Copyright: A J Ellis


TRUEyesnonoC&losenoyesyesyesyesPC Guide HelpPCGuideyes23/09/96


Table of Contents

Quick Guide to Using the CD-ROM Interface

A Known Problem With Windows 95

Uninstalling and Removing Old Programs


Help file produced by  HELLLP! v2.7c , a product of Guy Software, on 23/09/96 for Unregistered User.

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Using the PC Guide CD-ROM Interface:

Installing Video Drivers

Using the Contents Screen

Launching Demos

Running a DOS demo in Windows 95 or DOS

Temporarily exiting Windows to run a DOS program

Checking if you can run your CD-ROM drive in DOS

What to do if your CD-ROM drive doesn't run in DOS

UnInstallers

Deleting programs manually.


Using the PC Guide CD-ROM Interface:
Using the PC Guide CD-ROM Interface

This is a Windows Help file. That means that you can get help on any item in green print by clicking on it with the mouse pointer.

This help file has popped up because you may need help getting started with the PC Guide CD-ROM interface. If you don't need any help, close this window now.

If you're getting a message asking you to install QuickTime, Video for Windows, or WinG, see Installing Video Drivers

If you want help on using the Contents Screen (the green marble screen with the circular grey buttons) go to Using the Contents Screen

If you're on a Demo Screen (a screen showing a number of separate images) and need help, see Launching Demos


Installing Video Drivers

When the PC Guide Interface starts up you may be confronted with a dialog box asking if you want to install QuickTime for Windows, Video for Windows, and/or WinG on your system. These Windows upgrades are commonly needed by multimedia applications, so it is a good idea to click the Yes button. They only take up a very small amount of space on your hard drive, and once they're installed you can forget about them. If you don't want to install them, just click No.


Using the Contents Screen

The Contents Screen is the marble screen with the PC Guide logo in the center. From here you can reach all the the other screens and the demos.

Just point the mouse pointer at the circular grey buttons and you'll see some pop-up text telling you what screen this button is connected to and what demos you can expect to find there. To go to a particular screen, simply left-click the appropriate button. The Contents Screen will now be replaced with the demo screen.

See Launching Demos for information on how to run demos from a demo screen.

To return to the Contents Screen, simply click on the Contents button on the bottom right.


Launching Demos

To launch a demo, first change to the appropriate interface screen using the Contents Screen.

You will now see a screen containing a number of separate images. Each of these is a "hotspot" - this means that it is sensitive to the mouse pointer. If you hover the mouse pointer over a hotspot, you will see some pop-up text telling you which demo this is.

Simply left-click on the appropriate graphic to launch a demo.


Quick Guide to Using the CD-ROM Interface

If you're getting a message asking you to install QuickTime, Video for Windows, or WinG, see Installing Video Drivers

If you want help on using the Contents Screen (the green marble screen with the circular grey buttons) go to Using the Contents Screen

If you're on a Demo Screen (a screen showing a number of separate images) and need help, see Launching Demos


Running a DOS demo in Windows 95 or DOS
Running a DOS program in Windows 95 or DOS

This dialog box has appeared because the program you want to launch runs in DOS. Windows 95 allows you to run most DOS demos without exiting Windows, and so you have a choice.

If you run a DOS program in Windows, Windows keeps running in the background. This may slow the program down, although if you have plenty of RAM - 16Mbs or more - this will be less noticeable. However, Windows 95 reshuffles your memory in order to get the most out of it, and a few DOS programs may crash because of this, or report that they don't have enough memory.

If you choose to exit Windows to run this program, the interface will close Windows for you, run the program in DOS, and re-start Windows when you type "exit". This takes a little longer, but should be more reliable. However, please see the article A Known Problem With Windows 95


Temporarily exiting Windows to run a DOS program

This dialog box has appeared because the program you want to launch runs in DOS only.

If you choose to proceed the interface will close Windows for you, run the program in DOS, and re-start Windows when you type "exit". However, please see the article A Known Problem With Windows 95


A Known Problem With Windows 95

There is a known problem with running DOS programs on a Windows 95 PC, if the DOS program makes use of the CD-ROM drive.

DOS relies on a "driver" program to access your CD-ROM drive. Without this driver, it doesn't know that your CD-ROM drive even exists. Because Windows 95 doesn't need this driver, however, many PC suppliers don't bother to install it.

If you have tried to run a DOS-based program by exiting Windows and running it from DOS, and something has gone wrong, this may be the problem.

How to check if DOS recognises your CD-ROM drive

What to do if DOS doesn't recognise your CD_ROM drive


Checking if you can run your CD-ROM drive in DOS

Checking if you can run your CD-ROM drive in DOS

To find out if your CD-ROM drive can be run from DOS, follow these steps:

1. Insert a CD-ROM in the drive.

2. Exit Windows (Click on Start,  Shut Down…, and select "Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode").

3. In DOS type "D:" (where "D" is the letter of your CD-ROM drive) and press Enter.

This should make your CD-ROM drive your current drive. If you receive an error message like "invalid drive specification" then DOS doesn't recognise your CD-ROM drive at all.

What to do if your CD_ROM drive doesn't run in DOS


What to do if your CD-ROM drive doesn't run in DOS

First of all, check through all the software and manuals that came with your PC. Your supplier may have actually included everything you need to install your CD-ROM drive,  in which case simply follow the installation instructions provided.

If your supplier doesn't seem to have provided the appropriate disks and manuals, contact him and explain that you want to be able to use your CD-ROM drive in DOS, and that you want him to provide the necessary drivers. As this software comes as standard with every CD-ROM drive, he really should have provided it in the first place, and certainly shouldn't charge you for it now.


Uninstalling and removing old programs

Uninstallers

Modern software often comes with its own UnInstall program, to make removing it as simple as possible. To find out more about UnInstallers, click here

Deleting software manually

If the program you want to remove doesn't have its own uninstaller, there's nothing for it but to delete it yourself. Click here to find out how.


UnInstallers

To find out if the program you want to remove has an UnInstaller, do the following:

Win95 users:

Open My Computer, open Control Panel, and click on Add\Remove Programs. If there is an entry in the dialog box for your program, it has an UnInstaller.

Windows 3.x users:

Look on your desktop for the group of icons associated with the program you want to remove. Check if one of these is called UnInstall or something similar.

Running the UnInstall program should remove the program from your hard drive. You may be asked if you want to remove a file that may be shared with another program - the safe answer here is to say no.


Deleting programs manually.

To delete a previously installed program, you need to know which directory it has been installed into on your hard drive. Usually the directory will have a similar name to the program itself. Paint Shop Pro, for example, by default will install into a directory called PSP. Use File Manager or Windows 95 Explorer to track the directory down. Make sure you've got the right directory by looking at the files it contains, and running them if necessary.

Once you're sure you've found the right directory, just click on it once to highlight it, and press delete.

Do Not delete any genericly-named directories, such as your DOS, Windows or System directory!

Do Not delete anything unless you are sure you know what you're doing.