Links 2003 Support

Listed below are common problems and solutions for Links 2003.

How To Turn Off Interface Music

There isn't an option to turn off the Interface Music in Links 2003. In order to stop the music, you must make a change to the system registry.

Caution: Editing the registry incorrectly may severely damage your system.

• Open the Registry Editor:

1. Click Start, then click Run.

2. Type regedit in the text field, and then click OK.

• Browse to the entry you want to change:

1. Click the + symbol next to HKEY _ CURRENT _ USER

2. Click the + symbol next to Software

3. Click the + symbol next to Microsoft

4. Click the + symbol next to Microsoft Games

5. Click the + symbol next to Links 2003

6. Click on the Sound registry key to select it.

• Edit the Sound registry key:

1. On the menu bar, click Edit, point to New, and then click String Value.

2. Type Interface Music for the new value, and press ENTER.

3. Right-click Interface Music and select Modify.

4. In Value data, type 0 for the value, and then click OK.

5. Exit the Registry Editor.

STOP: Could Not Create Restore Surface

If you get this error, most likely, one of these things is true:

• You video card has less than 16-Megabytes of RAM.

If this is the case, Links probably cannot be made to run. Links requires a modern 16-Megabyte 3D video card.

• Your video card is very old.

Links tries to adapt to run with any 16-Megabyte video card, but occasionally, a card may not run at all with Links. If your video card is 3D capable with 16 Megabytes, but Links gives you this error, try updating the video card drivers to see if this helps.

• Your video card display driver is outdated.

If this is the case, you may simply be able to update the driver (from the manufacturer's web site) to get Links up and running.

General Video or Audio Problems

Most general video or audio problems are resolved by updating to the latest WHQL (certified) drivers for that card. Drivers are normally found on the web page of either the card vendor, or the computer manufacturer, if the card came pre-installed.

Some video or audio cards may have issues that are not resolved by updated drivers. For a list of video and audio cards, we know to have problems in Links, check the readme file by going to START: Programs: Microsoft Games: Microsoft Links 2003: Links 2003 Readme File.

Links Displays Incorrectly ( Golfer Missing , Weird Video Artifacts , Etc.)

If you see this, it is most likely one of these things:

• Your video card has only 8 Megabytes of RAM.

Sometimes, Links will work with an 8-Megabyte video card, but it is designed for a 16-Megabyte video card. If Links is dropping out content, it may be because your video card lacks the necessary RAM to display everything.

• Your video card display driver is outdated.

If this is the case, you may simply be able to update the driver (from the manufacturer's web site) to get Links up and running.

• Your video card has Anti-Aliasing (AA) turned on.

This is actually set in your video card driver - not Links. Links will not run properly with anti-aliasing turned on.

To turn off anti-aliasing, open your control panel, open the display icon, and select SETTINGS, then ADVANCED to access the video card's advanced menu. Somewhere in this menu, you should find the anti-aliasing on/off toggle.

Game is Slow

If the game is slow, this could indicate that your system is below the minimum requirements necessary to run smoothly (approximately 128 Megabytes of RAM and a Pentium II 400Mhz processor)

To troubleshoot general slowness in Links, please try the steps outlined in this technical support article: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q243662

Game Hangs When Playing

If Links hangs or locks-up when playing, the game should automatically detect this and offer to let you resume or troubleshoot. If you experience a hang or lockup more than once, it is recommended you click the troubleshoot button and try the steps in the troubleshooting guide. If you do not see the prompt to troubleshoot, you can still access the troubleshooting file. It is in your Links 2003 directory (normally: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Links 2003) in a file called TROUBLE.

Locks Up or Black Screen When You Launch

These failures to launch often seem to be associated with playback of the introductory video. If you suspect this is the case, just eject the CD before launching the game. This will skip the intro video playback. If that works, it is recommended that you update your Windows Media Player and the Windows Media Player Codecs. An updated version of Windows Media Player is available in the \Goodies directory of the first Links 2003 CD.

The personal firewall software Zone Alarm also causes a black screen when you launch Links. To work around this, disable Zone Alarm the first time you launch Links, then click the connection button on Links' main menu, locate the options for "News - Download daily items from the Internet" and select "only when requested". Once done, exit Links and re-enable Zone Alarm.

Video driver incompatibility, sound card driver incompatibility, or other programs running in the background on your computer cause most other black screen errors. As with other unexplained game errors, the steps outlined in the TROUBLE document (in the Links 2003 folder) should help you to isolate the cause.

People Can't See You / You Can't See Others in Multiplayer

If you cannot seem to complete the process of matchmaking a multiplayer game, the most likely cause is that the ports required for multiplayer games are closed or blocked by firewall software on your system.

To troubleshoot general ports issues, please try the steps outlined in this technical support article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q240429

Please Complete EULA Verification

When you first launch Links, you may get the error message:

"Please Complete EULA Verification Before Running the Game"

This is caused when the EULA (License Agreement) is not accepted before attempting to play Links.

Occasionally, the EULA get's "minimized" (sent to the windows taskbar) instead of popping up properly. If this is the case, look for something on the taskbar that says "Links 2003 - End User License Agreement". Click then and the EULA should appear.

If this fails to resolve the issue, completely remove and re-install Links 2003. This should force the EULA verification dialogue to pop up correctly.

STOP : Could Not Locate Appropriate Data Directories

This behavior may occur if your My Documents folder is not in the default location.

When Links starts, it tries to create a Links 2003 folder in the My Documents folder. If the My Documents folder is not in the default location that is specific to your user profile, Links cannot create the folder.

To resolve this issue, move the My Documents folder to the default location. To do this, follow these steps:

NOTE: Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

1. Click Start, right-click My Documents, and then click Properties.

2. In the Target box, type drive:\Documents and Settings\user\My Documents, where "drive:\" is the drive on which Windows is installed (example "javascript:void(null);") and "user" is your user name.

3. Click Apply, and then click OK.

4. When you are prompted to confirm that you want to create the folder, click Yes.

5. When you are prompted to confirm that you want to move all of the documents with the folder, click Yes to All.