Installation

Instructions for Installation of TRPC and TRPC

Please note that there is an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section at the end of these instructions. You might want to print out the answers to these questions (by clicking the print option in your web browser) before beginning installation.

If you are downloading the whole program: Click on the button on this web site to download the installation program. You will be asked where on your computer you wish to download the program. If you clicked on the TRPC program, you should find the file TRPC99.exe at the location you specificied. If you clicked on the TRIEPC program, the file name will be TRIEPC99.exe. Both programs are "self-extracting archives" which, when expanded, will give you the capability to install the tournament operating programs. Follow the procedure below for installation:

1. Locate the desired "self extracting archive" file on your hard drive (either TRPC99.exe or TRIEPC99.exe).

2. Double click the self extracting archive file.

3. You will see a first screen which says "Extract Archive Files" — Click the next button.

4. You will see a screen labeled "Destination Directory" — The default location (the one you will see in the edit box) is to a folder called "TRPC Installation" in your "My Documents" folder (or TRIEPC Installation in the case of the IE program). Either change the destination to one or your choice or leave the default unchanged. Then click the next button. If this is the first time you are downloading the installation folder, you will be asked if you wish to create the new folder — answer yes.

(Note: The default location to extract the program is in your "My Documents" folder. This will be easily located if you are using Windows 95 or Windows 98. In Windows 2000, however, your "My Documents" folder is inside another set of subfolders (Documents and Settings and another folder with your user name). You can still have another "My Documents" folder directly at your C drive, however. It will be inside this "My Documents" folder that your installation program will be located. 5. Find the installation folder on your computer. From your desktop, double-click "My Computer" — double-click C Drive — double-click "My Documents" folder. Now you should see the folder for TRPC Installation or TRIEPC Installation. Double-click this folder and find the file called Setup.exe (Setup.lst is not the correct file). Double click Setup.exe.

6. Now the installation program will follow you through the steps in program installation. Accept all of the default locations for installing the program. If you are told that your computer must be restarted, click the restart button. When your computer has restarted, again find the TRPC (or TRIEPC) installation folder and double-click Setup.exe again.

7. Once installation is complete, you can start the program by going to your Windows Icon, then to Program Files, then find either TRPC or TRIEPC (whichever you have installed).

8. If you are starting the program for the first time, it will tell you that it cannot find your data files (this is a very normal message when you are first starting the program). Follow the instructions on the "Format New Files" screen and type in the word "proceed" before clicking the button to create new files.

What if I need to install the program on another computer? Now that you have the "TRPC Installation" folder (or "TRIEPC Installation" folder) on your hard drive, use a CD writer to copy ALL the files inside this folder to a CD. This CD can be used to install the program on any computer by simply inserting the CD into the desired computer and double-clicking the "Setup.exe" file.

If you are just installing the program update: Click on the button on this web site to download the update program. You will be asked where on your computer you wish to download the program. If you clicked on the TRPC program, you should find the file TRPC40.exe at the location you specificied. If you clicked on the TRIEPC program, the file name will be TRIEPC39.exe. Both programs are "self-extracting archives" which, when expanded, will give you the capability to install the tournament operating programs. Follow the procedure below for installation:

1. Locate the desired "self extracting archive" file on your hard drive (either TRPC40.exe or TRIEPC39.exe).

2. Double click the self extracting archive file.

3. You will see a first screen which says "Extract Archive Files" — Click the next button.

4. You will see a screen labeled "Destination Directory" — The default location (the one you will see in the edit box) is to "c:\Program Files\TRPC\" or "c:\Program Files\TRIEPC\" Just leave this default location alone — click next. You will be asked whether you wish to replace the existing program — click yes. That’s all there is to it — the updated program will automatically replace your earlier program (it will leave alone any data which may exist in your current TRPCData folder).

NOTE: Running the update program will NOT work unless you have already installed the complete installation version at some time in the past. The full installation program installs necessary DLLs (disk library files) on your computer; these files are necessary to allow the TRPC or TRIEPC programs to run.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Which operating systems can run TRIEPC and TRPC? I have personally run the programs on Windows95, Windows98, WindowsMe, Windows2000 Professional, and Windows XP.
Will TRPC and TRIEPC work on a network printer? Yes. The programs use the normal windows interface to control printing. This means that whatever printer you have selected as your default printer will also work with the TRPC and TRIEPC programs.
What causes the program to report a "path not found error (error 75 or error 76)" when I first start up the program and try to create data files. If you see this error message, you need to install at least one printer driver on your computer. If you have at least one printer installed and have selected some printer as your default printer, then you should not have this problem.
What do I do if, during installation, I see a message that says some DLL file in my computer is more recent that the one being installed? The computer is recommending that I keep the newer file; what should I do? The installation program will present several choices to you, one of which is "No to All." I would select this choice. It means that you are telling the installation program that you DO NOT wish to replace any of the DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries -- a Microsoft thing) which already exist on your computer with ones which are older that the present ones.
What do I do if, during installation, I see a message reporting that there was an error when trying to record the programs in your computer's registry? Select the "ignore" option from among the choices presented to you. Whenever I have encountered this error, the programs work just fine when I tell the installation program to ignore the registry error.
What do I do if, during installation, I see a message telling me that one or more of my computer files are out of date and that the computer will need to be restarted? You will be asked whether you wish to have the necessary files installed. Answer yes and restart your computer. Once your computer has restarted, you will need to double-click the "Setup.exe" file again. This time, it should not require that you restart.

If you are using Windows2000 Professional, you will sometimes find yourself in a seemingly endless do-loop with the computer telling you that you need to re-start because some files are out of date. When you re-start, you will be brought back to the same message despite the fact that you just re-started. If this happens to you, the chances are good that the two files that your computer is missing will be comdlg32.ocx and/or oleaut32.dll. Usually Windows2000 will install the program with no problem (my personal laptop runs Windows2000 Professional and I have no problem with the program installation). If, however, you do encounter the problem, try the following:

1. Download the "Alternative TRPC Installation" located just below the TRPC installation buttons on the TRPC download page. This will download a file called TRPC89.exe which, when extracted, will contain a support folder with all of the files that you need. Try first installing directly from the installation setup files extracted from TRPC89.exe. If this still does not resolve the problem, proceed to number 2.

2. Manually copy the two missing files (comdlg32.ocx and oleaut32.dll) from the Support folder mentioned above in number 1 to a location inside your windows operating folder on your Windows2000 machine. The folder that you need is c:\WINNT\system32\ -- First copy your two files from the Support Folder by clicking on one, then (while holding down the control key) click on the other so that they are both highlighted. With the files highlighted, go to your top edit menu and come down to select Copy. Now double click your "My Computer" icon, then double click your "C" drive, then double click the folder called "WINNT" (you will receive a message warning that you should not mess with this folder, but click the option telling it that you wish to do so anyway). Now double click the system32 folder. Click anywhere inside that folder, then go to your top Edit menu and come down to select the Paste command. Now try the installation again. If it still does not work, go to number 3.

3. Install only the TRPC update. This will create a new TRPC folder in your "Program Files" folder. Assuming that you have done step #2 above, you are really ready to run the program. The only problem is that TRPC has not been automatically installed in your Start Menu, so you will have to install it yourself. Do this by clicking your "Start" button, then select "Settings." Under "Settings" select the option for "Taskbar and Start Menu." Click "Advanced" tab and click the button for "Add." Now click the Browse button and find and select TRPC.exe. This file will be located in your "C" drive, inside the "Program Files" folder, inside the "TRPC" folder. Now your TRPC executable file is installed in your start menu and you should be ready to run the program.

Where on my computer are are programs installed? The programs will be installed in your Hard Drive (usually your C drive) within a folder called "Program Files." If you installed TRPC, the program will exist inside a folder called "TRPC" in the path "c:\Program Files\TRPC\". If you installed TRIEPC, the program will exist inside a folder called "TRIEPC" in the path "c:\Program Files\TRIEPC\".
How do I start up the program once it is installed? The installation program has placed an entry in your Start menu, so you should be able to go to your Windows "Start" icon and select "Program Files." Under the list of Program Files you should be able to find TRPC or TRIEPC.
Is it possible to install more than one version of the debate program on the same computer? Yes. Suppose, for example, that you wish to have one copy of the program which runs LD and another copy which runs Policy Debate. Install TRPC on your computer as normal from the full installation program. After installation is complete, go to the Start Menu, find TRPC under your Program Files and use your mouse to right-click the icon where you would start TRPC. You will see an option to "Send to Desktop." By selecting this option, you will be creating a shortcut to the TRPC program on your desktop. To prevent confusion, right-click this icon on your desktop and select the rename option, renaming the shortcut, "Policy Debate" (or whatever you wish to call it). Now use the installation web page to download a copy of the TRPC update (it will be TRPC39.exe) once downloaded to your computer. You might wish to install this update by double-clicking it and clicking through the "Next" buttons, leaving the installation path on its default (to "c:\Program Files\TRPC\"). Now double-click the update file (TRPC39.exe) a second time, but this time changing the installation path to "c:\Program Files\LD TRPC\" (or whatever other name you might want to give it). You will be told that the folder does not exist and you will be asked whether you wish to create the new folder; answer yes. Now you have a second copy of TRPC installed which will save data files to its own folder. Create the desktop shortcut for the second program by using the following steps: (1) Double-click "My Computer" (2) Double-click "C" (3) Double-click "Program Files" (on the newer Windows operating systems, you will have to click an option to "Show Files"). (4) Double-click the folder that you created (in my example above, it would be called "LD TRPC"). (5) Right-click the file called TRPC.exe and re-name it "LD TRPC.exe" (or whatever name you wish). (5) Right click the ".exe" file you just renamed and now select the option to "Send to Desktop" (6) Close the windows you have open so that you can see the new shortcut on your desktop, then right-click the new shortcut and re-name it "LD Debate" (or whatever name you wish to give it. Now you have two icons on your desktop, one of which will save data to the LD data files and another which will save data to the Policy data files. You can actually, if you wish, have both programs running at the same time. Just click back and forth between the two programs down on the start menu line.