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 If you are having trouble getting SereneScreen Marine Aquarium to run on your computer, this Help page might have the answer you need. Please browse the list of questions below and see if one describes your problem. Please direct all Tech Support questions to SereneScreen Technical Support. Help Topics
System Requirements
Problem: The Aquarium doesn't run at all or I get a black screen with bubble sounds. Cause 1: Your computer may not meet the minimum system requirements to run the Aquarium. SereneScreen Marine Aquarium requires: > Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP, or Vista (will NOT work on Windows 95 or NT) > DirectX 7.1 or later > A 3D accelerated graphics card such as nVidia GeForce, ATI All-In-Wonder, etc. with the correct drivers installed. Cause 2: Your video card does not have enough video memory to run the Aquarium at the specified resolution.
Solution 2: You may be able to get the Aquarium to run with an Intel 845G or Intel 810 graphics chipset by running the Aquarium and pressing the SPACE bar to bring up Settings. Click the Settings tab in the upper left corner of the control panel that appears and choose a lower Resolution and also select 16-bit graphics. Cause 3: The incorrect drivers are installed for your video card. This can happen when Windows Update recommends the wrong driver update.
Solution 3: Reference the Getting the right Drivers section of this Help page.
Texture Compression
Problem: The Aquarium is all white or some graphics are corrupted.
Cause: Your video card is having trouble reading the compressed textures used by the Aquarium.
Solution: Start the Aquarium and press the Ctrl and T keys simultaneously to disable Texture Compression.
Registry/Keycode
Problem: The Aquarium will not remember my keycode or fish settings.
Cause: The Registry settings for your Aquarium have been corrupted.
Solution: Run the Registry Cleaner script to remove all trace of SereneScreen Marine Aquarium (.99, 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, MAT, MD, etc.).
Right-click to download and run the SereneScreen Registry Cleaner. When prompted to add the contents of this script to your Windows Registry, answer Yes. Run the Aquarium again and it will ask you for your Keycode or to insert the original Aquarium CD (if you purchased the store version). If you continue to have problems, please try the other solutions given here. Starfish/Registry
Problem: My starfish has disappeared.
Solution: Run the Starfish Restore script to restore the starfish.
Right-click to download and run the Starfish Restore Script. When prompted to add the contents of this script to your Windows Registry, answer Yes. Desktop Icons/Settings
Problem: I uninstalled the Aquarium and now my Windows desktop icons are messed up.
Cause The unstaller for SereneScreen Aquarium 1.1 accidentially turns off the 'Display icons using all colors' and 'Font Smoothing' features.
Solution: Download and run either the Windows 95/98/ME/2000 or Windows XP versions of the Desktop Settings Restore script. When prompted to add the contents of this script to your Windows Registry, answer Yes. Autocad or SCR file format
Problem: Double-clicking on the Aquarium and other screen savers does nothing or launches Autocad.
Cause The .SCR file type is defined by Microsoft as a Screen Saver file. Sometimes, this file type can become confused. Also, if you have ever installed Autocad, it registers the .SCR file type for itself.
Solution 1: If you are running Autocad and need to use .SCR files in Autocad, change the extension on the Aquarium from .scr to .exe. Solution 2: Download and run the Screen Saver (SCR) Restore Script. When prompted to add the contents of this script to your Windows Registry, answer Yes. Overheating/Freezing
Problem: The Aquarium runs for a few minutes and then the whole computer freezes up.
Cause: The Aquarium is using 100% of your processor (CPU) for extended periods of time, causing it to overheat and your computer to freeze. The cause of this is typically inadequate cooling/ventilation.
Solution: Set the Aquarium to only use as much CPU % as is necessary to run the Aquarium.
1. Run the Aquarium. 2. Press the S key to display a Status message in the upper left corner. 3. Look at this frame rate (FPS) display and see what the number typically displays. You will want to set your frame rate limit to a few points lower than the frame rate (FPS) that your computer is currently displaying. If the displayed frame rate is consistantly in the 60's, then you will want to set your frame rate limit to 58. 4. Press the SPACE bar to bring up Settings. 5. Choose the Settings tab in the upper left corner. 6. Turn on Limit frame rate (FPS). 7. Set the Limit frame rate (FPS) amount to the number you selected earlier. Slow Motion or No 3D Acceleration
Problem: The Aquarium runs very slowly, almost in slow-motion.
Cause 1: Another DirectX application is running. The most common example is Microsoft NetMeeting. Other culprits include front-ends for Folding@Home.
Solution 1: Close the other DirectX application. Cause 2: The incorrect drivers are installed for your video card. This often happens when Windows Update replaces a perfectly good driver with a 'newer' one.
Solution 2: Reference the Getting the right Drivers section of this Help page.
Norton Antivirus Autoupdate
Problem: The Aquarium pauses every few seconds.
Cause 1: Norton Antivirus has an AutoUpdate feature which checks to see if any new viruses have been reported and will update NAV correspondingly. This AutoUpdate feature should check every few minutes but instead ties up the computer every few seconds and negatively impacts screen savers.
Solution 1: Disable Norton Antivirus AutoUpdate and contact Symantec. Cause 2: Your computer is infected with Spyware or Viruses
Solution 2: Scan and remove any Spyware or Viruses
All of the Registry scripts mentioned above restore parts of the Windows Registry back to default/best settings. It is advised that you make a backup copy of your Registry before running any of these scripts. Installing registry scripts on Internet Explorer: Click the link of the script you want to run below, choose 'Open this file...' and click 'Yes' after each prompt. Run the Aquarium again and it may ask you for your registration key. If you continue to have problems, please try the other solutions given here. Installing registry scripts on Netscape/Opera: Click the link above and save the file to a convenient location on your hard drive. Now go to that location and double-click the file. Click 'Yes' after each prompt. Run the Aquarium again and it may ask you for your registration key. If you continue to have problems, please try the other solutions given here.  SereneScreen Help: DirectX + Drivers HelpBefore you E-mail Technical Support please try downloading the best driver for your video card. This very often is not the one listed at the manufacturer's website. Installing the right driver typically solves 95% of all problems people have running the Aquarium. Do NOT install DirectX 9 if you aren't 100% sure that a DirectX 9-compatible driver exists for your video card. Please find your driver below before installing DirectX 9. If you have installed DirectX 9 and need to go back to an earlier version, please download DirectX Buster and then reinstall DirectX from your Windows CD by going to Add/Remove Programs and picking "Windows Setup". We cannot be held responsible for any problems that occur due to the procedure above. Microsoft's recommended procedure for going back to an earlier version of DirectX is a complete reinstall of the operating system. SereneScreen Help: DriversChanging your computer's configuration always carries an inherent risk. While we try to recommend the most stable drivers, we cannot be held responsible for any damage to your system these downloads cause. For best results, please reinstall Microsoft DirectX 9.0c after you download and install your proper video driver below!! This does not apply to Windows XP. TnT Riva, TnT Riva 2, or GeForce 256 cards including Diamond Viper 550 and 770: GeForce 2 (MX, GTS, Ultra, etc.), GeForce 3 or GeForce 4: 3DfX Voodoo 3 (3000), 4 (4000), 5 (5000): Matrox Millennium Series: ATI Rage Pro (All-In-Wonder Pro, XPert 98, XPert@Work, XPert@Play, or XPert XL): ATI Rage 128 and 128 Pro (Rage Fury, Rage Magnum, XPert 2000, XPert 128, XPert 99, All-In-Wonder 128): ATI Radeon: Trident CyberBlade XP: ViRGE, Savage, ProSavage, Trio (S3 Graphics): Stereo 3D DriversThese drivers are for use with Stereo 3D Shutter Glasses only. You must match driver versions with the video driver and the stereo wrapper. Install the proper video driver first, then install the matching Stereo driver. Please refer to the adjoining PDF guide for driver adjustments. GeForce 7 series GPUs and SLI configurations: Pre-SLI GeForce graphic cards: Windows 95/98/ME/2000 users, please reinstall Microsoft DirectX 9.0c after you download and install your proper video driver above!! |
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