| Hardware and Software Requirements
POSSUM 5.7.1 requires PCs with Microsoft
Windows 2000/XP. We will port POSSUM to other
single and multi-user platforms. For now, a PC needs
characteristics like those below to run POSSUM in
single user mode.
Personal computer with
a 1 GHz Pentium CPU and at least 256 megabytes
of RAM. 512 megabytes is recommended for better performance.
Computer display with
resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels and 16 bit color.
1.1 gigabytes of available
space on a hard disk drive
Microsoft Windows
2000/XP
CD-ROM drive
Internet features of
POSSUM, if invoked, require Internet access; Internet
access may require payment of a separate fee to a
service provider.
POSSUM can run with displays of 800 x 600 pixels,
but the screens tend to become crowded. Faster CPUs
and larger memories tend to improve performance.
Go to technical
questions
Problems with POSSUM
5.7.1
The
search headings in the 'Direct to Syndrome' window don't
show up in Windows XP
Problems with POSSUM
5.6
I'm
having problems running POSSUM 5.6 on Windows 95/98
The
error "java.lang.NullPointerException" appears when
running POSSUM
Problems with
POSSUM 5.5 and 5.2
I've installed
POSSUM and tried to start it but it stops on the first
introduction window (with the possum on it)
Problems with POSSUM
5.5
When I attempt
to play movie files in a POSSUM a black box is displayed
Problems with POSSUM
5.2
After installing
POSSUM I receive the error "Javaw caused an error
in SYMCJIT.DLL"
Problems
with POSSUM 5.1
I've
installed POSSUM and tried to start it but it stops
on the first introduction window (with the possum
on it)
"Object
already deleted or not stored" Error
"Unable to
access the pictures. Please Insert POSSUM CD 2 into
the CD-ROM Drive and restart POSSUM"
The message
"Insert Floppy disk #1" appears during installation
of POSSUM 5.1.
Problems
with POSSUM 5.0
The
error "COM.POET.ODMG.ODMG Exception: failed to resolved
host name" appears when you run POSSUM.
The
error "java.lang.NullPointerException" appears when
you run POSSUM
I'm
experiencing problems with POSSUM and the QuickView application
If you are experiencing problems with POSSUM loading
the QuickView application, follow these steps:
- Open Windows Explorer
- Select "Configure QuickView Plus" from the "View" menu
- Turn off the Windows Explorer integration option
Go to technical
questions
The
search headings in the 'Direct to Syndrome' window don't
show up in Windows XP
If you are experiencing this problem, please follow these
steps:
Please note, the following steps may remove your desktop's
background picture.
- Open the Control Panel by clicking Start, Settings,
Control Panel
- Double click on 'Display'
- Under 'Themes', change the 'Theme' drop-down box
to 'Windows Classic'.
- Click OK
Go to technical
questions
I'm having
problems running POSSUM 5.6 on Windows 95/98
If you are having trouble running POSSUM 5.6 on Windows
95 or Windows 98, please follow these steps:
- Please ensure that you installed the Visual Basic
6 run-time files during the POSSUM installation,
as per the installation instructions on the inside
cover of the POSSUM CD.
- After installation, POSSUM should have created
a group of items in the 'Start' menu. Instead of
starting POSSUM with the 'Run Possum 5.6' shortcut,
you should start POSSUM with the 'Run Possum 5.6
on Windows 95' shortcut.
These shortcut items can normally be found at 'Start->Possum
5.6->Run Possum 5.6 on Windows 95'.
Go to technical
questions
After installing
POSSUM I receive the error "Javaw caused an error
in SYMCJIT.DLL"
Download and run this patch
(103 k bytes) to fix this problem.
Go to technical
questions
I've installed
POSSUM and tried to start it but it stops on the first
introduction window (with the possum on it)
Applies to: POSSUM 5.1, 5.2,
5.5 running under Windows 95/98/ME.
Try re-installing POSSUM. You will need to re-start
your PC after the installation (the installation program
will do this for you automatically). Then try running
it again.
If the problem continues after re-installation you
will need to check the file C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT. Using
Notepad (located under the menu Start->Programs->Accessories)
open the file C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT. It should contain a
line that starts as PATH=
For Windows 95/98/ME This line should read something
like this:
PATH=C:\POSSUM5\java\bin;C:\POSSUM5\jmf;-
C:\POSSUM5\poet\bin;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND
If this line does not read like this please change
the line to match the one above. (Please substitute
C:\POSSUM5 for the directory
you selected to install POSSUM, C:\POSSUM5 is the
default directory chosen by the installation program)
Once this line has been adjusted then save the file
and restart your PC, then run POSSUM.
Go to technical
questions
When I attempt to
play movie files in POSSUM a black box is displayed
Applies to: POSSUM 5.5
Please Open the file POSSUM_INSTALL_DIRECTORY\silkworm\data\-
properties\device.properties
(e.g. C:\silkworm\data\properties\device.properties)
Change the line that looks like this "device.media.path=C:\Possum5\silkworm\data\movies",
so that it reads "device.media.path=C:\\Possum5\\silkworm\\data\\movies".
i.e. Just change all the back-slashes to double back-slashes.
Save the file and close it.
In the same directory, open the mediaservers.properties
file.
Change the line that starts with "mediaServers=50PossumMedia......"
to read "mediaServers=50PossumMedia,51PossumMedia,-
52PossumMedia,55PossumMedia,56 PossumMedia". You will
just need to delete some entries off the end of the
line.
At the bottom of the file, you will see these lines:
####################
# Scanner stuff
####################
InTrayData.database=poet://InTrayServer/InTrayData
InTrayData.openMode=openReadWrite
InTrayImages.database=poet://InTrayImagesServer/InTrayImages
InTrayImages.openMode=openReadWrite
ScannerData.database=poet://ScannerDataServer/ScannerData
ScannerImages.database=poet://-
ScannerImagesServer/ScannerImages
ScannerImages.database=D\:\\Possum5-
\\silkworm\\data\\poet\\ScannerImages
ScannerImages.openMode=openReadWrite
You will need to delete these.
Save the file and close it.
There is a file called 'jmfinit.exe' in the JMF\bin
subdirectory of the POSSUM installation directory
(i.e. if you installed POSSUM in C:\Possum5, the file
will be in the C:\Possum5\JMF\bin directory). Please
run this file by double-clicking on it.
Go to technical
questions
The error message
"object already deleted or not stored" appears when
you start POSSUM 5.1
Applies to:POSSUM 5.1
Please uninstall POSSUM then re-install POSSUM 5.1.
Select the uninstall option from the Start -> Programs
-> POSSUM menu.
This problem will occur on some computers upgrading
from POSSUM 5.0 to 5.1.
Go to technical
questions
This message appears
"Unable to access the pictures. Please Insert POSSUM
CD 2 into the CD-ROM Drive and restart POSSUM" even
though CD 2 is in the CD-ROM drive
Applies to: POSSUM 5.1
Click here
to download a program (98 k bytes) that will fix this
problem.
This problem will occur during installation if you
have selected a POSSUM 5.1 directory that is different
to the default name of "\possum5".
Note: Under Windows
NT or 2000 you must be logged in with administrator
privileges before running this fix program.
Go to technical
questions
The message
"Insert Floppy disk #1" appears during installation
of POSSUM 5.1
Applies to: POSSUM 5.1
This is an incorrect message. Please insert CD disk
1 into the CD-ROM drive and press the OK button.
This message will appear if you have chosen to copy
the whole image database to your hard drive, and the
installation program has just completed copying information
from CD disk 2.
The message should read "Please insert CD disk 1
into the CD-ROM drive".
Go to technical
questions
The error
"COM.POET.ODMG.ODMG Exception: failed to resolved
host name" appears when you run POSSUM
Applies to: POSSUM 5.0
Click here
to download a program (102 k bytes) that will fix
this problem.
Under Windows 95/98/ME
this problem occurs if the installation program cannot
make a change to a system file (named autoexec.bat)
Under Windows NT or
2000 this error will appear if you log in without
administrator privileges. Note: you must be
logged with administrator privileges before running
this fix program.
Go to technical
questions
What is the hovering
grey box "ghost" that appears on the screen and how
do I get rid of it?
Applies to: POSSUM 5.0, 5.1,
5.2
If you are running POSSUM 5.0 you will need to upgrade
to version 5.1 (or later) to remove this problem.
If you are running POSSUM 5.1 (or later) just press
the Clear Desktop button on the POSSUM main menu to
remove this "ghost" window.
Go to technical
questions
I'm having
problems running or installing POSSUM on Windows XP
A patch is now available for POSSUM to enable you
to install and run POSSUM on Windows XP.
Download and run this patch
(103 k bytes) to fix this problem.
Go to technical
questions
I'm having
problems running or installing POSSUM on Pentium 4
A patch is now available for POSSUM to enable you
to install and run POSSUM on Pentium 4.
Download and run this patch
(103 k bytes) to fix this problem.
Go to technical
questions
The
error "java.lang.NullPointerException" appears when
you run POSSUM
Applies to:POSSUM 5.0
This problem only occurs if your PC is set to run
Spanish regional settings.
Please open the Control Panel from the Settings menu.
Then change your Regional Settings. The first tab
displays a map of the world. From this tab please
select English, rather than Spanish as your regional
setting. You can select any English speaking country
(example: USA, UK or Australia). Press OK. Then restart
Windows.
POSSUM 5.0 should now start now without errors.
This is only a temporary fix. It seems our error
relates to a specific Spanish regional setting. We
are looking into this now and hope to have a permanent
fix for this with the release of version 5.1.
Go to technical
questions
Applies to: POSSUM 5.6
This error is caused by a corruption in one of POSSUM's
databases. A patch to resolve this error is now available
on CD-ROM. This patch is being distributed by mail
to all registered subscribers of POSSUM 5.6.
Go to technical
questions
Year
2000 Compliance for POSSUM version 5.x (and all later
versions)
All versions of POSSUM 5.x do not have a year 2000
problem and are year 2000 compliant.
All 3rd party software used by POSSUM 5.x is confirmed
to be year 2000 compliant.
Go to technical
questions
Year
2000 Compliance for POSSUM version 4.x and OSSUM version
2.x (and earlier versions)
All versions of POSSUM 4.x and OSSUM version 2.x
do not have a year 2000 problem and are year 2000
compliant.
Technically speaking, POSSUM (and OSSUM) represents
dates internally as 16-bit signed integers containing
the number of days between the date to be represented
and 1 January 2000. POSSUM's dates will be fine for
-32,766 days before 1 January 2000 until +32,767 days
after 1 January 2000, which is anytime between the
years of 1912 and 2089.
By 2089 we expect users to have installed a more
recent version of POSSUM (version 5.0) which uses
newer technology (and digital images rather than analogue
video on laserdisc).
Go to technical
questions
Last updated: December 6, 2004
|
