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Phonomena
System Requirements| Minimum | Recommended | |
| Operating System: | Windows 98 SE | Windows 2000, XP |
| Processor Type: | Pentium II | Pentium III or greater |
| Processor Speed: | 500 MHz | 850 MHz or faster |
| Memory: | 64Mb RAM | 128Mb or greater |
| Screen Resolution: | 800 x 600 SVGA | |
| Video Graphics: | 16Mb On-board | 32Mb Graphics card |
| Audio: | 16-bit On-board Sound* | Soundcard* |
| CD/DVD ROM Drive: | 16 x CD-ROM | |
| Space on Hard Disk: | 150Mb | |
| Other: | Loudspeakers | Headphones |
*Note: This product will not work without sound.
Laptop Installations
Compromises made in laptop computer designs and the use of specialist or non-standard components can result in graphics and sound limitations that may affect the running of modern computer games. If you experience graphics problems whilst playing Phonomena on a laptop, we strongly advise you first un-check the ‘Run Full Screen’ checkbox under Administrator Login, and ensure all other applications are closed whilst running Phonomena.
Phonomena uses high-quality graphics, and uses sophisticated technology to control the operation of the game to keep learning at the ‘edge of competence’. Consequently, and as recommended for most modern computer games, we strongly advise that you close all other applications before installing or playing Phonomena, in order to ensure best performance.
What can I do if the game doesn’t run at all or runs improperly?
Ensure that the Phonomena CD is in the CD ROM drive.
How do I adapt the sounds to the User’s needs?
See ‘Administrator Instructions’ (Phonomena Help Section V). Go to the Administrator Login and type ‘admin’ (or your own password if you have changed it). In the ‘Change User Settings’ section, select the User profile you wish to edit, select the SoundSet you want the student to practice on from the drop-down menu and make sure the 'Auto-sequence Soundsets' check-box is un-checked (Default - checked).
Phonomena does not fill the entire screen, why might this be?
First ensure 'Run Fullscreen' is checked (default setting) in 'Administrator'/'Change Settings'. If so, but Phonomena does not run full screen yet it is not running in a 'Window', then the most likely cause is the configuration of your computer's Display Properties. To access and change the configuration:
Phonomena seems to be working, but there are problems with the sound, graphics and/or colours, why might this be?
The likely causes are sound and graphics memory resources, hardware and 'drivers'
What do I do when a User finds the Sound Game too hard or too easy?
If the game is too hard, try using the /i/-/e/ SoundSet and work through several trials with the User.
It often helps to change the time between the sounds produced by the three characters. Enter the Administrator Login section, select the User's profile and change the ‘Pause Length/s’ (see Phonomena Help Section V).
How many students can I train with this game?
Phonomena allows a maximum of 10 Users at one time. However, Users can be deleted and new ones added.
How do I add a User?
Start Phonomena, click Play Game, enter a new name in the box.
How do I remove a User?
Enter the Administrator Login. Select the name in the ‘Username’ box and then press the ‘Delete a User’ button.
How can I change the Administrator password?
All Phonomena CDs have been set up with the default password ‘admin’. Click the ‘Change Admin Password…’ to create your own password. If you forget your password, Uninstall and re-install Phonomena (Phonomena Help Section II) to reset the password to the default ‘admin’.
How do I save my User scores?
You don’t need to. It is done automatically. Each User’s progress can be viewed using the ‘Analyser’ program. Detailed, trial-by-trial progress is available in the C:/Program Files/Mindweavers/Phonomena/output folder (Phonomena Help Section V, ‘Administrator Instructions’).
I receive a File Error message ‘Unable to write [User Data or Player Statistics of Last Test Data]… Please check you have permission to write to the disk’
These error messages are generated when a User plays Phonomena but Phonomena is unable to write Data Files to the ‘output’ folder (located in the MindWeavers\Phonomena program group folder). Possible causes are restrictions preventing access to the ‘output’ folder drive location (such as Windows User access permissions), ‘output’ folder capacity limitations reached or anything else that prevents a new file being written to the ‘output’ folder.
Analyser
The most likely cause of Analyser producing error messages is if the Sound Game Data Files cannot be located.
There are two likely causes of Analyser failing to find Data Files:
If Sound Game Data Files have been opened or changed using a program other than Analyser (the Data Files are .csv files and can be opened using Microsoft Excel and other programs), Analyser will not subsequently be able to process these files and may generate errors.
We recommend that you view Sound Game Data Files using Analyser. To manipulate data with Excel or other .csv compatible programs, use Analyser ‘export all data’ or navigate to the \Mindweavers\Phonomena\outputs folder and create file copies of the Data Files.
Most causes of errors can be resolved simply by closing and restarting Analyser.
In the event that an error occurs, an errors.log file will be created in the \Mindweavers\Phonomena directory. In the event that the problem is not resolved by re-starting Analyser, this file can be mailed to support@mindweavers.co.uk.
How do I pause or exit the game?
Just click the ‘Pause/Quit’ button.
How do I control volume?
Volume is controlled by Windows or by your sound card’s software. On many laptop computers there is also a thumbwheel control on the front or the side of the computer. If you wish to adjust the volume whilst playing Phonomena, either use the thumbwheel, if fitted, or quit to the Phonomena screen and then access your Windows or sound card controls (this may appear as an icon in your system tray).
My Windows User account will not let me run Phonomena. Why is this?
Your User account for Windows was created with restricted access to system resources. This may prevent Phonomena from operating.
For example, when creating Users, Windows® 2000 and Windows® XP Professional defaults to Restricted User for Group Membership. If you are logged on to a network as a "Domain User", you may be assigned to the Users Group. If so, you automatically have restricted User permissions on your local computer. Only Domain Users with Administrator rights have full access to the local computer by default, although other users can be manually given rights to that computer.
To resolve problems related to User permissions, you must ensure that your Windows User account has the permissions required for read and write access to the drive location at which Phonomena has been installed.
These steps are provided for general guidance only:
Windows 2000: From the taskbar, click Start, and then choose Settings and Control Panel.
Windows XP: From the taskbar, click Start, and then Control Panel. (If you are running Windows XP in classic view, follow the steps for Windows 2000 above.)
In Control Panel, double-click Users and Passwords (In Windows XP this is entitled User Accounts.)
Contact:
support@mindweavers.co.uk
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