Windows 95 Troubleshooting Guide
Revised 4/24/97
Sierra Technical Support provides this documentation as a reference to
Sierra customers using Sierra software products. Sierra Technical Support
makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the information contained in this
documentation is accurate. However, Sierra makes no warranty, either express
or implied, as to the accuracy, effectiveness, or completeness of the
information contained in this documentation.
Sierra On-Line, Inc. does not warranty or promise that the information
herein will work with any or all computer systems. Sierra does not assume
any liability, either incidental or consequential, for the use of the
information herein, including any and all damage to or lost use of computer
hardware or software products, loss of warranties, or lost data by the customer
or any third party. No oral or written information or advice given by Sierra,
its employees, distributors, dealer or agents shall change the restriction of
liability or create any new warranties. In no case shall Sierra's liability
exceed the purchase price of the Sierra software product.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1 - HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
SECTION 2 - INSTALLATION PROCEDURES
SECTION 3 - COMMON INSTALLATION PROBLEMS
SECTION 4 - WINDOWS MEMORY TROUBLESHOOTING
SECTION 5 - GENERAL PROTECTION FAULTS AND ILLEGAL OPERATION ERRORS
SECTION 6 - COMMON GAME ISSUES AND QUESTIONS
SECTION 7 - OBTAINING AN UPDATE FOR CAESAR II
CONTACTING SIERRA FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE
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SECTION 1 - HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
REQUIRED
486
8MB RAM
Double Speed CD ROM
SVGA (640 x 480 x 256 colors)
Mouse / AT Keyboard
Windows 95
RECOMMENDED FOR BEST PERFORMANCE
Pentium
Quad speed CD ROM Drive
16 MB RAM
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SECTION 2 - INSTALLATION PROCEDURES
Insert the CD into your CD ROM drive. Windows should prompt you with a message:
"Caesar II has not been installed yet. Would you like to install it now?" Select
Yes.
If AutoPlay is disabled or not supported by your computer, you can initiate the
setup procedure manually. Insert the CD click on the Start button, click Run, then
type D:\SETUP in the command line (assuming your CD is your D:\ drive; substitute
your drive letter if necessary). Click on the OK button and follow the onscreen
messages to install the game. We recommend choosing the full installation option
if you have enough hard drive space. If you fail any of the tests, see Section 3,
Common Installation Problems.
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SECTION 3 - COMMON INSTALLATION PROBLEMS
Problem: When installing the game, you receive the message "Error reading drive
D". The error message will vary depending on what drive you are installing from.
Solution: There are several factors that can cause a "read" error of this type.
The most common is a dirty or scratched CD. You should check the CD to make sure
that there are no smudges, fingerprints, scratches or cracks on it. If you see any
smudges on the CD, clean it off with a soft cloth and try it again. If the disk is
scratched, it will need to be replaced.
If you need to replace your CD, replacement is FREE for the first 90 days of product
ownership. After 90 days there is a $10.00 handling fee per program. Mail us the CD,
a copy of your sales receipt dated within 90 days or the $10.00 handling fee, and a
note detailing your computer hardware and the problem that is occurring. Please
include your full name, mailing address, and daytime telephone number so we can
contact you if necessary. We will then send you a replacement CD. The address is:
CUC Software Fulfillment, 4100 West 190th Street, Torrance, California 90504.
Problem: Your computer fails the Display test; you get a message saying, "Your video
display supports 16 colors...".
Solution: Sierra's Windows games require that Windows is running in 256 color mode.
Even though your monitor and video card may be capable of displaying 256 colors,
Windows may not be set up to use this resolution. To check, right-click on the desktop
and choose Properties from the pop up menu. In the Settings section, if the Color
Palette section reads 16 color, you will need to change to 256 colors. Do not use
more than 256 colors with Caesar II. Although the game will run, you will not be
able to view some of the visual effects in the game. If your system will support
800 x 600 at 256 colors, change the Desktop Area to 800 x 600 pixels.
Warning: Be careful when changing video drivers! If you choose one that is not
designed for your particular monitor, Windows will not display properly. If this
occurs, restart your computer and hit [F8] when the words "Starting Windows '95"
are displayed. Choose Safe Mode from the options list. While you are in Safe Mode,
right-click on the desktop and select Properties from the pop up menu. Change the
Color Palette and Desktop Area to a setting supported by your system.
Problem: Your computer fails the Display test; you get a message saying "Your video
display supports 256 colors at a resolution of 800 x 600 and a speed of XXX K pixels/sec...".
Solution: The display rate of your computer is not fast enough to satisfactorily play
the game. If you are running 800 x 600 resolution, switch to 640 x 480 at 256 colors.
Right-click on the desktop and choose Properties from the pop up menu. In the Settings
section, if the Desktop Area section reads 800 x 600, or higher, change to 640 x 480.
Click on the OK button and follow the onscreen prompts from Windows '95. Once Windows
has resized, click on the Start button and choose Settings, Control Panel. Double
click on the System icon, then click on the Performance tab and the Graphics button.
Make sure the slider for Hardware Acceleration is all the way to the right. Restart
Windows and run the setup program and test your display. If your computer still fails
the display test, you may be able to play Caesar II on your system with some limitations.
In the game, turn down all of the display options. Also be aware that the game may play
jerky.
Warning: Be careful when changing video drivers! If you choose one that is not designed
for your particular monitor, Windows will not display properly. If this occurs, restart
your computer and hit [F8] when the words "Starting Windows '95" are displayed. Choose
Safe Mode from the options list. While you are in Safe Mode, right-click on the desktop
and select Properties from the pop up menu. Change the Color Palette and Desktop Area to
a setting supported by your system.
Problem: Your computer fails the Memory test in Windows; you get a message stating you
do not have enough memory to run Caesar II.
Solution: First, create a Caesar II boot disk for Windows 95. Reboot the system using
the boot disk, and then create a clean Windows environment. Make sure that there are
no other Windows programs running. Disable all screen savers, virus scans, etc. Wallpaper
can sometimes take up a considerable amount of memory, so turn it off. Right-click on the
desktop and choose Properties from the pop up menu. Make sure None is chosen for Wallpaper
and click on OK. These steps should give you enough memory to run the game. If they do not,
please refer to Section 4, Windows Memory Troubleshooting.
Problem: Your computer fails the Sound Card test.
Solution: Your sound card may be incorrectly configured for DAC (Audio) or your sound
card drivers may not be properly installed or configured. Make sure your speakers are
turned on and run the Windows mixer program for your sound card so you can increase its
volume levels for MIDI (music) and DAC (Audio). Also check the Audio and MIDI settings
in the Multimedia section of Control Panel. The Audio setting defines what driver will
be used to produce digitized sound (DAC). Speech and sound effects in a game are usually
DAC sounds. The MIDI setting indicates what driver is being used for music playback. The
following examples are for the SoundBlaster 16:
AUDIO: SB16 Wave Out
MIDI: MIDI for Internal OPL2/OPL3 FM Synthesis
The names of the Audio and MIDI drivers will vary, depending on your sound card.
However, they should be similar to these SoundBlaster 16 drivers. To get complete
information (including driver names and installation instructions) for Windows 95
drivers for your sound card you should contact your sound card manufacturer.
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SECTION 4 - WINDOWS MEMORY TROUBLESHOOTING
If you are having trouble getting enough memory to run Caesar II, these steps should
help you.
Create a Boot Disk: Create a boot disk for Windows 95.
Disable any hardware cache: Some CD ROM drives, such as the Teac 4x, install their
own cache. This cache may use as much as 2 MB of memory. Consult with the manufacturer
or your hardware documentation if you do not know how to disable this cache.
Create a Clean Windows Environment: Make sure that there are no other Windows programs
running. Disable all screen savers, virus scans, etc. If you are using an alternate
Windows desktop (Norton Navigator, etc.) use plain
Windows 95 instead. If you have sound-related Windows programs installed (IconHearIt,
SoundBits, etc.), make sure they are disabled before starting the game. Also, turn off
your Wallpaper. Wallpaper can sometimes take up a considerable amount of memory.
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SECTION 5 - GENERAL PROTECTION FAULTS AND ILLEGAL OPERATION ERRORS
General Protection Faults and Illegal Operations are generic Windows 95 error message
that can occur in any Windows program. Insufficient memory, conflicts between two or
more drivers or programs, or corrupted files can all contribute to this type of error.
The following steps will resolve most of these errors.
1) Create a Windows 95 boot disk.
2) Disable any and all other Windows programs (if any) that are running prior to
starting the game. This includes all screen savers, wallpaper, etc.
3) Set your Video Display to 640 by 480, 256 colors. (Consult the steps given for
changing display settings in Section 3 - Common Installation Problems.)
4) Run Scandisk on your hard drive by clicking Start, then Programs, Accessories,
System Tools, and then Scandisk. Let Scandisk correct any errors, then uninstall the
game and re-install it.
5) Disable Video Acceleration. Click on Start, then Settings, Control Panel. Double-
click the System icon, choose Performance, then Graphics. You should see a slider
bar labeled Hardware Acceleration. Lower the bar a notch (slide it to the left), then
restart Windows when you are prompted and run the game again. Continue doing this until
you cannot lower the bar any more or the problem is corrected. If this corrects the
problem, you should contact your video card manufacturer to obtain updated video drivers.
6) Free up memory by lowering your CD ROM Supplemental Cache Size. From Control Panel,
click on System, then Performance, File System. Click on the tab for CD ROM. Adjust the
slider bar for Supplemental Cache Size from "Large" to "Small", then click on OK.
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SECTION 6 - COMMON GAME ISSUES AND QUESTIONS
Question: Is there anyway that I can get hints on playing Caesar 2?
Answer: The manual that comes with Caesar 2 provides some tips on getting started.
Unfortunately Sierra technical support does not have the resources to provide gameplay
tips. Sierra does have a hint line where Caesar II is supported. The number is
(900) 370-5583 in the U. S. and (900) 451-3356 in Canada.
Problem: The game crashes whenever the zoom function is used.
Solution: This problem is fixed in the patch C2WINPCH. Check SECTION 7 for information
on obtaining this update.
Problem: Parts of the game display incorrect colors or certain screens are mostly black.
Solution: Caesar II requires 256 color mode in Windows. Right-click on the desktop and
choose Properties from the pop up menu. In the Settings section, if the Color Palette
section reads more than 256 colors, you will need to change to 256 colors. If your
system will support 800 x 600 at 256 colors, change the Desktop Area to 800 x 600
pixels.
Warning: Be careful when changing video drivers! If you choose one that is not designed
for your particular monitor, Windows will not display properly. If this occurs, restart
your computer and hit [F8] when the words "Starting Windows '95" are displayed. Choose
Safe Mode from the options list. While you are in Safe Mode, right-click on the desktop
and select Properties from the pop up menu. Change the Color Palette and Desktop Area
to a setting supported by your system.
Problem: The screen image is distorted or has horizontal white lines.
Solution: This problem can be corrected by changing display drivers. Right-click on the
desktop and choose Properties from the pop up list. Click on the Settings tab and then
click on the Change Display Type. In the Adapter Type section, click on Change. Try a
different driver from the list of drivers. For instance, if you are using the ET4000W/32,
use the ET4000 driver. For information on what drivers will work with your video card,
contact the video card manufacturer.
Problem: Cannot utilize full screen mode in simulation.
Solution: You must have DirectDraw installed. Sierra's Setup utility should auto-detect
for DirectDraw and install it, if necessary when you install Caesar II. However, you must
reboot before the changes can take effect. To use DirectDraw during the game, go into the
Preferences menu from the main menu screen and activate the full screen option.
Problem: The game freezes or crashes to the main Windows screen when playing in a full-
screen mode.
Solution: Not all video cards support direct draw properly. DirectDraw only affects
Caesar II when running with full screen enabled in the Preferences Menu. If you are
running Windows in 640x480 mode, you can play the game in a full-screen window without
using the full-screen mode and DirectDraw being present on your machine. Please contact
your video card manufacturer for updated drivers and to verify that they support
DirectDraw.
Problem: The mouse disappears or exhibits erratic behavior on the menu screens.
Solution: Animated or 3D cursors can cause this problem. To avoid these problems, double
click the Mouse icon in the Control Panel, select the Pointers, and chose the Windows
Standard.
Problem: When you click the mouse outside of the game window, the game stops functioning
normally.
Solution: Click on the game window, or return to the Main Window in the game and restart
the mission.
Problem: No music in the Main Menu or in the simulation.
Solution: Make sure you have the Music Option enabled in the Preferences Menu. Also make
sure that the Windows 95 CD player is closed prior to loading Caesar II. If you continue
to have problems, make sure you have a CD Audio cable connected between your sound card
and your CD-ROM drive, or an audio cable leading from the CD-ROM drive's headphone port
to the sound card or external speakers in order to hear game music. Consult your sound
card documentation for more information on connecting an audio cable to your CD-ROM drive.
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SECTION 7 - OBTAINING UPDATES FOR CAESAR II
There is currently one update available for Caesar II. It fixes a potential crash when
using the zoom function in the game. The filename for the update is C2WINPCH.EXE. For
more information on what the patch changes and how to apply it, please check the README.TXT
file included with the patch.
The fastest way to obtain this Sierra patch disk is to download it from the link above.
You can also request a patch disk be mailed to you by contacting Sierra Technical Support.
