Spectaculator support

If you cannot find the answer to your issue below, please contact our support team who will try to resolve it. Alternatively, you might try posting a message to the newsgroup comp.sys.sinclair.

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Frequently asked questions

1. Where can I download more games for Spectaculator?
2. When I install Spectaculator why does the setup program connect to the Internet and download either INSTMSIA.EXE or INSTMSIW.EXE?
3. I downloaded Spectaculator for Windows 2000 or XP and the file has a .MSI extension. What do I do with this?
4. How can I change the refresh rate of the Spectrum's display like in other emulators?
5. How can I improve the refresh rate of the Spectrum's display when running in a window?
6. Why are the instructions to some games available from the Help menu and others are not?
7. I cannot hear any sound under Windows NT 4.0 and there is a warning symbol in the status bar.
8. Every few minutes into a game, the sound becomes distorted and goes out of sync with the game. I'm running v2.5 or 3.0 beta 1.
9. How do I enable the Spectrum cursor keys so I can navigate the 128/+2/+3 menu screen?
10. *New* Fullscreen mode does not work properly on Windows XP. I get a 640x480 desktop in 256 colours. If I click the Spectaculator tab on the task bar twice, the screen then appears.

1. Where can I download more games for Spectaculator?
   World of Spectrum and the TZX Vault keep an extensive archive of Sinclair ZX Spectrum sofware (currently about 11,000 titles).
    
2. When I install Spectaculator why does the setup program connect to the Internet and download either INSTMSIA.EXE or INSTMSIW.EXE?
   Spectaculator uses the Windows Installer service to provide a robust, reliable installation. Windows Installer 1.0 ships with Windows ME, 1.1 with Windows 2000 and 2.0 with Windows XP. For other operating systems, it is available as a add-on component. If InstallShield does not detect Windows Installer 1.2 or higher on your machine, it will download and install it automatically.
    
3. I downloaded Spectaculator for Windows 2000 or XP and the file has a .MSI extension. What do I do with this?
   A .MSI file is a Windows Installer Database. Double-click it to install Spectaculator. Use the Add/Remove programs control panel to view support details, repair the installation or modify it.
    
4. How can I change the refresh rate of the Spectrum's display like in other emulators?
   Spectaculator has self-tuning display. You will automatically get the best refresh rate based on your PC's capabilities.
    
5. How can I improve the refresh rate of the Spectrum's display when running in a window?
   The refresh rate is highly dependant on your display adapter's capabilities. However, making the border as small as possible can make a big difference: View->Border->Small. The main thing to bare in mind is that larger window sizes usually mean lower refresh rates.
    
6. Why are the instructions to some games available from the Help menu and others are not?
   Spectaculator looks for a file with the same name as the loaded game but with a .htm, .txt or a .rtf extension. If it finds one, it assumes it contains the instructions for the game and makes them available from the Help menu.
    
7. I cannot hear any sound under Windows NT 4.0 and there is a warning symbol in the status bar.
   This is a limitation of Microsoft's DirectSound implementation under Windows NT. When Windows is playing a system sound (for example, when a message box pops up), it will not let Spectaculator access the sound card. To work around this problem, you have three choices:
   • Press the Pause key on the keyboard twice to pause and restart the emulator once Windows has finished playing system sounds.
   • Wait until Windows finishes playing any system sounds before dismissing any message boxes or dialogs that play sounds.
   • Open the Sounds control panel and disable any sounds for the Question program event.
   This problem does not affect Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP or Vista as Windows and DirectSound enabled applications can both generate sound simultaneously.
    
8. Every few minutes into a game, the sound becomes distorted and goes out of sync with the game. I'm running v2.5 or 3.0 beta 1.
   This issue has been resolved in version 4.0.
    
9. How do I enable the Spectrum+ cursor keys so I can navigate the 128/+2/+3 menu screen?
   
   • On the Tools menu, click Options.
   • Click the Keyboard tab.
   • Choose Spectrum cursor keys for the keyboard joystick and click OK.
   Tip
   The Spectrum+ cursor keys are equivalent to pressing CAPS SHIFT and 5, 6, 7 or 8 (ie. the old 48k rubber Spectrum cursor keys). You can leave Cursor joystick enabled for the keyboard joystick and just hold down the left shift key (CAPS SHIFT) when you want cursor key mode.
    
10. Fullscreen mode does not work properly on Windows XP. I get a 640x480 desktop in 256 colours. If I click the Spectaculator tab on the task bar twice, the screen then appears as normal.

    This problem only occurs if you have installed the KB824141 hot fix issued by Microsoft recently and you are running Windows XP. The same patch does not appear to cause this problem on other versions of Windows.

    The only current workaround is to remove the patch using Add/Remove programs. However, you must do this at your own risk.

    It is unclear why KB824141 should affect entering fullscreen mode given the nature of the patch. This item will be updated when more information is available.

    Note: Windows Update marks KB824141 down for installation since it is in the Critical Updates and Service Packs category. You will have to manually de-select it to avoid installation.