New user can not get demo to work.

[mackrackit9]

Hi,
I downloaded the demo version and after a restart the program gets to "Loadin Animated Character and Speach Recognition" and stops.

Tried downloading three times, uninstall three times and still the same thing.  My sound-card is built into the mother 'Gigabyte' board.

Thank you for any help.

[Art]

Mack,

First, Welcome to the forum!

What OS are you using...98, XP?

Does your box meet the system requirements
as far as memory, graphics, etc.?

Did you D/L the file using a D/L manager
like GetRight, LeechGet, etc. as sometimes
they can cause errors or not be accepted at
all?

How many resources are running when you start
the program? Try eliminating unnecessary ones.

Just a few thoughts... Let us know!

[mackrackit9]

Art,

I am runing 98SE.
Graphics - S3 Graphics ProSavageDDR
240mb ram
1400 mhz cpu

Tried a clean start once.

Did not use a D/L manager. Maybe that is the problem. Will give that a try.

[mackrackit9]

Also, when I test a voice during setup I loose my sound.

Did try GetRight, no change.

[HALImprover]

Are you using the 3D (Haptek) characters or the 2D (Microsoft Agent) characters? I've had difficulties using the Haptek player on Windows '98 machines. Try using the 2D characters.
 I think the sound problem is caused by choosing a different voice and replaying the message before the previous voice is finished.

[mackrackit9]

I have tried all of the characters.

I installed on a different older machine and got it to work.  Must be a sound card problem on my new (better?) machine.

Is there a way to disable the sound and just use text?

[FuzzieDice]

quote:Originally posted by mackrackit9

Art,

I am runing 98SE.
Graphics - S3 Graphics ProSavageDDR
240mb ram
1400 mhz cpu

Tried a clean start once.

Did not use a D/L manager. Maybe that is the problem. Will give that a try.

This may sound nutz but I'd try getting more RAM for this. Sound and speech programs do need quite a bit of power to operate reliably. FWIW, I have a RealTek AC '97 on the my A-Bit IS-10 Mobo and while it's not the best, it works for this. Though I been wanting to get a real sound card eventually. However, I do have 512MB RAM, and a 2Ghz Intel P4 CPU so that probably helps. If you're using a Via chipset, I've found those are no good for sound/video/graphics applications at all, no matter what the mobo manufacturer may say (specifically Syntax is one that I would very much recommend against).

It just might be the system just doesn't have enough oomph. :/

Also might want to try making sure nothing is conflicting with the program running. Close anything in your system tray that you can afford to close and then try restarting the program. Specifically maybe some virus scanner programs can also cause problems.

If you had downloaded the program, and got it to run, at least it runs. However, that's not to say it might have been a good, "clean" download. Might also try downloading using a different connection and/or a friend's machine if you can.

Just thoughts...

[Art]

HalImprover,

Mack can't use any of the 3D characters since he's already
stated that he downloaded the free version.

The free version only contains 10 voices.

The recommended settings for Ultra Hal Assistant 5.0 :
Pentium 150
24 MB Ram
50 MB Hard Drive space

We know your system is more than sufficient to work
with Hal.

If you are using a FIREWALL like ZoneAlarm, Norton, etc.
try temporarily disabling it during the install and run.

Check in your Control Panel under Speech / Sound options
and text the voice / sound settings on your system to
verify that they are working as they should.

Check on the net for any updates for your motherboard,
BIOS, drivers and download/install as needed.

Check with Microsoft's site for any updates, Service packs,
driver updates, etc. for Windows 98se.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

[Rich_A]

Hello mackrackit9,
In general, when any kind of software program has trouble starting up and loading on any kind of computer system it is very often a system resource problem. This is especially true for games and Hal 5.0 is very much like a game with the voice and graphic engines that need to load up to run the program. You can try what is often recommended by game manufacturers when someone has trouble starting a new game for the first time after a new fresh install.

Do what Art suggested and turn off any anti-virus and firewall that you may have. You can also try closing up any other programs and/or processes that are running in your system tray next to your computer's clock. If you have any sort of system resource monitoring tool to observe your CPU Usage and Available RAM Statistics use that while trying to load Hal and watch for overloading or maxing out.

If you have a Win98 System open up your system task manager using the Ctrl-Alt-Del and look at how many programs/processes you got running in their. You can terminate any program/process running within the system task manager if you know what it is and you know that you don't need it to run your computer.

If you get your Hal to work after doing all that stuff then you just need to re-configure your computer to run less things on Windows startup.

If your Hal still has trouble loading up then you can check out other things like your system's hardware and also check for any adware/spyware. The spyware processes often prevent certain software applications from loading up on any kind of computer.
Good Luck,
Rich_A