CD-ROM: FAQs
How do I start the CD-ROM? (this applies to eCDs, Flashcard CDs and Big Book CD-ROMs) On a PC or a Mac 1. insert CD in your computer's CD drive 2. - PC: open 'My Computer', click on the title of the CD-ROM in your disc drive - Mac: look on the desktop and double-click on the icon of the CD 3. You should then click on 'Stack to Go' (the one with a picture). Things that may happen A. When you do Step 2, your computer gives you options: Choose to view the contents of the folder in Windows Explorer . You see a list of files - go to Step 3. B. When you do Step 2, your computer tries to open a file in something like Windows Media Player: Your computer has been set to open CDs containing video or audio files in this application. Try to ignore it and get it to go to 'My Computer' instead ( or to show the contents of the folder in Windows Explorer) . You see a list of files - go to Step 3. C. When you do Step 2, you get an error message If the error message is something like "HyperStudio has encountered a problem...", it may be because you don't have QuickTime installed on your computer. QuickTime is needed to to display pictures and movies from your CD-ROM, and is a free player included on most computers. If there is a QuickTime Installer on the CD-ROM, run that - it will first check whether your computer has a copy of QuickTime already - or you can download the latest version from www.apple.com/quicktime. D. you still can't get it to run Time to talk to a real person! Please click this link to Customer Service 1. Will the CD run on a network? (this applies to eCDs and Big Book CD-ROMs) At the moment, we advise it works best if you have one CD in each computer. The CD is great for learning languages because it uses so many video and sound files, and these can be too big to pass around some networks. One solution is to get a site licence to copy the contents of the CD to each computer, or on to your school server. 2. Will the CD work on a Mac? (this applies to eCDs) Yes, NEW versions of all Early Start CD-ROMs now work on Intel Macs with HyperStudio Legacy Player*.* NB for OS X "Lion" and "Mountain Lion" (10.7, 10.8), HyperStudio have a "beta" version of the Legacy Player that you'll probably need. Contact Early Start in the first instance. Big Book CD-ROMs New Mac-compatible versions of the Big Book CD-ROMs. These will work in all Macs . with HyperStudio Legacy Player *If you have an older version that doesn't work in your Mac, please contact Early Start. 3. I would like to make my own games - how do I do it? This CD was produced using Hyper Studio®, the award-winning multimedia authoring program for schools. If you would like to produce your own multimedia with HyperStudio®, you need the full version. For more information see ICT and Language learning 4. I have problems seeing or printing out the Activity sheets The CD relies on your computer having Acrobat® Reader, which is already installed on most machines. If you have an older version of Acrobat® Reader, it may not show the Activity Sheets properly. There are copies of Acrobat® Reader for PC and Mac on the CD, or you can download the latest version suitable for your computer from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html 5. I have problems seeing the movies (this applies to eCDs) The CD relies on your computer having the FREE software Quicktime Player, which are already installed on most machines. Yours may not have it, or it may have an older version which lacks all the functions used by the CD. Where space permits, we have included a Quicktime Installer on most CD-ROMs, or you can download the latest version from www.apple.com/quicktime. Installing QuickTime: the installer looks to see if your computer has QuickTime installed, and if you don't, will offer to install it. ACCEPT, and then go through the process clicking 'NEXT' at every stage. NOTE: you do not need any passwords or numbers, just click 'NEXT'. Also you do NOT need to pay for the full "QuickTime Pro" version - the FREE minimum configuration Player is all you need. 6. Sometimes I only hear the movie's sound, but can't see the picture. (this applies to eCDs) On some PCs, the screen-saver interferes with the working of QuickTime, so - when you take a coffee break and eave your computer inactive long enough for it to show the screen-saver, the movies afterwards don'y show properly. While we look for a solution, the best thing to do is set your screen-saver control so it doesn't come on very soon (technically, screen savers are no longer necessary; they are only entertainment). Otherwise, you have to RESTART the computer to get the movie picture back. 7. My Demo CD / Sample CD-ROM doesn't work properly. This CD uses Acrobat® Reader, a widely-used free piece of software that is ideal to show a mixture of movie clips, pictures and extracts from printed pages to give you a helpful flavour of just what's in the EARLY START packs. If most of the screens do not display properly, your computer may have an older version of Acrobat® Reader. There are copies of Acrobat® Reader for PC and Mac on the CD., or you can download the latest version suitable for your computer from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html If you can't see the movie clips, your computer may lack the necessary QuickTime Player: you can you can download the latest version from www.apple.com/quicktime. 8. Can I run my Lucy Cat Files CD without an electronic whiteboard? YES, you can run the Lucy Cat files on a computer that's not connected to a whiteboard, and even if you or your school don't have a whiteboard. BUT the files on the CD do need the whiteboard software. The CD contains versions for SmartBoards and Promethean boards, the two most popular makes. It is possible to obtain the whiteboard software without the whiteboard itself, but there may be a cost involved. See HERE for SmartBoards http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Support/Downloads/default.htm ...and HERE for Promethean boards (Activprimary, now on version 3) - http://www.prometheanworld.com/shop/server/show/ConGenericProduct.103 If your school DOES have a whiteboard, then the school licence usually covers you as a teacher installing the software on your laptop. This is an essential feature to allow teachers to prepare flipcharts etc away from the classroom. In this case you may need some sort of reference number before downloading to prove that your school does own a whiteboard. Your school's IT lead teacher could advise (and maybe give you a copy of the software), and you could also ask the whiteboard supplier for help. 9. My new Interactive CD-ROM won't run in my old computer. (this applies to eCDs) You need a disc drive that is capable of reading a DVD-ROM. With about 1GB of video files, games and activities, Early Start's newest e-CDs (Spanish 1 or German 1) are just too big to fit on a CD! Most computers are now supplied with a CD/DVD disk drive, and most commercial software (e.g. Microsoft Office) similarly comes on a DVD-ROM. So try the disk on a newer computer, and see just how much is crammed on to one disk. 10. My CD-ROM is sometimes slow with jerky pictures on the videos. (this applies to eCDs) This can be a problem with slower disc drives, or if your computer is busy with another activity in the background. The best solution is to install the contents of the disk on your computer's hard disk drive; the terms of your licence determine exactly what you are permitted to do. NOTE: unless you have a MULTI-USER licence (it may be called a "site" or "network" licence), you may only install your disk on ONE computer, for your own use. 11. I have a Site License, and am trying to install the CD to my server/PC but I’m getting an error message saying the files cannot be copied. (This applies to the Morocco Resource Pack and Big Book CDs) There is a file on the CD that sometimes will not copy to a PC or PC server. The file is called ‘Hyperstudio Legacy Player’ and has a green and yellow icon. If you copy the CD without the Hyperstudio Legacy Player this will solve the problem. (The Hyperstudio Legacy Player enables the CD to work in Macs, so you don’t need it if you are using PCs.) 12. I can only hear the sound on my Big Book CD, I can’t see any pictures. On the computer screen there is a swirly pattern. Your computer has opened the CD as an audio CD in Windows Media player. To open it as a CD-ROM, close Windows Media Player and go to the ‘My Computer’ menu. Click on the image on the CD. To start the CD, click on the ‘Stack to go’ icon. |