Frequently Asked Questions

I understand that the Reading Master Rom Edition 2 will run on a machine as slow as a 25mhz 486 machine with as little as 8mb of Ram. Can I have a CD-Rom drive added to an old machine like this and have the CD-Rom run without hitch?

I have recently bought a new PC and am having trouble with the sound on The Reading Master CD-Rom. It sounds like it is reading late or even saying things twice. Some of my other Roms are ok though. Is the rom faulty? ( RMMX98 and RMCD editions 1&2 only)

I bought an early version of the Reading Master CD-Rom and have recently upgraded my machine (or purchased a new machine). Now the disc that used to play gives me a black screen and locks up. What is wrong? ( RMMX98 and RMCD editions 1&2 only)

When I exit from the Reading Master CD-Rom my desktop looks different. Why and how do I put it back the way it was? ( RMMX98 and RMCD editions 1&2 only)

I have been using the ReadingMaster CD for over twelve months but recently purchased a new system running the Windows 2000 operating system. For the first time I am having some sound problems with the CD-Rom - what do I do? ( RMMX98 and RMCD editions 1&2 only)

We came back to the ReadingMaster CD after installing and playing a game and all of the colours had gone funny in ReadingMaster - white's were black etc - What happened and how do I fix it? ( RMMX98 and RMCD editions 1&2 only)

When RM starts up all of its colours are still dull and the faces of Grant and Denise are all pixelatted and black ( RMMX98 and RMCD editions 1&2 only)

TECHNOTES RMCD0001- Sound problems with Windows ME (all versions)

TECH NOTES RMCD0002 -for those experiencing sound problems in Windows 95 or 98- sentences reading twice and missing words. (all versions)

RM-CD Editions 1 and 2 back to top

I understand that the Reading Master Rom will run on a machine as slow as a 25mhz 486 machine with as little as 8mb of Ram. Can I have a CD-Rom drive added to an old machine like this and have the CD-Rom run without hitch? The answer is yes. However it is not a simple task to put a new high speed CD-Rom drive into old technology. Many technicians claim that it is trivial and it then proves to not work. If you are doing this investigate the option of a new machine. If this is not an option make sure the technician doing the job is competent and that he is using standard windows drivers to run the CD-Rom drive (not the drivers that come with the drive - unless he can prove they work for you) Also take your Reading Master disc in before you pick up the machine and have him prove to you that it runs, because on all properly configured systems it does. On some machines the old 486 processor can not keep up with the high speed drive. Additional Ram can help. With additional Ram comes the opportunity to upgrade to Windows 98. Windows 98 or preferably Win 2000, can improve the performance of these older machines but a minimum of 16mb of Ram and preferrably 32mb is desirable for Win98 or 2000 to function properly in this environment. back to top

I bought an early version of the Reading Master CD-Rom and have recently upgraded my machine (or purchased a new machine). Now the disc that used to play gives me a black screen and locks up. What is wrong? On the first two versions of the Reading Master CD-Rom the installer presents you with two options: Run the Program or "Create a Link"( later versions do everything automatically). It is important that you delete the icon on the desktop from the previous installation of RM if you have upgraded your machine - particularly if you have upgraded windows. With this removed reboot your machine. Place the RM CD-Rom into the Rom drive and when presented with the two options click "Create a link". This option will analyse your system and reinstall the RM CD-Rom for use with your 'new' system. A new icon will be installed to the desktop and the program will run without incident. If you would like a later version of the RM CD-Rom that is optimised for newer high speed machines, you can receive a 50% discount off the standard price of the CD-Rom by e-mailing us the serial number from the silver or gold playing side of the early disc and faxing us with your credit card details and delivery address.

RMmmx98 back to top

I have recently bought a new PC and am having trouble with the sound on The Reading Master CD-Rom. It sounds like it is reading late or even saying things twice. Some of my other Roms are ok though. Is the rom faulty? The Reading Master Rom was tested on many many machines prior to its release and has logged less than 100 fault inquiries from the tens of thousands of copies that have sold over the past three years. Every one of these problems was traced to the machine running it and not the Reading Master CD-Rom. Sound problems can be caused by a conflict between two mixer devices in windows. To resolve this issue, try disabling any that are not being used(generally the wave device for voice modem). To do this, follow this procedure : Click "start"/ "settings"/"control panel". Then double-click on the "system" icon. click on the "device manager" tab click the + next to sound, video and game controllers. Select the wave device for voice modem and click on "properties". Select "disable in this hardware profile" or deselect "exists in all hardware profiles". Click OK and close the device manager and control panel. Restart the PC and try your program again. If the problem persists contact your hardware vendor or visit the website of your sound-card manufacturer for updated drivers/fixes and microsoft.com for windows updates and service patches. back to top

When I exit from the Reading Master CD-Rom my desktop looks different. Why and how do I put it back the way it was? The Reading Master CD-Rom like many Roms is optimised to run on 256 colors. Most of us run our machines at 16 bit or 24 bit true color, but many of us do not. To ensure RM will run on the maximium number of machines, RM resets your display to 256 colors upon opening up. Win 95 and Win98 users can click the computer monitor icon on the right hand side of the standard windows task bar and re-select their original display settings to restore the desktop in seconds. You can also do this by clicking Start-Settings-Control Panel and double clicking on the "Display" icon and visiting the "Settings" Tab.back to top

I have been using the ReadingMaster CD for over twelve months but recently purchased a new system running the Windows 2000 operating system. For the first time I am having some sound problems with the CD-Rom - what do I do? (March 29, 2000) (This technote relates to versions of the RMCD prior to the 21st century edition)The ReadingMaster CD-Rom was mastered in an authoring program called Director 6 - made by Macromedia. It has recently been brought to our attention that Director 6 applications can have unpredictable sound when run on Windows 2000 (which is a windows NT like system not a Win 95/98 dos based operating system). We have been updating the RM-CD in win2000 compliant Director 7 for the last couple of weeks and a new win 2000 compatible version will be available shortly. New customers will automatically receive the latest version. Existing users with proof of purchase can obtain a very inexpensive upgrade. The new version will not support operating system versions older than windows 95 but continues to run on both PC and Mac.

Update to Technote 21/1/02- Since May 2000 all ReadingMaster CD-Roms have been the new 21st Century edition. This edition is designed to run on Win 2000 and Windows XP. It also runs on Win 95, 98, 98SE and ME ( However due to the many known problems in Windows ME particularly vulnerability to incorrect set up and changes to Dll files, we do not guarantee operation on ME but are satisfied that RM runs properly on all correctly configured ME systems that are free of hardware and software conflicts) There are no known problems with the RM-CD on any 32bit Windows or Mac operating system as of this date.

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We came back to the ReadingMaster CD after installing and playing a game and all of the colours had gone funny in ReadingMaster - white's were black etc - What happened and how do I fix it? The ReadingMaster CD looks for the standard Windows or Mac palletes when it loads up. However many games alter these pallettes to suit their own custom pallette needs and do not reinstate the standard pallette upon exit. Go to Start, Control Panel, Display, "appearance" tab and in the "scheme" pull down menu select "windows standard" - apply and exit. Click the start bar and select restart. The problem will have been rectified. (The game we hear about most often as being a possible cause of this effect is Microsoft's Age of Empires II but many other games customise or make use of customised pallettes.) back to top

When RM starts up all of its colours are still dull and the faces of Grant and Denise are all pixelatted and black. The problem is that another program is loading to your start bar group on boot up that is making calls on the 256 standard palette altering it for any other program's use. By the way the Microsoft Office task Bar is the most likely culprit. To test that this is true - here's what to do. Put in the Reading Master Disk and double click the icon on your desktop - (after RM has checked for previous installations). Then whilst it is opening up press the Windows key on your keyboard ( the key with the picture of windows on it). This will bring up the menu over the top of RM - Select:'settings'-'control panel'-'display'-'settings tab' and select 16 bit high colour (to run on a different standard palette). Select "apply the new color settings without shutting down" - ok - then close down these windows. RM will be running perfectly and you will know that something else is messing with the 256 colour palette on set up. Removing items from the start up sequence can identify the culprit. As some programs have more invasive setups that automatically load themselves to the startup menu. Removing these possible 'problem for the 256 colour palette' programs helps. TO FIX IT GO: Start-settings-taskbar&startmenu-start menu programs-remove. Then scroll down to the "Start Menu" folder - click the (+)icon to reveal the program shortcuts that automatically run when your computer boots up. (Note: it is unlikely to be your virus software that is creating the problem so don't place your system at risk by removing this from automatically running in the background on start up). Highlight the program or programs that do not need to be there and follow the ok routine out of the "task Bar&Start Menu". Once you have removed uneccessary programs from running in the background, you will need to reboot your machine. Putting RM back in after this will see RM running beautifully and probably your machine running better/faster as well. back to top

RM-CD 21st Century Edition back to top

TECHNOTES - Sound problems with Windows ME experienced by the ReadingMaster CD-Rom. (RM has been tested and re-tested(29//4/2001)on new Windows ME machines with a clean bill of health. Fixes to Windows ME configurations follow. Some RM installs experience sound/video problems with Windows ME. (last word missing from sentences-some words not coloring as they are read) The problem seems to be confined to older machines that have upgraded to ME but new machines with software conflicts could have this problem. NOTE: It is also possible that it is your Rom Drive. New ME machines have 32x plus speed capabilities and older Rom Drives (16x speed and less) may not meet Windows ME speed requirements = timing synchronisation errors. To get ME drivers to latest versions. Do the following downloads (taking care to reboot between each installation. FROM MICROSOFT: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.asp) 1) "Media player 7 Security Patch for ME. 2)Directx 8.0a FROM INTEL(for older intel chipsets - http:/www.intel.com) 1) the "software installation Utility" for your chipset will provide sound drivers for motherboard resident audio like "Crystal fusion". (2)latest video drivers for any intel graphics board you may have. FROM the manufacturers site of your SOUND CARD, VIDEO CARD, PRINTER, MOUSE, SCANNER etc: the latest drivers for these devices. Macromedia report disabling Task schedular "Right click on the icon in the task bar, select Properties, look for a menu option 'stop using task schedular", has helped other software applications on ME and they report, some anti-virus software has caused conflicts - Try turning virus protection off whilst running RM and see if this is it - although we think this is a long-shot. As a last resort we do have an earlier version of the RM Rom with 3 modes not 4 that does not use some of the 32bit features of Windows operating systems that surprisingly will run well on older machines with ME (but not win 2000) and we can substitute this if troubleshooting ME becomes impossible. HOWEVER Our strong recommendation based on this investigation would be to upgrade to WIN 2000 for an altogether more stable and modern application friendly environment. back to top

TECH NOTES TO CD_ROM for those experiencing sound problems in Windows 95 or 98- sentences reading twice and missing words. (This is not a fault with the disc but the configuration of windows running the disc! Fixes Follow. There are now many different versions of MS Windows running on a multitude of different combinations of sound and video cards. (Win 98, win98, win98SE, win95, WinNT, Win ME and Win 2000) Machines that are more than 6 months old or that frequently download software from the internet are apt to have windows library files (.DLL) that have either been overwritten or are out of date. If you experience any sound problems with RM the first thing to do is to open your Internet browser and visit www.microsoft.com to do the "critical updates" to windows for your machine. This will restore these .DLL files and allow RM and other modern programs to run (In MS Internet Explorer you select TOOLS and WINDOWS UPDATE to be automatically taken there) If you have never done this before there will be much that is not as RM expects it to be that subsequently will be. Additionally if you have a machine running Win 95 or early versions of Win 98 you will probably have to visit the website of your sound card manufacturer and video card manufacturer to get the latest software "driver updates" for those cards. (There is one brand of machine that we know of that also has voice modem conflicts with standard Macromedia Director applications like ReadingMaster - see the question on this and how to disable the Voice modem conflict with the sound card supplied by that manufacturer to this site) back to top