README.TXT: Using Windows with Multimedia Extensions

• Microsoft Windows with Multimedia Extensions version 1.0

SUMMARY

The following information is contained in the Windows with Multimedia Extensions version 1.0 README.TXT file. The Setup program copies this file to the Windows with Multimedia Extensions directory.

This information does not apply to later versions of Windows.

README.TXT ONLINE DOCUMENT

USING WINDOWS WITH MULTIMEDIA EXTENSIONS

This section describes information you need to know when running Windows with Multimedia Extensions or installing the multimedia extensions from the CD-ROM.

WINDOWS OPERATING MODES

Windows runs in three operating modes: real, standard, and 386 enhanced. Of these operating modes, the Multimedia extensions augment the capabilities of Windows standard and 386 enhanced modes with sound, photographic-quality images, and animation. The Multimedia extensions are designed for data intensive applications and minimally require a 80386sx PC platform for performance considerations.

You can run Windows 3.0 in real mode; however, you will be unable to use the Multimedia extensions while using Windows real mode.

DISPLAY DRIVER SETTINGS

MCGA256 Driver

When setting up the display driver for Windows with Multimedia, the SETUP program and the Display application from the Control Panel adjust several entries of the SYSTEM.INI file. For the MCGA256 video driver, the 386grabber entry in the [boot] section of SYSTEM.INI is assigned the driver vga.gr3 and may not update parts of a DOS box window properly.

This may be solved by changing the line in SYSTEM.INI from

   386grabber=vga.gr3

   386grabber=v7vga.gr3

Using a Display Driver with VRAM II

The VRAMII video card uses the VGAPAL.DRV video driver shipped with Windows with Multimedia. You can use either this video driver or the video driver that comes with the card.

The drivers MMV7VGA.DRV and V7VGA.DRV do not support this video card; they support the VRAM I card.

WHEN DEVICE DRIVER ASSIGNMENTS BECOME EFFECTIVE

Windows with Multimedia loads its waveform, MIDI, joystick, and timer drivers at boot time. You can install and change these driver assignments at any time with the Drivers Control Panel application; however, Windows with Multimedia doesn't make these changes during the current Windows session. Instead, it records the changes for the next session of Windows. To recognize driver changes once they've been recorded, close and restart Windows.

RUNNING TSR PROGRAMS DURING SETUP

When you run SETUP for Windows with Multimedia, avoid invoking TSR programs while the installation is running. That is, don't interrupt the installation by starting TSR programs.

USING SCREEN SAVERS

The Multimedia extensions for Windows include screen saver applications, which you can install from SETUP and from the Screen Saver Control Panel application. For information about Screen Savers included with the Multimedia extensions, see the HyperGuide section entitled Appearances, in the Control Panel Concepts. The Control Panel is part of the Main Group in HyperGuide.

Third party screen saver applications also exist and can conflict if they are loaded concurrently in Windows. The main symptom of a conflict is that the system fails to recognize keystrokes and mouse movements once the Screen Saver assumes control of the system. To remedy this situation, you must disable one of the screen savers.

To keep the Multimedia extensions Screen Saver, remove the third-party screen saver from the files listed in the "load=" entry in the [windows] section of the WIN.INI file. WIN.INI is located in your Windows directory.

To keep the third-party screen saver, you must make two edits:

1. In the WIN.INI file located in your Windows directory, remove SCRNSVR.EXE from the "load=" entry in the [Windows] section.

2. In the SYSTEM.INI file located in your Windows directory, remove the file name assigned to the "SCRNSAVE.EXE=" entry in the [boot] section.

WORKING WITH CD-ROM DRIVES

To avoid problems, don't change discs in the CD-ROM drive while in the middle of an operation (for example, getting a directory listing, playing an audio segment from the CD-ROM, or playing an audio CD with Music Box).

The MS-DOS COMP utility doesn't work when comparing files on a CD-ROM.

WORKING WITH THE MSCDEX CD-ROM DRIVER

Be careful when installing the CD-ROM driver MSCDEX.EXE from the Windows DOS Prompt. MSCDEX doesn't check to find out whether it has already been loaded before loading itself. Thus, you might encounter situations in which multiple versions of MSCDEX are loaded on top of one another. To make sure this doesn't occur, always install MSCDEX from an AUTOEXEC.BAT file before starting the Windows graphical environment.

MSCDEX can't be loaded into high memory (for example, using LOADHIGH in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file).

CALIBRATING JOYSTICKS

Don't use the Joystick Control Panel application to calibrate a joystick while running a game or other application that uses the joystick.

USING SOUND RECORDER WITH EXCEL 3.0

The Sound Recorder accessory can be used for Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) with applications that support OLE. Microsoft Excel Version 3.0 allows you to use Sound Recorder to embed up to 32K of data. You can link to data larger than 32K if the 32K limit on embedded data is too small.

COPYING WINDOWS WITH MULTIMEDIA FILES FROM THE CD-ROM

The files on the Windows with Multimedia CD-ROM may be compressed. Compressed files are not usable until they are expanded. Setup and Control Panel expand the compressed files as they are copied onto your hard disk.

If you need to copy files directly from the CD-ROM without using Setup or Control Panel, follow these steps:

1. Copy EXPAND.EXE from the CD-ROM directory \xxxxx onto your hard drive. (This utility expands compressed files to a usable format.)

2. Type the following and press ENTER:

         expand x:<path\filename> y:<path\filename>
   

       where x: is the CD-ROM drive (source)
             y: is the disk drive you are copying to (destination)
   
      The compressed file is expanded as it is copied onto your hard-disk
      drive.
   
   

If you use the expand utility to copy .SY$ files onto your hard disk, you must change their filename extensions to .SYS. You can use the MS-DOS Rename command or you can rename each file as you copy them from the CD-ROM with the Expand command.

To rename a file when you expand it, type the following command and press ENTER:

   expand x:filename.sy$ c:\windirectory\filename.sys

LEARNING ABOUT WINDOWS APPLICATIONS IN HYPERGUIDE

The Quick Looks topics in the HyperGuide on-line documentation system show how to use the programs provided in the Windows graphical environment with multimedia extensions. For easy access to these topics, you may want to copy the files that contain them from the Windows with Multimedia CD-ROM to your hard disk. (These files may be compressed on the CD-ROM; see the instructions in the preceding section for copying compressed files.) Use the following procedure:

1. Copy the Quick Look help files from the CD-ROM to your Windows directory. The Quick Look help files have "QL" as the last letters in their base names. If compressed, these files have extensions of .HL$. (For example, MQL.HL$ is the compressed help file for the Windows Program Manager.) Otherwise, they have extensions of .HLP. If these files are are compressed, you must rename these files so they have extensions of .HLP after you expand them. (For example, you must rename PMQL.HL$ to PMQL.HLP after you expand it.)

2. Copy the file named QLHD.HL$ (if compressed) or QLHD.HLP (if uncompressed) from the CD-ROM to your Windows directory. This file contains the Table of Contents for the Quick Look topics. If this file is compressed, you must change the filename to QLHD.HLP after you expand the file.

3. Copy the file named QUIKLOOK.IC$ (if compressed) or QUIKLOOK.ICO (if uncompressed) from the CD-ROM to your Windows directory. This file contains the icon for the Quick Look topics. If this file is compressed, you must change the filename to QUIKLOOK.ICO after you expand the file.

4. Add a new program item to any Program Manager group for the Quick Look topics. Specify QUIKLOOK.ICO as the icon file for the new program item. Specify the following command line for the program item:

         winhelp qlhd.hlp