README.TXT for the Alps 4x4 CD-ROM Changer
This file contains supplemental information for the
Alps 4x4 CD-ROM Changer Install Disk.
**** WARNING ****
* The laser beam used in this CD-ROM Changer can cause eye
damage if viewed directly.
* To prevent direct exposure to the laser beam, do not
attempt to open the enclosure.
* Use of controls, adjustments, or the performance of
procedures other than those specified within this manual
could result in hazardous radiation exposure.
* Refer all internal servicing of this unit to authorized
service personnel.
* To ensure proper use of this product, please read this file
carefully and keep it for future reference.
This CD-ROM drive is classified as a CLASS 1 LASER product.
The CLASS 1 LASER PRODUCT label is located on the top of
the drive unit.
____________________________________________________________
README FILE CONTENTS
1. WINDOWS 95 SUPPORT
1.1 32 Bit Driver Installation
1.2 The AlpsTray CD Manager
1.3 Installing the Windows 95 Multimedia Programs
1.4 Creating Shortcuts for DOS Applications
1.5 32 Bit Driver Un-Installation
1.6 Using with McAfee Virus Shield
2. DOS/WINDOWS 3.1 SUPPORT
2.1 16 Bit Driver Installation
2.2 16 Bit Driver Un-Installation
2.3 DOS/Windows 3.1 Command Line Option Switches
2.4 DOS/Windows 3.1 Device Driver Features
3. INSTALLING THE HARDWARE
4. COMMON QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
5. FILES ON THE INSTALL DISK
6. SPECIFICATIONS
7. ADDITIONAL APPLICATION NOTES
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1. WINDOWS 95 SUPPORT
1.1 32 Bit Driver Installation
To install the Windows 95 32-bit driver for the Alps 4X
Internal CD-ROM Changer:
- Insert the Alps installation floppy disk into drive
A: or B:.
- In Windows 95, double-click on My Computer.
- Double-click on 3 1/2 Floppy.
- Highlight the file Alps4x4.inf, click the right mouse
button on it, and choose Install from the menu that
appears. (The file may appear as Alps4x4 if you are
viewing without file extensions.) The install program
copies the files to the right locations.
If you have previously installed the Microsoft CD
Player, the install program also creates a shortcut
to it (under Programs: Alps: 4x4 CD-ROM Changer: CD
Player).
- After the files are copied, you must restart your
computer before the new settings will take effect.
1.2 The AlpsTray CD Manager
Once you have restarted your computer and Windows 95,
you will see the CD utility called the AlpsTray CD
Manager in the lower right corner of the Windows 95
desktop. Click on the AlpsTray CD Manager to get a
menu of commands.
Through the AlpsTray CD Manager, you can change the
tray that you are using, scan all trays, and eject the
CD-ROM magazine. If you have added any title, artist,
or track information through the Microsoft CD player,
the AlpsTray CD Manager displays it. In addition, if
you click the right mouse button on the mounted CD-ROM
drive, you will see the load commands for the changer,
and you can control the selected tray if you are using
one-drive mode.
1.3 Installing the Windows 95 multimedia programs
Under Windows 95, you must use the Microsoft CD Player.
If you have not installed the Microsoft CD Player,
follow these instructions to install the Windows 95
multimedia programs (which include the CD Player).
- In Windows 95, click the Start button, and choose
Settings: Control Panel.
- Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
- Click on the Windows Setup tab.
- Scroll down to Multimedia, and then double-click it.
- Place a checkmark in the box to the left of CD Player.
- Click OK.
- Click OK again.
- Windows 95 asks you to insert either the Windows 95
installation CD or the appropriate Windows 95
installation floppy disk (depending on which you
installed from originally).
- Click OK.
Windows 95 copies the appropriate files to the correct
place on your hard disk.
1.4 Creating Shortcuts for DOS Applications
In Windows 95, when you create a shortcut for a DOS
program (such as a DOS-based game), you can choose
whether you want to use one-drive mode or four-drive
mode. With a game, for example, you'd normally choose
one-drive mode if your game automatically checks the
next tray at the end, or four-drive mode if the game
requires you to change disks manually.
To select one-drive or four-drive mode with a shortcut:
- Click the Start button, and select Programs: Windows
Explorer.
- Select the item you want to create a shortcut for
(usually a DOS EXE file).
- Click the right mouse button on the icon, choose
Create Shortcut, and then drag the Shortcut to the
Desktop.
- Click the right mouse button on the Shortcut icon,
and select Properties.
- Select the Program tab, and then click the Advanced
button.
- Select MS-DOS mode, and then select Configuration.
- Click Yes in the Warning Box.
- Click to select either one-drive mode or four-drive
mode. Be careful not to select both modes they will
conflict.
- Click OK to exit.
1.5 32 Bit Driver Un-Installation
To uninstall the Windows 95 32-bit driver for the Alps
4X Internal CD-ROM Changer:
- Click the Start button, and choose Settings: Control
Panel: Add/Remove Programs.
- Choose Alps 4X4 CD-ROM Changer x.x from the list of
installed items.
- Click the Add/Remove button.
- After the files are removed, you must restart your
computer before the new settings will take effect.
1.6 Using with McAfee Virus Shield
McAfee Virus Shield "traps" many kinds of commands to
your floppy and CD-ROM drives. Some of these "traps"
can conflict with the Alps drivers. To use this product
with McAfee Virus Shield:
- Double-click on the shield icon in the bottom right-hand
side of the taskbar (if you've moved the taskbar to the
side or top of your screen, the icons will have moved
as well).
- Click the Properties button in the VShield Status window
which appears.
- Select the Detection tab
- In the box marked "Scan disks on", uncheck the boxes
marked "Access" and "Shutdown".
- Select OK, then Close.
- Restart your computer.
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2. DOS/WINDOWS 3.1 SUPPORT
**** Note ****
The installation software requires that MSCDEX.EXE be
installed on your system to provide access to the CD-ROM
file system. MSCDEX.EXE is included with DOS version 6.X and
later. If you have an earlier version of DOS, you will need
to obtain a current version of MSCDEX.EXE from Microsoft or
another source.
2.1 16 Bit Driver Installation
To install the DOS/Windows 3.1x 16-bit driver for the Alps
4X Internal CD-ROM Changer:
- Insert the Alps installation floppy disk into drive
A: or B:.
- At the DOS prompt C:\, Type A: and press the Enter key.
Type INSTALL and press the Enter key.
Follow the instructions in the INSTALL program.
- After the files are copied, you will need to restart
your computer so the new settings can take effect.
- After the installation, modify the two lines in your
[386Enh] section in SYSTEM.INI file under Windows
directory:
32BitDiskAccess=off
VirtualHDIRQ=off
2.2 16 Bit Driver Un-Installation
To uninstall the Changer software, follow these steps:
- Delete each of the following four files from the
C:\4X4PAK directory (or the equivalent, as is
appropriate for your system):
ALPSCHGR.SYS
README.TXT
- To delete the directory contents, enter:
DEL C:\4X4PAK\*.*
- Delete the 4X4PAK subdirectory. To do so, enter:
RD C:\4X4PAK
- Using a line editor, modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT file by
deleting the following statement:
C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:ALPS001
If this statement included other CD-ROM devices
besides the Alps Changer, remove only the /D:ALPS001
portion of statement.
- Modify your CONFIG.SYS file by deleting the following
two statements:
DEVICE=C:\4X4PAK\ALPSCHGR.SYS /D:ALPS001
LASTDRIVE=K
In some cases, you may want to keep the LASTDRIVE
entry (if your system includes a series of drives
assigned to individual drive letters).
- If necessary, remove or modify the two lines
previously added to your SYSTEM.INI file under
Windows directory:
32BitDiskAccess=off
VirtualHDIRQ=off
Since these statements will affect the behavior of
your system under Windows, refer to your Windows
documentation to ensure that you have the appropriate
settings for these values.
2.3 DOS/Windows 3.1 Command Line Option Switches
The syntax for the ALPSCHGR.SYS command is as follows:
device=[drive:][path]ALPSCHGR.SYS /D:name [/S:nn]
[/N:nn] [/M]
[drive:][path]
Specifies the drive and directory where the device
driver ALPSCHGR.SYS file is located.
/D:name
Specifies the name of the CD-ROM drive (8 characters
maximum). This must be identical to the device name
specified in the MSCDEX.EXE line of the 'AUTOEXEC.BAT'
file.
[/S:nn] (two hex digits)
Specifies spindle rotational speed.
01:normal speed
04:quad speed (default)
[/N:nn](two hex digits)
Specifies the numbers of logical units assigned per one
CD-ROM drive.
01-04 are available. (default is 04)
[/M]
Disable manual change. (default is enabled)
The syntax for the MCDEX.EXE command is as follows:
[drive:][path]MSCDEX.EXE /D:name [/M:n] [/E] [/V]
[L:drive letter]
[drive:][path]
Specifies the drive and directory where MSCDEX.EXE resides.
/D:name
Specifies the name of the CD-ROM drive (8 characters
maximum). This must be identical to the device name
specified in the ALPSCHGR.SYS line of the 'CONFIG.SYS'
file.
[/M:n] (optional)
Specifies the number of memory buffers that MSCDEX.EXE
should use for temporary storage of data retrieved from
the Alps Changer. Increasing this number may improve the
performance of certain kinds of applications.
[/E] (optional)
Specifies that MSCDEX.EXE should use expanded memory, if it
is available. Can be used to free conventional memory if your
memory manager supports the use of expanded memory.
[/V] (optional)
Indicates verbose mode; MSCDEX.EXE will display additional
details about memory usage when loading.
[/L:drive letter] (optional)
Assigns a specific logical device letter to the Alps Changer.
2.4 DOS/Windows 3.1 Device Driver Features
- Supports a maximum of 5 Alps 4x4 CD-ROM drives.
- Supports a maximum of 20 logical CD-ROM drives.
- Looks for DC544C CD-ROM Drive at the following port
addresses automatically:
1F0-1F7h, IRQ14, Alt. port 3F6h (Primary)
170-177h, IRQ15, Alt. port 376h (Secondary)
1E8-1EFh, IRQ11, Alt. port 3EEh (Third)
150-157h, IRQ11, Alt. port 15Eh (Future Domain)
168-16Fh, IRQ10, Alt. port 36Eh (Forth)
160-167h, IRQ10, Alt. port 16Eh (Future Domain)
- Supports PIO data transfer only (no DMA).
____________________________________________________________
3. INSTALLING THE HARDWARE
The Alps Changer includes jumper switches (shown in the below)
to determine whether the unit will respond as a Master or a
Slave on the selected IDE port (Primary or Secondary).
By default, the Changer is jumpered as a Master.
Top view of Jumper Switch;
To Front Bezel
S M Note ; MA Master
L A SL Slave
: : : : [:] [:] Jumper (default position)
To Rear
____________________________________________________________
4. COMMON QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
QUESTIONS ABOUT UNSUCCESSFUL INSTALLATIONS
Q: How can I locate Pin #1 of the interface connector
on the Changer?
A: Pin#1 is marked by a triangle that appears directly
adjacent to the connector on the printed circuit
board.
Q: Following installation of the Alps Changer, my PC won't
complete its boot procedure. What could be the cause?
A: If the Alps Changer is daisy-chained on the same IDE
cables your hard disk drive, this problem is probably
caused by the Master and Slave jumpers being set
incorrectly. Make sure that the Alps Changer jumper is
set to the Slave position and that the hard disk drive
jumper is set to the Master With Slave position.
Q: I cannot get the Alps Changer physically installed in
my system.
A: Your PC may require the Alps Changer to have side rails
mounted before it can be installed in the drive bay. You
can buy these rails at many computer retail outlets.
Install the rails according to the instructions provided
with the rails or with your computer hardware manual.
The mounting screws provided with the Alps Changer
assume that the thickness of the mounting fixture in the
PC drive bay is between 1.0mm to 1.3mm. If your mounting
fixture is thicker than this, you will need to obtain
longer screws than those supplied. Purchase ISO M3 screws,
but make sure that they do not penetrate into the Changer
cabinet by more than 2.5mm.
Q: I cannot connect the Alps Changer to the IDE port on
the system board.
A: The IDE interface cable has a fixed length, determined by
the IDE specification. If the cable does not reach
the installed Changer, try relocating other devices in your
system to bring the Changer into a more accessible position.
If your audio cable is too short, you can purchase a longer
commercial audio cable as long as it conforms to the ATAPI
standard.
Q: After I installed the Alps Changer, my computer would not
power up.
A: Check to ensure that the external power cable is securely
mated with the socket on the computer cabinet.
Q: Even though my computer system is powered on, the Alps
Changer does not run. (None of the LEDs light up.)
A: Open your computer cabinet and recheck the power cable
connection to the rear panel of the Changer. The connector
plug should be firmly engaged in the power receptacle.
Q: The Changer doesn't eject the magazine when I press the
Eject button.
A: Recheck the internal power cable connection to the Alps
Changer. Remember your system must be powered on for the
Eject button to work.
If the magazine still won't eject when the system is powered
on, make sure that the mounting screws for the Changer do
not extend into the Changer cabinet. If you have used screws
other than those provided by Alps, you may need shorter
screws to allow the disc-changer mechanism to operate freely.
Q: The error message, "Invalid Drive Specification," appears
when I try to access a disc in the Changer.
A: Check your CONFIG.SYS file for the ALPSCHGR.SYS statement
and ensure that MSCDEX.EXE is correctly specified in the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file. (See Section 2 for details.)
If you haven't restarted your system following installation,
this could be the problem. The system must be restarted to
recognize the Changer.
Check to ensure that the LASTDRIVE statement that appears
in the CONFIG.SYS is adequate to cover all installed
drives (one letter per drive). You can increase the LASTDRIVE
letter to include additional drives.
Q: I could not log on to the network after installing the Alps
Changer.
A: Change the LASTDRIVE letter in the CONFIG.SYS file to the
letter just before the letter specified for your network
access. For example, if the network drive letter for Novell
NetWare begins at Q, set the LASTDRIVE statement to P
(LASTDRIVE = P).
Q: I'd like to install the Changer so that it doesn't
use so many logical drive letters.
A: You can change the option switch for the ALPSCHGR.SYS
device driver to /N:01. This switch installs the
Changer as a single logical drive letter. To access
the discs in the magazine if you use this option, you
must use the STOP/CHANGE button on the Changer front
panel, rather than changing discs under software
control (through the MediaPlayer).
Q: Some software performs erratically since I installed the
Alps Changer.
A: The read cycle within your PC should be shorter than the
value specified for the Alps Changer. You can use the /L
option in the ALPSCHGR.SYS statement to extend the read
cycle time for the Changer. (See Section 2.)
Q: I cannot get the magazine to insert into the Alps Changer.
A: In its fully installed position, the magazine sticks out
about 0.8 inch (about 3/4 of an inch) from the magazine
slot. Make sure that you do not try to insert the magazine
upside down. Also check to see if the disc trays are properly
inserted upon the internal rails in the magazine. If the
trays are misaligned, they could block the magazine from
being inserted.
Q: I cannot get any sound from the audio speakers.
A: Make sure that the internal audio cable was connected to
your sound board receptacle.
Make sure that your sound board is properly connected to
external speakers or an amplifier.
Make sure that the volume control, mixer levels, or mute
control for your sound board are set to appropriate levels.
Some sound boards have both DOS and Windows interfaces for
controlling these settings.
Make sure there is an audio CD in the disc position that
you are trying to play and that it is inserted with the
label side up.
Q: Do I have to have all four trays installed in the
magazine while the Changer is operating?
A: The Changer can operate with any number of trays
installed (from one to four) as long as the trays
are inserted properly on their guides.
QUESTIONS ABOUT PROBLEMS AFTER INSTALLATION
Q: While operating the Alps Changer, I encountered
a "CDR-101" error.
A: This error could be caused by any of the following
problems:
The ALPSCHGR.SYS statement is not present in the
CONFIG.SYS file or it has the wrong switch settings.
(See Section 2 for details.)
An installed CD has been damaged or is defective.
An installed CD has been inserted upside down in
the tray.
You attempted to read an audio CD through the operating
systems. Audio CDs have no file structure and cannot be
read through their drive letter.
Q: While operating the Alps Changer, I encountered
a "CDR-103" error.
A: This error appears if you have attempted to read
a CD-ROM format not supported by the Alps Changer, such as
an Apple Macintosh HFS disc or a proprietary UNIX disc.
The Alps Changer only recognizes formats that conform to
ISO 9660 specifications.
Q: The Changer can only access one of the four installed
discs.
A: The ALPSCHGR.SYS setting for number of drives has been
improperly specified. See Section 2 for the correct setting.
Q: No drive letters for the Changer appear in File Manager
(Windows3.1) or Windows Explorer (Windows95).
A: You have not yet installed the Alps Changer software, or
the software has not been properly loaded during system
startup. Restart your computer to make sure that the software
has been loaded. If problems continue, check the software
installation procedure described in Section 1 and 2.
Q: I can only access Disc 1 when I try to run a particular
application.
A: Some older applications support only single-disc CD-ROM units.
For those applications, make sure that you place the first
disc of the application in the Disc 1 position (the bottom
slot in the magazine).
Q: When using some media utilities to access the Alps Changer,
the front panel controls on the Changer don't operate as
expected.
A: Not all utilities allow full use of the front panel
controls while they are controlling the Alps Changer. Limit
yourself to using the software interface when you are running
utilities that cause this type of problem.
Q: A disc tray came loose from the magazine and is still
inside the Changer.
A: Keep the power turned on to your PC. Insert an empty
magazine (with no trays or discs) into the magazine slot.
Press the Eject button to extract the loose tray and
magazine from the Changer.
Q: The installation program for a CD-ROM title does not
run properly.
A: Check to make sure that you have no Terminate and Stay
Resident program currently loaded in memory. In DOS you
can enter "MEM /C" to view a list of installed drivers. You
can use the remark statement (REM) to temporarily eliminate
suspected devices or utilities from your CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT files until the software for the title is
installed. Virus protection software sometimes interferes
with installation programs. These programs should usually
be unloaded before installing new software.
Q: My system cannot boot up after the Alps Changer
installation.
A: Some specific system possibly shows this problem.
In case of connecting the Changer to Primary port,
change the Changer to Secondary port.
If your system does not have secondary port, connect
the Changer via any IDE adapter card.
____________________________________________________________
5. FILES ON THE INSTALL DISK
ALPSCHGR.SYS 16-bit (Real mode) device driver for DOS/
Windows 3.x
ALPS4X4.INF A setup script for Windows 95 installation
ALPS4.VXD A virtual device driver for Windows 95
applications
ALPSTRAY.EXE A control panel applet for Windows 95
applications
ALPSEXT.DLL A context menu handler for Windows 95
applications
INSTALL.EXE Installation program for DOS applications
MSVCRT40.DLL Visual C++ library
SETUP.INI Information file used with DOS installation
program
_SETUP.EXE A program used with DOS installation program
~PDATA.EXE A program used with DOS installation program
README.TXT This file
____________________________________________________________
6. SPECIFICATIONS
The Alps 4X Internal CD-ROM Changer conforms to the following
specifications:
Host Interface ATAPI
Supported CD-ROM Formats CD-ROM (Mode1, Mode2 data,
Mixed mode audio and data)
CD-ROM XA
CD-DA (Audio CD)
CD-I Digital Video
CD Bridge discs (Video CD)
Multisession PhotoCD
Disc Diameter 120 mm and 80 mm
(80 mm requires an adapter tray
available from Alps)
Data Transfer Rate 600 kilobytes per second maximum
Access Time 210 milliseconds typical by the
one-third stroke method
Buffer Size 128 kilobytes
Disc Loading Method Four-disc magazine
Size 1.69 in. x 5.86 in. x 7.99 in.
____________________________________________________________
7. ADDITIONAL APPLICATION NOTES
Do not attempt to remove the magazine when it is locked
(when your system is powered down). Trying to remove a
locked magazine can cause drive damage.
The Alps Changer does not have an "Emergency eject"
button; you cannot remove or eject the magazine if your
system is powered down. To eject the magazine, press the
Eject button while your system is powered on.
____________________________________________________________
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.