Davidson’s Math Blaster Ages 4-6 for and Windows® 95/98 Version 1.0.2c ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Congratulations on your purchase of Math Blaster Ages 4-6! We have included this ReadMe file to supply you with up-to-the-minute information about the program. (Please open this win- dow to its maximum size for better readability.) INSTALLING Math Blaster Ages 4-6 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Windows 95/98: 1. Place the Math Blaster Ages 4-6 CD-ROM in your CD drive; 2. If your system supports Windows 95's AutoPlay feature, then the Setup will start automatically. Just follow the prompt; 3. However, if your system does not support auto-launch, then select the Start button; 4. Choose Run from the Start Menu; 5. At the Open box, type "D:\setup.exe", where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive; 6. Click on OK and follow the prompts. *************************************************************************************************************** UNINSTALLING Math Blaster Ages 4-6 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Windows 95/98: 1. In the Start Menu, select Programs, and choose the Math Blaster Ages 4-6 group; 2. Select unInstallSHIELD and follow the prompt. *************************************************************************************************************** MANUALLY INSTALLING ACROBAT(TM) READER ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Included on the CD is Acrobat(TM) Reader which is needed for the product manual. To manually install Acrobat(TM) Reader: 1. Choose Run from the Start Menu. 2. At the Open box, type "D:\acrobat\setup.exe", where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. 6. Click on OK and follow the prompts. *************************************************************************************************************** TO EXIT Math Blaster Ages 4-6 ----------------------------------------------------------- Math Blaster Ages 4-6 provides a childproof exit feature. To prevent young players from accidentally exiting to Program Manager, Math Blaster Ages 4-6 has no menus inside the game. Players must press a keyboard combination (Ctrl-Q, Alt-F4 and ESCape) to exit the game. PRINT KIT --------------- Included with Math Blaster Ages 4-6 are the Activity books which contain additional activities to be used with Math Blaster Ages 4-6. These Activity books can be printed out using Acrobat Reader. To learn more about how to use the Activity books, choose the icon How to Use Your Print Kit in the Math Blaster Ages 4-6 program group. If you experience trouble accessing the Activity books, refer to the section Manually Installing Acrobat Reader and Quicktime for Windows above. *************************************************************************************************************** Windows 95/98 Users: If you have deleted or uninstalled any parts of the program and are having problems reinstalling, follow these steps to manually reinstall Math Blaster Ages 4-6: 1. Select the Start button; 2. Choose Run from the Start Menu; 3. At the Open box, type in "D:\setup.exe", where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive; 4. Click on OK and follow the prompts. *************************************************************************************************************** SYSTEM PERFORMANCE TIPS ------------------------------------------------ These tips are designed to improve your overall system performance. OPTIMIZE YOUR HARD DISK TO INCREASE DISK ACCESS PERFORMANCE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With MS-DOS 5.0 or older, you'll need to use a separate utility for disk optimization. If you're using MS-DOS 6.0 or newer, use the following steps to defragment and optimize your disk: 1. Exit Windows. At the C:\> prompt, type "defrag C: /f" and press ENTER. This process will take a few minutes. 2. Reenter Windows and run the program. INCREASE THE AVAILABLE MEMORY FOR WINDOWS PROGRAMS TO RUN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Change the SMARTDrive cache size to make more memory available. If you have more than 8 MB of RAM, skip this process. 1. Go to the Program Manager. 2. Select Run from the File menu. 3. At the command box, type "sysedit" and click OK. 4. The Sysedit window will appear. Click on the Autoexec.bat window to bring it to the front. 5. Locate the line that shows smartdrv.exe and type in the appropriate sizes. • If you have 8 MB of RAM, add 1024 1024. Your Smartdrive setting should look like this: smartdrv.exe 1024 1024 (you have typed in 1024 1024). Note: Leave any other options on the smartdrv.exe line as they are set. For example: (before) smartdrv.exe /q (after) smartdrv.exe 1024 1024 /q 6. If you've made changes, select Save from the File menu. 7. Select Exit from the File menu. 8. Exit Windows and restart the computer. SET UP VIRTUAL MEMORY TO GIVE WINDOWS MORE MEMORY --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Note: If you are running any disk-compression software, refer to the software manual or call the software manufacturer for assistance in setting up a permanent swap file.) 1. Run Defrag as described above. 2. Double-click the Control Panel icon in the Main group. 3. Double-click the 386 Enhanced icon in the Control Panel group. 4. Click the Virtual Memory button on the right side. 5. Make sure the current settings have the Size set to at least 2000 KB if you have 8 MB of RAM. Also make sure Type is set to Permanent. 6. If it is not currently set, click the Change button. 7. Under New Settings, make sure the Type is Permanent and the Size is set according to #5 above. The bigger the swap file size, the better performance you will have. We recommend setting the size to at least 8000 KB (but not exceeding 16000 KB). This will improve your overall system performance. 8. Click OK. Follow the prompt to restart Windows. GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS -------------------------------------------------------- If the Program Is Very Slow: ---------------------------------------- 1. Close any unnecessary applications that may be running. 2. Be sure you are running Windows in enhanced mode and that the Virtual Memory settings are active. Refer to the performance tips above or your Windows documentation. 3. Make sure that your display setting is at 640x480 resolution and 256 colors. Refer to your system or Windows documentation. If the Program Does Not Run When You Double-Click on MBJR.EXE From The File Manager or Type MBJR.EXE from the Command Line ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Math Blaster Ages 4-6 requires a command line parameter for its executable in order to run. We recommend running the program from its installed icon; refer to Installing Math Blaster Ages 4-6 above to install the icons. IF DISPLAY PROBLEMS OCCUR ------------------------------------------------- If you experience graphics problems while running Math Blaster Ages 4-6, contact your video card or systems vendor to obtain the latest version of their video driver. COMPATIBILITY ISSUES ------------------------------------- KIDDESK® ---------------- Math Blaster Ages 4-6 does not function under KidDesk. However, Math Blaster Ages 4-6 offers its own childproof exit feature. To prevent young players from accidentally exiting to Program Manager, Math Blaster Ages 4-6 has no menus or Exit buttons inside the game. Players must press a keyboard combination (CTRL+Q or ALT+F4) to exit the game. SPINWIZARD -------------------- You may encounter an error message if SpinWizard and Math Blaster Ages 4-6 are running at the same time. This error does not affect any parts of your Windows settings. Simply close SpinWizard before starting Math Blaster Ages 4-6 and you will not receive the error message. WINDOWS PROGRAM SHELLS ----------------------------------------------- If you are using a program shell other than the Windows Program Manager and are experiencing trouble installing or playing Math Blaster Ages 4-6, try changing the shell back to the standard Windows Program Manager. Refer to your shell documentation or call your shell vendor if you need assistance. SCREEN SAVERS --------------------------- If you are running a screen saver in the background and experience video and sound problems during the game, disable the screen saver and the problem should be solved. Refer to your user documentation on how to disable the screen saver. PC TOOLS® VSAFE and MS-DOS® VSAFE ----------------------------------------------------------------- PC Tools VSAFE or MS-DOS 6.0 VSAFE may interfere with the install process. To disable VSAFE before installing Math Blaster Ages 4-6, exit the Windows operating system and type "VSAFE /U", then press ENTER. Restart your computer after installing of Math Blaster Ages 4-6 to turn PC Tools VSAFE or MS-DOS VSAFE back on. ATI® MACH VIDEO CARDS ---------------------------------------- If you are using the ATI video card and you experience problems running Math Blaster Ages 4-6, make sure that the Device Bitmaps option for the video driver is OFF. Refer to your system's documentation or call your system vendor if you need assistance. ENSONIQ® SOUND CARDS ----------------------------------------- If you have the Ensoniq sound card and are not getting sound inside the game, follow the steps below: 1. Click on the Control Panel icon in the Main program group; 2. Click on the Drivers icon; 3. Select Soundscape DVD MIDI, WAVE, AUX and choose the Setup button on the right; 4. Find the section Wave Playback DMA and set Wave A to "O." 5. Click on the Test button and verify that the status line at the bottom says "Driver OK." 6. Choose OK. 7. Exit the Control Panel and restart Windows. For further information, contact your system vendor or Ensoniq at (610) 647-3930. TECHNICAL SUPPORT ---------------------------------- If you are continually experiencing problems running Math Blaster Ages 4-6, call or contact our Technical Support for assistance. Technical Support is available from the following sources: - Phone: (310) 649-8045 Our Automated Help-Line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. - Customer Service: (310) 649-8001 - Mail: Knowledge Adventure Inc. 4247 South Minnewawa Ave. Fresno, Calif. 93725-9345 Math Blaster Ages 4-6 is a trademark of Davidson & Associates, Inc. KidDesk® is a registered trademark of the Edmark Corporation. Windows® and Windows® 95 operating systems and MS-DOS® are registered trademarks of the Microsoft® Corporation. QuickTime(TM) for Windows is a trademark of the Apple Corporation. Acrobat(TM) Reader is a trademark of the Adobe Corporation. © 1997 Davidson & Associates, Inc. All right reserved.