Technical Support Solutions for Viva Media Titles

Customer Service

For technical support issues it is imperative you send us information about your current system so we can assist you with your tech support issue.
To obtain your system specifications please follow the below steps.

- Go to the START menu at the bottom right of the screen.
- Select RUN, type DXDIAG, and hit return.
- You will see a program come up with the specs of your PC.
- Click on the SAVE ALL INFORMATION button and save the file, Dxdiag.txt, to your hard disc.

Please attach this file when sending your email to mail@viva-media.com.

Basic Troubleshooting Tips

Make sure that your PC specifications meet the titles requirements. Information about the title can be found either on the side or at the back of every game box or inside the game manual. To ensure that your PC meets the minimum specs, you should open up the Direct X Diagnostic Tool which will show enough information to determine if the title is suitable.

To open this program, click on START > RUN > then type DXDIAG and click OK.

Once it is open, it will display a list of tabs that show the system specifications.

The only tabs that contain the necessary information are the SYSTEM, DISPLAY, and SOUND tab.

The SYSTEM tab will display the operating system, the amount of memory that is available, and the version of DirectX being used as well as the Operating system you are using. Noting the Operating system is important for tech support when applying solutions, installing patches to your PC for games, or updating video and sound drivers for your PC.

The DISPLAY tab is vital to check as it shows information regarding the particular Video Card being used. It will show what type of card is being used, the amount of memory that the card has, and the current driver that is being used.

The SOUND tab will display the type of sound card being used and the current driver being used.

Compatibility

FOR VISTA USERS:

Games that were not designed to run under Windows Vista but that WERE designed to run under Windows XP and lower may POSSIBLY work in Windows Vista Compatibility mode. This must be handled on a per-application basis:

• Find the executable file for the game. This is the actual EXE that is launched to run the game, not the shortcut. This should be located in the folder in which you installed the game.
• Right-click on the EXE and select "Properties" from the pop-up menu and click the "Compatibility" tab.
• In the top third of the window, you will see a checkbox labeled, "Run this program in compatibility mode for..." Check that box. This will activate a dropdown list. Select the Operating System you wish Vista to attempt to emulate when running this program. The best choice from this would be Windows XP.
• Click "OK" to close the window and then launch the game normally.

FOR XP USERS:

Games that were not designed to run under Windows XP but that WERE designed to run under Windows 95 or 98 may POSSIBLY work in Windows XP Compatibility mode. This must be handled on a per-application basis:Games that were not designed to run under Windows XP but that WERE designed to run under Windows 95 or 98 may POSSIBLY work in Windows XP Compatibility mode. This must be handled on a per-application basis:

• Find the executable file for the game. This is the actual EXE that is launched to run the game, not the shortcut. This should be located in the folder in which you installed the game.
• Right-click on the EXE and select "Properties" from the pop-up menu and click the "Compatibility" tab.
• In the top third of the window, you will see a checkbox labeled, "Run this program in compatibility mode for..." Check that box. This will activate a dropdown list with the following options. Select the Operating System you wish XP to attempt to emulate when running this program:

Windows 95
Windows 98
Windows NT
Windows 2000

• Click "OK" to close the window and then launch the game normally.

Graphics and Game Crashing

In regards to graphical errors or game crashing while loading and during game-play, it is mainly due to not having the latest video drivers and DirectX. It is also necessary to have the current drivers for your sound card as this has been known to cause games to crash.

Update video drivers in Windows

First determine what type of video card you have. To do this:
Click START
Click RUN
In the box type DXDIAG Click OK. This will bring up the DirectX Diagnostic Tool
When the tool finishes loading, click the DISAPLAY tab.
In the Device section, next to Name is the name of your video card. The Manufacturer is the company that manufactured your video card. To find the latest driver go to the manufacturer's web site. They should have a support section or a driver section where you can find the drivers for the device listed in DXDIAG.

Some of the main video card manufacturer's include:
Nvidia www.nvidia.com
ATI www.ati.com

Follow the instructions on the manufacturer's web site to download and install the latest drivers. If you can't find a driver or the manufacturer's site, refer to the documentation that came with the video card hardware or your computer for support.

Update Sound drivers in Windows

First determine what type of sound card you have. To do this:
Click START
Click RUN
In the box type DXDIAG. Click OK. This will bring up the DirectX Diagnostic Tool
When the tool finishes loading click the SOUND tab.
In the Device section, next to Name is the name of your video card. The Manufacturer is the company that manufactured your sound card. To find the latest driver go to the manufacturer's web site. They should have a support section or a driver section where you can find the drivers for the device listed in DXDIAG.

Follow the instructions on the manufacturer's web site to download and install the latest drivers. If you can't find a driver or the manufacturer's site, refer to the documentation that came with the hardware for your computer for support.

Update DirectX

To download the latest version of DirectX, please go to www.microsoft.com/directx and follow the instructions from the site.
Please note that once you update Direct X you may need to update your video and sound drivers to enable functionality with newer games.

Closing Applications

Some of the errors that occur during installation occur when there are additional programs running the background. The most common issue that you may have is antivirus software running at the same time. During installation we recommend that you temporarily close extra applications and services.