DOCUMENT:Q156256 05-JAN-2000 [homemm] TITLE :Encarta 97 World Atlas: Contents of README.WRI PRODUCT :Microsoft Home Multimedia Titles PROD/VER:: OPER/SYS: KEYWORDS: ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in this article applies to: - Microsoft Encarta 97 World Atlas for Windows ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY ======= The following article contains the contents of the Readme.wri file, located in the root directory of the Encarta World Atlas Disc. MORE INFORMATION ================ Microsoft Encarta 97 World Atlas Information Most of your questions will be answered in the on-line help for Encarta 97 World Atlas, which you can access by clicking on the help button on the upper right hand corner of the World Atlas window. This document contains late-breaking news about World Atlas and solutions for problems that may crop up. - To read this document on your screen, press the PAGE DOWN and PAGE UP keys on your keyboard. - To get to specific information quickly on your screen, click Edit and then click Find. Then type the topic title exactly as it appears in the Table of Contents and click Find Next to go right to the topic. For example, if you don't hear sounds, type You don't hear any sound in the Find box. - To print the entire document, simply click File and then click Print. Go ahead and click OK. Table of Contents Getting World Atlas to run at its best Make sure your CD-ROM drive gives you peak performance You need free disk space to run World Atlas Suggestions, please! Map suggestions Other suggestions Solving World Atlas problems Register as a World Atlas user You don't see the place you're looking for on the map Sound You don't hear any sound Sound is distorted, skips, or cuts off World Atlas stops running suddenly You may be having problems with your video display You may be having problems with your CD-ROM drive You may be having problems with a ReelMagic(tm) sound card If you're using Intellipoint software with your Microsoft mouse Pasting text from Encarta Atlas into another application doesn't look correct. Finding your license number Getting World Atlas to run at its best NOTE: Do not remove the World Atlas disc from your CD-ROM drive while you run World Atlas. Make sure your CD-ROM drive gives you peak performance To make sure that Windows is set to run your CD-ROM drive at its best, follow these steps: 1. Click My Computer with the right mouse-button. 2. Click Properties and click the Performance tab with the left mouse button. 3. Click the File System button and then click the CD-ROM tab. Make sure that the Supplemental cache size is set to Large and that the Optimize access pattern for is correctly set for the type of CD-ROM drive your system has. Look in your computer or CD-ROM manual to find out what this setting should be. You need free disk space to run World Atlas World Atlas requires a certain amount of free disk space for it to function properly with the operating system. The amount required is dependent on the operating system used (Windows 95 or Windows NT), the amount of memory (or RAM) your computer has, and the memory settings for the computer. In general, the more RAM you have the less free disk space you need. World Atlas works best with at least 32 megabytes (MB) of free disk space if you use Windows with the default settings and have Windows manage the memory. However, these are the minimum requirements, based on the amount of RAM your computer has: - 8 MB or less of RAM: you must have 24 MB of free disk space. - 9 to 16 MB of RAM: you must have 16 MB of free disk space. - Greater than 16 MB of RAM: you must have 10 MB of free disk space. Suggestions, please! Map suggestions World Atlas provides the most extensive world atlas database ever compiled in print or on CD-ROM. The lowest display altitudes in World Atlas give you an incredibly detailed view of the world, where you will find many small features. Some of these small features have been drawn from comprehensive databases of geographic locations that have been built by various government agencies. Some of these databases were never intended to be viewed at such a close range, and you may see some anomalies in their positioning and naming. Despite these issues, our cartographers decided to include them so that you can, for the first time, have access to the rich data that is available from these agencies. You will find these places identified in World Atlas with a special symbol. We value your feedback on map features. If you have suggestions for helping us improve the World Atlas map, please send them to: Map Editor Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 FAX: (206) 936-7329 Internet: mapedit@microsoft.com Other suggestions If there are features you would like to see in future editions of World Atlas or if you have any comments about the current version, please send them to: Encarta World Atlas Suggestions c/o Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 FAX: (206) 936-7329 Internet: mswish@microsoft.com Solving World Atlas problems Register as a World Atlas user Right after you set up World Atlas on your computer, the Setup program gives you the choice of registering on-line if you have a modem. If this on-line registration doesn't work, you can run the Setup program again to register or mail in the registration card that comes in the World Atlas box. Pictures and video don't look their best Here are a couple of things to try if pictures look grainy or flawed, or if videos are garbled: - You can fix most problems by updating the driver that lets Windows and your video card communicate. Look for the manufacturer's phone number in the manual that came with your computer or video card and request a new driver. Or, you might get an updated video driver from the Microsoft Download Service, an electronic bulletin board that you can access via modem at (206) 936-6735. - You can improve video quality by changing the video display mode. Keep in mind, however, that the quality of the maps both on screen and in print will suffer. 1. In Windows, click Start and point to Settings. 2. Click Control Panel and double-click Display. 3. Click the Settings tab. 4. Click 256 Color under Color palette and move the slider to 640 by 480 pixels for Desktop area. 5. Click OK. You don't see the place you're looking for on the map With a million place names, World Atlas can show only a limited number at one time without making the map too crowded. Follow these steps if you want to find a place you don't see: 1. Click Find on the toolbar on the top of the program window and then click Places. 2. Type the name of the place you want to visit. Notice the list move as you type. 3. If the place name is highlighted, press ENTER. Or, click the place name on the list to go there. World Atlas will draw the map again, and the place you're looking for will almost always appear. If you are in a map style that doesn't allow you to zoom in close enough to see the place you want, switch to the comprehensive map style and try the steps above again. Sound If you're uncomfortable trying any of the following suggestions on your own, you may want to ask your dealer or a more experienced friend to help. You don't hear any sound Start with the solutions (and a brief explanation of the problem) in the on-line help. If those suggestions don't solve the problem, try these: - Make sure the sound card is pressed securely into its slot. - Make sure the sound card switches and settings are correct-that is, the sound card was installed properly. Refer to the manual of your computer system or the sound card manual for help. - Make sure the sound card doesn't conflict with other hardware by using the Hardware Conflict Troubleshooter that was designed specifically to help with hardware conflicts in Windows. 1. In Windows, click Start and then click Help. 2. Double-click Troubleshooting. 3. Double-click If you have a hardware conflict and follow the directions on your screen. Sound is distorted, skips, or cuts off Start with the solutions (and a brief explanation of the problem) in the on-line help. If those suggestions don't solve the problem, try these: - If the sound is distorted, try adjusting the sound card volume with a program that is often called a "mixer." To get to the mixer, double-click the Volume Control (it's a little speaker in the lower- right corner of your screen). Turn down the volume with the volume slider under Volume Control and then close the Volume Control box. - If the sound occasionally skips or cuts off, the CD-ROM drive probably isn't fast enough-World Atlas requires a double-speed drive. You can keep using your CD-ROM drive, but you will continue to hear the sound break up or skip. Or you can upgrade your CD-ROM drive. - Most sound cards can play only one sound at a time. Some sound- producing programs, like a screen saver or any program that makes a sound in the background, may take over the sound capability of your computer and interrupt World Atlas sounds. If you suspect you have such a program, do not run it at the same time as World Atlas. - If you have a Media Vision(tm) Pro Audio 16 sound card and the sound is scratchy, the Direct Memory Access (DMA) may be set too low. A DMA setting of 7 will correct any scratchy sounds. For instructions on how to change the DMA settings, refer to your sound card manual. World Atlas stops running suddenly You may find that sometimes World Atlas freezes up, the screen goes blank, or World Atlas tells you it can't find data. You may be having problems with your video display See "Pictures and video don't look their best" in this document for two possible solutions. You may be having problems with your CD-ROM drive Check the drive itself. Here are three things to try. - Make sure the World Atlas CD-ROM disc is inserted into the CD-ROM drive. (World Atlas won't run at all unless the disc is in the drive. - Make sure that the drive is connected to your computer correctly and is functioning from Windows. To find out, double-click My Computer on the desktop and then double-click the drive with a picture of the CD-ROM disc (usually drive D). Windows will tell you if it's "not available." - If you have an external CD-ROM drive, make sure the power is turned on. If, after you try these three things, World Atlas still tells you it can't find data, check to see if your CD-ROM drive is installed properly. Refer to the manual that came with your computer system or CD-ROM drive for help, or contact the company that supplied the drive. Look for a hardware conflict. Make sure the CD-ROM drive doesn't conflict with other hardware by using the Hardware Conflict Troubleshooter. 1. In Windows, click Start and then click Help. 2. Double-click Troubleshooting. 3. Double-click If you have a hardware conflict and follow the directions on your screen. You may be having problems with a ReelMagic(tm) sound card With this sound card, the sounds the program makes when you click the mouse button freeze World Atlas; this also happens with the media player. Call Sigma Designs(r), the sound card manufacturer, for a new sound card driver (the program that lets Windows and your sound card communicate). If you're using Intellipoint software with your Microsoft mouse The Snap to feature can cause the mouse cursor to jump around on the screen when you do certain things in the World Atlas. To fix the cursor problem, turn off the Snap to feature following these steps: 1. In Windows, click Start and point to Settings. 2. Click Control Panel and double-click Mouse. In the lower right corner of the Mouse Properties box, you'll see Microsoft Intellipoint mentioned. 3. Click the Activity tab and click Snap to so there's no "x" in the box. 4. Click OK. Pasting text from Encarta Atlas into another application doesn't look correct. Encarta Atlas copies article text as tables into other programs. If the article doesn't look the same as it does within Atlas, try copying the article by using Edit/Paste Special and choose the unformatted option, if this is available. Finding your license number To find the license number for the product (also known as the product ID, PID, or serial number), click Options on the tool bar at the top of World Atlas and then click About World. Media Vision is a trademark of Media Vision, Inc. ReelMagic is a trademark of Sigma Designs. Sigma Designs is a registered trademark of Sigma Designs. 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