Experience C++ service questions should be directed to: Mark Ryan (416) 448-3378 mryan@vnet.ibm.com John Akerley (416) 448-3757 akerley@vnet.ibm.com The questions that users ask about Experience C++ are almost always related to sound. Most users run into problems because they either specify the wrong sound card during installation or do not specify the sound card options correctly. The READ.ME file on the Experience C++ CD discusses these problems in detail. Here is a list of the most common problems: 1. PROBLEM: E 04 Error at startup REASON: not enough base memory available in DOS. The READ.ME file on the CD has complete details. DETAILS: Use MEM command to determine how much current base memory is available. If less than 500K, you can suggest the following to make more memory available: 1. MEMMAKER (for MS-DOS) or RAMBOOST (for PC DOS) maximize the base memory that is available. 2. Comment out DEVICE= statements in CONFIG.SYS for drivers that you do not need. 3. Load drivers high where possible. 2. PROBLEM: E 03 Error at startup REASON: Experience C++ can't communicate the with sound card because the audio support was not installed or was installed incorrectly. DETAILS: Either the audio support has not been installed (in which case you can see the inside cover of the CD for installation instructions), or the installation did not work properly. The most common installation problems are improperly specified IRQ, DMA, and I/O addresses. The READ.ME file on the CD contains a section called "Experience C++ Error Codes" that describes these problems, and how to fix them, in detail. 3. PROBLEM: Won't start/locks in Windows REASON: Conflict between Experience C++ and other Windows applications that use the sound card. DETAILS: Experience C++ needs the sound card all to itself to run under Windows. If you are using another Windows application that needs the sound card, it is best to start Experience C++ directly from DOS. More details are available in the "Problems Running Experience C++ in Windows" section of the READ.ME file on the CD. 4. PROBLEM: Scratchy sound REASON: The SoundBlaster compatible sound driver works with a wide variety of sound cards, but the sound quality may be poor on some systems. DETAILS: You can get Experience C++ to use an improved sound driver by specifying "SoundBlaster 16 and 100% compatible" in the DOS and OS/2 install procedures. However, this sound driver only works with genuine SoundBlaster 16 cards and cards that are 100% compatible. 5. PROBLEM: Can't specify IRQ = 10 in installation procedure REASON: The sound drivers that Experience C++ uses cannot accept an IRQ higher than 7. DETAILS: If your sound card is set to IRQ 10, the sound drivers cannot find it, and you will get and error if you try to start Experience C++ in audio mode. You can still use the tutorial in closed-caption mode, or you can try resetting the IRQ on your sound card to 5 or 7 using the SBCONFIG command. Note that this may cause IRQ conflicts if both of these IRQs are already being used. 6. PROBLEM: Experience C++ hangs system REASON: Sound card specified during installation is not the sound card that the system actually uses. DETAILS: Experience C++ can't detect if the user specifies an incorrect sound card during the installation procedure. If an incorrect sound card is specified, Experience C++ may hang when the user tries to start it. Reinstalling with the correct sound card specified should correct the problem.