|
 |
Choose which version
Select Open
Allow permission for program to run
Agree to copyright
Default other options with Next's
Finish or Reboot |
|
| After finding a program that you decide you want to install, you must choose which version to install. Then you can click on the version number you may be asked to choose whether to "Open" the file or "Save" it to your computer. Select "Open" the file to begin the installaion. If you get a Security Warning, click on "Yes" to give permission to run the installation. If you are asked to agree to a copyright agreement, read the agreement and choose "I Agree", and the installation will be allowed to proceed. Most of the questions will have configured the next series of questions to default to the best choice, and you can click on the Next button. You may be asked if you want to create a destop or a quick launch icon. When the installation is completed you are usually presented with a screen that you can click on the finish button; however, sometimes you will be asked to click on Reboot to restart your computer. If you cancel the reboot do not run the new program from your Start-Programs menu or the icon it may have placed on your desktop. You should reboot the computer before attempting to do so, but by all means cancel if you want to make sure that you have properly closed all your other currently active programs and files before restarting your computer. |
Older versions may be your only choice
Some require an internet connection
Some require a lot of RAM
Some require specific Windows versions
|
|
| Sometimes there is a reason to use an earlier version of a program. If you don't have enough RAM in your computer or if you do not see your operating system in the requirements of the newest verson. Another reason would be if you can't get an internet connection on the computer you want to install the program. Then you'll have to install an earlier version. Most of the time the older version is not available anymore from the developer. We have tried to provide you with the last known and least complained about of each master revision number (i.e. for versions numbered "4.01a" we keep the program with the best of the "01a" part of the version "4" series). You won't be able to use any of the latest features of the program, but using the earlier version will alow you to use the basic features of the application. After getting you system upgraded, you should uninstall the old version (through the Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs command), and after restarting your computer, then you can install the newer version. |
Check the O/S Requirements
Check for other Requirements
Install highest version number
|
|
| Generally you'll want to install the newest one (with the highest version number). Check the requirements column to see if your computer Operating system is included, also check for the following: Zip Program, Internet Connection, ## MBRAM requirements. |
|
"Open" the file or "Save" it |
Open to install
Save to copy the file
Cancel to abort
More Info for browser help
|
|
| Choosing "Open" will begin the installation, and choosing "Save" will allow you to copy the installation program to another location off of the FreeCD, as is the case for the virus removal tools. |
Open to run
Save to copy the file
Cancel to abort
More Info for browser help
|
|
No Install
This program came with no installation software, so choosing "Open" will launch the application, and choosing "Save" will allow you to copy the program to another location off of the FreeCD (e.g in a new folder named appropriately in your Program Files folder). |
Uncheck Always Trust Content
Then click on "Yes"
|
|
| The Security warning will appear if your browser setting has this option enabled, We recommend that you should always have this option turned on, since it will prevent an errant application from installing without you knowing about it. If the Security Warning states that the author of the software has verified that this content is safe. This means that a digital signature was found in the installation file, which was used to verify that the file is in good condition. |
Right mouse click
on My Computer
Select Properties
Click on the General tab
|
|
95 98 Me NT 2000 XP
To find out which operating system (O/S) is using first right mouse click on My Computer (located on your desktop), then select Properties, and choose the General tab. The above example is using Windows 2000, version 5.00, build 2195, with Service Pack 2.
95 - Windows 95 OSR2
98 - Windows 98 release 2
Me - Windows Me
NT - Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0
NT4 - Windows: NT 4.0
2000 - Windows: 2000, 2000 Server, 2000 Advanced Server or 2000 Data Center Server
XP - Windows: XP Home or Professional
SP# - with Service Pack # (e.g. NT4SP4 means Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4)
|
|
You need an internet connection
|
|
Internet Connection
These programs will part way through the installtion need to connect to an internet site to download the files needed for the installation process. Generally these are programs that are mostly used while connected to the internet (e.g. Internet Explorer versions above 5.0 must connect to the internet to complete their installation). |
How much RAM is in your computer
Convert KB to MB
|
|
Right mouse click on Start
Select Properties
Click on the General tab
|
|
## MBRAM
The "## is the amount of MegaBytes of RAM that your computer has to have installed for the program to be able to install and run properly. Attempting to install a program without sufficient RAM will produce unpredictable results.
To determine how much RAM your computer has first right mouse click on My Computer (located on your desktop), then select Properties, and choose the General tab. On the botom of this screen your total Kilobytes (KB) of RAM will be listed. In the above example, there are 261,260 KB, which can be converted to MegaBytes (MB) by taking that number and dividing it by 1024. The example computer above has 255.49 MegaBytes of RAM (256 MBRAM). |
|
Internet Explorer Required |
| Internet Explorer has to already be installed on your computer for this program to be able to install. This really does mean that you cannot use a differnt browser to be able to install the program. Generally these are programs that are designed specifically for Internet Explorer, such as a security update, such as Internet Explorer Security Update. |
| Netscape has to already be installed on your computer for this program to be able to install. This really does mean that you cannot use a differnt browser to be able to install the program. Generally these are programs that are designed specifically for Netscape. |
For Office 97 Service Pack 1 must be installed before you can install Service Pack 2. While in one of the office applications (e.g. Word) choose the help menu and select About "Microsoft ...", and it will show you what version with which service pack installed. Just to be sure there is test program to see if everything was properly installed for Service Pack 1 this is crucial before you install service pack 2.
For Office 2000 Service Pack 1 must be installed before you can install Service Pack 2, and the original CDROM needs to be in your drive to complete either Service Pack installation.
For Office XP Service Pack 1 must be installed before you can install Service Pack 2, and the original CDROM needs to be in your drive to complete either Service Pack installation. |
| This just means that you have to have a higher version number of browser installed (e.g. Version 3+ Browser means Internet Explorer 3 or Netscape 3 or higher) in order to use the application. |
Start
Run
dxdiag
System |
|
| Click Start and select Run, then type "dxdiag" and press enter (or click on OK). This screen tells you, which Processor and what speed (in MHz or GHz) your computer is, in your computer. In the above example a Celeron processor was found, which is actually a Pentium without any internal cache memory or a co-processor (a crippled CPU), and others names like AMD Athlon, AMD Duron, VIA C3, and Cryix may appear listed here. They will suffice if the requirement is for a Pentium. The above example has a speed of 1.70 GHz, which is about 1741 MHz (where 1 GHz = 1024 MHz). Generally any processor will suffice, however, if your computer isn't fast enough then you will have to purchase at least a faster CPU (or a new computer), before the program will be able to run on your computer |
Start
Run
dxdiag
Display |
|
## MB Graphics
Click Start and select Run, then type "dxdiag" and press enter (or click on OK). Next choose the Display tab, at the top. In the upper left quadrant of the window, in the Device Window you'll find the total memory avialable to your video card. If you have more than the MegaBytes (MB) required, then it is okay for you to install the program listed. If you do not have enough Total Video Device Memory, then you will have to purchase at least a better video card (or a new computer), before the program will be able to run on your computer. |
Start
Run
dxdiag
System |
|
| This is a software driver that is needed to play most commercially sold games. Each Windows version comes with a different version of DirectX, and to find out which version you have: Click Start and select Run, then type dxdiag and press enter (or click on OK). If your version is equal or higher than the verion of DirectX, which is required by the program then it is okay for you to install it. To install the latest version of DirectX on your system, and for the best performance of your computer while using multimedia applications you may want to consider upgrading to the latest version of DirectX |
|
Visual Basic Requirements |
| On occaision you may run accross a program that displays a simple pop-up stating that it your missing a VBRUN DLL file. Some files are needed to exist on your computer before these programs can run. The person who wrote this program created in in Visual Basic, a programming language, but they did not have the copyright ability to distribute the needed files with their software. which was made by Microsoft. Over the years there have been many versions of Visual Basic and the older versions have been released by Microsoft for free distribution, without any support available from Microsoft. |
Zip is a program to squish file sizes
Make sure you install a Zip Program
Do NOT unzip to your desktop! |
|
Zip Program
Some programs come with no installation software and they distribute them in a compressed format to save time while downloading the file or when the distribution disk media size is limited. A Zip Program is one that compresses and decompresses files. These are used to squish the size of a file (or collection of files) into it's smallest size. When compressed it is not in a usable state, you'll need to decompress the file first. To do that you'll need to install a Zip Program such as WinZip. When a Zipped File is detected by your computer, it will automatically launch your Zip Program, and ask you to select a folder location to decompress the files.Note: Do NOT choose your desktop.
|
Sample
Zipped File
|
|
Zip Program Note
Do NOT choose your desktop as the location to unzip the files, since it is likely to fill your desktop with icons for all the files that it will decompress; instead create a new folder, in your Program Files folder, and name the folder using the name of the program your installing. These types of programs do not come with un-installation programs, but they can be deleted by simply removing the folder. They make no changes to your computers registry, so removing them this way will have no impact on your system or any of your other programs. |
Click on Program Files in Folders/drives window
Click New Folder
Type name of program
Click OK
Click on Extract |
|
Install most up to date version
Get help using the program
|
| Developer |
| Developer's Name |
|
|
The Developer section contains a link to the company web site, of the firm that designed the software. You can go directly to the source to download the most up to date version of the program, or get help using the program by reading the companies FAQ (answers to frequently asked questions) or visiting their support section. Note that many companies will not provide support sections for their programs, particularly if is it freeware, but they will generally have some sort of FAQ files. |
|
|
|
