COLLEGE AID CALCULATOR (tm)    CAC 96-7    README.TXT  3/10/96

                         (c) Copyright 1996
Welcome! 

You have PERMISSION to COPY+DISTRIBUTE College Aid Calculator96-7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Pass copies of CAC along to friends with college in their future.
To do so, either make copies of the disks you have or back up all
of the compressed, downloaded files onto 2 disks. 

QUICK START -- See WIN95 + WIN 3.X + DOS below for details.
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1. AUTOEXEC.BAT needs SHARE /F:4000 /L:200 (locate before WIN)
           WIN95 NEEDS: C:\WIN95\COMMAND\SHARE.EXE /F:5000 /L:300
2. CONFIG.SYS needs BUFFERS=32 and FILES=50 (=120 in WIN95)
3. If installing from diskette--at A:\, type SETUP, press [Enter]

   --from a TEMP directory--at C:\TEMP, type SETUP, press [Enter]
4. Add CAC icon or at C:\COL_AID, type CAC and press [Enter]
5. Restart your computer.
6. Use your word processor to open STRAT21.xxx & COACH20.xxx

Navigation within this README.TXT file.
---------------------------------------
To Print README, press [Alt-F], then [P], then [ENTER].
   Exit is [Alt-F], then [X].
   Search: [Alt-S] (or just click your mouse on a menu choice)
   Edit is [Alt-E], however:

If you wish to Edit README.TXT - customize it for future use:   
-------------------------------------------------------------
To cut & paste to suit your needs, save it now to a new name:
Alt-F, A, C:\COL_AID\NEW_NAME.TXT (Use A_NAME you'll remember).  


MEMORY - DOS Installation:
--------------------------
You will need either 4 MB of RAM with at least 2 MB of free (XMS)
extended memory & 256 K free conventional memory or, if you have
less than 4 MB of free XMS memory, you will need approximately 6
MB of free disk space (in addition to the 6.5 MB of disk space
used for the CAC program files) for a virtual memory swap file.

MEMORY - 8 MB needed in Windows 3.x and WIN95
---------------------------------------------

DISK SPACE: 10 MB needed during installation, 6.5 MB after.
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Old Computers - New Computers - WIN95
-------------------------------------
CAC is a 32 bit program, it will not run on an 8088 or 80286--and
on a 386 it runs very slowly--(Those 486 upgrade chips do help.)
And, CAC runs much faster under WIN95 than under Windows 3.x


AUTOEXEC.BAT - DOS, Windows 3.x and Windows 95 setting procedure:
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If CAC installs SHARE or if SHARE has been installed previously,
you may need to adjust its location (or size). To do this, Go to
C:\ (your DOS prompt). Type: CD\ and press [Enter].  Then, type
EDIT AUTOEXEC.BAT then [Enter]. The following line (and size)
must be included after MOUSE. If you are using WIN 3.x automatic
bootup, WIN must come after SHARE. 
                                 SHARE /F:4000 /L:200 

WIN95 ...            C:\WIN95\COMMAND\SHARE /F:5000 /L:300
  
If SHARE comes after the WIN command, move the cursor to the
position in front of the W of WIN, press [Enter], then type in
the above parameters. Delete the occurrence of SHARE after WIN.
Go to File, Exit, Save.  For more information about SHARE, refer
to your DOS manual. When you reboot, the changes will take
effect.

CONFIG.SYS - DOS, Windows 3.x and WIN95 setting procedure:
----------------------------------------------------------
At your C:\ DOS prompt (the drive that your computer boots from),
type EDIT CONFIG.SYS and press [Enter]. One of the lines should
say FILES=50 (more is OK; WIN95 requires 120). Another line
should say BUFFERS=32 (more is fine). Increase the numbers if
necessary. A DPMI memory manager such as HIMEM.SYS, QEMM.SYS or
386MAX must also be loaded. If you see one of these names (or if
you are using another memory manager), you are all set. If not,
add the following line (as the first line) to your CONFIG.SYS
file DEVICE=C:\COL_AID\HIMEM.SYS (or refer to your DOS manual).

DOWNLOADING CAC:
---------------
1. Follow the instruction of the service you have used.
2. Unzip COLAIDxx.ZIP  or .EXE ... as instructed.

WIN95 INSTALLATION:
-------------------
1. Click the [Start] button, then [Run].
2. Type A:SETUP (or B:SETUP or C:\TEMP\SETUP) and press [Enter]
3. Follow the on-screen instructions. 
   Use [Tab] to select color field--then press [Enter].
4. Set up the CAC Properties & Icon for WIN95 operation: 
   a. Click [Start], [Program], [Windows Explorer], [Col_aid]
   b. If Explorer is set to full screen, click middle top r. icon
   c. Click Size (right side of Explorer). CAC will be 1st now.
   d. [Left click] CAC then [right click] to bring up choice menu
   e. [Left click] [Create Shortcut] ... drag it to your Desktop.
   e. [Right click] then [left click] Properties.
   f. Click the Program file at top
   h.      Click on:     [Close on exit] and [Apply] This is
IMPORTANT.
   i. Click on [Memory] DOS Protected DPMI memory should be 8192.
   j. Click on [Screen], [Full Screen] [Apply] [OK]
   k. Restart your computer. [Double Click] the CAC Icon. 

WINDOWS 3.x INSTALLATION:
-------------------------
1. At PROGRAM MANAGER, go to FILE, RUN, then:
2. Type A:SETUP (or B:SETUP or C:\TEMP\SETUP) and press [Enter]
3. Follow instructions. Remove Disk 2 after Exiting README.TXT
   (Use [Tab] to select field--then press [Enter].)
4. ADD THE CAC ICON TO THE PROGRAM GROUP OF YOUR CHOICE.
   (You may [Alt-Tab] to PROGRAM MANAGER right now to do this.)
   a. At Program Manager, choose File, New, Program, Item, OK.
   b. Description: College Aid Calculator 
   c. Command Line: C:\COL_AID\CAC.BAT
  d. Working Directory: C:\COL_AID
   e. Click on CHANGE ICON, OK, Browse 
   f. Double click the yellow file folder C:\
   g. Scroll down to the COL_AID directory and double click it 
   h. On the left, double click the CAC.ICO file, OK, OK. Done

5. See above for AUTOEXEC.BAT & CONFIG.SYS instructions.
6. Reboot your computer. 
7. Start CAC by double-clicking the CAC icon.
8. Use your word processor to open STRAT21.xxx & COACH.xxx
   (See detailed instruction on how to do this below.)

DOS INSTALLATION (if you don't have WINDOWS or memory is low.)
--------------------------------------------------------------
IF INSTALLING FROM A DISKETTE
   1. Insert Disk #l into your A: or B: drive.
   2. Go to the DISK DRIVE from which you are installing:
      At your C:\ or D:\ prompt, type A: or B: and [Enter]
   3. Type SETUP and press [Enter]. Follow instructions.
   4. Remove Disk 2 only after you Exit this README.TXT file.

IF INSTALLING FROM A TEMP DIRECTORY 
   1a. If you downloaded CAC from the CAC's Home Page:
       At C:\ type CD\TEMP (Change Directory to where CAC is).
       Press [Enter], type colaid21 and press [Enter] again.
       (This will expand CAC's self-extracting zip file.)
   1b. If you downloaded from a BBS or CDROM, follow their
       instructions for downloading. Then at C:\ type CD\TEMP
       (Change Directory to where CAC is and go to step 2 below.)
   1c. If you are copying floppy disks to a TEMP directory:
       Copy all of the CAC files to a TEMP directory. To do so,
       if you do not already have a TEMP directory:
       at C:\ type MD\TEMP (Make Directory) and press [Enter].
       To go to TEMP, type CD\TEMP (Change Directory) [Enter].
       To copy files from a diskette to TEMP, type A: [Enter].
       Insert Disk 1 into A:\ drive, type COPY *.* C: [Enter].
         (*.* means everything on the disk will go to C:\TEMP)
       Remove Disk 1; insert Disk 2; type COPY *.* C: [Enter].
       Type C: [Enter] to go back to the TEMP directory
    2. Type SETUP [Enter]. Follow instructions.
    3. See above for AUTOEXEC.BAT & CONFIG.SYS instructions.
    4. Reboot your computer. 
    5. At your C:\ DOS prompt: type CD\COL\AID, press [Enter]
    6. Type CAC and press [Enter] again.
    7. Use your word processor to open STRAT21.xxx & COACH.xxx
      (See detailed instruction on how to do this below.)

CAC NAVIGATION INSTRUCTIONS
---------------------------
For a brief explanation of navigating within CAC, choose HELP at
CAC's Main Menu or HELP from CAC's SELECT Menu. For detailed HELP
on all the various workings of CAC, COACH--COllege Aid Calculator
Helper (our tutorial) can be reviewed. See COACH below.

STRATEGIES TO REDUCE COLLEGE COSTS
----------------------------------
Our electronic book--can be found in the COL_AID directory.
STRATEGIES... has been written in Rich Text Format (RTF)--a
Microsoft standard, which may be read by Microsoft Word and many
other word processors. Start your word processor, Choose File,
Open, File Type: RTF or Rich Text Format, select the C:\COL_AID
directory and the STRATS21.RTF file. Proceed as instructed.

If your word processor is not able to read the STRATS21.RTF file,
you may use your word processor's ASCII file reader to open the
STRATS21.TXT file instead. This format does not retain all of the
formatting codes that RTF handles, such as Font sizes, Bold,
Underline and Italics. 

COACH20
-------
Our tutorial (COllege Aid Calculator Helper) is also included in
the COL_AID directory--COACH20.RTF and COACH20.TXT. Installation
instructions are the same as for STRATEGIES above. COACH contains
navigational instructions and a step-by-step tour of CAC. Also
included are commentary about the seven sets of sample data
already entered into CAC--and a glossary.

TROUBLESHOOTING, TECHNICAL DETAILS
----------------------------------
If CAC takes much more than 45 seconds to load on your old 386,
read below. If problems arise, and all else fails, please see the
following instructions.  Additions, updates or modifications to
this notice are available on our Web home page. (address below) 

CAC WILL NOT BOOT -- Windows 3.x
--------------------------------
1. Did you reboot your computer after installing?
2. SETUP error: "Error reading drive A" - Keep pressing "Retry."
   Disk drive may need cleaning - disk may be defective.
3. Fatal Error 1307 ... Not enough memory - read next item.

Using a drive other than C:\ or a STACKED / DOUBLED drive:
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CAC may not like running on a compressed drive or a drive other
than C:\. However, it could work out. In order to run on a drive
other than C:, the A4.VMC file may need to be edited. If line 4
of this file says Swapfile = C: and you did not install CAC on
C:\, use an ASCII editor (Windows Notepad or the DOS Edit
command) to change this drive designation to the one being used.

OPTIMIZING MEMORY:
------------------
Once changes have been made to AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS as
explained above, you can use your computer's memory management
program to optimize your computer memory. The DOS 6 program that
does this is MEMMAKER. (If you are using QEMM or another such
program, refer to your user manual.) For MEMMAKER, the process is
easy. At the DOS prompt, type MEMMAKER and press [Enter]. Follow
the instructions on the screen. "Express Setup" should be just
fine. Optimizing memory should cause your programs to run faster
and/or more reliably. Read about MEMMAKER in your DOS 6 manual.

Slow performance ... Boot-up taking a long time:
------------------------------------------------
You may need to do some computer house-cleaning. When was the
last time you defragmented your hard drive? Are there old
programs or program fragments clogging your disk? Once your disk
is clean and organized, you should speed along. Using a 386? You
may also want to look into one of those 486 speed doubling chips
and a math co-processor. Both would improve performance.

Unless you have a special way that you are already using to
defragment your hard disk, you may want to utilize the DOS
command DEFRAG to handle this job. The process is easy, and can
make your various programs (especially CAC) run faster. At the
DOS prompt, type: DEFRAG and press [Enter]. Select your hard
drive letter and press [Enter]. Follow instructions. Press [F1]
for Help. Read your DOS manual for more information.

Math co-processor
-----------------
When you installed CAC, you were asked if you would be running
under Windows. If so, CAC searched to see if you had a math
co-processor. If not, CAC installed a virtual math co-processor.
If you installed CAC under DOS and answered "no" to the "Will you
be running CAC under Windows" question, and later decide you want
to run under Windows, go to the Program Manager, select Run (type
SYSEDIT), click on system.ini, go to the [386Enh] section and
insert the line DEVICE=C:\COL_AID\WEMU387.386 and Exit, Save and
reboot your computer. Now you may run under Windows.

WINDOWS 3.x Memory Settings
---------------------------
Go to Program Manager, open the Control Panel, open Enhanced,
open Virtual Memory. Swapfile Setting Size should be 10,000 or
more; nearer to 25,000 is best. Click on Change, and enter a New
Size (if necessary). Swapfile type should be set to Permanent
(click on the far right side of the Type down arrow to change).
Cache size of 512 KB is recommended Choose "32 Bit Disk Access"
if allowed on your computer. "32 bit File Access" may not be a
good choice. After making changes click on OK and reboot as
instructed. Read your WINDOWS manual for more information.

WINDOWS 3.x CRASH:
------------------
If CAC just disappears ... is gone ... and in a flash, you see a
screen full of EEEEs and #s, the word "granular" and addresses
... suddenly you find yourself back at the Windows Program
Manager or whatever program is next behind CAC, you have most
likely experienced a memory conflict. 

CAC is sometimes a brat. It likes to be first. Most likely, if
this occurs, you will have had more than one program running at
the same time under WINDOWS, and CAC and one of the others
simultaneously attempted to utilize the same memory address.
Restart your computer. Then let CAC be first. This (and adjusting
Windows Memory per above) should work. 

386MAX on a Monochrome or CGA Monitor
-------------------------------------
You need to add this statement to the device line in your
CONFIG.SYS file: EXCLUDE A000-B000

QEMM on a Monochrome or CGA Monitor
------------------------------------
You need to add this statement to the device line in your
CONFIG.SYS file: NOVIDEOFILL

PROBLEMS NOT SOLVED BY THE ABOVE?
---------------------------------
If you experience a different kind of installation problem, and
solve it, please let us know what you did--see our address below.
We'll update this file at our World Wide Web site. Thank you.

Please provide us with some feedback
-------------------------------------
We want to make CAC be all you need it to be - press Q from CAC's
Main Menu to access the Questionnaire. Thanks.

Deleting CAC from your hard drive - 386 with no Math Co-processor
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If during installation, you told CAC that you would be running
CAC within Windows--and later you delete CAC, an error message
will appear when you reboot Windows. Just press [Enter] to
continue. To eliminate the message (which harms nothing), go to
Program Manager, Run, type  SYSEDIT, click on system.ini, at the
[386Enh] section delete the line: DEVICE=C:\COL_AID\WEMU387.386. 

DISCLAIMER
----------
Formulas from the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE-Institutional
Methodology 1996-97 Computation Specifications are used in this
application with permission of the College Board. (c) 1995 by the
College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. The
College Board has not reviewed, and assumes no responsibility for
the accuracy of either the programming or the results in this 
application.

Think Ahead, Inc. and Bob Fesler, Jr., author of College Aid
Calculator have made a sincere effort to achieve accuracy.
However, be advised, you, (not us) are responsible for your own
data entry and thereafter for how you utilize the data produced.
CAC is a tool for testing your strategies. When in doubt, consult
your favorite advisor on what to do next. 

            Think Ahead, Inc.
            dba College Aid Calculator
            Bob Fesler, Jr., author
            PO Box 5F, Dresden, ME 04342
            CollegeAid@maine.com
            http://www.maine.com/collegeaid
            VoiceMail and FAX: 1-207-737-2802
