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Chessmaster 10th edition message reads: feature transfer error, error - 1603 fatal error during installation. Can you please help?

Getting this error when you are trying to install a program usually indicates an issue with the Windows Installer Service on that machine. This comes with Windows and is the program that allows you to install other programs. There are several ways to address the issue, and it may take a little troubleshooting to find the fix that works for you.

Enable Windows Installer

First, make sure that the Windows Installer is enabled on your computer. Go to Start and then Run. In the box, type in “services.msc” and then Enter. Double click on “Windows Installer”. Look for the Startup Type. If it is set to Disabled, select Manual from the drop down box. Now try the download again and see if it is successful.

Re-Register Windows Installer

You can also Unregister and then Reregister the Windows Installer. Go to Start and then Run once again. In the prompt box, type in “msiexec /unreg” and press Enter. Go back to Start and Run again and type in “”msiexec /regserver” and press Enter.

Windows Clean Up Utility

Uninstalling the Windows Installer using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility and then upgrading your Windows Installer from the Microsoft website may work for you. First, go and get the Microsoft Windows Installer Cleanup Utility. This will remove any failed or partially installed programs, including the one you were trying to download when it failed. Then go to the website and download the newest version of Windows Installer for your operating system.

Empty User and System Temporary Folders

Navigate to the following folders:

%systemdrive%\temp

%systemdrive%\%windir%\temp

%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Temp

and empty them all. This may free up enough space to allow the download to complete.

I think one of these methods will fix the problem with the Windows Installer and allow you to complete the download of the chess game. If you are still having problems after using these troubleshooting tips, let us know and we can try to help you further.

I downloaded Go Go Gourmet from Wild Tangent. My computer is 10 years old but I have kept updated. I cannot play this game and I do not understand why. When I click on the game it pulls up and then I click PLAY and a message comes up to send a report every time. Am I missing something that I need to play this game?

In the computing world, a ten-year-old computer is pretty long in the tooth. That’s not to say that you can’t play games on it as long as you have the right hardware and programs installed, but the chances are greater that you are going to run into a problem or a program conflict.

Go Go Gourmet is a popular cooking video game that can be found on many websites including Yahoo Games, Games.com and Big Fish Games. You can play a trial version or purchase a very inexpensive full version on most sites.

Game Requirements

The requirements for Go Go Gourmet are:

• Windows XP or Vista
• 700 MHz processor or better
• 256 MB RAM
• 16-bit graphics and sound card
• DirectX 9.0 or later

As long as you have all of these things on your computer, you shouldn’t be getting an error message. If you aren’t sure what you have, here are some tips.

Sound and Video Card Drivers

Since your computer is pretty old, it is worth trying to upgrade your video and sound card drivers. You can either do it through the Microsoft wizard, or find the manufacturer of the cards and go directly to the website for that manufacturer and do it yourself. To do this from Windows:

1. Go to Start and then Control Panel. Click on System.
2. Click on Hardware. Find the Sound, Video and Game Controllers and expand it.
3. Go to either the sound or video and click on the Driver tab.
4. Choose Update Driver.

If you need to find out what cards you have, you go to My Computer and Properties. Click on Device Manager. Find the Sound and Video card and note the manufacturer. Now go to the Internet and search for that company. Most manufacturers have easily accessible download buttons for their sound and video drivers.

DirectX

DirectX is Windows technology that lets you use high-speed multimedia and PC games on your computer. Find all of the downloads and updates by clicking on the link above.

If you still can’t download the game from Wild Tangent, try some of the other sites that carry the game and see if you have better luck. There are some good Gamezebo tips and tricks for Go Go Gourmet - click on the link once you get it up and running. Good gaming!

The first thing to do when you are in this situation is check to see if the problem is with your computer or the website. Have you tried to log on to the poker website from another computer? Try to log on or see if a friend can access this particular website from another system. If they get the same error message, chances are that this message is because the website is having problems or is temporarily (or permanently) offline. If this is the case, then there is nothing you can do but wait it out. There are a large number of online poker sites on the web - try a different one and see if that suits your needs.

If you find that it is only your computer that is coming up with this error message, it’s time to do some troubleshooting.

Network Diagnostics Tool

Internet Explorer offers a built-in diagnostics tool just for this situation. Get into Internet Explorer and try to access the website in question. If you get the same error message, click on the Diagnose Connection Problems option. This will start the Internet Explorer tool. Once it has run, you will either get a message that it couldn’t find a problem, or it found a problem and will give you ways to troubleshoot the issue. Fix anything that the diagnostic tool suggests, start Internet Explorer again and try the website.

Reset Your Connection

If you still can’t access the site, it is time to reset the modem or router. Most routers will have a reset button on the back of the unit that you reset using a paperclip or pen. You can also unplug the cable to the modem or router, turn it off or unplug the power to the unit. Restart the computer, then power up the modem or router and reconnect the cables to the computer. When everything has finished the start up process, log onto IE and see if you can access the website.

Delete Your History

If that step hasn’t helped, you should delete your browsing history - often called the cache. Start Internet Explorer and go to Tools. Find Delete Browsing History. Put a check by the following: Temporary Internet Files, History, Form Data and Cookies. Select Delete. Once everything has been removed, go back into IE and see if you can access the website. This step is also helpful if your system is slow or not working properly.

Check Your Security

Hopefully, you have a good security system in place. It’s possible that it is set too high to allow access to that particular site. You can get into your security settings and set the system slightly lower, add that website to your “allowed” list or temporarily disable your firewall. If you do decide to disable your firewall to test whether this will give you access, make sure you put it right back up when you are done. No poker site is worth keeping your system vulnerable to viruses and spyware.

If none of these troubleshooting steps is working for you, it may be time to look for other online poker options. Something must have changed with that particular website that is no longer allowing your system to access it. Good luck and good gaming.

“Not Responding” error messages happen with Windows finds that a program isn’t behaving properly. You shouldn’t need to pay for AOL to play free online games - even AOL games. You can use any browser to access the AOL games, and that is the first place I would start. I’m not going to tell you to cancel AOL, but a lot of techs would agree that canceling AOL is a good first step.

Use Another Browser

I’m not sure how you are getting to the AOL games site, but the first thing to try is another browser. For example, if you are using Internet Explorer, try Mozilla Firefox to get to AOL. Many times, there is an issue with your browser and simply switching will make your problem go away.

AOL Fix

You can try this fix within AOL. It allows you to troubleshoot one issue at a time until you hit on one that works. First, close AOL. Now go to Start and then Programs and choose AOL. Go to AOL System Information. If you have the AOL icon on your desktop, you can simply right click on it and choose System Information. From here, you will choose Utilities and then open “One Click Fixes”. You should run each of these in order and check after each one to see if your problem is solved. To run the fix, choose “Fix it for me”.

• Clear Internet Explorer Cache and Replace AOL Adapter
• Rebuild Current Connection Location
• Rebuild AOL Adapter/Delete ACS Files
• Repair ACS
• Quick Restore

Firewall

You may have an issue with your firewall or security settings blocking AOL games from functioning properly. Find your security system and try disabling the firewall temporarily and see if you can get to AOL games. If that works, try setting your security lower or making AOL Games an accepted site within your computer security. You definitely don’t want to leave your firewall off for long, as having protection for your system is more important than accessing games.

If you like online games and that is really the only thing you do with your computer, you might consider canceling AOL and exploring the many gaming sites that are on the Internet. Good luck!

My PC is capable of high quality gaming with a Vista rating of 5.3. I get about 5 minutes of perfect gaming, and then all of a sudden the entire screen is filled with a sequence of 3 squares. This persists for about 10 seconds during which I can continue gaming with these accursed squares, then Windows shuts down to the Blue Screen (this also has the squares), and resets my PC. All games have been updated with the latest patches and my drivers for my graphics card are all up to date. What could be causing this?

I’ve edited your question, but you gave me a lot of specifics on your machine - thanks for that. You say you’ve updated your video card drivers, which is good because that was going to be my first suggestion. As long as you are sure that it is not a problem with your drivers, let’s move on with some more troubleshooting.

My first question is - does the blue screen have an error message? If so, that can really narrow down where the problem is originating. Without that information, my best guesses are memory issues, a conflict or motherboard issue.

Memory Issue

You say that you are running 2GB of Ram, which is what I would have suggested. Have you tried switching the ports, and making sure you are only using the first and second slots? Also, have you checked the sticks to make sure that one of them isn’t having an issue? You can try switching some things out to see if you can pinpoint where there is a problem. Test your memory on a website such as Memtest.

Conflict

Other gamers have had this issue when there is a conflict between the sound card drivers and the graphics card drivers. To test this theory, try disabling your sound card and then try to play one of the games that’s giving you trouble. This is most common with people who have upgraded from Windows XP to Vista either 32 or 64.

Update BIOS

You may need to update your BIOS. You can find out if there is an update available by finding the manufacturer for your motherboard and going online to check. You can find the motherboard manufacturer most easily by opening the case and checking the name on the board itself. Download the update to the desktop and install and see if that helps your blue screen problem.

Overheating

The last suggestion is to check for overheating issues. You may need a new heat sink in order to run high-performance graphics, or it could be as simple as cleaning the fans and dusting the interior so that the cooling system you have works properly. You can use an application such as Speed Fan to check your computer’s internal temperature.

I hope that one of these suggestions will help you avoid the dreaded blue screen and get you up and running quickly.

Parental controls put limits on what each user on a particular computer can do and see. Each account is password protected and will put limits on the entire computer experience, not just Yahoo Games.

Parental controls will affect:

• The types of websites that user can access.
• Specific websites that user can or can’t access.
• The amount of time that is spent online by that user.
• Who the user can email and instant message with.
• Get reports about the user’s online activity.

Changing Parental Controls

There are ways to change the parental controls, but only if you are the administrator or “master” of that system. If you don’t have the administrative password for that computer, there is not a lot you can do. Computers don’t come prepackaged with parental controls, so someone, somewhere must have set them. This is a tutorial on how to change parental controls using an AT&T account, but the process should be similar regardless of your provider.

1. Double click on the desktop Icon for AT&T Yahoo, or find it in the Programs list.
2. Right click on the Online Protection System tray and select Online Protection.
3. You will immediately see a window that will tell you whether parental controls are on or off.
4. Click on Parental Controls and sign in. You must be logged in as an administrator in order to change the settings. If you are logged in as another user, you can see the parental controls but you can’t change any of the settings.
5. If you are in as administrator, sign in and click Edit Settings. From here you can deactivate the controls or change the settings.

Parental Controls in Vista

Windows Vista has parental controls as a built-in feature. It is part of the User Accounts and Family Safety Control Panel applet. Get into this applet and you can set limits on games, web browsing, etc. These settings will not work on domain-joined machines.

Third Party Parental Controls

There are also many third-party parental control programs that can be purchased and installed on your computer. Each of these operates slightly differently, but in all cases, you are going to need a password and an administrator account in order to change the settings. You can see if one of these is on your machine by going to Start and then All Programs.

The short answer is that it is easy to change parental controls, as long as you have the administrative password or sign in.