Fisher-Price Ready for Preschool Version 1.0 for PC Congratulations on your purchase of Fisher-Price Ready for Preschool! We have included this ReadMe file to supply you with up-to-the-minute information about the program. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents: Section 1 ----- Level Guideline: A Special Note to Parents Section 2 ----- System Requirements Section 3 ----- Installation Guidelines Section 4 ----- General Troubleshooting and Compatibility Issues Section 5 ----- Technical Support **************************************************************** (1) LEVEL GUIDELINE: A SPECIAL NOTE TO PARENTS **************************************************************** Fisher-Price Ready for Preschool is the safe way to let your children acquire the computer skills they need. All 10 of the activities in Ready for Preschool provide the positive motivation required to familiarize your children with the functionality of today’s computer systems. Young learners are eager to lend a hand to help the circus animals reach their goals. And of course, the animals reward their new friends with lively animations and colorful prizes. Ready for Preschool is designed to give your children practice using the mouse and keyboard. To help toddlers develop their motor skills and hand-eye coordination, this program provides interaction at three different levels. The following Level Guideline will help you make your decisions on where and when to start or change the level of gameplay for your child. ***Level 1*** Start your 2-year-old or new-to-the-computer 3-year-old on Level 1. Let them press any key on the keyboard or click the mouse to see an animation happen in any of the 10 activities. Children will quickly make the connection that the action they take using the keyboard or mouse is directly related to the animation they see on the monitor. This is the first step in becoming a skillful computer user. ***Level 2*** Put your 3-year-old or young 4-year-old on Level 2. In any activity, they will point and click on the appropriate item to see it move to its correct place or to answer a question. Children will soon understand that as they physically move the mouse, they’re moving the cursor on the screen. This concept can be a difficult one for even adults to understand, but your children will pick this up surprisingly quickly as they are anxious to help their new Circus friends. ***Level 3*** Your 4-year-old or computer literate 3-year-old will be comfortable starting on this level. Here, children take the final step in mouse control--clicking and dragging. As the Circus animals ask for help in solving problems, children will anxiously discover they need to hold the mouse button down, move the mouse so the cursor on the screen is in the right location, and finally release the button so the object lands in the right place. **************************************************************** (2) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS **************************************************************** --486 - 66MHz processor (IBM fully-compatible) --16MB of RAM --1MB free hard disk space --Color monitor and video card with 256 colors and 640x480 resolution --Note: A Vesa Local bus video card is recommended for best playback --Quad-speed CD-ROM drive --Sound Blaster or compatible sound card --Microsoft Windows version 3.1 or later, or Windows 95 --QuickTime 2.1 (included; see installation procedure below) **************************************************************** (3) INSTALLATION GUIDELINES **************************************************************** The installation procedure will create an icon for Fisher-Price Ready for School Preschool and the Family Resource Center (FamilyRC). It will place it in the Program Manager for Windows 3.1x, or the Start Programs Menu and on the desktop for Windows 95. You will have to go through this process only once, unless you change your setup in the future. Note: The Family Resource Center (FamilyRC) is a program that contains printable Activity Books including Parent Tips and Children's Activity Sheets for all the age-specific Fisher-Price® Ready for School Products. These products include Toddler (Ages 1 ½ - 3), Preschool (Ages 2-4), Kindergarten (Ages 4-6), 1st Grade (Ages 5-7) and Reading (Ages 2-4). The Parent Tips provide a wealth of information, advice and general activity suggestions. The Children's Activity Sheets provide a variety of fun learning activities away from the computer. Once you have the Family Resource Center running, click on one of the books at the top to select the desired product-related materials. The open book below will display the topics for the corresponding Parent Tips and Children's Activity Sheets. Click on the pencil icon next to the topic to open the appropriate Parent Tips. Click on the crayon icon next to the topic to open the appropriate Children's Activity Sheets. Click on the Quit button to close the Family Resource Center. To install, follow these simple steps: Windows 3.1x Instructions 1. Insert the Fisher-Price Ready for Preschool CD into your CD-ROM drive. 2. Choose Run from File menu in the Program Manager. 3. Type D:\setup.exe, press enter. If your CD ROM drive is not the letter "D", then substitute your CD ROM drive letter. 4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete installation. 5. Click Yes to install the Family Resource Center (FamilyRC). 6. Click Yes to install Adobe Acrobat Reader(TM) 3.0 to view and print the online Parent Tips and Children's Activity Sheets in the FamilyRC. 7. Click Yes to install Quicktime(TM) if not already installed on your computer. Click Install. Click Start for the installer to search your computer for older versions of Quicktime; click Delete to remove the older versions, or this could cause problems with the program. Click Install to copy the updated version of QuickTime on your hard disk. Click OK. 8. Double click the Preschool icon to start the program. 9. Double click the Family Resource Center icon to start this program. Windows 95 Instructions 1. Insert the Fisher-Price Ready for Preschool CD into your CD-ROM drive. 2. If Autoplay is enabled on your system, click the Install button on the Ready for Preschool dialog box which appears. Then follow the instructions for Windows 3.1x, steps 4-7. 3. If Autoplay is not enabled on your system, select Run from the Start menu. 4. Type D:\setup.exe, press enter. If your CD ROM drive is not "D", then substitute your CD ROM drive letter. 5. Follow the installation instructions for Windows 3.1x, steps 4-9. 6. Double click the Preschool icon to start the program. 7. Double click the Family Resource Center icon to start this program. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * MANUALLY INSTALLING QUICKTIME FOR WINDOWS QuickTime for Windows is needed to play Ready for Preschool. If there is a problem with QuickTime for Windows on your system, you may manually install this program by following the directions below. Windows 3.1x: 1. In Program Manager, choose the File menu, then choose Run. 2. At the Command Line box, type in "D:\qtwfiles\Qt16.exe", where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. 3. Click on OK and follow the prompts. Windows 95: 1. Select Start, choose Run. 2. At the Open box, type in "D:\qtwfiles\Qt32.exe", where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. 3. Click on OK and follow the prompts. * MANUALLY INSTALLING THE FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER To install the Family Resource Center manually, follow these steps below: Windows 3.1x: 1. In Program Manager, choose the File menu, then choose Run. 2. At the Command Line box, type in "D:\FamilyRC\Setup.exe", where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. 3. Click on OK and follow the prompts. Windows 95: 1. Select Start, choose Run. 2. At the Open box, type in "D:\FamilyRC\Setup.exe", where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. 3. Click on OK and follow the prompts. * MANUALLY INSTALLING ACROBAT READER version 3.0 Acrobat Reader version 3.0 is required in order to view and print the Family Resource Center Parent Tips and Children's Activity Sheets. If Acrobat Reader version 3.0 is not installed on your system, you may manually install this program by following the directions below. Windows 3.1x: 1. In Program Manager, choose the File menu, then choose Run. 2. At the Command Line box, type in "D:\Acrobat\16BIT\setup.exe", where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. 3. Click on OK and follow the prompts. Windows 95: 1. Select Start, choose Run. 2. At the Open box, type in "D:\Acrobat\32BIT\setup.exe", where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. 3. Click on OK and follow the prompts. If you should experience any issues relating to the Acrobat Reader, please contact Adobe Systems Inc. directly. ------------------------------------------ UNINSTALLING FISHER-PRICE READY FOR PRESCHOOL Windows 3.1.x: 1. Insert the CD. Open the Ready For Preschool program group. 2. Double-click on the UnInstall icon and follow the instructions on the screen. Windows 95: 1. Insert the CD. In the Start menu, select Programs, Fisher-Price, then the Ready For Preschool folder. 2. Select UnInstall icon and follow the instructions on the screen. UNINSTALLING THE FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER Windows 3.1x: 1. Insert the CD. Open the Family Resource Center folder. 2. Double-click on the Uninstall icon and follow the instructions on the screen. Windows 95: 1. Insert the CD. In the Start menu, select Programs, Fisher-Price, then the Family Resource Center folder. 2. Select the Uninstall icon and follow the instructions on the screen. **************************************************************** (4) GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING AND COMPATIBILITY ISSUES **************************************************************** In order to run this program properly on a Windows based computer, you must do the following: Windows 3.1 Notes: Create a Permanent swap file of at least 8MB (8192 KB) in your Virtual Memory settings. We suggest that you do not create a swap file greater than 20000 KB, as this can reduce the efficiency of Windows. [Refer to your Windows guide on Changing Swap-File Settings, by using the Control Panel]. Windows 95 normally controls your virtual memory usage and configuration. Make sure virtual memory is turned on and let Windows 95 control it. Turn OFF any virus scanning programs and screen savers that might be running. Turn OFF ALL applications except for the 'Program Manager' (if you are running an alternate desktop, leave only your desktop program running). NOTE: Some desktops may not be compatible. We recommend using Program Manager. (Win 3.1 & DOS 6.x) Exit Windows and at C:\>, type MSD. Under 'Video' section, there may be a listing of the manufacturer of the video card or video chip installed on your computer. WARNING: Please note the brand of video driver that you are using. You may need to switch between alternate drivers. Video drivers are written for the brand of video card you are currently using, and we advise that you do not change brands of video drivers without first consulting the maker of your video card. Set screen resolution to 640x480 or 800x600. (Higher or lower resolutions will cause the loss of "hot spots" and other screen information.) If you have 8MB of RAM, you should use 640x480 to conserve memory. [Refer to your Windows guide on Running the Setup Program or Setting Up Windows.] Set the number of colors to be displayed to 256. Some color cards (especially Cirrus Logic or Trident video cards) may require colors to be set at 65,536; 65,535; 64K; or 65K, depending on vendor. [Refer to your Windows guide on Running the Setup Program or Setting Up Windows.] If you still encounter a problem, try changing your video configuration to Microsoft's(TM) generic SVGA 640x480 256 color mode. You may encounter some graphic disturbance if you have an S-3 video card, a #9 video card or Cirrus Logic video drivers. You may encounter a problem when using Fisher-Price Ready for Preschool on Compaq machines while using the Compaq wallpaper. We suggest that the wallpaper be turned off or set to NONE. If you have problems running on an Aptiva computer it may be due to the MWave sound card. Check with IBM's web page for any fixes. PRINTING PROBLEMS: If you are having trouble printing, please be certain you are running the program with your system video set to 256 colors. Consult the manual for your system or video card for instructions on changing the video mode. **************************************************************** (5) TECHNICAL SUPPORT **************************************************************** If you continue to experience problems running Ready for Preschool, call or contact our Technical Support Department for assistance. Telephone: (800) 556-6141 toll-free, or (310) 793-0600, M-F, 7 A.M to 6 P.M. Pacific Time. Fax: (310) 214-7937, 24 hours daily. America Online Forum-keyword: Davidson E-mail: support@davd.com World Wide Web address: http://www.davd.com (c) 1996 Davidson & Associates, Inc. Fisher-Price (R) trademark is used under license from Fisher-Price, Inc. Fisher-Price Ready for Preschool (TM) and Funnybone Interactive (TM) are all trademarks of Davidson & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. Developed by Funnybone Interactive(TM). Macintosh (TM) is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. QuickTime(TM) and the QuickTime Logo(TM) are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. used under license. Made with Macromedia is a trademark of Macromedia, Inc. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Acrobat(TM) Reader is a trademark of the Adobe Systems Incorporated. Fisher-Price trademark is used under license from Fisher-Price, Inc. Developed by FUNNYBONE Interactive(TM). **************************************************************************** We wish you an enjoyable learning experience with Fisher-Price Ready for Preschool.