EXP Computer ThinCD User Manual

ThinCD Series

For Parallel & PCMCIA

Portable CD-ROM

Installation

Manual

CONTENTS

PRECAUTIONS ..................................................................................... 1

PART NAMES AND FUNCTIONS............................................................... 3

FRONT PANEL.................................................................................... 3

REAR PANEL ..................................................................................... 4

POWER SOURCE ..................................................................................... 5

SELECTING THE POWER SOURCE................................................... 5

POWERING DIRECT FROM PCMCIA SOCKET .................................. 6

CONNECTING THE AC ADAPTER...................................................... 6

INSTALLATION ..................................................................................... 7

INSTALLATION FOR PCMCIA INTERFACE ........................................ 7

INSTALLATION FOR PARALLEL INTERFACE .................................... 15

USING CD-ROM ..................................................................................... 21

APPENDIX A ..................................................................................... 27

APPENDIX B ..................................................................................... 28

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PRECAUTIONS

READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY BEFORE STARTING TO USE THE PORTABLE CD­ROM.

Ÿ Do not place heavy

objects on the drive.

Ÿ Do not touch the lens.

ý

ŸŸ Do not expose the drive

to direct sunlight or
heat.
Do not leave it in a hot
automobile.

ý

Ÿ Clean the lens with a

dry cotton swab or
compressed air.
to protect it from dust.

ý

Ÿ Do not spill liquid on

the unit.

þ

Ÿ Clean the outside of the

player with a soft, dry
cloth.

ý

þ

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Ÿ Do not shake or subject

to intense vibration.

ý

Ÿ Do not put the drive in

a place subject to weight
and pressure.

ý

Ÿ Keep the drive away

from the edge of the
desk or table

ý

ý

Ÿ Handle the disc by the

edges as much as

Ÿ Do not bend the disc.

• Condensation can form on the lens if the CD-ROM drive is moved

from a cold temperature to a warmer environment. This can result in
the lens inability to properly read the disc. If this occurs, remove the
disc and leave the power on. After one hour, reinsert the disc and try
again.

• Do not expose the disc to the direct sunlight. Do not store the disc in a

room with high temperature or high humidity.

• To avoid dust, scratches, bending, etc., always store the disc in its case.

• Use a soft and dry cloth in a circular motion to wipe the disc. Do not

use benzine, record cleaner, static electricity prevention fluid, or any
other liquid as it may damage the disc.

possible.

þ

Ÿ Do not touch the signal

side of the disc. Do not
attach labels to the disc.

ý

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PART NAMES AND FUNCTIONS

FRONT PANEL

The front panel of your CD-ROM may look slightly different from the
figure shown below. The important parts and functions, however, are the
same regardless their locations.

1. Eject button:

Press this button to eject the tray.

2. Access LED:

This LED will blink when the drive is accessing the disc.

3. Emergency Hole:

Insert a pin shaped item to manually eject the tray in case of power-off.

4. Power LED:

This LED will light when power is on.

Figure 1

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REAR PANEL

1. Power Button:

Press the button to manually power on/off the drive when it is powered
by an AC adapter.

2. DC in Jack:

This jack connects to the AC adapter.

3. Power Source Switch:

This switch is used to select the power source. When the Switch is set to
“PC”, then PCMCIA power direct is selected. When it is set to “DC”,
an AC adapter is required to power the CD-ROM.

4. Interface Connector:

Connect the drive to the PCMCIA interface card or Parallel interface
cable.

5. Audio Line-Out Jack:

Send audio signal to an external amplifier.

Figure 2

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PARALLEL PORT ADAPTER CABLE:

•• Parallel port connector:

Connect this connector to a computer (25 pin) parallel port (Printer
port).

‚‚ CD-ROM drive connector:

Connect this connector to the back of CD-ROM drive (26 pin)

Figure 3

POWER SOURCE

PC Card (PCMCIA) interface

The portable CD-ROM drive can be powered either by an AC adapter or
directly from the computer via the PCMCIA socket.

Parallel Port interface

The portable CD-ROM drive can be powered by an AC adapter only.
The POWER LED indicates the power status. It always light up when the

power supply is in the normal condition.

SELECTING THE POWER SOURCE

The POWER SOURCE SWITCH (as shown in 3 of Figure 2) is used for
selecting the power source.

When the POWER SOURCE SWITCH is set to “PC” as Figure A shows,
PCMCIA power direct is selected, the CD-ROM drive will obtain power
from the PCMCIA socket of your computer. If your computer can not

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supply enough power to operate the CD-ROM drive, you must use the
external power as described below.

When the POWER SOURCE SWITCH is set to “DC” as Figure B shows
external power is selected, and an AC adapter is required.

POWER DIRECT FROM PCMCIA SOCKET

1. Set the power source switch in “PC” position.

2. Plug the PCMCIA card and go.

CAUTION

To select direct power from PCMCIA socket of the computer while using
the PCMCIA CD-ROM, your computer must have enough energy to power
the PCMCIA CD-ROM. If not, you may have an error message such as:
read error, CD disk requires cleaning or CD drive is not ready In this case,
the correct AC adapter is required to power the drive. If your PCMCIA CD­ROM drive does not include an AC adapter, contact your dealer for the
correct AC adapter.

CONNECTING THE AC ADAPTER

1. Set the power source switch in “DC” position.

2. Connect the AC adapter plug to the DC IN jack at the rear panel of the
CD-ROM drive.

3. Attach the AC adapter to the AC power outlet.

4. Insert the PCMCIA card and the unit now ready.

CAUTION

Use only the AC adapter provided with this unit. Using the incorrect
AC adapter may cause permanent and unpredictable damage to the
Portable CD-ROM.

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INSTALLATION

The installation procedures have two sections for each type of interface.

1. PC Card (PCMCIA) interface

2. Parallel Port interface

The procedure includes hardware and software installation. Just follow
along the interface of your choice.

INSTALLATION FOR PCMCIA INTERFACE
HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Power off your system before connecting the Portable CD-ROM to your
computer.

1. Connect the PCMCIA interface card to the CD-ROM drive. Press

firmly until the connector is seated, and tighten the two screws on the
cable connector.

2. Place the drive in a horizontal position. The drive is designed to operate

only in a horizontal position. Operating the drive in any abnormal
position is not recommended.

3. Make sure that the cable of the PCMCIA interface card is firmly

connected to the interface connector at the back panel of the CD-ROM
drive.

4. Locate the PCMCIA slot of your computer or

consult your computer user’s manual for its
location.

5. Align the PCMCIA interface card with the

arrow sign pointing toward the computer’s
slot. (Please note that the card is keyed to
guide for proper insertion.)

6. Slowly insert the PCMCIA interface card into

the slot and press firmly until the connector is
seated.

7. Turn the system ON to install the Portable CD-ROM device driver.

Please follow the Software Installation procedures.

CAUTION

You should connect the PCMCIA interface card to the CD-ROM drive first
before inserting the PCMCIA interface card into your computer. DO NOT
connect/disconnect the PCMCIA interface card to/from the CD-ROM drive
when the system is in the power-on state.

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SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

SOFTWARE INSTALLATION FOR WINDOWS 95/98

If you are inserting the PCMCIA card into your computer for the very first
time, depend on version of Windows 95/98. We list all the screen display
for your reference.

Windows 98

Add New Hardware Wizard will be displayed

Click “Next” twice to show the screen below. Windows will search for a
driver, make sure the ‘Floppy disk drive’ is checked and the ‘Specify a
location’ show A:\win95 also checked.

Click ‘Next’ and then ‘Finish’ to complete installation.

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Windows 95 (B)

If the “Update Device Driver Wizard” dialog box appears as below, it
means your Windows 95 is version 4.00.950B, i.e. OSR 2.

In this case, perform the following steps for installing the Portable CD­ROM under Windows 95. Otherwise, ignore and skip this section and read
the next section for installing the PCMCIA CD-ROM for Windows 95.
(Older version)

1. Insert the Portable CD-ROM device driver disk into your floppy drive.

2. Click the Next button.

3. Click the Finish button. All the remaining installations will then proceed

automatically.

Please note that it is not necessary to connect the PCMCIA card every time
you reboot your computer; connect it only when you need to use it.

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Windows 95 (Older Versions)

The following dialog will appear. If you are using the Portable CD-ROM
under Windows 95 for the very first time and your Windows 95 is version

4.00.950 or 4.00.950a,

(If the dialog box does not appear and the CD-ROM folder can not be
found in ‘My Computer’, please refer to the section titled “Enabling 32-bit
Card Support”.)

Select “Driver from disk provided by hardware manufacturer” and click the
OK button. Windows 95 will then prompt you to insert the manufacture’s
installation disk. Insert the Portable CD-ROM device driver disk into your
floppy drive. Specify the directory as A:\ (or A:\ win95) and select OK. All
the remaining installations will then proceed automatically.

Please note that it is not necessary to connect the PCMCIA card every time
you reboot your computer; connect it only when you need to use it.

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Enabling 32-bit Card Support

Your system should be ready for PCMCIA socket support prior to operating
the Portable CD-ROM. To check whether your computer has the PCMCIA
Socket supported, first, double-click on the “System” icon from the
“Control Panel” folder (you can select the “Control Panel” under “Settings”
from the “Start” menu to open the “Control Panel” folder).

Click on the Device Manager Tab. If “PCMCIA Socket” is found with a
cross (x) sign next to the PCMCIA Controller as the above figure shows, it
means the PCMCIA device driver is not using 32-bit Card Support.

Double-click on the PCMCIA Controller, and a dialog box will be
displayed as below. Place a check mark next to the current configuration of
the Device usage box, then select OK.

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After the PCMCIA 32-bit Card Support is installed, Windows will ask you
to reboot your computer. You should now refer to the previous section for
installing the PCMCIA CD-ROM device driver.

If the PCMCIA Socket is not found, then you must add a PCMCIA socket
to your system. Please click on the “Adding New Hardware” icon in the
Control Panel folder and select “PCMCIA socket”. Select the appropriate
type of PCMCIA Controller that matches yours and follow the on-screen
instructions.

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SOFTWARE INSTALLATION FOR WINDOWS NT

Before You Begin

♦ Be sure the Windows NT you are to install is version 3.51 or higher.
♦ Since Windows NT does not support the “Hot Insert/Remove” feature,

the Portable CD-ROM should be connected with your computer prior
to starting Windows NT. Likewise, do not remove the Portable CD­ROM before you shut down Windows NT.

♦ In Windows NT, the I/O and IRQ settings of Portable CD-ROM can

not be changed. Therefore, if the settings conflict with other devices
you are using, change the I/O or IRQ of other device to avoid
conflicts.

Installing the PCMCIA CD-ROM under Windows NT

In Windows NT 4.0, you may select “Control Panel” under “Settings” from
the “Start” menu to open the “Control Panel” folder. double click the
“SCSI Adapter” icon)

Click “Drivers” tab, and a figure illustrated as below will be displayed.

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Click “Add” button, and click “Have Disk...” button. Windows NT will
then prompt you to insert the manufacturer installation disk. Insert the
device driver disk into your floppy drive. Specify the directory as
A:\WINNT (or B:\WINNT whichever contains the diskette) and select OK.
When the following dialog box appears, select the PCMCIA CD-ROM/CD­R/CD-RW/DVD-ROM and click the OK button.

Follow the on-screen instruction to continue. After finishing, Windows NT
will prompt you to restart your computer to activate the new device driver
for Windows NT.

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INSTALLATION FOR PARALLEL PORT INTERFACE

HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Before you begin, make sure you turn OFF all power to your system before
connecting the Portable CD-ROM to your computer.

1. Set the POWER SOURCE SWITCH to DC.

2. Connect the DC Output from the adapter to DC-IN.

3. Connect one end of the Parallel cable to Portable CD-ROM (26 pin
small connector), and connect the other end to computer parallel port.
(standard 25 connector)

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4. Plug-in the AC adapter to a working AC receptacle. Turn on the
Portable CD-ROM power before your turn on PC power.

NOTE:

Always, turn the Portable CD-ROM power on first.

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SOFTWARE INSTALLATION FOR WINDOWS 95/98

Check all the connection as stated in the “Hardware Installation” section.
From the Desktop Click ‘My Computer’ icon, ‘Control Panel’ and then
‘Add New Hardware’

1. Click "Next>" to begin.

2. When prompted whether to search for your new hardware, Select "No"

and click "Next>".

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3. Open "SCSI controllers". Click "Have Disk...".

4. Insert Installation Diskette into the drive selected,

then click "OK". If you're installing from a directory
containing downloaded installation files, specify the full
path of the directory and click "OK".

5. Select "PHT. Parallel-Port PHT-Series Win95 Driver",

and click "Next>".

6. Click "Finish" to complete installation.

7. Remove Installation diskette.

8. Restart system, when prompted.

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INSTALLING THE PCMCIA CD-ROM FOR WINDOWS NT

In Windows NT 4.0, you may select “Control Panel” under “Settings” from
the “Start” menu to open the “Control Panel” folder. double click the
“SCSI Adapter” icon)

Click “Drivers” tab, and a figure illustrated as below will be displayed.

Click “Add” button, and click “Have Disk...” button. Windows NT will
then prompt you to insert the manufacturer installation disk. Insert the
device driver disk into your floppy drive. Specify the directory as
A:\WINNT (or B:\WINNT whichever contains the diskette) and select OK.

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Click OK to select the driver.
Follow the on-screen instruction to continue. After finishing, Windows NT

will prompt you to restart your computer to activate the new device driver
for Windows NT.

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USING THE PCMCIA CD-ROM

BASIC OPERATING PROCEDURE

1. Make sure there is power to your drive.

2. Push gently but firmly, the eject button on the front panel to open the

tray. The tray will come out a short distance of about 2.5 cm.

3. Hold down the drive and gently pull the tray out until a disc can be

loaded.

4. Place the disc into the tray with the label side up. Align the hole in the

center of the disc snapped onto the raised circle in the center of the
tray. Make sure the disc is firmly seated horizontally.

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5. Hold down the drive and gently push the panel to close the tray.

6. Wait for a few seconds before the disc is ready to be accessed.

7. To remove a disc from the tray, press down on the holder’s center

while lifting out the disc by its edge.

Note: Keep the CD-ROM drive away from the edges of desk or table to
avoid accidentally dropping the drive.

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Playing an Audio CD by CD player Utility in Windows 95

1. Connect the 3.5mm stereo audio cable from the Line-Out Jack of your

CD-ROM to your notebook’s Line-In Jack or to an self-amplified
speaker.

2. Make sure the CD Player utility has been installed in your Windows

95. If not, please go to My Computer\Control Panel\Add/Remove
programs and click the Windows Setup\Multimedia to add the CD
Player utility.

3. Place an Audio CD in your CD-ROM.

4. The CD Player will then automatically play the audio CD.

Hot-Insert/Remove feature of the PCMCIA CD-ROM

The PCMCIA interface, ideally you can hot-insert/remove the PCMCIA
interface card, which means to insert, remove or exchange the card from
your system at any time without rebooting or turning off your system.
However, the PCMCIA CD-ROM, being a storage device itself, can not be
hot-removed when it is accessing the data. To avoid system failure, read the
following instructions carefully before using the hot-removing feature.

For Windows 95, hot-swapping is allowable with more limits. To avoid
system failure, always follow the steps below to hot-remove the PCMCIA
CD-ROM in Windows 95,

1. Click the PC card indicator on the task bar at the bottom right of the

screen.

2. Click the command to stop the card you want to remove.

3. When the screen prompts, read the instruction carefully. If the system

prompts you not to remove the card, DO NOT remove the card. You

should exit the present application and return to step 1.
Be sure you are removing the card by the procedures described above,
otherwise, the following dialog will be displayed:

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To display the PC card indicator on the task bar, perform the following
steps,

1. Double-click the PC Card (PCMCIA) icon on the Control Panel.

2. Make sure the box showing the control on the task bar is checked. If the

PC Card (PCMCIA) wizard appears when you click the button in step

1, follow the instructions. Restart your computer, then double-click the

PC Card (PCMCIA) icon in the Control Panel, and check the box to

view the status indicator on the task bar.

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APPENDIX A

IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG

Following are the solutions for some of the problems you may encounter
while using the Portable CD-ROM.

NOT ABLE TO ACCESS A DISC IN THE DRIVE

Solutions:

v Make sure there’s power to your drive. If you are using power direct

from the PCMCIA socket, be sure that your system has enough power.
Otherwise, you will need an AC adapter to power the drive.

v Make sure the tray has been closed properly. Press gently and firmly

until it clicks into place.

v Eject the tray and remove the disc, then make sure the tray is clean.

Any dirt may interfere with the laser beam.

v Examine the disc to see whether it is dirty. If necessary, wipe it with a

clean tissue.

v Replace the disc in the tray. Make sure the disc is lying flat and label

side up. Push to close the tray completely.

THE TRAY DOES NOT SLIDE OUT

Solutions:

v Check the power LED to make sure the drive is powered on.
v There is an emergency hole on the front panel next to the eject button.

Insert a pin-shaped item such as a paper clip to manually eject the tray
Make sure there is no power to the drive.

SOME CD RUN CORRECTLY BUT OTHERS DO NOT

Solutions:

v Check the type of the CD you are using. The drive supports ISO 9660,

Audio CD, Video CD.

v The color of the materials used to make the CD can also affect its

reliability. Silver colored CDs are the most reliable, followed by gold­colored CDs. Green-colored CDs are the least reliable.

v If the CD-ROM drive power selector switch is set to PC, shutdown the

computer. Try to set the switch to DC and connect the AC adapter.

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APPENDIX B

SOFTWARE INSTALLATION FOR DOS

PCMCIA Interface

Automatic Installation

The INSTALL program helps you install the device driver into your
computer easily. Please follow the instructions below to proceed with
automatic installation.

1. Insert the device driver diskette into a floppy disk drive on your

computer.

2. Change the working directory to the floppy drive containing the device

driver diskette by typing “A:” or “B:” then press ENTER.

3. At the DOS prompt (A:\> or B:\>), type “INSTALL” followed by the

ENTER key.

4. Press ENTER or click on the OK button to continue. When the opening

screen appears, a dialog box will be displayed for you to specify the

necessary parameters:

• Directory to install the device driver.

• The DOS directory to specify the location of the MSCDEX driver.

• The I/O port address

• The IRQ number.

Enter the directory you select to install the driver and press the TAB

key to forward to the next field to indicate the DOS Directory. Press the

TAB key again to set the I/O port and then the IRQ. The default setting

of the I/O ports are (170-177, 376-377), and the default IRQ is 15.

5. After completing the selection, click on the Install button to continue.

6. The rest of the installation should proceed automatically, and the

CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files on your computer will be

updated.

7. Reboot your computer and the CD-ROM drive will be defined as the

next available drive letter. For example, if the last hard drive of the

computer is drive C, the CD-ROM drive will be assigned to be drive D:

automatically.

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Manual Installation

You may also manually install the Portable CD-ROM device driver if the
default setting conflicts with your system. Please follow procedures below
to complete this manual installation.

1. Copy the files EXPCDI.EXE from the Portable CD-ROM device driver

disk to your hard disk.

2. Copy or locate the MSCDEX.EXE in your hard disk. Usually reside at

C:\DOS or C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND

3. Add “LASTDRIVE=Z” to the TOP of your CONFIG.SYS file. If you

already have a LASTDRIVE line with a letter other than Z, change it to

Z.

4. Add the following lines to the BOTTOM of your CONFIG.SYS file:

DEVICE=drive:\path\EXPCDI.EXE /P:1 /I:15 /D:MSCD001

where drive:\path specifies the directory containing the file
EXPCDI.EXE.

Note: If your CONFIG.SYS file is already loaded with PCMCIA software,
such as Cardsoft of SystemSoft or Cardtalk of Databook, it is necessary to
add the above line AFTER all the PCMCIA statements.. Otherwise, the
PCMCIA interface card will not be initialized properly. To make sure if
any PCMCIA software has been loaded in your system and to know more
about PCMCIA, please refer to the section titled “PCMCIA Software
Information”.

The EXPCDI.EXE is device driver for the PORTABLE CD-ROM. The
parameters of EXPCDI.EXE are described as below:

/P Set the I/O ports, and the valid numbers are 1, 2, and 3. Each

number represents the I/O port pairs of (170-177, 376-377), (1E8­1EF, 3EE-3EF), and (168-16F, 36E-36F) respectively. The default
setting is /P:1.

/I Set the IRQ number. The valid IRQs are 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12

and 15, and the default setting is /I:15.

/D is used to set the device name. It can be any name up to 8

characters. This name must be the same as the name you will
specify in the MSCDEX.EXE option /D: name in the next step.

5. Add the following line at the TOP of your AUTOEXEC.BAT:

drive:\path\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD001 /M:4

where drive:\path specifies the DOS directory or the directory
containing the file MSCDEX.EXE.

Note: If your AUTOEXEC.BAT file loads a menu program such as

DOSSHELL or Windows, you have to add the above line to
start your menu program. Otherwise, MSCDEX will not have a
chance to load before your menu program begins.

- 29 -

The example above shows the default setting. The /D: switch
indicates the device name. It MUST be the same name as you
specified by the /D: switch of EXPCDI.EXE in your CONFIG.SYS
file. The /M: switch indicates how much memory to allocate for
caching information on the CD-ROM. The default /M:4 caches 8KB.
For more information about the switches of MSCDEX, please type
“help MSCDEX” at the DOS prompt.

5. Now, reboot your computer to activate the CD-ROM drive.

PARALLEL PORT Interface

Make sure that your computer has an IBM-compatible parallel
(printer) port and DOS 3.1 or above.

1. Follow the instruction on the HARDWARE INSTALLATION section.

2. Place your TransCD installation diskette into the floppy drive. (Open a

“DOS prompt” if you are in the Windows environment.)
If the floppy drive is the A drive, enter

a:\tcd

If it is the B drive, enter

b:\tcd

3. Perform option 1, "Install", from the TransCD Utility Main Menu.

******** TransCD Utility Main Menu ********

1. Install TransCD Software

2. Un-install TransCD Software

3. Audio CD Utility

4. Print TCD.EXE version number

5. Re-boot system

6. List all TransCD devices

7. List all FIT parallel devices

8. Reset CD-ROM drive

0. Exit

Enter menu selection >> 1

4. Follow the instructions on the screen. For the quickest install, press

ENTER to use drive C, press Y and ENTER to use default, and then
remove the installation diskette and press Y and ENTER to re-boot the
PC.

Most CD-ROM programs require a minimum of a 286 processor with
MS-DOS 3.1 or MS-WINDOW 3.1, 640K RAM, and an EGA/VGA

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video card. Refer to the side of the CD-ROM package for program
requirements, and enjoy!

Access TransCD without Software Installation

(Dynamic loading of the TransCD driver)

This method of Dynamically Loading the TransCD driver offers a
temporary install of the TransCD driver. It will not modify CONFIG.SYS
and AUTOEXEC.BAT files. The driver is loaded dynamically. When the
system is shut off, the driver is gone.

1. Place your TransCD installation diskette into the floppy drive.

2. Select the floppy drive by typing floppy drive letter. For example:

A:

3. At the floppy drive prompt, type TCDGO. This will then install

the TransCD driver.

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