| LaneMaster Manual | Installing LaneMaster |
Manual Table of Contents | LaneMaster Home Page
Before you begin:
LaneMaster is a very large DOS program. We strongly recommend that
you run it with one of the latest versions of MS-DOS (6.0 or later), and that you run
MEMMAKER on your system to maximize the amount of conventional memory available. To
run LaneMaster, you will need approximately 600K of free conventional memory.
(Please see your DOS manual for details.) Also, if you do get any "Out of
Memory" errors, it might be very helpful to use the Startup Menu feature of DOS (6.0
and later) to create a "LaneMaster (Clean Boot)" setup, not loading drivers for
CD-ROMs or other devices which are not used with LaneMaster. (For details, type
"HELP" (without the quotes) at the "C:\>" prompt, and then select
< MENUITEM>, or consult your local "PC guru".)
(International Users: You must set your computer to use "US Keyboard". Consult your DOS manual for details.)
If you are using a virus checking
program, and especially if you have a slower computer, you should disable virus checking
while you use LaneMaster. Also, if you are using disk compression such as
"Stacker" or any other software file compressor, LaneMaster will not work
correctly. Again, consult your other software's manual or talk to your favorite PC
guru to correct either of these potential problems!
Running LMSETUP
Turn on your computer and watch the boot-up screen carefully
to make sure that LaneMaster's settings don't conflict with any other devices in your
system. Insert the LaneMaster disk into your floppy drive. Change to that drive and type
LMSETUP, then press "Enter". This will run the automatic installation program
"LMSETUP.EXE" which will copy LaneMaster onto your hard drive and help you to
configure it. When you run "LMSETUP.EXE", it will ask you which drive you want
to install LaneMaster onto, then it will create a directory and copy the necessary files
into that directory. Next, it will create a batch file in the root directory of your C:
drive ("C:\") called "LANE.BAT".
NOTE: LaneMaster will not and should not be
added to your path, however, it is much more convenient if "LANE.BAT" is
in a directory in your path. In other words, if C:\ is not part of your path, copy
"LANE.BAT" to a directory that is in your path. To find out which
directories are included in your path, at the C:\> prompt, type "PATH" and
press "Enter". "LANE.BAT" can be copied to any of the directories
listed there. To run LaneMaster without using the batch file you must first change
to the \LANEMSTR directory, then type LANEMSTR and press "Enter". If you choose
not to use the batch file, you must always run LaneMaster from within its own
directory (C:\LANEMSTR or whatever you typed in during installation) or else it won't have
the correct settings to work with and could put results in directories where you may not
be able to find them later!!
Finally, LaneMaster will ask you about your computer,
allowing you to adjust the software settings for your specific system. If you are using a
486 or faster computer, select 250 milliseconds. If you are using a 386 or 'fast' 286
select 500 milliseconds. For a 'slow' 286 or 'very fast' (i.e. 'turbocharged' XT) 8086,
select 1 second. (Important Note: LaneMaster is NOT SUPPORTED
on 8086 [PC or XT] computers in general and will usually not work, but if you have a
souped-up one and lots of patience, it might work!) You must also configure the
LaneMaster software to the same port address that you set with the DIP switches on the
board, so select the appropriate address here. Then select the appropriate video type for
your system.
For the lane colors to appear correctly, you must select the
type of video adapter that you actually have in your computer. Unfortunately, CGA monitors
do not allow the use of the color orange. If you select CGA as your monitor type, pink is
substituted for orange, but LaneMaster will record and print the race results showing
"ORG" or "ORANGE" as the color of the lane in the appropriate heats.
If you do not select CGA, LaneMaster will not run with a computer that only has a CGA
adapter!
If the screen goes blank and nothing happens when you first
run LaneMaster, you should change to the LaneMaster directory (CD\ LANEMSTR
"Enter") then type in "LANEMSTR CGA" and "Enter". This will
force LaneMaster to start in CGA mode. You should then select Edit, Hardware
and set the monitor to CGA permanently.
Some EGA and VGA adapters might have a problem such as
flickering when you use orange. If this is the case, select CGA as your monitor type. You
will not lose any video quality, but orange will be displayed in pink, as described above.
If you are installing the LaneMaster Phototransistor kit (see
section 5), and/or have installed a Remote Track Call button, as explained in Section 4,
you can also click on the "Remote Track Call installed" button here. DO NOT turn
on this feature if you are using the Demo Version!!!!
As long as LaneMaster starts up (i.e. the video is set
correctly), you can change any of the hardware settings without having to reinstall the
entire program. Just click on Edit, Hardware and then click on the desired
settings. You should set the "Default Number of Printed Copies" in the Hardware
Settings window. This number will be suggested each time you print race reports. If
you do want a different number of copies at the time of printing , you can always change
it then. If you don't have a printer connected, you should set this to "0", but
if you do have a printer, we strongly recommend that you set this to at least
"1" so that you don't accidentally blow through the opportunity to print race
results by pressing the "Enter" key one time too many!
You can re-run LMSETUP anytime if you have a problem that you
think it might correct. Also, reinstalling or installing a new updated version will
preserve all of your stored settings and old races, so don't be concerned about having to
configure everything again if you upgrade and don't worry about losing race records!
| This page was last edited on: 09/23/18 |