Music Troubleshooting Guide

Macintosh users CLICK HERE

Instructions for WINDOWS XP users

The music portion of the daily slide shows is formatted as a MIDI file. If you are unable to hear the music, first make sure that the volume on your computer is not turned down all the way and that your speakers are connected. If everything is fine with the volume and the speakers, then most likely your MIDI settings need to be adjusted.

Here's how to do that:

First, close ALL browser windows.

Then, click the "Start" button.

Then click to open the Control Panel.

In the control panel, double-click on the "Sounds and Audio Devices" icon.

That wll bring up the "Sounds and Audio Devices Properties" window. In that window, click on the "Audio" tab, and it will bring up the settings as shown below. In the "MIDI music playback" section, make sure that there is a device specified as the Default device. Then click the "Volume" button.

That will bring up the "Volume Control" window as shown below. In the "Volume Control" window, make sure that NONE of the mute buttons are checked. Also make sure that the Volume slided in the "SW Synth" section is all the way up.

Then click the close button (red box with X) to close the "Volume Control" window. After that, click the "OK" button in the "Sounds and Audio Devices Properties" window. Re-start your browser, go to the slide show, and you should now be able to hear the music.

Instructions for those using the Firefox browser (Windows version).

If you are using Firefox and have checked the above settings and are still not able to hear the music, here are some additional things you can check:

First, open a Firefox browser window.

Then, select "Options" from the "Tools" menu as shown below.

That will bring up the "Options" window. Click on the "Content" tab and that will bring up the settings shown below. Make sure that the "Enable JavaScript" option is CHECKED.

Then click the "OK" button.

Finally, close all Firefox browser windows, restart Firefox, and try viewing the slide show again.

Instructions for OLDER versions of WINDOWS

If you are using WINDOWS, there should be a "horn" icon on the bottom right hand corner of your computer screen. Double click on the icon and make sure the volume control is turned up loud enough, and that the mute square is not checked.

Next, check your Multimedia settings.
  1. Click the START button in the lower left corner of your screen. Select SETTINGS from the menu; then select CONTROL PANEL.
  2. Choose Multimedia.
  3. Choose the MIDI tab.
  4. Make sure that under single instrument that you have a device selected that ends in "synth".
  5. Click Apply.
If you are still unable to hear the music, you will want to download the appropriate plug-in. The plug-in you need depends on the browser you are using

INTERNET EXPLORER USERS:
You will want to download the Windows Media Player by using the link below.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/mediaplayer/

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR WINDOWS 95 USERS: Windows 95 users cannot use Windows Media Player 7 and must use Windows Media Player 6.4 (available by clicking on the drop down menu on the download page).

This will be a two-step process.

1) Download the installation file.

When asked to Run this program in its current location or Save to Disk, choose Save to Disk.

2) Install the Windows Media Player

After you have downloaded the installation file for the plug-in, you will need to install it by double-clicking on the downloaded file that you saved to your desktop. Once the MIDI plug-in is installed you will need to restart your computer.

Macintosh users:

The most common problem for Macintosh users who are unable to hear the music is that whatever browser you're using (Safari, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) has javascript scripting disabled. This is a very easy problem to correct. Follow instructions below for the particular browser you're using.

If you're using the Safari browser on your Macintosh:

  1. Open Safari.
  2. In the "Safari" menu, select "Preferences."
  3. In the Preferences window, click the "Security" tab (has a silver, yellow & black lock icon).
  4. In the Security window, make sure that "Enable JavaScript" is CHECKED.
  5. Then close the Security/Preferences window.
  6. Quit Safari and then re-start it.
  7. You should now be able to hear the music.

If you're using the Firefox browser on your Macintosh:

  1. Open Firefox.
  2. In the "Firefox" menu, select "Preferences."
  3. In the Preferences window, click the "Content" tab (has a blue and green Earth icon).
  4. In the Content window, make sure that "Enable JavaScript" is CHECKED.
  5. Then close the Content/Preferences window.
  6. Quit Firefox and then re-start it.
  7. You should now be able to hear the music.

If you're using the Internet Explorer version 5 browser for Macintosh:

  1. Open Internet Explorer.
  2. In the "Explorer" menu, select "Preferences".
  3. In the "Internet Explorer Preferences" window, click on "Web Browser" in the left hand column.
  4. In the "Active Content" section, make sure the "Enable scripting" box is CHECKED.
  5. Then click the "OK" button.
  6. Then quit Internet Explorer, start it up again, and try viewing the slide show.
  7. You should now be able to hear the music.
Also, if you're using Explorer you can check to be sure that sound is enabled on your computer.
  1. In the Explorer's Edit menu (Mac OS 9) or Explorer menu (OS X), choose Preferences, and then click the Web Content tab. Make sure that the Play Sounds check box is selected.
  2. Check to make sure that your computer's volume is turned up.
  3. If you're using Mac OS 9 or below, check to make sure that you have the Quicktime Musical Instruments extension installed on your computer. It should be in the Extensions folder in your System folder. If you do not have this extension installed, visit http://quicktime.apple.com for more information and to download a copy.