FILENAME:  EPMM0008:  Midi Machine V2.xx-/! No Tips
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This document was last updated on 9/30/95.

{{{ DOES NOT RELATE TO MIDI MACHINE V3.XX }}}


FILENAME:  EPMM0009:  Midi Machine No Sound
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This document was last updated on 1/24/1997.

As mentioned by several users, cases exist where Midi Machine may not
automatically play midi and sound files the first time it is run.  This
scenario may not actually be the fault of Midi Machine, but several methods
are available to solve this problem.

BACKGROUND:

With the proliferation of the "multimedia computer," many manufacturers
automatically installed sound boards and cd-rom drivers, complete with a
set of drivers so that the operating system knows how to communicate with
the equipment.  These essential drivers vary between pieces of equipment,
and therefore programs had to be made to accomodate the drivers.

With Windows 3.1 and above, these device-dependent drivers could still be
used, but a new standard called MCI [Media Control Interface] could
also be used, allowing programs to communicate with all different types
of sound boards quickly and efficiently.

There are many cases, however, where these drivers have not been installed
on pre-packaged systems.  While a growing amount of software requires the
MCI drivers, a fair amount of software still rely on these device-dependent
drivers, and thus a sound "problem" might not be noticeable until a piece
of software that requires MCI drivers fails to run.  Midi Machine is one
such program that requires MCI drivers to ensure compatibility.

POSSIBLE FIX/WIN3.1-WFWG3.11:

To test your system for the presence of MCI drivers, run MEDIA PLAYER and
try playing a sound or midi file.  If they play under Media Player and Midi
Machine fails to play the sounds, contact Excel Progs for further help.
If Media Player also fails to play the midi music, then you will need to
install the proper MCI drivers.

In order to install the MCI drivers under Windows 3.1, go to the Control
Panel and select drivers.  If [MCI Sound] and [MCI Sequencer] or other
drivers similar in name are not found, then go to ADD and install the
MCI devices that are not present.

An alternate approach to installation:

BACK UP your SYSTEM.INI file to SYSTEM.BAK or SYSTEM.BK2 (you may
already have backup files so just use SYSTEM.BKx).

In the [mci] section, add this line:

Sequencer=MCISEQ.DRV

POSSIBLE FIX2/WIN3.1-WFWG3.11:

Choose your Control Panel and double-click on Midi Mapper.  Click on "New"
to create a new MidiMap, and pick a name of your choosing.

A grid should appear with "Port Name" on the center column.  Click on the
"[None]" pulldown in line 1 and select "MVI OPL3 FM Synthesizer" or
"Voyetra Super Sapi FM Driver" or equivalent.  Do the same for lines 2-10
and 13-16.

Click on line 16 under "Dest Channel" and change the 16 to 10.

Click OK until the Midi Mapper is closed and save all of your changes.

DEPENDING on your sound card you may have to adjust these instructions
slightly.  Please see your sound card manufacturer for more details on
creating a Midi Mapper.  Although this SHOULD already be set up for you,
many times it isn't and you have to go through these instructions.

POSSIBLE FIX/WIN95+:

Test for the presence of Midi as above using Media Player.  If the MCI midi
driver is not present, you need to go to the Add New Hardware Wizard and not
have Windows check for new hardware types.  Choose the "Sound, video, and
game controllers" category and click on "Microsoft MCI" as the Manufacturer.
Click on "MIDI Sequencer Device (Media Control)" under the Models and finish
the installation.  If digital audio sounds do not play, go back to the
wizard and select "Wave Audio Device (Media Control)" for installation.


FILENAME:  EPMM0010:  Midi Machine Mysterious Errors
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This document was last updated on 1/24/1997.

As mentioned by several users, Midi Machine was crashing on certain systems
with mysterious errors such as "Stack Overflow," "Division by Zero," ..etc.
While no program can claim to be completely bug-free, certain errors were
caused by other means.

BACKGROUND:

Applications written using the Visual Basic 3.0 language require a separate
file to run called VBRUN300.DLL.  The upside to this is that visual basic
programs tend to be more quickly transferable over modem lines since this
run-time module file (VBRUN300.DLL) need only be present on a system one
time for any amount of Visual Basic-written programs.  The downside is that
many copies of the run-time module, through wide-spread distribution,
have become corrupt, and it may be hard to find such corrupt modules because
badly-coded setup programs may add their own copy of this run-time module.

Midi Machine was written using the Visual Basic 3.0 language, and its setup
program does not make a copy of this run-time file on your system.  It,
however, requires the file in order to run, and faulty copies can cause
Midi Machine to perform erraticly, if at all.

METHOD 1:  Redownload VBRUN300.DLL

First, make sure that no program required for basic operation of your
system requires this VBRUN300.DLL file.  Rid your system of all copies of
this file.  You may need to do full searches of your hard drive(s) in case
two or more copies of this file exist, so the following dos command will
search an entire hard drive, spotting the run-time module and placing the
results of the search to a text file called "allvb.txt"

DIR VBRUN30?.DLL /s > allvb.txt

Next, download or get a copy of VBRUN300.DLL from a reputable source, such
as a bbs where you know the files are good or a reputable ftp site.  Place
the copy of VBRUN300.DLL you believe to be good in your WINDOWS and
WINDOWS\SYSTEM directories.

BUG REPORTS:

If the above steps do not solve your problem, first refer to other official
Excel Progs documents for help.  Afterwards, send e-mail to Excel Progs
describing the error in full detail so we can try to solve the problem.

METHOD 2:  Upgrade Midi Machine to version 3.xx

Midi Machine V3.xx is a complete rewrite of Midi Machine with does not
require VBRUN300.DLL.  With a powerful and easy-to-use interface, Midi
Machine 3.xx is the definite multimedia manager for serious enthusiasts.
Download Midi Machine 3.xx from one of the distribution sites (Send a
message to excel@idibbs.com with the subject SITES for a listing).


FILENAME:  EPMM0011:  Midi Machine Skipping Sounds
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This document was last updated on 1/24/1997.

As noted by our beta-testers, Midi Machine has sometimes skipped or gotten
"stuck" on certain sound files.  Upon closer examination, it was found that
these sound files were all corrupt in some fashion, and some other sounds
which had other applications stuck were played fine with Midi Machine.

Midi Machine will skip sound files that it has no way of playing; likewise,
it will try to skip to the next sound file in a queue if the sound currently
being played is corrupt and has seemed to "end" to the listener.

BACKGROUND:

Sound files are digital representations of audio information.  They are
files, just like texts, programs, and graphics are files.  Like other types
of files, they can sometimes be corrupted or arrive to a computer system
in a corrupt format.

SOLVE THE PROBLEM:

METHOD 1:  Upgrade Midi Machine to version 2.01

Each version of Midi Machine has worked further on algorithms to try to
play and recognize the endings of more sound files.  While Midi Machine V2.01
will not be able to play totally corrupt sound files, it will attempt to
play certain corrupt files and recognize the ending of such files, even when
an EOF marker is not returned to Midi Machine.

In order to upgrade, you need to download Midi Machine 2.01 from one of the
distribution sites (Send a message to excel@idibbs.com with the subject SITES
for a listing).  Run the SETUP program, and when asked, traverse your drives
and click on the MM200.INI file when found.  After entering the source drive
and path for the upgrade files, your copy of Midi Machine 2.00 will be upgraded
to version 2.01, which improves on the algorithms for detecting endings of
corrupt sounds.

METHOD 2:  Re-retrieve the corrupt sound files

Many problems can cause sounds to be transferred to your system incorrectly,
including, but not limited to:

1)  The sound uploader (sender) did not transmit the sound correctly.
2)  A network error.
3)  Failing to go to BINARY mode when retrieving a sound from an FTP server.
4)  Using a UUDECODE program that does not check for errors.
5)  A .WAV sound file that is actually in a different format.  Just like you
    can save a text file without the .TXT extension, people can save .WAV
    files with other names, and the same goes with sounds of other formats.

Naturally, if a sound file is 0 bytes, it is not completed, but it is
difficult to test for other corrupt sound files without playing them.  If a
sound file can not be played, it is best to test the file with several
programs (including MEDIA PLAYER).  If it can not be played with ANY sound
program, then it is a good guess to say the sound file is corrupt and should
be re-transmitted if possible.

METHOD 3:  Hit the Next Button

As a last resort, if a sound file is stuck and Midi Machine can not recognize
that the sound has ended, hitting the "Next" button should move you to the
next sound file in the queue.  If this is required, note the sound filename
for further processing, testing, and/or possible deletion.

METHOD 4:  Upgrade Midi Machine to version 3.xx

Midi Machine V3.xx is a complete rewrite of Midi Machine.  With a powerful
and easy-to-use interface, Midi Machine 3.xx is the definite multimedia
manager for serious enthusiasts.  Download Midi Machine 3.xx from one of
the distribution sites (Send a message to excel@idibbs.com with the subject
SITES for a listing).


FILENAME:  EPMM0012:  Midi Machine V2,3.xx-garbled CD Audio
=============================================================================
This document was last updated on 1/24/1997.

As noted by our staff, when playing certain CDs with Midi Machine V2,3.xx on
certain CD drives, the sound seems to jumble and/or "skip" like an old
scratched 45 record.

BACKGROUND:

Certain audio CD/CD drive combinations have caused sound jumbling and/or
jumping due to the differing amounts of sound stored on a CD.

SOLVE THE PROBLEM:

METHOD 1:  Try the CD in a standard audio CD-player (not CD-ROM)

With improper care (and sometimes just due to wear), audio-CDs can become
corrupted.  It is vital to treat CDs with care; hold them by the sides and
take care never to touch the data (bottom) side when placing the CD in
a drive or taking it out.  Cleaning CDs should only be done by CD-cleaning
kits following the instructions strictly.  Although Excel Progs can not be
held responsible for CDs going bad due to following these methods, they
have been proven to increase the CD life.  If the CD works outside of the
computer, then follow the next step.

METHOD 2:  Play the CD in the computer CD-drive outside of a CD-player.

Most (if not all) CD-Rom drives have a button on the front to allow playing
a CD outside of the computer's control.  Test the CD using this method, and
if it fails to work, then test other CDs that are known to work with the
drive.  If they work, then the CD in question and the drive are not
compatible with each other.  If no CDs work, then you need to check
the CD connections (do not do this yourself if you do not know how--again,
Excel Progs can not be responsible for damage done to your system!)  Make
sure your case is level (although certain CD players CAN work on a slight
angle--check your manual).  If these options fail, check data CD-ROMs.
If even they fail to work, you may need to call in a repairman and/or
replace your drive.  Every situation is unique so we can not know exactly
the cause and solution of your particular problem.

METHOD 3:  The CD works outside of the CD player.

Make sure you have the latest CD-Rom drivers from the manufacturer, and
that they are installed correctly.  If you are using Win3.1, make sure the
"[MCI] CD Audio" driver is installed correctly.  Although this has yet
to be a problem, turn OFF the animated prompts and all digital/analog
time displays to free CPU time.


FILENAME:  EPMM0013:  Midi Machine V2.xx-Locks in Win95
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This document was last updated on 9/30/95.

{{{ DOES NOT RELATE TO MIDI MACHINE V3.XX }}}


FILENAME:  EPMM0014:  Midi Machine V2.xx-Right-click problems
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This document was last updated on 9/30/95.

{{{ DOES NOT RELATE TO MIDI MACHINE V3.XX }}}