Microsoft Plus! Readme.txt File Contents (1 of 2)

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95

SUMMARY

The following information is a copy of the information in the Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 Readme.txt file (part 1 of 2).

MORE INFORMATION

CONTENTS

LIST OF MICROSOFT PLUS! README FILES

In addition to README.TXT, Microsoft Plus! provides the following README files:

    DRVSPACE.TXT    Provides information about using DriveSpace 3
                    disk compression and the Compression Agent
                    file-compression program.

    INTERNET.TXT    Provides information to help you connect to
                    and browse the Internet. This file is located
                    in the folder that contains your Microsoft
                    Plus! Internet files.

    SUPPORT.TXT     Provides additional information about product
                    support for Microsoft Plus!.

    PINBALL.DOC     Explains how scoring works in the 3D Pinball
                    game, and describes the components of the Space
                    Cadet table. To view PINBALL.DOC, use WordPad
                    or another word processor. PINBALL.DOC is
                    located in the folder that contains your
                    3D-Pinball game files.

    SCRIPT.DOC      Describes the Dial-Up Scripting command
                    language. Refer to this document for the
                    commands you can use to create a Dial-Up
                    Networking script. To view SCRIPT.DOC, you
                    will need WordPad or another word processor.
                    SCRIPT.DOC is located in the folder that
                    contains your Microsoft Plus! program files.

MICROSOFT PLUS! SETUP NOTES

Uninstalling Microsoft Plus!

To remove Microsoft Plus! from your computer:

1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. Double-Click the Add/Remove Programs icon.

3. Click Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95, and then click Add/Remove.

4. Click Remove All.

If You Start Windows 95 From a Network Drive

If you are running Windows 95 from a network drive, you cannot install Microsoft Plus!. To set up Microsoft Plus!, you must first set up Windows 95 entirely on your local hard disk.

Do Not Install DriveSpace 3 If You Use Banyan Vines

If you use Banyan Vines networking, do not install the DriveSpace 3 component of Microsoft Plus!. The Banyan network driver requires more memory than is available when DriveSpace 3 is present.

To install Microsoft Plus! on a system with Banyan Vines, choose Custom Setup, and then clear the DriveSpace 3 check box.

For an updated version of Banyan Vines, contact the manufacturer.

If You Reinstall Windows 95 After Installing Microsoft Plus!

SYSTEM AGENT

Including Command-Line Switches When Scheduling Programs

If the path to a program that you are scheduling includes long filenames, you must enclose the path and program name with quotation marks. To include switches in the command line, type the switches after the quotation marks.

For example:

   "c:\program files\accessories\myprogram.exe" /switch1 /switch2

If Your Program Did Not Run At the Scheduled Time

If you receive a notification that your program did not run at its scheduled time, it may be because of the following:

- Your computer was turned off.

- You were using your computer, and your program was scheduled to

  run while your computer was idle.

- System Agent could not find the program file you specified.

To make sure the program information is correct:

1. Click the Start button, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Agent.

   NOTE: You can also double-click the System Agent icon on the taskbar.

2. Click the program that didn't run.

3. On the Program menu, click Properties.

4. Make sure the information in the Command Line box is correct. Double-check the file name for the program.

5. If you want to change the schedule so that the program runs even if you are using your computer or your computer is running on batteries, click Change Schedule, and then make changes to the schedule as needed.

Running Disk-Tool Programs While Other Programs Are Using Your Disk

Programs that write to your hard disk when you aren't using your computer (such as some screen savers, system-monitoring programs, or mail programs) can cause problems when you use System Agent to run disk tools. For example, if your mail program downloads mail every few minutes, it might cause a scheduled disk-tool program to restart repeatedly without making much progress, or even to close before it has finished running.

If you encounter this problem:

1. Schedule your disk-tool programs to run at a time when you know you won't be running other programs (for example, at night).

2. When you are finished working on your computer, make sure you close any mail or system-monitoring programs that regularly write to your disk.

3. If you are using a screen saver (for example, Microsoft Scenes) that writes to your hard disk, you might want to disable it during the times disk tools are scheduled to run.

Running Scheduled Programs While Playing Games That Use a Joystick

System Agent does not recognize joystick activity when checking to see if you are using your computer. Therefore, if programs are scheduled to run while you are not using your computer, and you are currently playing a game that uses a joystick, System Agent will run the scheduled programs anyway. This may cause your game to run significantly more slowly. To solve this problem, suspend System Agent to prevent scheduled programs from running while you are playing your game.

To suspend System Agent:

 > Right-click the System Agent icon on the taskbar, and then
   click Suspend System Agent.

If System Agent Does Not List Your Scheduled Programs

If your list of scheduled programs does not appear in the System Agent window, it usually means that System Agent could not find your SAGE.DAT file.

The following things could cause this problem:

 * You ran a program such as LFNBK.EXE that temporarily
   or permanently modified your long filenames.

 * The file is located on a drive that was unavailable when
   System Agent started (for example, a network drive or
   a removable drive).

 * Your Sage.dat file may have been accidentally moved or deleted

1. In System Agent, choose Stop Using System Agent from the Advanced menu.

2. In Explorer, choose Options from the View menu in Explorer, and then make sure Show All Files is selected.

3. Copy the Sage.dat file from the C:\Program Files\Plus!\System folder to the C:\ folder.

4. Explorer will ask whether or not you want to replace the current copy of the C:\Sage.dat file. Click Yes.

5. To restart System Agent, click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Agent.

If ScanDisk Stops With an Error, But SCANDISK.LOG Reports No Errors

If ScanDisk for Windows stops checking your drives and displays the error "Check was stopped because of an error (255)", but the SCANDISK.LOG file does not report any errors, the problem might be that one of the drive(s) being checked no longer exists.

For example, this problem might appear if you undocked your laptop, and ScanDisk then attempted to check all your drives. Or, it might occur if you uncompressed a drive that ScanDisk was configured to check.

To work around this problem:

1. Double-click the System Agent icon on the taskbar.

2. In the list of scheduled programs, click ScanDisk.

3. In the Program menu, click Properties, and then click Settings in the Properties dialog box.

4. In the list of drives, deselect the selected drive(s) by clicking a drive other than the currently selected drive(s).

5. Click the drive(s) you want ScanDisk to check.

TROUBLESHOOTING VISUAL ENHANCEMENTS

This section provides tips for troubleshooting problems with Microsoft Plus! visual enhancements.

Some of the problems in this section are caused by problems with specific display drivers. If you are having a problem with your display driver, check the Windows Driver Library (WDL) disk for an updated version of your display driver. For information about how to obtain and use the WDL, see the Windows 95 DISPLAY.TXT file, which is located in the folder that contains your Windows 95 files.

If You Are Using Multiple System Configurations

If you run Microsoft Plus! on more than one system configuration (for example, if you have a laptop computer with a docking station and run Microsoft Plus! when your laptop is both docked and undocked), make sure that the display settings for both configurations are set up to use at least 256 colors. If this is not possible, you might not want to use desktop themes.