Frequently Asked Questions



Q)      SimIsle says Mouse Driver not Found, how do I load a 
mouse driver?

A)      You first have to find out where your mouse driver is located 
on your Hard Drive.  Go to the root directory by typing in CD \ 
[enter].  Now, to find out where the mouse driver is, type in:
DIR MOUSE.* /S /B [enter].  A list should appear.  Find a line that says 
MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.EXE.  That line tells you the location 
of the mouse driver. To get to that directory, type in CD \ (the line 
that contains MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.EXE) [enter].  i.e. If 
C:\DOS\MOUSE\MOUSE.COM appeared, type in 
CD \DOS\MOUSE [enter].  Now type in MOUSE [enter].  Your 
mouse driver will now load and you can now play SimIsle.


Q)      My mouse driver is being loaded and SimIsle still won't 
start.

A)      This means you have an out of date mouse driver.  You need 
to get a Microsoft Compatible Mouse Driver version 8.2 or higher, 
or a Logitech Mouse Driver version 6.43.  You can get these 
mouse drivers from any local computer dealer.  Tell them that you 
need this mouse driver and they will put it on a disk for you.   You 
can also get a mouse driver from our BBS (check the Maxis 
Maxims sheet for phone numbers) or from any on-line service.


Q)      SimIsle didn't find a VESA driver.  How do I load one?

A)      SimIsle comes with a Universial VESA driver called 
UNIVBE.  To run this program and start SimIsle, type in 
GOVESA [enter] instead of GO [enter].  UNIVBE will load and
then load up SimIsle.

Q)      I tried GOVESA and it didn't work, now what?

A)      You have a special video card that required its own VESA 
driver.  You will find a list of VESA drivers on the SimIsle CD.  
Type in D: [enter] to get to your CD-ROM.  (If your CD-ROM is a 
different letter than D, replace D with your CD-ROM's drive 
letter.)  Type in CD VESA [enter] to get to the VESA directory.  
Now, type in DIR /o/p [enter] to list all of the different directories.  
If your video card manufacturer is listed, type in CD (name of 
directory) [enter] to get to that directory.  Type in DIR [enter] to 
see a list of files located in the directory.  You should see a list of 
different VESA drivers (some cards will only have one driver, 
some will have several).  Type in the name of one of the files to 
load it.  Try SimIsle now.  If it doesn't work, you will need to re-
boot the machine and then try a different driver.  If none of them 
work, or your manufacturer wasn't listed, you will need to contact the 
manufacturer of your video card to get a current VESA driver.


Q)      SimIsle says that it didn't find 6100k of memory.  I have 
more than that free.  Why didn't it find it?

A)      SimIsle uses a DOS extender called DOS4\GW.  This 
program first loads up and then checks memory.  You will need to 
free up more memory.  The best way to do this, is to run the 
program off of a bootdisk.  First, go to the SimIsle directory by 
typing CD \SIMISLE [enter].  (If you put SimIsle in a different 
directory, put in the name of the directory in the place of 
SIMISLE.)  Now, type in BOOTDISK.  SimIsle will now create a 
bootdisk.  Once it is finished, re-boot the computer with that disk 
in the A: to play SimIsle.

Q)      SimIsle says that it found more than 8,000kb free, I have only 8 
Megs of RAM, how can that be?

A)      DOS4\GW didn't detect your memory properly.  This usually happens 
if you don't have enough free.  Try freeing up more memory, and then try
running SimIsle.


Q)      I'm running SimIsle off of a bootdisk and it says that it can't 
find the resource file.  Why not?  The CD-ROM is in the drive.

A)      Two things could cause this problem:  1) The bootdisk utility 
didn't find your CD-ROM driver.  2)  You have a special CD-
ROM that requires two drivers and the bootdisk utility only found 
one.  You will need to go through your CONFIG.SYS and 
AUTOEXEC.BAT on your C: and copy all lines that have to do 
with your CD-ROM and put them in the CONFIG.SYS and 
AUTOEXEC.BAT on your bootdisk.


Q)      I have Win95, what ways can I run SimIsle?

A)      There are a few different ways to run SimIsle.  The easiest is 
to create a shortcut on your desktop that will shell you out to DOS 
and then run SimIsle.  SimIsle will use all of your Win95 drivers 
and settings.  Once the icon is created, right click on the icon and 
select PROPERTIES.  Choose PROGRAM from the Tabs at the 
top.  Now, click on ADVANCED towards the bottom.  Make sure 
that there is a check next to "Prevent MS-DOS-BASED programs from 
detecting Windows."

Another, more complicated way, is to set up a shortcut on your 
desktop to re-boot your machine and re-start with a special 
CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT.  Check the Quickstart and 
Addendum guide to find out what the CONFIG.SYS and 
AUTOEXEC.BAT should 
contain.  To set it up, do the same as above, except make sure "MS-DOS
mode" is selected.  This will open up new options below that.  Select
"Specify a new MS-DOS configuration"  It will then allow you to put in
your own CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT.   Make them look like the
AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS in the Addendum.


Q)      I have a saved game that I got, how do I load it up into 
SimIsle?

A)      SimIsle catalogs its saved games 0-9 in a directory called 
SAVEGAME.  If you get a saved game, it will already have a 0-9 
catalog number in it.  When you copy the game to your 
SAVEGAME directory, SimIsle will add it to its list of save game.  
Remember, if you copy a  saved game is cataloged as 3 into the 
SimIsle directory, and you already have a saved game in the 3 
spot, it will be overwritten by the new one.


Q)      SimIsle plays fine, but I can't hear any sound.  Why?

A)      Sounds like SimIsle didn't find your sound card properly or 
you have a special sound card that needs special drivers loaded.  
First, lets try to have SimIsle find your sound card.  Type in 
SETSOUND [enter] at the C:\SIMISLE prompt.  Have this utility 
detect your sound card automatically.  If it can't find it, try doing 
it manually.  If it still doesn't find it, try contacting the 
manufacturer of your sound card to ensure that it is installed 
properly, and that it is 100% Sound Blaster compatible.

If you have a Media Vision sound card, you need to have a special 
driver loaded to get sound.  Make sure that in your CONFIG.SYS, 
you see a line that contains MVSOUND.SYS.  If you are running 
SimIsle from a bootdisk, you will need to copy that line from the 
CONFIG.SYS on your C: to the one on your A:.
