Collection of Education/collectionofeducationcarat1997.iso/GAMES/CHALL11.ZIP/CHALINFO.TXT

Text File | 1994-10-04 | 17KB | 324 lines

                     P E R S O N A L    C H A L L E N G E
                         G E T T I N G   S T A R T E D
               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   QUICK START:
   To run the program from a DOS prompt, enter: CHALL
   To read the on-disk manual, enter: CHALLDOC

   REVIEWERS: If you intend to review this software for publication, please
contact us to make sure you have the most recent version and that the
ordering information supplied to your readers will be accurate. We would
appreciate receiving a tearsheet or copy of any published reviews. Thank
you!

   ALWAYS MAKE A BACKUP COPY of the original disk before you do anything.
(See the DISKCOPY command in your DOS manual.) Put the original in a safe
place, and use the copy as the master disk when you install the program.
   Note that in all of the following examples, if your drive letters or
directory names are different, you can simply use the same command, but
with your actual drive letter and directory name. For example, we refer to
the floppy drives as drive A and drive B. If yours are really called drive
D and drive E, then use D and E instead of A and B. In our hard disk
example, the subdirectory is called CHALL. But you can name it something
else. For example, if you name it WEST, just use WEST in the command
instead of CHALL.
   The following instructions assume the files on your disk are NOT
archived. If you have received the files in archived format, refer to the
installation instructions that came with your disk.

   INSTALLING TO A HARD DISK: The first thing you need to do is create a
subdirectory on the hard disk. (If the subdirectory has already been
created, you don't have to create it now.) For example, if you decide to
name the subdirectory CHALL, you would start at your C> prompt, and use the
following sequence of commands:

   CD\
   MD CHALL
   CD \CHALL

Now put the master disk in the A drive and enter this command:

   COPY A:*.*

You should see all the files being copied. When the copying is finished,
you are ready to run the program.

   INSTALLING TO A FLOPPY DISK WHEN YOU HAVE TWO FLOPPY DRIVES: Put the
master disk in drive A. Put a new, formatted disk in drive B. Enter this
command:

   COPY A:*.* B:

   You should see the files being copied to the disk in the B drive. When
all the files have been copied, the B disk is your working disk. You can
move  the B disk to the A drive and use it there if you prefer.
   For greatest efficiency and maximum storage capacity, we urge you to
install the software to your hard disk.

   INSTALLING TO A FLOPPY DISK WHEN YOU HAVE ONE FLOPPY DRIVE: Put the
master disk in drive A. Have a new disk ready. Enter this command:

   DISKCOPY A: B:

   The computer will display messages telling you when to put the "source
disk" or the "target disk" into the drive. The "source disk" is your master
disk. The "target disk" is your new disk. When all the files have been
copied, the "target" disk is your working disk.
   For greatest efficiency and maximum storage capacity, we urge you to
install the software to your hard disk.

   NEED MORE SPACE? If you are running programs on floppy disks you may not
have enough disk space for the data files created by the program. You can
remove the documentation files, which the program does not need, from your
working disk. However, these files contain important information which you
will need for reference, so do not delete them from your master disk. To
delete the documentation files, put the working disk in the A drive and
enter these commands:

   DEL A:*.TXT
   DEL A:*.DOC

   The documentation files must be included with copies of the program that
are distributed to others.

   PROGRAM FILES: Program files can be identified by the extension EXE or
COM after the file name. To run the program, simply type its name. For
example, if you have a program named CHALL.EXE, type CHALL and press
<ENTER>.

   DOCUMENTATION AND INSTRUCTIONS: The on-disk manual appears in an
executable file named CHALLDOC.EXE. To view the manual from the DOS prompt,
type CHALLDOC and press <ENTER>. You can page through the document on
screen, or print it by pressing <ALT><P>. For  a list of helpful commands,
press <F1>.
   All features of PERSONAL CHALLENGE are documented in the on-disk manual. To
save disk space, this manual may not contain all the extra explanatory
material and examples which are included in the printed manual provided to
registered users. The printed manual also includes a table of contents and
index.
   Files which have the DOC or TXT extension are ASCII format files (also
called DOS Text files) which can be viewed or printed using DOS commands.
For example, if you have a typical setup, you can print a document called
CHALINFO.TXT using this command:  TYPE CHALINFO.TXT > PRN
   To view this file on screen, you would enter: TYPE CHALINFO.TXT | MORE
(Successful use of MORE assumes that the correct DOS files are in your
path. If this is not the case, you can simply use TYPE CHALINFO.TXT, but the
file may scroll up out of view.)
   You can also view and print this kind of file with text viewing
utilities, and with most word processors, using "ASCII", "DOS Text" or
"Non-document" format.

   CHANGES AND UPDATES: Sometimes changes are made in a program after the
manual is completed. Information about such changes will appear on disk in
a text file called UPDATE.TXT. If this file appears on your disk, you
should read it to get the latest important information about the software.

   NEW VERSIONS: Sometimes a new version of a program will ask permission
to update your data files. Do not answer "yes" unless you have already made
a backup copy of your data. Don't copy the backed-up data back into the
directory after the files have been updated. This backup is simply
insurance against data damage or loss. You should make backups regularly.

   BE SMART!  Before installing new versions of any software, make backups
of all the old files. This protects you in case of an error during the
installation/update process. Remember that power surges, hardware failure,
and user errors can all lead to data loss or damage. Make backups of your
data on a regular basis. If you wonder how often you need to back up your
word processing documents, mailing lists, spreadsheets, etc., ask yourself,
"How many days worth of work can I afford to lose?" We recommend that you
use a system of three or more sets of backup disks which you rotate on a
daily basis. That way, if something unfortunate happens to one set of
backups, you will have another set available. A few minutes spent making
daily backups can save you hours of heartbreaking work trying to recreate
lost data.

   BAD DISK? It seems that in hot weather we sometimes get complaints about
"bad" or unreadable disks. Floppy disks are susceptible to heat, moisture
and magnetism. A disk that sits all day in a hot mailbox or truck where
temperatures exceed 100 degrees is likely to be damaged. Disks which have
been exposed to magnetism may become unreadable.
   Before assuming a disk is bad, try it on another computer. It may be
that your computer's drive heads are dirty or slightly misaligned. Suspect
this if you often get disk error messages with different disks. An
inexpensive head cleaning kit may help solve the problem.
   With 5.25" disks, sometimes the round disk gets trapped inside its
square  casing and generates an error because it can't rotate freely.
Remove the  disk from the drive and tap each of the four edges sharply on
the surface  of your desk. This may loosen the disk. Try reading the disk
again.
   With 3.5" disks, the sliding plate may not be sliding open when the disk
is placed inside the drive. Gently slide the plate back and forth until it
feels looser, being careful not to touch the disk media inside. Try reading
the disk again. If the plate will not slide, or it it appears to be bent,
do not place it inside the drive. Instead, you can simply remove the plate,
which p