Please review these FAQs to see if your question is answered on this page. If your question is not addressed here, please go to the last question to find out how to contact our Technical Support department.

1. How can I run Crystal TOPAS under Windows 95?
2. How can I run Crystal TOPAS Professional for Alladin under Windows 95?
3. What is the correct configuration for the Wacom "Artz II" tablet for use with Crystal TOPAS?
4. Are there any updated drivers for my new graphics board?
5. How do I contact Technical Support?

Crystal TOPAS can be run on a computer that has Windows 95 installed on it by restarting the computer in MS-DOS mode (Note: Starting Crystal TOPAS in a DOS shell will give a "Not enough extended memory error message"). The DOS drivers for peripheral devices such as your mouse and possibly your graphics board, CD-ROM drive, and SCSI devices must be loaded into memory prior to starting Crystal TOPAS. These device drivers can be configured in the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, wherever appropriate. Once the DOS drivers for these devices have been configured, simply restart the computer in MS-DOS mode and type Crystal TOPAS at the DOS prompt. Or, create a shortcut under Windows 95 (see Windows 95 on-line Help documentation, or contact our Technical Support department and we will fax step-by-step instructions on how to do this).

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Here are some general guidelines for running Crystal TOPAS Professional for Alladin on a system with Windows 95.

1. Make sure you restart the computer in MS-DOS mode. (Note: you canNOT start Crystal TOPAS from a DOS shell under Windows 95. If you try running from a DOS shell, an error message, "not enough extended memory" will display.)
2. Prior to launching Crystal TOPAS, make sure you load all DOS drivers into memory (via the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files) for any peripheral devices you want to have run under DOS. This includes devices such as a mouse or tablet, CD-ROM drive, SCSI controller (i.e. ASPI8DOS.SYS driver file for the Adaptec controller #2940). As you may know, Pinnacle Systems recommends specific models of SCSI controllers to run with the Alladin Media Printer. And, when launching the Alladin version of Crystal TOPAS Professional, it specifically checks for the presence of the Alladin hardware. Therefore, it is very important that the DOS ASPI driver for your SCSI controller is properly configured and initialized prior to launching Crystal TOPAS Professional for Alladin. For example, the correct ASPI driver for the Adaptec 2940 (u & uw) is ASPI8DOS.SYS, and, for the 1500 series boards, the correct driver is ASPI2DOS.SYS. If Crystal TOPAS does not detect the presence of the Alladin hardware, then Crystal TOPAS will NOT run. To assure proper installation and initialization of the DOS drivers for the Alladin/SCSI configuration, please refer to Pinnacle Systems' installation procedure for installing Alladin under Windows 3.1.

Important Note: If you are running an Award Plug and Play BIOS on the motherboard, Crystal TOPAS Alladin version will usually run ONLY if you disable (turn off) the anti-virus through the BIOS on the motherboard.

Another way to load Crystal TOPAS is directly from the command line. To do this, reboot the computer. When the screen displays "Starting Windows 95..." hit the F8 key. This will bring up a menu of options. Select "Option #6" - the Command Line option. This will take you to a DOS prompt. Change directories to the Crystal TOPAS directory (CD \TOPAS). Type TOPAS at the prompt. If Crystal TOPAS Professional for Alladin does not launch (i.e. you receive an error message or crash), contact CrystalGraphics Technical Support department for further assistance.

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The correct configuration for the Wacom "Artz II" tablet for use with Crystal TOPAS is as follows. This tablet needs to be set up in what is called "Wacom II" mode. If your tablet has a menu bar on it, click on SETUP twice. Then select WAC2 followed once again by SETUP. This should set the tablet in Wacom II mode. If your tablet does NOT have a menu bar, you will need to get the file UD-CONFG.EXE from Wacom. It is available from their BBS (# 360-750-0638) or from AOL at keyword WACOM. Running this file allows you to set the tablet in Wacom II mode. If you have problems finding this file, or questions about how to run it, you can call Wacom at 360-750-8884. Once you have set the tablet in Wacom II mode, add the following line to the AUTOEXEC.BAT: C:\TOPAS\WACOM60.COM /A5. Add a /P if you are using a pressure sensitive pen and /2 if your tablet is on comport 2. Add the following line to the TOPAS.CFG: Tablet Wacom.ovr. This line should replace the default line "Tablet mouse.ovr". Restart the computer and run Crystal TOPAS from the DOS prompt.

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All Super VGA graphics boards must use the VESA compatible (No TSR) driver from the Crystal TOPAS setup. If the VESA BIOS is on the graphics card, nothing further need be done. If, however, the graphics card requires a TSR to enable VESA mode, that TSR must be loaded into memory prior to running Crystal TOPAS. It is most convenient to do this via the AUTOEXEC.BAT. Simply add a line to the AUTOEXEC.BAT outlining where the TSR resides on the hard drive. For example, if you are running one of the older Mach32 boards from ATI, the TSR (called VVESA.COM) is usually located in a directory called MACH32. Therefore, the line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT would read: C:\MACH32\VVESA.COM. This loads the TSR into memory upon boot-up so that Crystal TOPAS can access the higher resolutions the board has to offer.

The above applies only if the graphics card is compliant to VESA BIOS v1.2 or later. You may need to check with the graphics card manufacturer to ascertain compliancy and/or whether or not the board requires a VESA TSR.

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For all registered users of Crystal TOPAS and TOPAS Professional, CrystalGraphics products include 30 days free technical support, starting from your first contact with the Technical Support department. If you were unable to find what you need above, please have your product serial number available, and contact CrystalGraphics Technical Support in any of the following ways.

• E-mail to Technical Support.
• Fax your question or problem to 408-496-0970. Be sure to address your fax to the attention of "Technical Support."
• Call the Technical Support department Monday-Friday between 9 AM - 5:30 PM Pacific time at 408-496-6175.

For our German-speaking customers, please contact our German technical support representative in any of the following ways:

• Telephone: 49 (0) 171 6813939
• Fax: 49 (0) 8061 92094
• E-Mail: werner_hennig@t-online.de

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