for adding, deleting, and renaming user names
listed in the initial Explorapedia login screen. If an imaginative
child enters a rude or incorrect user name, or if you just want to
add or remove user names from the list, you can use the utility.
Login Administrator is located on the Explorapedia disc. For
information on using Login Administrator, use Write or WordPad to
open the LOGINADM.WRI document located in the \LoginAdm directory
on the Explorapedia disc.
11. Removing Explorapedia
Setup for the Windows 95/Windows NT version of Explorapedia can
completely remove the product from your system.
On Windows 95, you can use the Add/Remove Programs application in
Control Panel to remove Explorapedia and all its related files.
You need your Explorapedia disc.
To remove Explorapedia (Windows 95):
1. Insert the disc in the CD-ROM drive.
2. From the Start Menu, choose Settings.
3. Choose Control Panel.
4. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
5. Double-click the Explorapedia entry on the dialog box.
Explorapedia Setup starts up.
6. From the first Setup screen, click Remove.
If you have changed the drive letter mapping of your CD drive,
perhaps by adding a second hard disk to your system (for example,
changed the CD-ROM from drive D: to drive E:), you may have trouble
running Setup from Control Panel. If you run into problems, use the
following procedure instead.
To remove Explorapedia (Windows NT):
1. Insert the disc in the CD-ROM drive.
2. Run the Setup.Exe application on the Explorapedia disc.
3. From the first Setup screen, click Remove.
12. Credit Information
The following credit information was provided too late to be
included in Explorapedia:
* All animations should be credited to Microsoft Animation. Those
missing from the credit screen (which you get from clicking the
Credits button in the ship) are:
Point 1 of Sharks (Sharks)
Point 2 of Water (States of Water)
Point 3 of Sand (Sand Dunes and Storms)
Point 5 of Rabbits and Hares (More Rabbits and Hares)
Point 1 of Grasshoppers and Crickets (Grasshoppers and Crickets)
Point 2 of Fossils (How Fossils Form)
Point 4 of Living Things (Reaction)
Point 1 of Earthquakes (Earthquakes)
Point 4 of Flatfish (Floundering Around)
Point 4 of Penguins (Locomotion)
Point 4 of Wind (Measuring the Wind)
Point 1 of Parrots (Parrots)
* Point 3 of Porcupines (Regular Rodent): Photo should be credited to
Jany Sauvanet/Photo Researchers, Inc.
* Point 6 of Animals (Animal Senses): Two photos should be credited
to Jerry L. Ferrara/Photo Researchers, Inc. (fennec fox) and Tom
McHugh/Photo Researchers, Inc. (cavefish).
* Point 3 of Elephants (Elephant Parts): Photo should be credited to
Tim Davis/Photo Researchers, Inc.
* Point 3 of Sun (Solar Storms): Photo should be credited to SS/Photo
Researchers, Inc.
* Point 2 of Crabs (Joints and Sections): Photo should be credited to
Gary G. Gibson/Photo Researchers, Inc.
* Point 8 of Oceans (Ocean Life): The Whale and the Hatchet Fish
illustrations should be credited to Dorling Kindersley.
* Point 1 of Amphibians (Amphibians): The illustration of the three
little frogs on the right side should be credited to Dorling
Kindersley.
* Point 2 of Farm Animals (Origins): Credit for Kathi Lamm/Allstock,
Inc. should not be listed under the Farm Animals topic on the
Credits screen; the image is correctly credited on the Credits
screen as being in Point 2 of Dogs.
Additional query words: 1.20 mskids kids tad series explore kbmm world people nature kbmm multimedia multi-media multi readme
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Keywords :
Technology : kbHomeMMsearch kbZNotKeyword2 kbExplorapediaNature120
Version : 1.20
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