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Escher Interactive - Expl… the Art of the Infinite
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Escher Interactive - Exploring the Art of the Infinite (1996)(Byron Preiss Multimedia).iso
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readme.txt
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1996-05-03
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19KB
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Escher Interactive: Exploring the Art of the Infinite
Read Me File
To read this file on-screen, use the Page Down and Page Up keys.
You can also print this file by choosing the Print command from
the File menu. This Read Me file contains important information
on the following topics:
1. Using the Web pointer page located in the 'Web' folder:
2. Problems Installing Escher Interactive program:
- Examining your hard drive.
- Temporarily disabling other applications.
- Checking your system hardware.
3. Problems Running Escher Interactive program:
- General Protection Faults.
- Having a new CD-ROM or hard disk drive letter
since last installation.
- Special software does not support.
- Windows 95 taskbar overlapping the program
screen.
- Conflicts with Screen Savers.
- Turning off Microsoft Office Manager.
4. Performance Issues:
- Out-Of-Memory error.
- The program runs slowly.
- Improving performance with SmartDrive.
5. CD-ROM Issues:
- Increasing the CD-ROM drive reading performance.
- Errors reading from the CD-ROM drive.
- Problems finding the CD-ROM drive.
6. Video Display Issues:
- Color mode setting.
- Video driver problems.
- Missing or truncated type on some screens.
7. Audio Issues:
- Problems with 8-bit sound cards.
- Conflicts with other applications.
- Audio driver problems.
- IBM Aptiva Mwave sound card.
- Sounds play, but not very well.
- Sound does not play at all.
8. Printing Issue:
- Printing problem in Tessellation Workshop.
*****************************************************************
1. Using the Web Pointer page located in the 'Web' folder:
*****************************************************************
If you have internet access and a World Wide Web browser (such as
Netscape Navigator, Mosaic, or any Web-ready on-line service),
you can link to Byron Preiss Multimedia's homepage and Escher
Interactive: Exploring the Art of the Infinite home page.
You will find the 'ESCHER.HTM' file located in the 'Web' folder
on the CD-ROM. Use your Web browser to open 'ESCHER.HTM', and
enjoy!
*****************************************************************
2. Problems Installing Escher Interactive program:
*****************************************************************
If you encounter any error during installation, please try the
following:
- Examining your hard drive.
Windows 3.x users:
i) First exit Windows.
ii) Run CHKDSK.EXE or SCANDISK.EXE in DOS to examine your hard
drive.
Windows 95 users:
i) From System Tools group, Click the Scandisk icon to start.
ii) Follow instructions to examine your hard drive.
* If there is a problem in your hard drive, please consult the
DOS manual or other hard disk management manual before you start
fixing the problem. You might need to backup your data and
other system files.
- Temporarily disabling other applications.
If you have any DOS TSR(Terminated but Stay Resident)
application(e.g. virus shield) or windows screen saver running
in the background, please temporarily disable it. You can
enable it again after the installation.
If you have other windows applications running in the
background, please close the ones you are not using.
- Checking your system hardware.
Please check your system hardware and make sure your machine
is functioning properly. Any IRQ or DMA device conflict may
create system instability, which will prevent software from
functioning normally.
*****************************************************************
3. Problems Running Escher Interactive program:
*****************************************************************
- General Protection Faults.
When running the program, if a General Protection Fault occurs,
quit and restart Windows. In many cases, the problem will not
occur again.
General Protection Faults may occur when there is not enough
memory available to the application, or if the system is
experiencing a conflict with particular software or hardware.
A frequent cause of General Protection Faults is the use of
outdated video drivers or audio drivers. Check to make sure
you are using the latest video drivers and audio drivers
available from your computer, video card or audio card
manufacturer.
- Having a new CD-ROM or hard disk drive letter since last
installation.
If you have changed the CD-ROM or hard disk drive letter
since last installation, you may experience unusual problems
when running Escher Interactive program. What you need to do
is to reinstall Escher Interactive program.
- Special software does not support.
Escher Interactive program does not support special software
that assigns custom functions to simulate the left, right or
center mouse button. These functions should not be used while
running the program.
- Windows 95 taskbar overlapping the program screen.
If you find that the Windows 95 taskbar is overlapping the
program screen, you can hide the taskbar by doing the
following:
i) Click the Start button.
ii) Point to Settings.
iii) Click Taskbar.
iv) Check the Auto Hide box.
v) Click OK button.
To see the taskbar again, move the mouse cursor to the edge
of your screen where your taskbar is located.
- Conflicts with Screen Savers.
It is recommended that you disable screen savers of any kind
temporarily while running Escher Interactive program. Some
screen savers may cause conflicts with the program, including
General Protection Faults.
- Turning off Microsoft Office Manager.
If you have Microsoft Office installed (either the standard or
the professional version), you should disable the Microsoft
Office Manager (MOM) toolbar while running Escher Interactive
program. The presence of the toolbar in Escher Interactive
program can cause colors to be distorted. Check your Microsoft
Office documentation for information on how to temporary disable
the Microsoft Office Manager toolbar.
*****************************************************************
4. Performance Issues:
*****************************************************************
- Out-Of-Memory Errors.
If you encounter out-of-memory errors, there is probably not
enough memory available to the program. Consider doing the
following to improve the memory usage.
i) Close all unnecessary applications.
ii) If you are using Windows for Workgroups, try to run windows
without loading the network drivers by typing "win /n" at
the DOS prompt.
iii) Determine how much memory your computer has available by
typing "mem" and pressing ENTER at the DOS prompt. You
need a minimum of 8MB of total memory to use the program.
If you do not have at least 8MB of physical memory, you
may not be able to run the program until you add more
physical memory.
iv) Check the virtual memory setting. Try to use the Windows
recommended virtual memory size; it may help to solve the
out-of-memory problem. Please consult the Windows User's
Guide for more information.
v) If you are using Windows or Windows for Workgroups 3.11, you
can try optimizing the memory usage by using Memmaker in DOS.
- The program runs slowly.
If you find Escher Interactive program runs slowly, your system
may not be optimized for the best performance. Consider doing
the following to improve the system performance.
i) Run Windows 3.1 in Enhanced mode. To see if you are running
Windows in Enhanced mode, from the Program Manager Help menu
choose the About Program Manager (or from the File Manager
Help menu choose About File Manager). In the bottom section
of the dialog box, you should see the phrase "386 Enhanced
Mode." If you do not see this phrase, you can force Windows
to run in Enhanced mode by typing WIN/3 or WIN/E at the DOS
prompt when launching Windows.
Windows for Workgroups always runs in Enhanced mode and no
message is displayed in the About dialog box.
ii) If you are running Windows in Enhanced mode, set up a
permanent Windows swap file for virtual memory on your hard
disk. See your Windows User's Guide for more information.
iii) Defragment ("clean up") your hard disk by running a
defragmentation program (MS-DOS 6.2 and above includes the
program "defrag").
- Improving performance with SmartDrive.
Make sure you have SmartDrive 5.0 or above and MSCDEX 2.23.
This new version of SmartDrive can cache data being read from
the CD-ROM drive, greatly improving performance. Make sure
SMARTDRV is after MSCDEX in your Autoexec.bat. For information
on the current SmartDrive settings type "smartdrv" at the DOS
prompt. For help with SmartDrive type "smartdrv /?" at the DOS
prompt or consult your DOS User's Guide.
*****************************************************************
5. CD-ROM Issues:
*****************************************************************
- Increasing the CD-ROM drive reading performance.
Set up enough buffer for MSCDEX by putting /M:25 at the end of
MSCDEX.EXE line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
Some CD-ROM drives came with earlier releases of their DOS
drivers. Old drivers may not be optimized for the best data
transfer rate between the CD-ROM drive and the CD-ROM host.
Contact your CD-ROM manufacturer for the latest driver.
If you are using Windows 95, make sure the CD-ROM Optimized
Access Pattern in File System Properties is setup properly for
the type of CD-ROM drive you have.
e.g. if you have a Quad-speed CD-ROM drive, you should have the
CD-ROM Optimized Access Pattern set up for Quad-speed or
higher.
If you are using Windows 95, try to use the native Windows 95
CD-ROM driver for your CD-ROM drive. Using the CD-ROM DOS driver
in Windows 95 may result in slower performance. The CD-ROM
DOS driver may also impede full 32-bit file system access.
The file system performance may vary if it is not in full 32-bit
pattern.
Make sure that your CD-ROM drive is MPC2-compatible. An MPC2-
compatible drive has an average seek time of less than one
second and can transfer data from the compact disc at 300k per
second while using less than 40% of the CPU bandwidth. Check
the documentation that came with your CD-ROM drive to make sure
it meets these requirements. An incompatible CD-ROM drive will
slow down the performance of the program.
- Errors reading from the CD-ROM drive.
If your system has errors reading from the CD-ROM drive, please
do the following checks:
i) make sure the disc surface is clear.
ii) try to find out if there is any visible scratch on the
surface of the disc.
iii) find out if your CD-ROM drive is functioning properly.
- Problems finding the CD-ROM drive.
Check to see if the drive letter for your CD-ROM drive has
changed. You can use the Windows File Manager to determine
which drive letter is assigned to the CD-ROM drive. The Select
Drive command in the Disk menu will say "CD-ROM" next to the
CD-ROM drive letter.
Do not remove the CD-ROM while the program is running.
If the program cannot find the data files that it needs from
the CD disc, you will see a message that tells you that your
computer cannot read from the drive letter of your CD-ROM.
If you have an external CD-ROM drive, make sure the drive is
connected to your computer, plugged in, and turned on. If you
still see the error message after checking the points above,
check the documentation that came with your CD-ROM drive or
contact the company that supplied the drive.
*****************************************************************
6. Video Display Issues:
*****************************************************************
- Color mode setting.
This CD-ROM has been created for MPC2 compatible PCs. To
achieve the best results set your display-adapter to either
16-bit color mode (64K or hi-color) or 24-bit color mode (16
million or true color). This software will work in 256 color
mode but palette flashes may sometimes occur.
- Video driver problems.
Minor problems have been reported with the Diamond Viper,
Diamond Speedstar, Diamond Stealth, ATI Ultra Pro, Matrox
Impression Plus, and Elsa Winner 2000 video cards. If you
experience video problems with these or any other graphics
cards, such as skipping frames and palette flashes, consider
the following solutions:
i) If the screen resolution is set at 800 x 600, try changing
it to 640 x 480. Try changing the color mode from 24-bit to
16-bit or from 16-bit to 256 colors. Please consult your
video card user's manual to change your display resolutions.
ii) Try to update the video card drivers. Make sure you are
using the most recent video drivers available for Windows
from your video card manufacturer. Please contact the
manufacturer or your dealer to obtain updated drivers. Most
of the video card manufacturers provide BBS, WWW and FTP
sites for downloading updated drivers.
- Missing or truncated type on some screens.
If your display setting is for Large Fonts, some of the text in
the Escher Interactive screens may be truncated. Most of the
video card drivers support Small Fonts and Large Fonts. Do the
following to reset the display setting in Windows.
Windows 3.x users:
i) Double-click 'Main' group.
ii) Double-click 'Windows Setup'.
iii) If the Display box in Windows Setup has the words
'Large Fonts', choose 'Change System Settings...' in
Options menu.
iv) Click the Pull Down button located to the right of the
display box to open a list of settings.
v) Choose the setting that uses "Small Fonts" or has no font
description.
vi) Click 'OK' button.
vii) Restart Windows.
Windows 95 users:
i) Double-click 'My Computer' icon on the Desktop.
ii) Double-click 'Control Panel' folder.
iii) Double-click 'Display' icon.
iv) Select 'Settings' tab.
v) If the Font size box is set to something other than 'Small
Fonts', change it to 'Small Fonts'.
vi) Click 'OK' button.
*****************************************************************
7. Audio Issues:
*****************************************************************
- Problems with 8-bit sound cards.
Sound cards which do not conform to the MPC2 standard, for
example almost all 8-bit sound cards (including the Soundblaster
Classic), the volume cannot be set using the Escher Interactive
program and the on-screen volume sliders will not be functional.
Adjust volume using the controls on your speakers and/or sound
card.
- Conflicts with other applications.
Audio problems can have many causes. Other applications that
play sounds may interrupt sounds in Escher Interactive program.
Most sound cards cannot play two sounds simultaneously. In some
cases, playing two sounds simultaneously can result in a system
crash or freeze; in such cases, what you need to do is to
restart your system. However, a few applications that play
sounds, such as some screen savers, may remove audio capability
from all other Windows applications; if this is the case, you
may see Escher Interactive program startup without any sound.
If you suspect you have such situation, turn it off before
launching the program.
- Audio driver problems.
If you experience problems with audio, you may need to update
your sound card driver. It is always a good idea to use the
most recent driver. Contact the manufacturer of your sound
card to find out how to obtain a new driver.
- IBM Aptiva Mwave sound card.
If you own an IBM Aptiva Mwave sound card and are experiencing
'looping' or 'repeating' audio playback, please contact IBM to
update the sound card driver. IBM's web page: www.ibm.com
- Sounds play, but not very well.
Sounds that are distorted or "fuzzy" have several possible
causes. The most likely one is simply that your speakers are
not of high quality.
It is also possible that the software settings on your sound
card are causing distortion. For example, if the sound card
volume or "WAVE file output" is set to near its maximum, it will
produce amplification distortion, just as it would on a stereo
system. To find out how to change your sound card settings,
check the documentation that came with your sound card.
- Sound does not play at all.
If you don't hear any sounds, make sure that the volume for your
speakers is set to an audible level.
If the volume is set to an audible level and you still hear no
sounds at all, something may be wrong with your sound card
setup. Check your sound card IRQ and DMA settings, make sure
those settings are not in conflict with other hardware devices.
Also, check to see that the driver is installed correctly and,
if necessary, reinstall it. Refer to the documentation that came
with your sound card for more information on installing audio
drivers.
Please note that Escher Interactive: Exploring the Art of the
Infinite requires an MPC-compatible sound card to be installed
and is not intended to run with drivers which use the PC
internal speaker, such as the unsupported "PC Speaker" driver.
Such a drivers will in most cases not play any sounds, and if
the driver setup option "Enable Interrupts" is not checked, your
system may crash. If you have both a sound card and the PC
Speaker driver installed, it is preferable to un-install the PC
Speaker driver.
*****************************************************************
8. Printing Issue:
*****************************************************************
- Printing problem in Tessellation Workshop.
If your printer does not recognize the format (horizontal or
vertical) that you selected in Tessellation Workshop, you may
need to reset the printer format in Windows to 'Landscape'.
Windows 3.x users:
i) Close the Escher Interactive program.
ii) Double-click 'Main' group.
iii) Double-click 'Print Manager'.
iv) Choose 'Printer Setup' from the Options menu.
v) Click the 'Setup' button.
vi) If the Orientation is set to 'Portrait', change it to
'Landscape'.
vii) Click 'OK' button.
Windows 95 users:
i) Close the Escher Interactive program.
ii) Double-click 'My Computer' icon on the desktop.
iii) Double-click 'Printers' folder.
iv) Right-mouse click your printer icon and select 'Properties'.
v) Select 'Paper' tab.
vi) If the Orientation is set to 'Portrait', change it to
'Landscape'.
vii) Click 'OK' button.
(c) Copyright 1996 Byron Preiss Multimedia Company, Inc.
(c) Copyright 1996 Eyeware Interactive