NVIDIA and Intel hard drive controllers: Load Vista Service Pack 1

Generally all BirdGuides programs from Version 6 onwards will run successfully on Windows Vista. However, there are a small number of specific Vista PC configurations that have problems opening QuickTime files and therefore running our programs. There are two types of serial hard drive controllers that cause these problems with QuickTime on Vista: Intel and NVIDIA.

The symptoms on BWPi or DVD-ROM Guide to British Birds Version 8 or 9 are as follows:

• Intel controller: videos are slow to open
• NVIDIA controller: some pictures are blank with just the captions visible, and some videos may not play or stutter
• The program may stop responding

Older European or British Birds programs (version 6 or 7) may simply not respond.

Solution

If your Vista PC does not run our programs correctly there is now a fix for this problem. Microsoft have released Vista Service Pack 1 (for both 32- and 64-bit versions), which updates hard drive controller files.

To download Service Pack 1, select Start, Control Panel (in Classic view), Windows Update - Vista SP1 should show there, and is the Microsoft-preferred way to update.

Once Service Pack 1 is installed, rerun the BirdGuides program.

If the program still either doesn't launch or doesn't play a video but shows a still frame, that may well be just a QuickTime setting, in which case try this (for QuickTime versions 7.x):

1. Select Start > Control Panel (in "Classic view").
2. Double-click the QuickTime icon.
3. Select the Advanced tab.
4. In the Video box, select Safe Mode (GDI only).
5. Click OK.
6. Close Control Panel.
7. Rerun the BirdGuides program.

Service Pack 1 should resolve both of these manufacturers' hard drive controller problems. However, if you are still having problems and your PC has the NVIDIA controller, then please update your driver (you need to be online to carry out this procedure).

1. Go to Device Manager: Start > Control Panel > Device Manager.
2. On the left-hand side, click the + next to IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers.
3. You should see an entry for NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller for each hard drive you have. If it doesn't show NVIDIA there, please also check against the "Storage Controllers" for reference to NVIDIA drivers, and carry out the same Update.
4. Double-click on this NVIDIA reference and then select the Driver tab.
5. The latest SATA driver version is 5.10.2600.995, dated 2/07/2007. If yours is an older version than this, click the Update Driver button, and say Yes to Search automatically, and let it find a new driver from the Web. It will load the new driver for you and tell you that you will need to restart your PC for it to take effect.
6. If you have a second drive, repeat this operation by doing the same on the second entry for NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller.
7. After it has installed it will tell you that it needs to restart Windows - let it, and then run the BirdGuides program.

If you still have any problems after updating to Vista Service Pack 1, please email , stating the title of your BirdGuides program, version if known, and the symptoms.

QuickTime

If Vista says that it is changing the colour settings to basic when you open a BirdGuides program, you will need to upgrade QuickTime to the latest version, currently 7.3, for it to run in Vista's "Aero mode".

Download the latest QuickTime from www.apple.com/quicktime/download - untick the "Sign up" selections as required, and click the Free Download Now button.

Once QuickTime 7.3 is installed, if you have BWPi and find your Distribution maps are missing, please see below.

Missing distribution maps in BWPi

See www.birdguides.com/bwpi/knownissues.asp.

BWPi 2006 on Windows Vista

BWPi version 1.0 will run fine on Windows Vista, but unfortunately the BWPi 2006 update disk will not update the program properly on Vista.

If you have BWPi 1.0 and the BWPi 2006 disk and are upgrading your PC to Vista, you will need to exchange your two disks for the single BWPi 2.0 disk, for a clean installation on Vista. You can upgrade these two disks to the single disk BWPi 2.0 for an administration fee of £10: please call Sales on 0800 919391.

Please email if you still have problems with our programs on Windows Vista.

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