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Sacred-texts on Disk: Help (Technical Support)
This page has solutions for technical problems you may encounter with the Sacred-texts disk product.
There are very few technical support issues with the Sacred-texts disk. The ones that do come up can usually be solved by some simple procedures that anyone can do.
All of the common technical support problems and solutions are discussed on this page. However, if you have any problems using the disk, you are welcome to email us. Please be sure to mention which operating system and browser you are using when you write (for instance, 'Windows XP and Internet Explorer 6'). This will help us if there is some kind of system-dependent problem which needs solving.
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The disk doesn't start automatically (Macintosh)
The disk starts in a non-browser application (Windows)
Running the disk on a computer not connected to the Internet (Windows/IE)
Problems viewing text in non-Latin alphabets (Greek, Hebrew, etc.)
Copying the disk to your hard drive
The disk doesn't start automatically (Windows)
On Windows systems, the disk should normally start automatically. When you insert it into the computer, your default browser should start with the main page of the disk loaded within a few seconds.
This is called 'autorun.' If this doesn't happen, autorun may be turned off on your system.
solution
2. Double-click the CD-ROM/DVD-ROM branch on the Device Manager tab, and then double-click the entry for the specific drive that the disk is inserted into.
3. On the Settings tab, click to turn on the Auto Insert Notification check box.
4. Click OK, click Close, and then click Yes when you are prompted to restart your computer.
You can also start the disk manually using the following instructions:
The disk doesn't start automatically (Macintosh)
On Macintosh systems, the disk is not configured to start automatically. The procedure for using the disk on Macintosh systems is as follows:
solution
The disk starts in a non-browser application (Windows)
Sometimes when you first insert the disk, the file 'index.htm' on the disk is loaded into Microsoft Word, or Notepad, etc. as a read-only file.
This occurs on Windows systems where a non-browser application such as Microsoft Word (or Notepad, etc.) has been set to 'Open' HTML files, rather than 'Edit' them. A non-browser application has been designated as the default browser for local HTML files. When autorun starts, it loads 'index.htm' on the top-level folder of the disk into the system default browser. If you have set a non-browser application to run local HTML files, this can result in strange behavior, in some cases even system crashes.
solution
If you have Word configured to 'Open' HTML files, you need to change it back to 'Edit' them. You can do this manually using the procedure at the link in the last paragraph, or reinstall Office to restore the correct behavior. You can then edit HTML content using Microsoft Word by right-clicking on a file and selecting 'edit using Word'.
Running the disk on a computer not connected to the Internet (Windows/IE)
The Sacred-texts disk is perfectly capable of running on a computer which is not connected to the Internet. All of the content is on the disk. Any links to websites on the Internet are labelled 'External Link'.
However, in some cases, when you insert the disk, your browser may attempt to connect to the Internet, which may not be desirable if your system does not have a physical modem or network connection. This is simple to fix.
solution
You can prevent this by changing a setting in Internet Explorer. Here's what to do in IE5. From the Tools menu, click Internet Options, then click the Connections tab. In the Dial-up Settings group box, click the Never dial a connection option button and click OK. If you're still using IE4, go to the View menu, Internet Options, and the Connection tab. Change from modem to LAN.
You can also turn off autorun. Once you do this you will have to start the disk manually (by loading the file 'index.htm' on the disk into your browser). There is a walkthrough at Microsoft which explains how to turn off autorun:
Problems viewing text in non-Latin alphabets (Greek, Hebrew, etc.)
The disk uses a system called 'Unicode' to create text in non-Latin alphabets, as well as for some specialized uses such as astrological symbols. If your browser is not set up to view Unicode properly, you may see boxes or question marks instead of these symbols. There is a detailed solution for this on the Unicode Page. Note that some important information on this page has changed since the 5.0 and 8.0 disks were mastered, so use the page at the site when in doubt. In particular, note that the address of the Code2000 font website has changed to http://www.code2000.net/.
Copying the disk to your hard drive
You are welcome to copy the contents of the disk to your hard drive. This will improve the speed of access to the files.
Some people have wondered why there isn't an installation program on the disk. Since there is nothing but HTML content on the disk there is no need for a special installer. If you want to copy the disk to your hard drive, this can easily be done manually.
solution
This assumes that you're running Windows XP and that your main hard drive is the C: drive. If you are on a Mac or have a prior version of Windows, this procedure will be similar but some of the specifics will differ.
Before you do this, make sure you have enough free space on your hard drive. (Open 'My Computer' on your desktop, select your C: drive and right click on it, then select properties. Check the 'Free Space' reported). The following table shows the minimum amount of space you will need before starting to copy:
| version | free space needed |
| 8.0 | 1.79 Gb. |
| 5.0 | 759 Mb. |
| 3.0 | 571 Mb. |
Mb. = Megabyte = 1,048,576 bytes
Gb. = Gigabyte = 1,024 Megabytes
1) Make a folder on your desktop. Here's how:
a. Right click on your desktop and select 'New'. This leads to a submenu, the first item in that submenu will be 'folder' (it will have little picture of a folder next to it). Select that option.
b. This creates a new folder on your desktop. Rename the folder by right clicking on it and selecting "Rename". Then type in 'sacred-texts' or anything else you want. Open that folder, it will be empty. Leave that window open.
2) Insert the disk in your drive. Let it autostart, but ignore the browser window that will appear (minimize or close it). Then open 'My Computer' on your desktop and find the drive the disk is in. It will have a mini-icon that looks like the graphic on the home page of sacred-texts and be named something like 'ISTACD50' (for instance, if you have the 5.0 version).
3) Right click on the disk icon. Select 'Explore' (NOT 'Open,' that autoruns it.)
4) There will be two panes in the 'Explore disk' folder. Select any item in the RIGHT HAND PANE and press 'Ctrl-A' (that is, press the keys marked 'CTRL' and 'A' at the same time. This will select everything in the folder. Now press 'Ctrl-C' to copy these items. You can now close the 'Explore disk' folder.
5) Go back to the empty folder window which you created on your desktop. SELECT THE OPEN FOLDER WINDOW BY CLICKING ANYWHERE ON IT (very important, if you don't everything will be copied to your desktop and will create a mess). Then press 'Ctrl-V' to copy the disk.
6) Depending on your system this may take a long while, perhaps an hour or so. While the files are copying you will see a progress dialog with little flying folder icons.
7) When that completes, you can start the image on your hard disk by opening the folder on your desktop and double-clicking on the file 'index.htm'
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