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Elemental Technical Support

FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions): Troubleshooting:
 
How do I download the ELEMENTAL demo program?
Once I've downloaded the ELEMENTAL demo file, how do I run it?
I see Elemental has a huge amount of information, but how can I use it; why do I need the Elemental program?
Can I Run ELEMENTAL in DOS or Windows 95/98/NT?
How accurate is ELEMENTAL's Data and from Where does it Come?
How do I contact CleoSci with my Elemental technical support question?
I got the message, "Could not close...file..." why does this happen?
I got the message, "Could not open...file..." why does this happen?
I got the message, "Could not read...file..." or "Could not write...file..." why does this happen?
I got a message, "Not enough memory to open window..." What causes this?
I got a message, "Unable to close swap file". Is this important?
I got a message, "Unable to free expanded (extended) memory". Is this a problem?
I got a message, "Window not found in array list of open windows". What happened?
I got a message, "Window must have a value n larger than 30". What does this mean?
Sometimes while running ELEMENTAL I see a ? in some data fields. Is there something wrong?
Sometimes when Windows returns from its screen saver mode, I get a screen "dropout." What do I do?

FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions):

Q: How do I download the ELEMENTAL demo program?
A: The ELEMENTAL demo program can be downloaded from our FREE Software Downloads page here on the web. Click this link to go directly to it.

Q: Once I've downloaded the ELEMENTAL demo file, how do I run it?
A: The files needed to run the demo are downloaded in compressed format. You will need a decompression utility such as PkUnzip (available for download from our site) or Winzip to extract the files. We suggest decompressing the files to a unique, separate sub-directory or folder such as "PTDEMO" which you will need to create on your computer.

To make the new folder in Windows 95, click: "Start," "Programs," "Windows Explorer" and then choose "File," "New Folder". Then type the name (PTDEMO) for the new folder. In DOS, type MD PTDEMO at the C:\> prompt and press the enter key.

Now you can extract the demo files to this folder or directory and run them by clicking: "Start," "Run" and typing: "C:\PTDEMO\DEMO.EXE" in Windows 95. In DOS, type CD PTDEMO at the C:\> prompt, and press the enter key. Then type DEMO and press enter.

Q: I see Elemental has a huge amount of information, but how can I use it; why do I need the Elemental program?
A: Every product in our world which we see or with which we interact is comprised of one or more basic elements, and the worldly discipline of chemistry is no exception. In fact, manipulation of these basic elements is at the very root of chemistry.

However, without a solid understanding of these basic elements, we cannot begin to understand how they work together... and the foundation of understanding the elements lies in a sound frame of reference -- the Periodic Table of the Elements!

Q: Can I Run ELEMENTAL in DOS or Windows 95/98/NT?
A: Yes. Use the DOS installation program, "INSTALL" to install and run the program as a DOS program. Once installed, run ELEMENTAL by typing: "C:\element\element" without quotes at your C:\> prompt.

To run ELEMENTAL under Windows 95/98/NT, use the Windows installation program, "Setup" to install it. Once installed, run ELEMENTAL by choosing, "Start", "Programs" and selecting the ELEMENTAL icon.

Q: How accurate is ELEMENTAL's Data and from Where does it Come?
A: We endeavor to keep ELEMENTAL's Data as accurate and up-to-date as possible by changing continuously to include information from the most recent releases.

The information contained within the ELEMENTAL program is a compilation of data generated from the review of technical and general information sheets which provide currently accepted IUPAC and ACS standard values as well as standard values provided by other relevant sources from the world of chemistry.

For further information on this topic, please click on the "Options" button in the ELEMENTAL program. Then select the "Program Info" button for a list of credits.

Q: How do I contact CleoSci with my Elemental technical support question?
A: The best way is to e-mail your support question to us by clicking the highlighted "e-mail" right here.

Troubleshooting:
Q: I got the message, "Could not close...file..." why does this happen?
A: Generally this means that the specified file has become deleted or corrupted either before you started ELEMENTAL or while it was running. If it happened before, you would also have received a message saying that the named file could not be opened. If it happened while it was running, it is most likely due to a breach which occurred while switching between tasks in a multitasking environment such as Windows.

The named file needs to be stored in the same directory as the rest of the ELEMENTAL program files; this is the first thing to verify (on most computers you will find a directory called C:\ELEMENT; C: is the drive while \ELEMENT is the program directory). If you find that the file has not been accidentally moved, then you will probably need to re-install the program to replace the corrupted fiile(s). This can be done by inserting your original program disk into your computer and doing one of the following: a) from Windows 95, click "Start", "Run" and type A:\SETUP in the box. Then choose "OK.", or b) from the DOS prompt type "A:\INSTALL" without quotes and press the enter key. If you use the B: drive, then you would type, "B:\INSTALL".

Q: I got the message, "Could not open...file..." why does this happen?
A: Generally this means that the specified file has been deleted or corrupted. The named file needs to be stored in the same directory as the rest of the ELEMENTAL program files; this is the first thing to verify (on most computers you will find a directory called C:\ELEMENT; C: is the drive while \ELEMENT is the program directory).

In the case of the file, PTCONFIG.CFG, you should delete this file. This will restore the program's default settings allowing the program to re-create the configuration file if necessary.

For other files, if you find that the file has not been accidentally moved, then you will probably need to re-install the program to replace the corrupted fiile(s). This can be done by inserting your original program disk into your computer and doing one of the following: a) from Windows 95, click "Start", "Run" and type A:\SETUP in the box. Then choose "OK.", or b) from the DOS prompt type "A:\INSTALL" without quotes and press the enter key. If you use the B: drive, then you would type, "B:\INSTALL".

Q: I got the message, "Could not read...file..." or "Could not write...file..." why does this happen?
A: This means that the specified file has been deleted or corrupted. The named file needs to be stored in the same directory as the rest of the ELEMENTAL program files; this is the first thing to verify (on most computers you will find a directory called C:\ELEMENT; C: is the drive while \ELEMENT is the program directory).

In the case of the file, PTCONFIG.CFG, you should delete this file. This will restore the program's default settings allowing the program to re-create the configuration file if necessary.

For other files, if you find that the file has not been accidentally moved, then you will probably need to re-install the program to replace the corrupted fiile(s). This can be done by inserting your original program disk into your computer and doing one of the following: a) from Windows 95, click "Start", "Run" and type A:\SETUP in the box. Then choose "OK.", or b) from the DOS prompt type "A:\INSTALL" without quotes and press the enter key. If you use the B: drive, then you would type, "B:\INSTALL".

Q: I got a message, "Not enough memory to open window..." What causes this?
A: On newer computers, you should never see this message. What this means is that your computer is limited to use of the original 640K DOS memory, and that it has no extended, expanded, or other advanced memory options available such as free hard drive space which could be used as a swap file.

If you can free 2 or more megabytes of space on your hard drive by deleting files which you don't need, then the program will perform far better. Otherwise, the ELEMENTAL program would need to be run on a computer which has more memory available.

Q: I got a message, "Unable to close swap file". Is this important?
A: Not particularly. This is more of an "alert" than anything else. It means that your computer was using a swap file to temporarily store information, and the program was unable to clean up at exit time. It is usually caused by a glitch in the system which will be reset by re-booting the computer. This message should not occur very often - if ever at all. Go ahead and delete the file PTBL.SWP.

Q: I got a message, "Unable to free expanded (extended) memory". Is this a problem?
A: Usually not although you will have to re-boot your computer to free the memory. It means that something went wrong during cleanup/shutdown of ELEMENTAL. It is usually caused by a glitch in the system which will be reset by re-booting the computer.

Q: I got a message, "Window not found in array list of open windows". What happened?
A: The program is expecting the called window to already be open. Due to some error located in the computer's memory, the window has been lost although never closed. If your computer is not locked up, you should exit the ELEMENTAL program and restart it. This will clear its memory settings and restore the default values. If the error occurs again right away or the system is locked up, re-boot the system in order to completely reset it.

Q: I got a message, "Window must have a value n larger than 30". What does this mean?
A: This is an internal program error, and it means that the program itself has somehow been corrupted. The only solution is to re-install ELEMENTAL.

This can be done by inserting your original program disk into your computer and doing one of the following: a) from Windows 95, click "Start", "Run" and type A:\SETUP in the box. Then choose "OK.", or b) from the DOS prompt type "A:\INSTALL" without quotes and press the enter key. If you use the B: drive, then you would type, "B:\INSTALL".

Q: Sometimes while running ELEMENTAL I see a ? in some data fields. Is there something wrong?
A: No. This simply means that the information for that subject was not available at the time the program was created. In some cases, this may mean that the element never exhibits this particular property.

Q: Sometimes when Windows returns from its screen saver mode, I get a screen "dropout." What do I do?
A: Click "Options", "Select Colors", "Redraw". This will return the screen to its original appearance although it won't prevent the dropout from recurring the next time the screen saver activates. Currently there is no fix for this.

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The technical support information within this documentation is provided as is without any warranties, expressed or implied. The user is solely responsible for how the information is used. CleoSci is not responsible for misprints and/or typing errors although every effort will be made to ensure correct representation of information. Thank you for your support!

Last updated Spring 2004
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