Re: Installation hiccups

[Marilyn Edelstein <MEDELSTEIN>]

Thanks to John Berg and the others who replied to my initial query (first
asking if the list was still running and then asking re: printer
problems).  Let me be a little more specific about my problem
   First, I just tried to install the NB 4.5 upgrade last week, once
I'd finally gotten the new computer (Dell Optiplex running Windows 95,
350 MHz, 32 MB hard drive, etc.) I'd been anticipating at my office
for more than a year.  So for one thing, I queried the Nota Bene
technical support office about whether I could even get support,
since I'd purchased the upgrade over a year ago, but had just
gotten around to installing it (hadn't even taken the diskettes
out of the plastic wrap yet).  I got back a message saying they
would get back to me in 3-4 days.  Is this typical for their
e-mail support?? I suppose I'll have to try their phone support,
although it's a toll call. But does that mean being on hold for
ages?
   Since it's a new computer, I didn't have any other versions
of NB on the h.d.  But the sales dept. at NB said I could just
install the upgrade by itself.  So I did, and it seemed to
work.  I am not very technically oriented, but I did set
it up to be in a directory NB4/nb, as suggested in the instructions.
My computer automatically boots up into Windows, so I did
the "shut down and restart in MS-Dos" command before installing
it.
   Well, the problems came when I thought I had already installed
all the printer drivers on the 2nd installation diskette; the
list of supported printers included the HP Deskjet 540, which
is what I have in my office.  But when I tried to print,
the computer just froze and I had to reboot.
 So I thought maybe I should check the HP manual, and thought
maybe the problem was that I might not have installed the
HP Dos driver, so I tried to.  Things froze again; I rebooted.
Then I exited to DOS a different way while within Windows,
and it let me install what the HP manual said to (which wasn't
exactly a printer driver, I think).
  Still, trying to print when I got back into NB 4.5 led to
freezing up, rebooting, etc.  Then I gave up, since it was
too late to call NB in New York.  I need to print a bunch of
material (syllabi, etc., and a conference paper I'm giving
soon), so am concerned.  Also, I just bought a new Dell Dimension
350 for home, which I haven't taken out of the box yet. It comes
with Windows 98 and MS Home Office (incl. Word 97, which I
don't want to make the 3rd software program I use, since
I've been using Wordperfect for Windows 5.2 and Nota Bene
3 until now).  I need to buy a printer for home, and most
of the newer, better Desk Jets seem designed to work from
Windows.  I'm not quite ready to get the beta version of
NB for Windows, but would like to be able to print with NB 4.5
   The short installation sheet that came with the 4.5 upgrade
said one could print under Windows 3.1 (which is what I used
to have), and gave some rather complex instructions.  I tried
them, hoping that Windows 95 might offer the same option
(and thinking I might have to print from Windows with  a new
printer at home anyway). That didn't work.
   So does anyone have any advice--or recollections of similar
problems and their solution when you first installed N.B. 4.5.
I wonder if I needed to install 3.0 on the new computer first,
even though NB said I could just install 4.5 alone. Are their
new or clearer instructions on getting NB to print (or even
run) under Windows 95 (and maybe 98)?? Any advice would be
most appreciated.
 Marilyn Edelstein, Associate Professor of English, Santa Clara University,
Santa Clara CA 95053
medelstein