VOGONS


First post, by swaaye

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Howto Guide
Star Trek TNG Interactive Technical Manual or Captain's Chair on your modern PC

These apps are definitely my favorite Trek reference works, with the Quicktime VR tech they use that allows you to explore everything you could possible want to. The TNG Tech Manual is a neat interactive version of the book with the same name.

The biggest problem with them, with regards to compatibility, is that they use version 2 of Quicktime. This is just archaic today and doesn't work in modern OSs. Modern day Quicktime is not backwards compatible to that level. TNG Tech Manual even requires the 16-bit version of Quicktime 2, because it was designed for Windows 3.1. And, the version of Quicktime 2.0 included with it doesn't work with Win9x at all so you must get a newer 16-bit version (2.1.2). We aren't going to mess with Windows 3.x.

Note that Captain's Chair comes with a Quicktime version that works with Windows 98. However, this 32-bit version can not co-exist with the 16-bit version needed for TNG Tech Manual. It's one or the other, so you will need to set the programs up in their own separate Virtual PCs as below.

  • What You Need
  • Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 (even works with Vista 64-bit)
  • Windows 98 or 98SE full install CD. Windows 95 should work too but it might be more trouble. You need to find one of these on your own.
  • Quicktime 2.1.2 16-bit download / mirror (only for TNG Tech Manual - don't even let the Tech Man install its Quicktime version during setup)
  • Hide87 download / mirror (get winfloat.exe) (hides x87 FPU from the Windows within VirtualPC. It's a dos app. load it in autoexec.bat (just Run "sysedit" on the virtual windows). Makes apps much more stable. This is definitely needed if you have an AMD CPU.)
  • Optional (if you want to run the program from a CD image):
  • Daemon Tools 3.47 download / mirror This lets you mount a CD image as if it were a real CD.
  • ImgBurn (freeware CD to ISO creator, burner, etc.) Create CD image ISOs with this.

If you know how to install Windows 98 on a real PC, you are all set. Virtual PC acts just like a real PC. I'd just let the 98 CD boot and run install right from that. You can use your real CDROM drive or mount a CD ISO image. You can also boot floppies or floppy images. Everything is installed into a virtual hard drive file on your real computer.

If you can't get the Windows CD to boot, it's possible that your CD isn't bootable. Here is a download containing a floppy disk image to boot from instead. download / mirror

Virtual PC "virtualizes" most hardware instead of full emulation, so performance is excellent. While Windows 98 will detect and install drivers for all of the virtual hardware inside Virtual PC, you should also install the "Virtual PC additions". This is available from a Virtual PC menu and installs support for some special features. One particularly useful feature is "shared folders", which lets you share a folder on your machine for the virtual Windows 98 PC to access.

Daemon Tools is only needed if you'd like to make these Virtual PCs fully self-contained. You can make an image of the TNG Tech Man or Captain's Chair, copy it to the Virtual PC hard disk with a shared folder, and let Daemon Tools inside your Virtual Windows 98 mount that.

BTW, these old programs are designed for 640x480. If you go higher, they will be letterboxed. It is possible to make Virtual PC go to a full-screen scretched image.

Last edited by swaaye on 2009-03-31, 22:15. Edited 24 times in total.

Reply 2 of 22, by swaaye

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DosFreak wrote:

Run them in a MAC emulator if you want an easier install.
or if you want to use a PC emulator run the games in Qemu so that they can be played in other OS's.

Well I have doubts about a Mac emulation approach being easier simply because Virtual PC is an absolute joy to work with for the most part. The only quirk I've found is the one that makes you need the "hide87" program if you have an AMD CPU. I'm only sure that TNG needs this. Didn't try Captain's Chair on a AMD CPU. For some reason, TNG doesn't like AMD's instruction set and the app will repeatedly crash with a Win87em.dll error.

Basilisk II JIT for Mac emulation is pretty good, but isn't really close to being as user friendly.

Not sure about Qemu. Haven't tried it. I did try Bochs the other day (because open source is always on my mind) but it is horribly slow and not exactly simple to configure.

Virtual PC even has hardware virtualization support now (that Intel tech). It is extremely fast even without it.

Reply 3 of 22, by Eck

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I never needed QuickTime 16 bit to get the Interactive Training Guide to work. The 32 bit 2.1.2.59 ran it fine on 98SE for me, with the latest Shockwave Full and Flash installations. The older 2.1.2.59 and the latest for 9x, 6.5.2 can co-exist, unlike the 16 bit version which destroyed Windows the one time I tried installing and using it for something.

Strangely, my AthlonXP 3200+ didn't interfere either. I didn't know that tweaking program even existed.

What's weird is that those programs worked on XP until SP2. That's something I never solved, and like you used Virtual Machines (VMWare mostly) to run them.

I just installed 98SE to my hard drive again as I dual boot Linux and most of the Windows stuff I like is 98SE compatible. So, no more Captain's Chair or TNG-ITG problem!

But it would be nice (mentioned in another thread near the top) if someone who was good with the Application Compatibility Toolkit could figure out how to get these working again on XP. Darned SP2 broke it! It might just be one simple setting, but there are loads of settings in there and I didn't know where to begin when I tried. The normal compatibility adjustments didn't get it working.

My other Shockwave Director/QuickTime 2.1.2.59 stuff worked even on Vista! I only wiped Vista because my older computer just doesn't have the oomph and Vista would constantly use the cache, thrashing my hard drive. Didn't want to shorten the hard drive life with the constant writing. XP is fine, I just wanted to play with 98 for a while and I don't like having two Windows. Got better things to do than keep two Windows versions maintained. And virtualization makes me miss Direct 3D.

Reply 4 of 22, by slipkord

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Very nice post swaaye, I never managed to successfully install it on my 486 Win 3.11FW machine, I remember there was some kind of QuickTime error that kept coming up (yeah I fell for the "let the CD install its version of QuickTime 2). I also tried it on a P166 Win 98SE box I had (clean install w/o any QuickTime, and also with a QuickTime 4? already on it) - no success.

It was frustrating me to no end and it meant that to this day I still haven't seen any of the goodies inside the ITM.

Will have to check this out using your steps when I can get round to it. 😀

Reply 5 of 22, by papalou

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swaaye, firstly, much thanks. As a 60 yr old gamer, the sight and reflexes aren't what they once were (among other things). And as a complete newbie to things DOS, I was, with your direction, finally able to get STTNG: Final Unity up and running.

Now, attempting to run Captain's Chair, I've run into a stone wall. I got Virtural PC running (after a fashion). I have the vir hard disk installed to my 2nd hard drive, D. (There was some mention of installing it to the root drive--does it matter? [see below]).

My problem is, when I try to install Windows 98SE. I put the OS disk (full install) in my F drive, click Use physical drive F once Vir PC loads. It runs through the loading process, then ask for boot media. I 'enter' and wait. And wait. Nothing happens. There I stay. Could certainly use your input... 😢

Dell Dimension E310
WinXP Home SP2
1GB DDR2 RAM
80GB Hard Drive
Intel Express Chipset 3.6 GHz

Reply 7 of 22, by Marian

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DosFreak wrote:

Your 98SE CD is probably not bootable. You need to use a 98SE bootable floppy.

I installed Virtual PC last weekend, and followed the instructions in the link below. Find where it says, "if you can't boot Windows 98 from CD," and it will provide a workaround to this problem:

http://www.metzomagic.com/showArticle.php?fil … 07+FAQ#Download

Reply 8 of 22, by swaaye

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papalou wrote:

My problem is, when I try to install Windows 98SE. I put the OS disk (full install) in my F drive, click Use physical drive F once Vir PC loads. It runs through the loading process, then ask for boot media. I 'enter' and wait. And wait. Nothing happens. There I stay. Could certainly use your input... 😢

Yeah, as DosFreak said, your 98 CD sounds like it's not bootable. The link posted by Marian has a section on what to do when this is the case. You need to download a floppy image and load it into Virtual PC as they say.

Good luck and feel free to ask more questions if you get stuck. 😀

Reply 9 of 22, by papalou

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Ta-Da! Mission accomplished (with a lot of help from my friends)! Win98SE is lookin mighty pretty. (Much thanx, Marian -- just realized swaaye mentioned that very link in his instructions -- told ya the peepers ain't what they used to be). 😎

Now...

-don't quite follow how ImgBurn and Hide87 fit into the equation. [At this point, I'm only runnin Captain's Chair, no need to entertain the QT options]. I would appreciate a general how-to.. Can't wait to get this party started. 😀 Again, thank you all for your patience....

Reply 10 of 22, by swaaye

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imgburn lets you make a CD image. You can then use that instead of the CD itself. You can even copy the image onto the Virtual PC's C: and mount it with Daemon Tools inside the VPC. So, you can have a self-contained package of these programs.

Hide87 is there because it fixed continual crashes I was getting with VirtualPC+TNG Tech Man+AMD CPUs. It makes the system think there's no FPU, so it uses Windows x87 emulation I think, instead of the real FPU.

Reply 11 of 22, by papalou

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Engage!!! 😏

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic - A. C. Clarke

Reply 12 of 22, by neozeks

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Help! I did everything as listed above and the Tech Manual started working perfectly but then when I try to access a specific location (sickbay, bridge, captain's quarters) I get an error - NEW3FC3A caused a general protection fault in module WIN87EM.DLL. Any advice?
Thanks in advance!

EDIT: forgot to add mu specs...
AMD Sempron 2500+
ECS nForce3-A
ATI Radeon 9550 128 MB
512 MB DDR2 RAM
Windows XP Prof. SP2

Reply 13 of 22, by swaaye

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you need to use the hide87 TSR because you have a AMD CPU. For some reason the AMD FPU isn't quite compatible with this old software. The TSR hides the hardware FPU from the Windows within the Virtual PC and forces the programs to use FPU emulation. It doesn't really affect speed, but it sure does improve stability.

Download it from my link in the original post. Copy the TSR to the virtual win98 hard drive and set it up to run on boot with the autoexec.bat.

Reply 14 of 22, by neozeks

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Hey, thanks for the answer, but seeing how i am rather a newbie could you please explain me (in detail please 😀)
how exactly to set it up to run on boot with autoexec.bat?

Reply 15 of 22, by swaaye

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Look up "sysedit". That's the easiest way to put things into a Windows 9x's autoexec.bat. You just run it from the Windows "run" box in the start menu.

Autoexec.bat is just a batch file that lists what the system executes as it is booting. Each line is a command/environment variable/program that gets executed. You just need to put the Hide87 program into a folder and list it in autoexec.bat with path and all. Like "C:\hide87\hide87.com" for example.

Reply 16 of 22, by neozeks

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Yay, it works perfectly now! Many thanks!

Reply 17 of 22, by Test

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I got it running in Win98 SE and it is so much fun to walk around the Enterprise again! Especially the transit function, that really moves you through the corridors is so great.

I noticed also that i could play the QuickTime VR movies from the CD using the most recent QuickTime release (7.5.5) on Vista. So if you have trouble running Win 98, you can at least see walk around the various rooms. Look for the *__NAV.mov files on the CD and start them up with QuickTime 7.5.5.

Reply 18 of 22, by Test

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I forgot to mention that viewing the *__NAV.mov files in QuickTime 7.5.5 under XP or Vista lets you view the locations fullscreen instead of letterboxed and I must say that those mov-files look really cool in 7.5.5!

Reply 19 of 22, by papalou

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Guys I realize it's been some time since this was visited, but as you see from above I once had Captain's Chair up and running on my old comp. Yet for the life of me I can't seem to get it going on my present comp. I've installed Virtual PC 2007, Win98 and all that's good.

I followed the steps as far as I remember using this thread as a guide. The program installs but no graphics. I get this: "The control code for the main quicktimeVR could not be created - this window will be empty." (Incidentally, I used the QT exe from the CD: could this be the source of the problem?)

New Specs:
Dell Vostro220
Win Vista Home Basic sp1
Intell Core Duo 2.66GHz
GeForce 6800
2GB RAM

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic - A. C. Clarke