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   M i n e r v a   S o f t w a r e   T e c h n i c a l   R e l e a s e

   Number: 005/D+Prob                                      Minerva House  
   Date:   12/10/89                                      Baring Crescent
   Author: MK                                              Exeter, Devon
   Pages:  02                                                    EX1 1TL

           Common problems experienced with System DeltaPlus
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1. During loading, a message similar to "File ':0.$.!DeltaRAM' not found" is
reported and the software refuses to load.

This is caused by odd data in the CMOS RAM. It is a hangover from a
technique used to perform forced re-configure when running under Arthur 1.2
on an A305 and is no longer useful under RISC OS. The solution is to perform
a DELETE-PowerOn (Hold down the delete key while turning the machine on).
This will wipe the entire CMOS RAM and restore the defaults.

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2. During loading, a message similar to "*SLOAD not found" is reported and
the software refuses to load.

This is caused by the Sprite Manager being unplugged, usually due to running
PacMania. An R-PowerOn (Hold down the R key while turning the machine on)
will fix this or you may enter:

    *RMreinit SpriteUtils

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3. After RISC OS conversion, a message similar to "!Delta.Banner_Dat not
found" is reported during loading.

This indicates the use of a really old version. The original disk should be
returned to Minerva for upgrade. Alternatively, the file "Banner_Dat" can be
copied from the original disk to the "!Delta" directory on the converted
disk.

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4. Other loading problems indicating lack of memory, eg "Window definition
won't fit", "not enough room", "No room" etc.

This is generally caused by starting DeltaPlus by double-clicking on the
"!Boot" file. It should be started by double-clicking on the "!Delta" icon
in the directory. Before doing this the task manager may be used to allocate
memory to the "Next" slot and to ensure that at least 32k of sprite memory
is available. If the user insists on starting the system using SHIFT-BREAK
they should NOT be in the desktop when it is pressed.

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5. The user is unable to devise a method of sorting a file into order of
date.

There are various ways to do this but the simplest is to have the date in
three separate fields. In this case, the sort expression to use will be
something like:

    @YEAR+@MON+@DAY

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6. Card transfer fails with messages like "Disc not present".

Card transfer does NOT allow disk swapping. This is no problem with twin drives or a hard disc but on a single-disc system, both files must fit on the same disc (this can be separate from the program disc).

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7. Files are not as large as expected after creation.

This may be due to lack of space. If there is not enough room on the disc
for the requested size of file, DeltaPlus will not complain but will simply
give a warning bleep and truncate the file to fit in the available space.

Remember that when defining the size of the file in cards, the current card
size will be used to convert this to bytes. If any fields are added or
changed subsequently, before the file is closed, this will affect the number
of cards that will fit in the final version of the file.

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8. Difficulties in storing data on a separate disc from the programs.

To do this, enter the program in the normal way. When the File Manager menu
appears, remove the program disc, insert the data disc and use the * Command
option to mount the new disc (*MOUNT 0). If you wish to move to a separate
part of the program (eg Sort, Card Copier, Create) you should first close
all files and then remove the data disc, insert the program disc and again
use *MOUNT before selecting the option. Once the new menu appears, repeat the
procedure for mounting the data disc.

If a twin-drive system is being used, the data disc may be in drive :1. In
this case, drive one should be selected once the program has started (*MOUNT
1) and there should be no further need to do this.

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