Q. Why do the "Training Applications" and "Answer Key Request" buttons do nothing when pressed? (Version 2.0 Only)

A. These buttons were disabled prior to the final printing of Version 2.0. The features these buttons were supposed to access have been replaced with a new integrated Instructor's Guide here at www.bombsecurity.com. To access the Instructor's Guide, click "here." To access the answer key request, click "here."

Display and Appearance

Q. Why do the graphics look "grainy" or "pixelated" on my screen?

A. The Bomb Countermeasures for Security Professionals program is designed to be viewed in 16-bit color (thousands of colors). If your display is set for 8-bit color (256 colors), an alert should warn you when the CD-ROM program is started. To change your display settings, open your control panels folder and click on the Display icon. Next, with the Display Properties window open, click on the Settings Tab. Use the Colors pull-down menu to change your settings to 16-bit color. Click OK, and restart your computer. The new settings will take effect after the computer has been restarted.

Q. Why does the text look too small to read on my screen?

A. Your resolution is set too high for easy text reading. Lower your monitor resolution by opening the control panels folder and clicking on the Display Icon. With the Display Properties window open, click on the Settings tab. Change the resolution to a lower setting, click OK, and restart your computer. The new settings will take effect after the computer has been restarted.

TIP: The Bomb Countermeasures program is designed for full-screen viewing at 640x480 resolution. At higher resolutions, a black border appears around the center screen. If you are using a 14 or 15-inch monitor and this border is visible, you probably have your display resolution set too high for optimal viewing.

Error Messages

Q. Why did I receive an error message stating "PrintoMatic_LiteXtra Not Installed" when the CD-ROM first started? (BCSP Version 2.0 Only)

A. This false error message may appear if the first file is read by the CD-ROM drive before the main program finishes loading into memory. This was observed several times during beta testing on different computers and, in most cases, never occurs more than once (the problem cannot be duplicated). If this error message appears, click "ok" and ignore the message. The program will continue loading and function properly.

Speed

Q. Why does the program take a very long time to load when first started?

A. This is a common occurence when the program is started on slow CD-ROM drives (below 8X) or if there is less than 8 megabytes of available RAM. Try closing all other applications at the time the CD-ROM is started. This will increase the amount of RAM available to the system. If the problem persists after the CD-ROM is started, consider copying the program into a folder on your computer and playing the CD-ROM directly from the hard drive. This will eliminate the problem of slow CD-ROM drive performance.

Use the following procedure to copy the CD-ROM onto the hard drive correctly:

1. First, create a new folder on the hard drive. Ttitle the folder "Bomb Countermeasures."
2. Using the View pull-down menu, open the Folder Options window. Click on the View tab and scroll down the list in the window to find the Hidden Files options. Check the radial button for "Show all files." Click Apply, and close the Folder Options window.
3. Open the CD-ROM drive to view all of the files on the CD. Many of these files and folders will appear shaded. These are hidden files that normally do not appear visible to the user. Drag the mouse over all of the files to select them. Next, drag all of the files and folders into the new folder on the hard drive. The files and folders will be copied into the folder with the same directory structure as the CD-ROM.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do Not Move any of these files into other folders or change the directory structure. The program will not be able to find files that have been moved from the original directory.

Q. Why is the program's response to button clicks slow when I am on a screen for more than 30 seconds?

This inconvenience is most likely to happen when running the program from the CD-ROM dirve. All disk drives, including CD-ROM and hard drives, "spin down" and enter an idle state when no activity is occuring for a certain period of time. When activity resumes, the drive reawakens and resumes reading and writing information from the disk. CD-ROM drives, in general, are much slower in responding when activity is resumed. The time lag you might witness after a button is pressed is the time it takes for the CD-ROM drive to reawaken and find the information that the button is requesting. If this delay is significant, your CD-ROM drive may be very slow in accessing or transfering disk data. To work around this problem, copy and run the program from the hard drive using the method described above.