Common Questions and Problems With Bass Class The following represents the most common questions and problems encountered with Bass Class. Before calling or writing us, please read the instruction manual thoroughly. The instructions are contained in a file on your disk called BCLASS.DOC.We have found that many questions can be answered right there. [1] PROBLEM: "I cannot make the program scroll to another section of the lake". SOLUTION: First, make sure the NUM LOCK is not set on your keyboard. Then, be sure you are using the NUMERIC KEYPAD ARROWS, not the separate cursor control arrows on 101 key enhanced keyboards. Remember to press the SHIFT key while you press the arrow keys. On many computers, in particular the early Tandy machines, there was an incompatibility with the keyboard. These machines would not generate a different keycode when the NUMERIC KEYPAD arrow keys were shifted. This problem occurs on some 'clone' machines too. This can usually be remedied by using the 2,4,6 and 8 keys in the top row of your MAIN KEYBOARD. Do not use the SHIFT key when using this method. [2] PROBLEM: "Sometimes 'garbage' appears when I try to scroll the screen or select a rod or bait". SOLUTION: Bass Class needs lots of FREE memory. Just because your computer has 640k or more of memory does not mean it's all free for Bass Class to use. We have found that memory resident programs (TSR'S) are one of the main causes of this problem. Programs like RAM DISKS, PRINTER BUFFERS, KEYBOARD ENHANCERS and MENU programs should not be loaded before running Bass Class. These programs occupy memory space even when not running, thus making it unavailable to Bass Class. Another occasional cause of this problem is lack of sufficient memory on your EGA card. Many of the older EGA cards only had 64k or 128k of video memory. They should have 256k to properly run Bass Class. [3] PROBLEM: "The program tries to start, but then stops." SOLUTION: One of the main causes of this problem is too many open files. DOS only allows 15 open files per process. Check your CONFIG.SYS file to be sure it contains the following two lines: FILES=20 BUFFERS=20 Bass Class tries to open several files when it starts. It then assumes they were open for its use. If in fact they were NOT opened, the program may hang waiting for them to be available. The two lines described above will help prevent this from happening. [4] PROBLEM: "I cannot save a game to the disk." SOLUTION: Many people try to save games (to be played later) on the original distribution diskette. A saved game uses about 60k of disk space, and the distribution diskette must have at least that much free if you expect to save a game. Also, make sure you're not in CAST MODE when trying to save a game with the ALT-S key combination. Sometimes, people have a clock or some other interrupt driven program running at the same time they're running Bass Class. Since these programs use interrupts, they can 'steal' time from Bass Class. If one of these prrograms decides to 'steal' its time while Bass Class is writing to the disk, the resultant file may be damaged. This is because DOS itself is inherently non-reentrant, and Bass Class uses DOS facilities to write to the disk. See #3 above as well. [5] PROBLEM: "I cannot restore a saved game." SOLUTION: See #3 and #4 above. Also, make sure ALL files that are supplied on your Bass Class distribution disk are in the same directory as BASSCLASS.EXE. [6] PROBLEM: "Bass Class does not always save my record catches properly!" SOLUTION: See #3 above. Also, some people thought they were clever, and tried to edit the BIGFISH.TXT and/or the BIGSTR.TXT files. Don't try it! One misplaced space or deleted/added line can mess the files up beyond repair. [7] PROBLEM: "I get a RUNTIME ERROR 002 then the program stops!" SOLUTION: This means that Bass Class cannot open a file it needs. This can happen if you do not have all the files that are supplied on the original distribution diskette in the same directory as the main program, BASSCLASS.EXE. It can also happen if you are missing a file altogether. Also, refer to item 3, above. [8] PROBLEM: "I get a runtime ERROR 004 then the program stops!" SOLUTION: This means that access to a file needed by Bass Class has been denied by DOS. Make sure there is no write-protect tab on your diskette, and see item 3 above. [9] PROBLEM: "I have an IBM PS-2. The program reports that it detects a VGA card then stops, hanging up my machine". SOLUTION: Some models of PS-2 computers have the MCGA video mode. This mode (320 x 200 x 256 colors) is a subset of the VGA specification. These computers reports VGA when queried by Bass Class. Bass Class then assumes that since a VGA card was detected, that it should use the maximum screen resolution it can, which is 640 x 350, 16 colors. Bass Class requires a true VGA or EGA video system to run. [10] QUESTION: "I have a VGA card in my machine, yet the program seems to run in 16 color EGA mode. Why, and how do I make it utilize the 256 colors of my VGA?" ANSWER: See item 9, above. Bass Class runs in the EGA mode of your VGA card. It does not support true VGA (640 x 480 x 16 colors) at this time. [11] QUESTION: "I have a Tandy machine that supports 16 color CGA mode. Is there a way I can run Bass Class in this mode? ANSWER: No, at least not at this time. Bass Class requires EGA or VGA to run.