Please note that these instructions refer to version 6 and higher of the software.

For instructions on loading version 5, please click here.

Country: If you are using a computer outside of the U.S.A. or U.K., it will probably need to be set to U.K. regional settings - please see step 8 of Section 1.4 below.

Version: These instructions refer to version 6. It is important that you install the latest released version, as only the latest version is given technical support. Currently version 5 is supported, and version 6 is on test. Versions below 5.xx (such as version 4.20) can be installed, but you will no longer be allowed to register them - so the program will not run. If you do try to register an obsolete version automatically during installation, you will get an error such as Server authorisation code failed. This may be due to incorrect details or communications error. If you have an obsolete version, then you may be entitled to a free upgrade - please Contact Us or contact your agent.

Problems: If you have already installed the software, but it seems to be behaving strangely, then please consult the advice on the Support and training page and then if necessary Contact us.

• Minimum memory Hard disk 100 MBytes ; RAM 128 MBytes
  
• Operating system Designed for Microsoft Windows XP
  
• Minimum processor 1.8 GHz, but for wetting algorithm and VRML graphics, recommend 3 GHz
  
• Screen resolution 1024 x 768 or higher
  
• Graphics card Good quality hardware graphics card (not software-based pseudo graphics card )
  
• Environment Working computer or another computer must have access to the internet for compulsory registration of the software. Access to the internet from the working computer also allows access to additional information and support from the Pore-Cor website.
  
• Other devices. For loading, requires CD-ROM drive. While running, a dongle must be inserted into a USB port.

These rest of these instructions are given for a UK or US version of Windows XP, with Pore-Cor RS loaded into the default directory. If you are running your computer in a different language, or choose a different directory into which to load the software, then please change the instructions accordingly.

This section gives background information about the software. You may wish to return to it later, and proceed directly with the explanation of the Copy protection in section 1.3 below and then load the software by following the instructions in section 1.4.

If you are having problems loading the software, you may wish to skip to section 1.9 .

1.2.1 Graph plotting software
Graphs are output from Pore-Cor in sketch mode, rather than in publishable format.
Publishable output from the accessible csv (comma-separated variables) datafiles requires a graph and/or spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel.

1.2.2 Three-dimensional surface
The results from the 'Grid optimisation' facility in the program can be output as a three-dimensional surface. This surface is plotted using DirectX. DirectX is usually already loaded onto computers less than 4 years old. If it is not already installed, please download the latest version of the software (v. 9.0 or higher) directly from the appropriate Microsoft website http://www.microsoft.com/downloads .

1.2.3 Virtual Reality viewer
The virtual reality system requires a VRML viewer. The viewer GLView is a free, unsupported viewer. It is supplied with the software for demonstration purposes only, and remains the property of their developers. An up-to-date copy should be downloaded free from its website.

The software is protected by a USB dongle, known as a Sentinel Key. The software will not operate without the dongle inserted into any USB port on your computer, and if you remove the dongle, the software will stop operating after a short delay.

For moving from one computer to another, see section 1.6 below. For upgrading see section 1.7 below.

Step 1. Look at the specifications in section 1.1 and ensure that the computer you choose is suitable. If the computer is below the required specification, then see section 1.8 below. Ensure that you have installation rights on the computer, and that none of the drives on which you will load Pore-Cor RS (A: and hard drives such as C: or D: ) are shared in any way, or locked by a virus checker.

Step 2. Put the Pore-Cor RS CD into the CD drive.

Step 3. Wait for instructions to appear on the screen, and follow them.

(If no instructions appear, find the CD drive containing the Pore-Cor CD using My Computer or Explorer . Then open the CD directory, and double-click on setup or setup.exe ).

Step 4. Once the software is loaded, insert the USB dongle (Sentinel Key) into a USB port on your computer. The top of the USB dongle should light up (green) to show that it is working.

If it does not, the dongle has not found its drivers. We apologise for this - it is a problem with our suppliers, and will be automated in the full release version. Please go to http://www.setupmykey.com .  Then click on Sentinel Hardware Key, download the Sentinel Protection Installer v 7.3.0 , and then run this on your computer.  That should load the drivers, and the dongle should then light up green when you put the dongle into any USB port. This will all be done automatically in the full release version.

If that approach does not work, remove the dongle, and insert it once again into the USB port. You should get a screen flashing up on your computer entitled "Welcome to the Found New Hardware Wizard" (or the equivalent in your own language). When asked "Can Windows connect to Windows update to search for the software?" , click "No, not this time". Then click Next to continue. Then when asked "What do you want the wizard to do?", click "Install from a list or specific location". On the next screen , click "Search for the best driver in these locations." Use the Browse button to point to the Program Files directory where you loaded the Pore-Cor RS software.

That is all you need do if you are using a computer which:

• is running under Windows XP or 2000
• is less than about four years old and therefore has DirectX pre-loaded
• is set to UK or US regional settings, and
• is set to high resolution with small fonts, and on advanced setting is set to 96 DPI (i.e. normal size rather than large size fonts).

If any of these things are not true about your computer, then please read on…

Step 5. Pore-Cor RS requires DirectX to draw the 3-D surface resulting from the Grid Method sensitivity analysis. Most computers less than 4 years old have DirectX already loaded. If you are not sure whether your computer has DirectX, then click the Start button at the bottom left of your screen, and select Run . In the Open box, type dxdiag and click OK. If you have Direct X installed, various details will appear. In this case, you need do nothing more - just click Exit in the DX Diagnostic window. However, if no details appear, then you need to load a copy of DirectX as explained in section 1.2.2 above.

Step 7. Click the Start button at the bottom left of your computer screen.
Go to Control Panel | Appearance and Themes | Change the screen resolution and select the Settings tab.
Check that the screen area is at least 1024 x 768 pixels.
Also, if there is an Advanced Settings button for the display settings, check that the DPI is set to Normal Size.

Step 8. Pore-Cor uses very many different data files from different sources. It expects these to be in UK format (e.g. one thousand is written 1,000.00 ). If you are using a computer outside the UK or USA, then you will have to change the regional settings while using Pore-Cor Research Suite. We are sorry that this can be a nuisance because it may change the behaviour of other programs on your computer, but the settings can be changed back when you finish your session with the program.

To change the regional settings:

Click the Start button at the bottom left of your screen.
Select: Control Panel | ... Language and regional Options | Change the format of numbers, dates and times. Note the current setting (so that you can change back to it if necessary after you finish using Pore-Cor Research Suite 6). Then select English (United Kingdom) or English (United States) .

Insert the USB dongle (Sentinel Key). Click the Start button at the bottom left of your computer screen.

Go to All Programs | Pore-Cor Research Suite 6 | Pore-Cor Research Suite 6 , and the software should open for you. (The titles may be different if you did not use the default install directory and group.) You may have to register it if you have not already done so.

If you wish to uninstall the program, and may wish to use it later on the same or a different computer, it is essential to use the program's own uninstaller. Go to Start | All Programs | Pore-Cor Research Suite 6 | Uninstall.

To reinstall, go back to step 1 in section 1.4 above.

When upgrading from version 5.02 to version 6, you should be able to install the new software without it interfering with the previous version. So you have a choice of whether to uninstall the previous version (which you should do before loading the new software.)

These are step-by-step instructions for removing the previous version and installing the new version:

Step 1. Save any essential data and archives (*.slg for version 5, *.sl6 for version 6) into a directory other than the program directory.
(Note that in version 6, your own datafiles are loaded by default into your own file directory, which is not deleted during an Uninstall.)

Step 2. Uninstall the previous version using Start | Control Panel | Add or Remove programs .

Step 3. Using an explorer (e.g. by clicking Start | My Computer ), go to your directory called Program Files . Check that all Pore-Cor program directories and their contents are fully deleted.

Step 4. Open a search application , e.g. by clicking Start | Search . Search All files and folders , using the More advanced option of searching system folders and hidden files and folders, for any files with have All or part of the file name as ccmove . Delete any such files that are found. (They will have names such as ccmove32.dll, ccmove.exe etc.)

Step 5. Install the new version as shown in section 1.4 above.

Pore-Comp and Pore-Ped are not demanding of computers, so there is no problem using a below-specification computer for these programs.

Pore-Cor, however, is calculation intensive. On a 400 MHz computer (rather than the minimum recommended 1 GHz computer), one could expect a Simplex convergence to take of the order of 10 minutes, and 0.1 seconds of wetting to take around 25 hours. However, both the Simplex calculation and wetting calculations can be restricted to shorter times by being less accurate or by involving less wetting.

Pore-Eye's Virtual Reality system requires at least 128 MBytes of RAM. Although it will run on less, you will have to shut down all other applications, and only look at one structure at a time. Navigation around the structures will be slow on anything less than a 1 GHz machine, so it is recommended you use the slider controls to reduce the number of features drawn, and their resolution.

If the program voices a Security Concern when you change the language, as requested on section 1.4 step 8, then try changing back to your native language, and just changing the way that numbers are written rather than the entire language (see section 1.4 step 8).

If you are having a problem running the program under Windows XP service pack 2 ( SP2 ), click here.