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Technical Note 01
The BassBox 5.1 and X•over 2.1 Installation Process

 
Introduction
This Technical Note explains the BassBox version 5.1 (bundle) installation process for Windows 3.1. The installation will also work with Windows 95, 98 and XP but the differences are not discussed here. The installation process is controlled by the program SETUP.EXE located on BassBox Disk One.

Harris Tech used Stirling Technologies’ InstallSHIELD software to create the setup program. This is the same installation software used to install many prominent software companies like Microsoft and Adobe.
 

The Installation Disks
BassBox requires two installation disks. Their contents are listed below:

      DISK ONE
      setup.exe – InstallSHIELD engine file
      setup.ins – BassBox compiled installation script
      setup.lgo – initialization window script
      ~ins0762.lib – InstallSHIELD user support file
      sysfiles.z – dynamic link libraries (DLL) and Visual Basic extensions (VBX)

      DISK TWO
      prog.z – BassBox and X•over executable files (EXE) and driver database (MDB)
      winfiles.z – BassBox help file

The three files ending in the extension "z" are compressed. Two of them (sysfiles.z and prog.z) are groups containing more than one file.
 

The Installation Procedure
Note: The User installation instructions are included on a separate Installation Instructions sheet that is provided with the BassBox manual. These "user installation instructions" are highlighted below. Explanatory notes are also provided to provide additional details.

  1. Turn OFF any anti-virus software. Notes: This is recommended because setup must install several dynamic link libraries into the Windows/System directory. Some virus detection software may attempt to prevent this. If you want to make sure that the BassBox disks are virus-free, then use your anti-virus software to check the disks before it is turned off. However this should not be necessary because Harris Tech is very careful to keep all disks virus-free.
     
  2. Make a backup copy of the master disks. Notes: This also provides an excellent check of the master disks because an error message will result when they are copied if they were damaged. The disks can be damaged if they are located next to magnetic objects (such as loudspeakers) or motors during shipment or storage.
     
  3. Start Microsoft Windows 3.1 and run your windows shell (Program Manager, File Manager, Norton Desktop for Windows, etc.).
     
  4. Insert DISK ONE into the appropriate drive. (These instructions assume this is drive A.) Notes: We recommend that the backup disks be used for the installation in order to protect the original master disks. IMPORTANT: The write protect tab on Disk One must be closed to allow setup to write on the disk.
     
  5. Select "Run" from the File menu of your windows shell (Program Manager, File Manager, Norton Desktop for Windows, etc.).
     
  6. At the prompt type a:setup and press [Enter]. A temporary initialization window will appear while setup prepares the installation as follows:
    • Setup determines the source directory (example: a:\).
       
    • Setup searches for a location on the destination hard disk where it can copy temporary files (example: c:\temp). It does this by looking for the environment variable TEMP.
       
    • Setup copies its temporary files to the hard disk. These files include setup.exe and ~ins0762.lib. (Note: These files will be deleted at the successful conclusion of the installation.)
       
    • Setup begins execution from the destination hard disk, closes the temporary initialization window and displays the main setup background window with Harris Tech graphic.
       
    • Setup checks both the installation disk (Disk One) and the destination hard disk for prior registration information.
       
  7. Follow the instructions on the screen. These instructions are detailed next:
    • This step is only performed if the installation disk has never been used before. Setup will prompt the user to enter his/her name and the name of their company. The user name must be entered. The company name is optional. Note: If BassBox had previously been installed on the computer from a different installation disk, setup will display the previous user and company name that if found on the destination hard disk and ask the user to confirm them.
       
    • Setup will record the user and company name on the installation disk (Disk One) if they were entered or edited.
       
    • Setup prompts the user for a destination path. The default path: "c:\harris." After the path is entered, setup checks it for adequate free space (7.5 Mbytes). If adequate free space is not available, setup prompts the user for another path.
       
    • If necessary, setup creates the directory specified by the destination path. Then setup adds two more directories under it. They are "acoustic" and "designs." If the default path was used, the path to these directories will be: c:\harris\acoustic and c:\harris\designs.
       
    • Setup decompresses sysfiles.z and copies the files contained within it to the windows\system directory. These files are listed below along with their size and date. It is important that these files are used and not older versions.
       
            commdlg.dll   size: 97,936   date: 11/11/93
            msaes110.dll   size: 33,280   date: 4/28/93
            msajt112.dll   size: 17,440   date: 3/24/94
            msajt200.dll   size: 994,496   date: 4/5/94
            vbdb300.dll   size: 95,200   date: 3/24/94
            vbrun300.dll   size: 398,416   date: 5/12/93
            cmdialog.vbx   size: 18,688   date: 4/28/93
            msgblast.vbx   size: 30,448   date: 11/2/94
            threed.vbx   size: 64,432   date: 7/16/93
       
    • Setup decompresses winfiles.z and copies the help file for BassBox contained within it to the windows directory. This file is named bbx510.hlp. Its exact size and date are not important because it may be updated from time to time.
       
    • Setup decompresses prog.z and copies the files contained within it to the BassBox directory (c:\harris). These files are listed below along with a brief description. Their exact size and date are not important because they may be updated from time to time.
       
            bbx51.exe – BassBox program
            xo2.exe – X•over program
            spkrbase.mdb – loudspeaker database with over 1,300 drivers
       
    • Setup creates an initialization file, bbx51.ini, for BassBox and stores it in the windows directory. While doing this, it checks to see if the "language" parameter of Windows is set to "English (American)." If it is, it sets the initialization file to English units otherwise it sets the initialization file to use metric units. (This setting can be changed later with the Preferences command under the Edit menu of the BassBox.)
       
    • Finally, setup creates a program group titled "Harris Tech" and places in it an icon for each program.
       
    • After all the preceding steps have been successfully completed, setup displays the message shown below:
       
            The software has been successfully installed.
            WARNING: This software is protected by copyright
            law and international treaties. Unauthorized
            reproduction or distribution of any portion of it,
            may result in severe civil and criminal penalties.
       
  8. Turn the anti-virus software back ON. If anti-virus software had been turned off earlier in Step 1, turn it back on now.
     

Note: The BassBox setup does not change the config.sys or autoexec.bat files. Nor does it modify the windows initialization files (win.ini and system.ini).

 

Technical Notes for
all of our products:

 
BassBox 6 Pro
BassBox 6 Lite
X•over 3 Pro
Typeface Collection
BassBox 5.1
X•over 1.0-2.x
 

Technical Support for the Woofer Tester 2
by Smith & Larson Audio:
 
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