eMedia Technical Support

Technical Support for eMedia Guitar Method 1 & 2, Guitar Songs and Guitar Toolbox
Windows and Macintosh

Windows
In the vast majority of cases the installation process will complete smoothly if you follow the directions provided in the CD insert. However, certain abnormal system configurations can cause installation or usage problems. Here are some of those rare problems and workarounds for them:

Problems with Installation

If you have problems installing and you have Norton or Dr. Solomon's anti-virus running, try temporarily disabling the anti-virus program and then installing. Likewise, if you have Norton Uninstall, try temporarily disabling it before installing.

"ISINST30" error message occurred during the installation.
This problem usually occurs because of a conflict between Installshield and the Microsoft wheel button mouse driver. Following the steps below should fix the problem:

  1. Press the Ctrl-Alt-Delete key combination once (under Windows 95 or 98).
  2. If "MSWHEEL" is on the task list it will need to be closed as follows: Click on "MSWHEEL" and then click on the "End Task" button. If shortly after that another windows pops up and asks you if you're sure you want to end this program or not, click on "End Task" again.
  3. Try reinstalling Guitar Method and it will hopefully be able to install without errors.
  4. If you still get the ISINST error during installation, press Ctrl-Alt-Delete key combination again and check the task list for any of the following: 4DADMIN, ARMON32, EASYKEY, EM_EXEC, IRMON, ISST, POINT32, SIDEWINDER_GDP. If any of these are on the list, end them (by clicking on "End Task" as per the instuctions in item #2) and try reinstalling Guitar Method.
  5. If the ISINST error still comes up, try ending all of the tasks on the task list except for "Explorer" and "Systray" and then reinstalling. Each task must be closed separately by clicking on the task and then clicking the "End Task" button.

If the above doesn’t do the trick, try disabling you mouse driver or switching to a regular serial mouse driver and then reinstalling. You can switch back to your original mouse configuration after installing Guitar Method .

After you’ve tried disabling your mouse driver & using a standard mouse driver, the installation might still not work because the mouse driver won't allow itself be removed. (e.g. Logitech MouseMan+). In this case, click here for directions to install manually.

During installation, the message "COMMDLG.DLL in use" appears.
Select the "Ignore" button and continue the installation.

When trying to run SETUP.EXE, the message "Could not run EGSETUP2.EXE" appears.
Close down any screensaver you may be running, restart Windows, and then reinstall. Also, if you're running a screen manager program such as Compaq's "Operator" or Packard Bell's "Navigator," remove it from the Windows Startup group, restart Windows and then reinstall.

Trying to run SETUP.EXE from File Manager, and it doesn't work.
Run SETUP.EXE from Program Manager as per instructions.

 

Problems  Running an eMedia CD-Rom (Windows)

THREED.VBX file not found Error given when attempting to run the software.
This file is needed for eMedia products to run correctly. While most windows installation already contain it, a few do not. The problem is easily solved by taking the following steps:

  1. Download the Threed.vbx file and save it to your hard disk by clicking on the link and following the instructions given - when prompted, choose the 'Save to Disk' option and be sure it is saved as THREED.VBX (some browsers may attempt to rename the file, so pay attention to the file name as it is being saved).
  2. Move the Threed.vbx file into the folder in which you installed the eMedia program. The default folder is "C:\Eguitar1" and also contains the file "Eguitar.exe".
  3. If the error persists, try copying the Threed.vbx file into your Windows System directory (usually this is "C:\Windows\System" for Win 95/98 or "C:\Winnt\system32" for Windows NT). Also, check to make sure that the file length of the THREED.VBX you downloaded is exactly 64,432 bytes. (We have had reports that certain Netscape browsers can cut the file length, causing it to malfunction - if you find this is the case, try downloading it with another browser such as Internet Explorer.)

No data files on the CD-ROM - (sometimes just an audio track "TRACK1" is visible).
Chances are you have a bad CD-ROM disk. It might still work on a different computer if you have another one to try it on, but either way, you can simply mail your CD-ROM back to us at: eMedia Corp. ; Attn: Exchanges ; 2403 E. Aloha St.; Seattle, WA 98112 and we will send you back a replacement disc at no charge.

On IBM Aptiva computers, the Automatic Tuner crashes the application when it is brought up.
This is a problem exclusive to IBM Aptiva computers because of their specific sound card and driver. eMedia has created a fix for this problem. Please give us a call or drop us an email and we'll send you a fix ASAP.

"Print" Command doesn't print out on the printer.
Occasionally, certain printers/printer drivers seem to have trouble printing from Guitar Method. There is a workaround in which the screens are not printed directly from Guitar Method, instead they are copied/pasted into a word processor and printed from there. The steps are as follows:
1) Load up Guitar Method and go to the screen you want to print out.
2) Hit the Alt-Printscreen key combination (in other words, hold down the "Alt" key and then press the "Print Screen" key.)
3) Load up a word processor such as WordPad (which comes with Windows and is available from the "Start" button under Programs -> Accessories.)
4) In WordPad, go to the "Edit" menu item and select "Paste". [The Guitar Method screen will now appear in WordPad.]
5) In WordPad, go to the "File" menu, select "Print..." and click "OK." [The Guitar Method screen will be printed.]

Not getting any audio from eMedia Guitar Method.
Check the volume setting on the eMedia Guitar Method "Options" menu. Also, if using Win 95, check the system audio volume setting from "Multimedia Properties" in the Control Panel.

Unable to run videos or play audio with Windows 95 (e.g. CVID decompressor missing error).
From the Control Panel, select "Add/Remove Programs," then select "Windows Setup," then scroll down and select "Multimedia," Check the "Audio Compression" and "Video Compression" options then click OK.

Automatic Tuner and/or Recorder is not working.
Check/increase microphone input level. In Windows 95/98 you can do this by double-clicking on the speaker icon on the taskbar (usually found at the bottom of your screen). When the Volume Controls application comes up, select the "Options" menu and choose "Properties." In the Properties dialog box, under "Adjust volume for," select the "Recording" button and make sure that "Microphone" in the list below is checked. Then click OK. When the Recording Controls sliders come up, adjust the Microphone slider up close to the top, and make sure that the "Select" checkbox under the microphone slider is checked.
For Windows 3.1 users, the way to set the microphone input level can vary from machine to machine: it's usually via a "Mixer" or "Volume Control" application sometimes found in the "Audio" group.

Metronome tick can't be heard even though other audio works.
Rename the TICK.WAV file in the installation directory (usually "\EGUITAR") to TICK.OLD and then the metronome will use the default Windows sound for the tick (a few rare sound cards have trouble with the TICK.WAV because it's such a short sound).


Macintosh Technical Support

Automatic Tuner doesn't work or crashes when opened.
This problem was caused by changes to the Mac OS made with version 8.1 and above. We have a fix for you to download! Take the following steps to fix this problem:

  1. Download and install the Stuffit Expander if you do not already have it on your system to enable you to decompress the patch.
  2. Download the tuner update patch by clicking on the link and save it to your hard disk.
  3. Expand the files by dragging the file onto the Stuffit Expander icon if it was not already expanded automatically.
  4. Run the eMedia Tuner Update installer and click install.

Installation didn't work / Received an error message during installation.
Make sure all virus detection programs are turned off. Also, be sure to choose "allow" or another similar command from the prompt given by your virus detection program at installation time.

After installation, program crashes upon load, while running or upon program exit.
Try allocating additional memory to the program. (This is done by performing a "Get Info..." on the program icon, selecting "Memory" and increasing the required memory amount - moving the Minimum size to 5000K and the preferred size to 8500K should be plenty.) If that doesn't work, it could be an extension conflict: Using Extension Manager (available from Control Panel), try turning off all system extensions except for QuickTime, QuickTime Musical Instruments, QuickTime Powerplug and Apple CD-ROM/DVD and then, after restarting your computer, try running the program again.

Having trouble with encrypted files downloaded from OLGA (On-Line Guitar Archive).
There are really two common problems here:
(1) The file is compressed and needs to be decompressed before viewing. The usual compression formats, .hqx, .sit, .cpt, .sea, .bin, and .zip can be "unstuffed" by using a shareware program called "Stuffit Expander." Simply drag the compressed files to the Stuffit Expander program icon to decompress. Use Stuffit Expander for most Mac compression formats, Zipit for .ZIP files.

(2) The file really isn't compressed, it just looks garbled. Many of the songs found on OLGA use the ASCII characters to 'draw' the tablature for the song. This requires that you view using a monospace font such as Courier. Refer to Chapter 41 in eMedia Guitar Method 1 to learn about tablature.

Videos don't play well.
(1) Turn off the "Video Controller" in the "Options" menu. (2) If that doesn't help, set the video quality to low in the "Options" menu. (3) If the video still doesn't play well, follow the steps in the "Readme" file to increase the program's memory size.

 

 

If none of the above solve your woes,
email our tech support staff [EmediaTS@aol.com] or phone us at (206) 329-5657.
We would love to help you and add the solution to this page.