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Questions and Answers on The Rhythm of French

Salix customers have called or sent us E-Mail posing various questions on The Rhythm of French.  We list many of these questions below in hopes that our answers will expediently help our current and future customers:

 
Windows 2000 User Account Problems:
 
Question:  The Rhythm of French works fine when I install it and execute it as an Administrator, but it fails to operate correctly when I execute it with a User account. What must I do to get User accounts to work correctly?

Answer:  There are potentially two permissions issues here in getting User accounts to correctly execute The Rhythm of French on Windows 2000.

The first permission issue is that each User account must have full shared access to read/write/execute all files in the C:\SALIX directory as well as the C:\PDOXUSRS.NET file. The C:\SALIX directory contains the Borland Paradox database used to store student/user information; files within this directory are updated for each session of The Rhythm of French. The C:\PDOXUSRS.NET file is also used during each session to perform the database update.

The User acounts must also have full shared access (read/write permission) to the TEMP directory. Unfortunately, Windows 2000 denies full shared access to the TEMP directory for standard User accounts. Without the proper permissions to the TEMP directory, standard Users get the cryptic error message "Initialization failed. Not enough memory or the file is damaged."

The following URL gives further information on the problem and describes how to configure User accounts with proper permissions to the TEMP directory:

http://home.click2learn.com/en/support/knowledgebase/kbdisplay.asp?id=Q101571464626249

 

Lesson 4 Error:
 
Question:  An error has been brought to my attention by students using The Rhythm of French concerning Lesson 4A. A loop is created upon finishing the "Listening: 2 rhythmic groups" part, linking the user to the "Longer declarative statements" part. The only way to avoid being caught in this loop is to choose "More" at the end of the exercises or to use the "Jump" feature. Will this error be corrected in the program?

Answer:  Please note that the error in Lesson 4 is indeed easy to circumvent. As you pointed out, you need only click "More" or use the "Jump" button when you reach the end of the "Listening: 2 rhythmic groups" section in order to proceed to the next section.

However, Salix does supply a correction for the loop error that you discovered. To install the update, follow the procedure below:

1) Download the lesson4.exe update by clicking here.

2) ROF Volume 1 must be installed from a Hard Drive in order to replace the lesson files LSN04A.TBK and LSN04AHR.TBK from the lesson4.exe file you just downloaded. If you are currently running from a CD-ROM, copy the contents of the Volume 1 CD-ROM to a directory on your hard drive, such as C:\ROFVOL1. Then, run the C:\ROFVOL1\SETUP.EXE file to reinstall Volume 1.

3) Then, execute the lesson4.exe file that you downloaded in order to overwrite the two files LSN04A.TBK and LSN04AHR.TBK in directory C:\ROFVOL1\ROFV1R10\LESSONS\LSN04.
 

Passwords:
 
Question:  There seems to be a problem with passwords. I followed the installation instructions only to find that whenever I tried to type in a password and hit the OK button, a message would flash saying that I have to provide a password - which is what I just did.   No matter how hard I try, it doesn't work.  What is the problem?

Answer:  The password that you enter must be composed of alphabetic characters only.  No numeric characters are allowed.  If you try to enter a password with a numeric digit in it, you will get the message "You must enter a valid password!"  To correct this problem, please reenter a password with only alphabetic characters.
 

Cannot Log In:

Question:  I tried to install the Rhythm of French, but I got just so far. I was ok until I got to the login name and password. It never asked me for my name, just for the login and password. When I made some up, it told me the database was already established and it didn't recognize me. Your documentation says I'll need to de-install the program, but I don't know how. Can you help me?

Answer:  This same situation might occur if you have forgotten your password after previously installing The Rhythm of French.  To recover from this problem, please look in the file C:\WINDOWS\ASYMCBT.INI.  The file should look something like the following:

     [Paths]
     CMSRptDir=C:\MTB30\REPORTS\
     RSRunDir=C:\RS_RUN\
     CMSDataDir=c:\salix\usrdb\
     Ask Logs=c:\rhyfredv\

     [Logs]
     MinRequiredSpace=50000

The variable 'CMSDataDir' in this file tells where the user database is located.  The user data base contains that information about all ROF users, including administrators such as yourself.

If the 'CMSDataDir' is defined as "C:\SALIX\USRDB", as it is above, then the database was originally created during a previous installation of an ROF volume or Demo.  If this is the case in your situation, could you have possibly have previously installed the ROF Demo and another ROF volume but have forgotten the password?

On the otherhand, if 'CMSDataDir' is defined as some other directory, it is possible that some other user on your computer or network has installed another course built with the same tools that ROF used (Asymetrix Multimedia Toolbook).  If this is the case, you should try to find the administrator of that other course who might be able to give you the administrator ID and password.

But if you need to re-install ROF due to this problem, just change the name of the C:\WINDOWS\ASYMCBT.INI file to something like (C:\WINDOWS\ASYMCBT.SV).  The contents of the saved copy will allow you to recover someone else's database later if that becomes necessary;  however, because the ASYMCBT.INI file is missing it signals ROF that a new database should be established.  Then, reinstall ROF by executing the SETUP.EXE file on the CD-ROM.  ROF will build a new set of tables in the default directory C:\SALIX\USRDB and ask you to define a new user ID and password.
 

Network Operation:
 
Question:  Am I correct to think that it is not possible to run The Rhythm of French on our network?

Answer:  It is certainly possible to run The Rhythm of French on your network.  To do so, you need to do four basic things:

1) Purchase multiple licenses to The Rhythm of French so that you can legally execute the program on each workstation of your network.

2) Install The Rhythm of French from a network CD-ROM drive, placing the installation directory on a network drive visible to all workstations on the network.

3) Make the Rhythm of French icons visible to all workstations on the network.

4) Execute The Rhythm of French from the workstation making sure that the CD-ROM drive is mapped to the same drive letter used in the original installation which accesses the original network CD-ROM drive.

Depending on the speed of and demands placed on your network, it might be better to run the individual CD-ROMs at each workstation.  It is also possible to keep the database of student activity on the network drive so that the course administrator can monitor all student activity, yet have students execute Rhythm of French from their individual workstations.  This option may be attractive when the speed of the network is insufficient to support full shared access of all voice and graphic files, yet the course administrator wishes to monitor all student activity.  With this option, voice and graphic files are loaded from the CD-ROM locally, yet student activity is recorded in a shared database on a shared network drive.  For this type of network configuration, The Rhythm of French must be installed from a workstation CD-ROM drive while specifying the installation directory to be located on a network drive.

The price Salix charges for use on 'x' workstations in a networked language lab is the same price as using 'x' individual CD-ROMs on individual workstations.  So, the choice is really yours on whether to utilize the network or not.  We will typically ship you the complete set of individual CD-ROMs when you place your order.

If you have purchased The Rhythm of French licenses to run on your network, please contact Salix Corporation to request the "Network Installation" guide. This guide will give you more details on how to set up The Rhythm of French for your network.

Then, if you have trouble configuring The Rhythm of French for network operation, please call or send E-Mail to the Salix customer support department describing the problem.  We will be glad to help.
 

Network Configurations

Question:  How do you deal with the sound files if you are using this package on a network? Would I have to install all sound files on the server? If yes, how much space are we talking about?

Answer:  It is possible to configure The Rhythm of French for network operation in several ways.  Let me describe four different network configurations:

1) Use a shared network CD-ROM drive(s) to hold the ROF CD-ROMs as opposed to loading the ROF CD-ROMs on each workstation

With this configuration, all files for The Rhythm of French are shared by everyone on the network because they are accessing the same CD-ROM.  This configuration may work well if you have fast CD-ROM drives and a fast network. The sound files demand the most out of the network because they are large and numerous.  If your network is slow, students at the workstations may experience delays during loading of the sound files as they go to each new page.  You may also need three shared CD-ROM drives if you wish to have the complete course on-line at the same time because each of the three ROF volumes utilizes its own CD-ROM.

2) Download all CD-ROM content to a shared network hard drive

With this configuration, all ROF files are located on a fast hard drive as opposed to a relatively slow CD-ROM drive.  This speeds up shared file access and may offer substantial network performance improvements depending on the relative speeds of the hard disk and CD-ROM drives.  However, the ROF files comprise 800MBytes of disk space in total, so this configuration requires a large committment of hard disk space.

3) Place the course management database on a shared network drive, but use individual CD-ROMs at each workstation

This configuration uses a CD-ROM drive at each workstation to access ROF files.  Therefore, it is a local operation for ROF to access most of its files, especially sound files.  Much fewer network resources are consumed, and sound files are quickly loaded locally.  However, student progress records are kept on the network server so that the ROF professor or course administrator can globally monitor all students' progress through the course. This configuration requires that each workstation on the network have one CD-ROM drive.  Student switch ROF CD-ROMs as they progress between ROF course volumes.

4) Use the ROF CD-ROMs at each workstation without using the network capabilities for ROF

This configuration does not utilize network capabilities at all.  Students progress through the ROF course on their own, using the CD-ROMs locally.  Student information for the ROF course management system is kept on the local hard drive, so students must use the same workstation if they wish to maintain consistent progress records.  Of course, if student progress records are not important to the student, professor, or course administrator, then one can use an anonymous student login to permit the student to use any workstation at any time.
 

For a network license, Salix ships the number of CD-ROMs corresponding to the number of network workstations licensed.  Therefore, networked language labs can experiment with all four configurations to see how best to utilize The Rhythm of French course at their institution.

If you have purchased The Rhythm of French licenses to run on your network, please contact Salix Corporation to request the "Network Installation" guide. This guide will give you more details on how to set up The Rhythm of French for your network.

Then, if you have trouble configuring The Rhythm of French for network operation, please call or send E-Mail to the Salix customer support department describing the problem.  We will be glad to help.

By the way, language labs should also consider the distributed language lab concept promoted by Salix in which students use their home PCs with The Rhythm of French.  With this model, each student must individually purchase a copy of The Rhythm of French.  They may borrow access to a friend's PC or use a computer provided to the student as a university resource.  But the distributed language lab concept does offer a great deal of flexibility for the student, circumvents language lab congestion, and utilizes student's home PC capabilities.  Student's home PC's may also keep pace with the computer industry faster than educational budgets are able to upgrade language labs.  Students can also record their voice and bring voice files in from their home PC to their professor on a diskette, for monitoring progress through the course and the improvement in French pronunciation..
 
 

Novell Networks:
 
Question:  What file and user permissions should be used when running The Rhythm of French using a Novell network?

Answer:  We recommend that you give read/write and shareable permissions for all files in the Salix directory.  Users should be given trustee rights to read, write, create, modify, and file scan.
 
 
 
Out of Memory

Question:  What should I do if I get an "out of memory" message?

Answer:  If you experience clipped sound or out of memory conditions while using the Rhythm of French, first try to set your virtual memory to 24MB or greater.  Under Windows 3.1, you do this by following this procedure:
 
 1)  Double-click the 'Main' icon under the Program Manager
 2)  Double-click the 'Control Panel' icon under 'Main'
 3)  Double-click the '386 Enhanced' icon under Control Panel
 4)  Click the 'Virtual Memory' button in 386 Enhanced
 5)  Click the 'Change' button in 'Virtual Memory'
 6)  Set the Virtual Memory to 23664KB or greater if
  the maximum size shown permits a greater amount.
 
Out of memory conditions can also be caused by conflicts or inefficiencies in programs or low level drivers running on your computer.  If changing the virtual memory as recommended above does not work,  temporarily disable other applications running on your machine, and also disable low-level drivers for everything but your monitor, sound card, keyboard, mouse, and CD-ROM. You can do this by terminating running applications and through modifications to your 'config.sys' and 'autoexec.bat' files.  If the clipped sound problem goes away, then selectively reenable the low-level drivers and applications until you find out which driver or application is in conflict.
 
Please contact Salix Technical Support if you are unable to correct a problem of this sort.
 
 

Unable to Record
 
Question:  I cannot seem to play back my voice when I try to record;  what should I do?

Answer:  Run the mixer for your sound card. Typically, this program is called C:\sb16\winappl\ctmixer.exe, C:\windows\sndvol32.exe, Pocket Mixer or Creative Mixer.  Make sure that the recording volume and playback volumes are high.  Make sure that the microphone is enabled.  Try the volume test feature for the microphone if your Mixer has this feature.

Then, try to record and playback with one of the utilities that came with your sound card.  Typically, this utility is called C:\windows\sndrec32.exe,  Pocket Recorder or Wave Studio.  If it still doesn't work, adjust the volume levels again with the mixer program.

If it still does not work, it is time to check things like whether the microphone is turned on, whether it is plugged in the proper jack, whether it takes batteries and the batteries are dead, etc.

We have also seen recording problems when using the French version of Windows 3.1.  To correct this problem, we copied the file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MMSYSTEM.DLL from an English version of Windows to the French version of Windows.

When you get the sound card utility recording to work, go back to the Rhythm of French and try the record and playback again.  Click the audio button to adjust the volume levels.
 
 

Poor Recording Quality
 
Question:  When I record and play back by voice, the recording quality is poor.  How can I improve it?

Answer:  Many exercises in The Rhythm of French support student voice recording and playback.  As distributed, recording is set to 22KHz, 16-bit, mono.
 
If student recording quality is poor or hard to hear, first check to make sure that your recording and playback volume are set correctly.  You can do this by clicking the audio button, or manually running the mixer program that was installed with your sound card.  Typically, the name of the mixer program is something like "C:\sb16\winappl\ctmixer.exe" or "c:\jazz\jazzpmix.exe".  Then, execute the record utility that came with your sound card;  the record utility should be a program such as "c:\sb16\winappl\ctwave.exe" or "c:\jazz\prec.exe".  Use it to record and play back your voice in order to make sure that your sound card and microphone are properly configured.
 
If you still have trouble with The Rhythm of French after properly recording and playing back your voice with your sound card utilities, save a file that you have recorded with your sound card utility under the name of "c:\salix\rofv1r10\record.wav".  This recording should be very short, just a second or so of silence will do.  The Rhythm of French will now use this file to establish its recording characteristics that should exactly match your sound card.  Once again, please contact Salix Technical Support if you are unable to get your recording working correctly.
 

Faint Recording:
 
Question:  I am able to hear only a very faint sound of my voice when I record.  I think maybe that the microphone is of poor quality and will look for a better one. What kind of microphone do you have and where can I get one like it?

Answer:  We have two microphones that we purchased off the shelf at Radio Shack.  One is a small hand held model, Electret Condenser #33-1060, and the other is a larger model to be put on a stand, Electret Unidirectional Condenser #33-3007.

These two microphones work exceptionally well, but both take a battery;  this is a problem if you inadvertently leave it on while not in use since the batteries tend to run down.  I do not think that you need one that takes a battery, but since you are having problems with recording volume some sort of high gain microphone may be what you need.

On the other hand, the microphone may not in fact be the cause of your problem.  Typically, sound cards come with an independent recording program and a mixer program.  I recommend that you first try to record your own voice and get it to play back using both vendor supplied programs before trying The Rhythm of French.  Once you get good recording and playback with these independent tools, then working with The Rhythm of French will go much easier.

The typical problem that I have seen is that the sound card manufacturer inversely ties sound volume to microphone input.  I suppose that they do this to eliminate feedback while keeping both the sound and microphone on at the same time, although a much better design is to have them be completely independent and optionally turn off sound output while recording.  If they do tie microphone volume to sound output, then you must find that correct balance of microphone gain and sound volume to make both recording and playback work.

Try recording your voice on the microphone with microphone gain set to maximum.  Then turn off the microphone input completely, boost sound output to maximum, and playback your recording.  If this approach makes a difference, then you might experiment with intermediate settings to try to find an appropriate balance between the microphone and speaker volume.  Externally amplified speakers or headphones may make setting the appropriate balance more easily.

Some other things you might try include:

- make sure no mute button has been pressed for recording or playback in the Mixer controls

- make sure that you are displaying the volume controls for recording and that the recording volume is set high;  sometimes the recording controls are not displayed unless you ask for them be checking the appropriate box such as in the menu item Options/Properties

- make sure that fresh batteries are inserted if your microphone or speakers use them

- make sure that you try your sound card vendor supplied utilities in addition to Windows controls just in case there is some incompatibility

- try some independent speakers that come with internal amplifiers

- call your sound card's manufacturer to see if they have any suggestions on type of microphone, external amplification, etc.
 
 
Administrative Reports

Question:  Why cannot I cannot get reports to print when using the ADMIN program?

Answer:  The version of Asymetrix Toolbook used to develop The Rhythm of French did not distribute the REPORTSMITH report writer capability used by the ADMIN program to print reports.  Therefore, Salix does not automatically install the ability to generate written reports.

As a poor man's alternative to REPORTSMITH, however, you may use the ADMIN program to export user, course, and activity information to disk files.  Using these disk files, you may import ADMIN data into other tools such as Word or Excel in order to print or otherwise manipulate it.  However, if the date on your Rhythm of French CD-ROM is before 1/1/98, you need to use an updated version of ADMIN.EXE in order to export data to disk files.  You can download this version by clicking here <<DOWNLOAD ADMIN.EXE>>.  After downloading, replace the ADMIN.EXE file in the C:\Salix\Admin directory with the new downloaded version.

If you would like access to the full ADMIN reporting capability, the program REPORTSMITH is commercially available from Borland.  Installing this commerical version of REPORTSMITH will enable reports to be printed using the ADMIN program.  In order to use REPORTSMITH after its installation, perform the following steps:

    1)  Copy the 'Reports' directory from the ROFV1R10 directory on the CD-ROM to a network disk in a path such as c:\Salix\Reports

    2)  Modify Asymcbt.ini file in the Windows directory for two [Paths] variables as follows:

            a)  set CMSRptDir to the Reports directory you just copied from the CDROM, such as

        CMSRptDir=C:\Salix\Reports\
            b)  set the RSRunDir variable to the directory where you have installed ReportSmith, such as
        RSRunDir=c:\RS_Run\
         
    3)  Verify that the RS_RUN.ini file in the Windows directory contains:
     
      [RS_RunTime]
      ConnectionFile=C:\Windows\rptsmith.con
       
    4)  Modify the c:\windows\rptsmith.con file referenced in (3) with
     
      [CMS]
      DataFilePath=c:\Salix\usrdb  (should be same value as CMSDataDir in Asymcbt.ini)
      Type=42
      Server=RS_Paradox
     
      [ConnectNamesSection]
      ConnectNames=CMS             (or add ",CMS" at end of line if another name is already present)
       
    5)  Run the Admin program from ROF and try any report function.  It should work at this point.
 

Prize Points

Question:  How are points accumulated for prizes?

Answer:  As you finish each section of a lesson unit,  you are awarded 5 points toward 'prizes'.  Thus, you gain prize points by just progressing through the course material.  You can see how many prize points you have accumulated by pressing the PRIZE button on the first Table of Contents page reached by the JUMP button.

Prize points are unrelated to answering quiz questions.  See 'Quizzes' below for a discussion of quiz answers and scores.
 
 
Quizzes

Question:  How are quizzes scored?   What are the 'points' listed in the Activity section of the ADMIN program?

Answer:  A student's overall score in answering quiz questions can be inspected using the ADMIN program.  As the student answers each quiz question in the lessons, the answer is recorded in the student database.  The ADMIN program can be used to review each student's activity and overall percentage of correct answers to quiz questions.  The Activity section provides the following information for each student for each Rhythm of French volume:

    Points  =>  The total number of correctly answered quiz questions to date.

    Maximum => The total number of available quiz questions for all lesson units that have been started;
                          this total does not include quiz questions for units that a student has never started.

    Percent => Points/Maximum expressed as a percentage.

 
Mac Execution

Question:  Will the Rhythm of French run on a Mac?

Answer:  Yes, The Rhythm of French  does run on Power Macs (Macintosh) running Virtual PC.   So, even though The Rhythm of French is released for the PC platform running Windows (3.1, 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, NT) you now have the opportunity to execute it on the Macintosh as well.  .

Salix had trouble with older Windows emulation programs because, in general, they did not support sound recording.  The Rhythm of French teaching techniques rely heavily on recording one's voice.  Not being able to record was a serious disadvantage. However, the latest Windows emulation programs handle recording well so that The Rhythm of French now runs correctly on the Mac.