Top Questions
Before You Buy
1. Basic Information - PLEASE READ
2. What are Marine Aquarium 2.5's system requirements?
3. Will Marine Aquarium 2.5 run on the iMac DV model?
4. Will Marine Aquarium 2.5 run on Apple Macintosh OS 9 (or earlier versions)?
5. Will Marine Aquarium 2.5 run on widescreen/multiple monitors?
6. Can I use Marine Aquarium 2.5 as my active desktop?
7. Where can I talk to real people who have used this product?
8. Will Marine Aquarium 2.5 run on a PC?
Accounts & Keycodes
1. I enter my keycode but the OK button remains grey and I cannot click it.
2. I can't remember/find my keycode OR I made my purchase but have not received my keycode.
3. I have Marine Aquarium 2.5 CD-ROM, but the program still requests a keycode.
4. How do I copy and paste my keycode?
Installation
1. I cannot get Marine Aquarium 2.5 to install across a network.
2. How do I install the demo version of Marine Aquarium 2.5?
3. How do I install Marine Aquarium 2.5 once I have purchased a keycode?
4. How do I install Marine Aquarium 2.5 from the CD?
5. When I try to drag Marine Aquarium 2.5 file to the Screen Savers folder I get the error: Could not move...
6. How do I uninstall Marine Aquarium 2.5?
7. How do I reinstall Marine Aquarium 2.5?
Operation
Troubleshooting
1. There is a white column where the bubbles should be.
2. Marine Aquarium 2.5 works perfectly on my friend's computer, but not mine. Why?
3. Marine Aquarium 2.5 is slow or freezes.
4. Marine Aquarium 2.5 runs fine in application mode, but slow as a screen saver.
5. I set Marine Aquarium 2.5 as a screen saver, but it does not come on when it should.
6. Marine Aquarium 2.5 does not fill my whole monitor.
7. How do I get Marine Aquarium 2.5 to display on multiple monitors?
8. Marine Aquarium 2.5 has lines or artifacts when it runs.
9. I cannot use the eighth Fish.
10. I have a very large screen. Marine Aquarium 2.5 looks pixilated at higher resolutions.
Screen Savers & Burn-in
Miscellaneous
1. What are the types of fish that come with Marine Aquarium 2.5?
2. Can I make my own Fish for Marine Aquarium 2.5?
3. How do I register my SereneScreen Product?
4. Will you be updating Marine Aquarium 1.1 to work with any OS beyond OS10.2 Jaguar?
Before You Buy
1. Basic Information - PLEASE READ
Before purchasing the SereneScreen Marine Aquarium 2.5 we strongly recommend you
test the program to see if it works on your computer. You can do this by downloading
the program and running the demo version as outlined HERE
2. What are Marine Aquarium 2.5's system requirements?
To run SereneScreen Marine Aquarium 2.5, you will need:
- CPU: G3, 350 MHz or higher
- OS: OSX, 10.1.5 or higher
- CD-ROM Drive
- RAM: 128MB
- HARD DRIVE: 3MB of available space
- VIDEO: OpenGL accelerated drivers with 8MB VRAM (16MB VRAM
for larger than 1024x768) 640x480 color display with 16-bit color or better.
Updates can be obtained at Apple.com
- QuickTime 2.5 or later
3. Will Marine Aquarium 2.5 run on the iMac DV model?
Freezing problems have been known to occur on the iMac DV. Marine Aquarium 2.5
does not cause this problem, it happens to many 3D products. It appears to be
a problem in the Rage128VR chipset. Apple is researching the problem.
4. Will Marine Aquarium 2.5 run on Apple Macintosh OS 9 (or earlier versions)?
No.
The latest version of Marine Aquarium that will run on OS9 is 2.0 available
HERE.
5. Will Marine Aquarium 2.5 run on widescreen/multiple monitors?
Yes to both!
Marine Aquarium 2.5 will automatically switch between regular and widescreen
mode depending on the size ratio of the window or screen being used for display.
Marine Aquarium 2.5 also has dual monitor support. If the Aquarium is not displaying
on all of your monitors, click HERE.
6. Can I use Marine Aquarium 2.5 as my active desktop?
We have heard of customers doing this successfully. We cannot guarantee that
it will work on your system, but you can check out the following links for more
information:
http://www.gideonsoftworks.com/xback.html
http://www.feldoncentral.com/Sachs/macintosh.html
7. Where can I talk to real people who have used this product?
Check out the Fan Site, complete with wish lists and discussion forums. Inside:
SereneScreen
8. Will Marine Aquarium 2.5 run on a PC?
Yes.
We are proud to offer a version of the SereneScreen Marine Aquarium 2.5 for
PCs using Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, or XP. Click HERE
for more information.
Accounts & Keycodes
1. I enter my keycode but the OK button remains grey and I cannot click it.
Some characters in the keycode can be easily confused (i.e. O and zero, capitol
I and the number one, etc.). Try to copy and paste your keycode into the registration
space to avoid any possible input errors.
Also, your copy of Marine Aquarium 2.5 may have been corrupted during download
or installation. Try downloading a new copy of the program and reinstalling
it. Be sure to deactivate your anti-virus software for the duration of the download
and install. For full installation instructions, click HERE.
If neither of the above works, you may have to delete your Marine Aquarium
2.5 preferences manually and try again:
1. Be sure System Preferences isn't running (no triangle next
to it in the dock).
2. Double-click the Hard Drive icon to open it.
3. Double-click the Library folder to open it.
4. Double-click the Preferences folder to open it.
5. Look through the list for any files named "com.prolific.ScreenSaver.Aquarium2.plist"
OR
Alternatively to steps 1-5, you can do a Find from your Desktop.
1. From the Finder, go to File and select "Find"
2. Use the following information:
Search in: "Local disks"
Search for items whose NAME CONTAINS "com.prolific.ScreenSaver.Aquarium2.plist"
(not the quotes, just what is inside them).
3. Click the Search button.
Either way, once you find the file, Drag each one that you find into the Trash
and empty it.
Then run System Preferences and try to register again.
2. I can't remember/find my keycode OR I made my purchase but have not received my keycode.
Please go HERE
and enter your email to retrieve your keycode.
If this procedure does not work, Email us the following information where
applicable and we can retrieve your information from our customer database:
- The full name you registered under.
- The Order Number from your confirmation e-mail.
- Both the first four and last four numbers of the credit card you used.
- Your email at the time of purchase.
- The store or website you purchased the product from.
- The date of your purchase.
3. I have Marine Aquarium 2.5 CD-ROM, but the program still requests a keycode.
The CD you have acts as the keycode. After installing the program from the
CD, leave the CD in the CD-ROM drive and start Marine Aquarium 2.5. The program
will read the CD for authorization and you can now run the full version of Marine Aquarium 2.5. After the initial authorization, the CD does not have to be
in the CD-ROM drive.
When you download newer versions of Marine Aquarium 2.5, repeat the process
above to authorize the new version.
If this procedure does not work, go through the procedure found HERE
4. How do I copy and paste my keycode?
To copy and paste the keycode, do the following:
1. Hold down the mouse button and pass the cursor over the
keycode. This will highlight the code. Be sure not to grab any extra characters
or leave any out.
2. Press the Command Key (Open Apple) and the "C"
key at the same time. This will COPY the keycode.
3. Start Marine Aquarium 2.5.
4. The first time you run Marine Aquarium 2.5 the registration
window will appear. Copy and paste your keycode into the registration space
to avoid any possible input errors (Some characters can be easily mixed up i.e.
the letter O and zero, capitol I and the number one, etc.) and press enter.
The registration window may not appear if you have not quit (not just closed)
the System Preferences application.
5. Put the cursor in the registration window and click the
mouse button once Press Command Key and "V" at the same time. This
will PASTE the keycode. Be sure to eliminate any spaces before or after the
code so you can have a clean paste.
6. Press the Enter key. The program should start right up.
Installation
1. I cannot get Marine Aquarium 2.5 to install across a network.
To use the CD version of the program, the computer you are installing to needs
to have a CD-ROM drive. See System Requirements When first activated the program
looks for the CD to unlock the full version of the program. This is true of
the free updates we offer on our site as well. Networking or linking computers
will not work for this purpose, but a portable CD-ROM drive will suffice.
2. How do I install the demo version of Marine Aquarium 2.5?
There is no separate "demo version" of Marine Aquarium 2.5. We built
Marine Aquarium 2.5 to act as a demo until you entered a valid keycode. To properly
install SereneScreen Marine Aquarium 2.5, and activate the demo mode, follow the
instructions below:
1. IMPORTANT: Before installing, be sure your antivirus software
is deactivated for the duration of the installation. Also, if your computer
is a lower end machine, you may optionally wish to set its color resolution
to "thousands of colors" to improve performance (See "Displays"
under System Preferences, in the Apple Menu).
2. Download a fresh copy of Marine Aquarium 2.5 from HERE
Or you can download from our website's Products page using the "Download"
button.
3. When the download is finished, you will have a new file
on your desktop named "MA2&T.dmg". Double-click this file.
4. When the file opens you will see the "Marine Aquarium
2 & Time.saver" file (Blue Swirl) and the "Marine Aquarium 2 &
Time" application file (fish w/ clock).
5. Click and drag the "Marine Aquarium 2 & Time"
application to your desktop for easy use.
6. Double click on the "Hard drive" icon on the
desktop.
7. Double click on the "Library" folder.
8. Click and drag the "Marine Aquarium 2 & Time.saver"
file into the "Screen Savers" folder.
9. Go to the Apple Menu and select "System Preferences".
10. Click on the "Desktop & Screen Savers"
("Screen Effects" in OS10.2 Jaguar) icon.
11. Select "Marine Aquarium 2 & Time" from
the list of screen savers. Use the "Start Screen Saver:" slider and
HOT CORNERS button to set activation conditions for the screen saver.
12. Marine Aquarium 2.5 can now be run either from the desktop
application or will come on as your screen saver.
13. The first time you select or run Marine Aquarium 2.5
the registration window will appear. Type TESTFISH into the registration box.
This will activate the demo version of the program. The registration window
may not appear if you have not quit (not just closed) the System Preferences
application. You will have to enter the TESTFISH code each time you start the
program.
14. At this point you can try to switch your color resolution
to millions if that is what you are used to. If there is no difference in Marine
Aquarium 2.5's performance than you can leave the resolution as it is.
15. Don't forget to reactivate your antivirus software when
you are finished.
3. How do I install Marine Aquarium 2.5 once I have purchased a keycode?
To properly install SereneScreen Marine Aquarium 2.5, follow the instructions
below:
2. Download a fresh copy of Marine Aquarium 2.5 from HERE
Or you can download from our website's Products page using the "Download"
button.
3. When the download is finished, you will have a new file
on your desktop named "MA2&T.dmg". Double-click this file.
4. When the file opens you will see the "Marine Aquarium
2 & Time.saver" file (Blue Swirl) and the "Marine Aquarium 2 &
Time" application file (fish w/ clock).
5. Click and drag the "Marine Aquarium 2 & Time"
application to your desktop for easy use.
6. Double click on the "Hard drive" icon on the
desktop.
7. Double click on the "Library" folder.
8. Click and drag the "Marine Aquarium 2 & Time.saver"
file into the "Screen Savers" folder.
9. Go to the Apple Menu and select "System Preferences".
10. Click on the "Desktop & Screen Savers"
("Screen Effects" in OS10.2 Jaguar) icon.
11. Select "Marine Aquarium 2 & Time" from
the list of screen savers. Use the "Start Screen Saver:" slider and
HOT CORNERS button to set activation conditions for the screen saver.
12. Marine Aquarium 2.5 can now be run either from the desktop
application or will come on as your screen saver.
13. The first time you select or run Marine Aquarium 2.5
the registration window will appear. Copy and paste your keycode into the registration
space to avoid any possible input errors (Some characters can be easily mixed
up i.e. the letter O and zero, capitol I and the number one, etc.) and press
enter. The registration window may not appear if you have not quit (instead
of just closed) the System Preferences application.
14. At this point you can try to switch your color resolution
to millions if that is what you are used to. If there is no difference in Marine
Aquarium 2.5's performance than you can leave the resolution as it is.
15. Don't forget to reactivate your antivirus software when
you are finished.
4. How do I install Marine Aquarium 2.5 from the CD?
To properly install Marine Aquarium 2.5 from the CD, follow the instructions
below:
1. IMPORTANT: Before installing, be sure your anti-virus
software is deactivated for the duration of the installation. Also, if your
computer is a lower end machine, you may optionally wish to set its color resolution
to "thousands of colors" to improve performance (See "Displays"
under System Preferences, in the Apple Menu).
2. Insert the Marine Aquarium CD into the computer.
3. Double-click the CD to open it and double-click the "MA2&T.dmg
file. This will open a folder with the Marine Aquarium 2 & Time.saver file
(Blue Swirl) and the Marine Aquarium 2 & Time application file (fish w/
clock).
4. Click and drag the Marine Aquarium 2 & Time application
file to your desktop for easy use.
5. Double click on the "Hard Drive" icon on the
desktop.
6. Double click on the "Library" folder.
7. Click and drag the Marine Aquarium 2 & Time.saver file
into the "Screen Savers" folder.
8. Go to the Apple Menu and select "System Preferences".
9. Double click on the "Desktop and Screen Savers"
icon.
10. Select "Marine Aquarium 2 & Time" from the
list of screen savers.
11. Marine Aquarium can now be run either from the desktop
application or will come on as your screen saver.
12. The first time you run Aquarium the program will read
the CD and unlock the program.
13. Don't forget to reactivate your anti-virus software when
you are finished.
5. When I try to drag Marine Aquarium 2.5 file to the Screen Savers folder I get the error: Could not move...
The "Marine Aquarium 2 & Time.saver" file should be placed into the Hard
Drive/Library/Screen Savers folder. This error occurs when you try to place
Marine Aquarium 2.5 into the Hard Drive/System/Library/Screen Savers folder
or the Hard Drive/Users/Library/Screen Savers folder.
6. How do I uninstall Marine Aquarium 2.5?
Uninstalling Marine Aquarium 2.5 is as simple as dragging the Marine Aquarium
2 & Time.saver file and Marine Aquarium 2.5 application into the trash.
If you would like a more thorough uninstall procedure, carefully follow the
instructions below:
1. From the Finder, go to File and select "Find"
2. Search in "Local disks" and type "com.prolific" into
the text field of (not the quotes, just what is inside them).
3. Click the Search button.
4. Drag each file that you find into the Trash and empty it. Empty the trash
by holding down the mouse button on the trash in the dock for a few seconds
until the "Empty Trash" menu pops up.
5. Close the Search Results window.
6. From the Finder, go to File and select "Find" again.
7. Search in "Local disks" and type "Marine Aquarium"
into the text field of (not the quotes, just what is inside them).
8. Click the Search button.
9. Drag each file you find into the trash and empty it.
10. This will clean your system of any Marine Aquarium 2.5 data.
7. How do I reinstall Marine Aquarium 2.5?
To do a FULL reinstall of Marine Aquarium 2.5, first uninstall the program as
outlined here:
Marine Aquarium 2.5 Uninstall
Then install as outlined here:
Marine Aquarium 2.5 Install
Operation
Troubleshooting
1. There is a white column where the bubbles should be.
Mac OS10.3 Panther changed the way the Mac deals with some graphics elements.
When using Marine Aquarium 1 or 2 CD, the bubbles show as a white colum because
both were created before the release of Panther.
If you have Marine Aquarium 2 CD you will not need a keycode. However, you
will need to do a FULL reinstall of Marine Aquarium 2 using version 2.0.6 that
is fully compatible with Mac OS10.3 Panther and newer. Please follow the instructions
HERE.
If you have Marine Aquarium 1 you will need to turn off the bubble column.
We will not be upgrading Marine Aquarium 1 to be compatible with OS10.3 Panther.
For more information click HERE.
Marine Aquarium 2.5 is fully compatible with Panther and higher OS. For information
about upgrading to version 2.5 click HERE.
2. Marine Aquarium 2.5 works perfectly on my friend's computer, but not mine. Why?
We are sorry, but without knowing the exact specifications of both computers,
this is impossible to answer. You may fill out a troubleshooting form found
HERE, to help us solve your problem.
3. Marine Aquarium 2.5 is slow or freezes.
Slow or frozen graphics are most often caused by low video resources. The
best way to improve performance is to complete ALL of the following steps:
1. First switch your color resolution from millions to thousands
of colors.
2. If your display colors are already set to thousands of
colors then check the "Economize video memory" checkbox in Marine
Aquarium 2.5 preferences. If you are trying to drive multiple monitors from
one video card then both steps may be necessary.
3. Go to Marine Aquarium 2.5 Settings menu and reduce the
"Shimmer" setting.
4. Also, turn off the bubble column and reduce the number
of fish.
After finishing all of these steps, take each setting back to default to see
where the problem is solved.
Freezing problems have been known to occur on the iMac DV. Our program does
not cause this problem, it happens to many 3D products. It appears to be a problem
in the Rage128VR chipset. Apple is researching the problem.
If none of the above fixes work for you, please email us at service@serenscreen.com
and include the Frames Per Second that Marine Aquarium 2.5 is running at (This
can be found by pressing the "I" key while the program is running.)
and an Apple System Report (ASP):
ASP for OS10.2 (Jaguar)
1. Choose the Apple Menu, "About this Mac" item.
2. Click on the "More Info..." button in the window
that pops up. The Apple System Profiler will launch.
3. From the "File" menu chose the "Save..."
item.
4. Name the file and Save it.
5. Compress it with stuffit or some other common compression
tool.
6. E-mail it to us with a description of your problem.
ASP for OS10.1.5 or Lower and OS9
1. Open Apple System Profiler, select File/New Report.
2. Select the standard System Profile, and "Devices and
Volumes" and "Extensions".
3. Save the report to a file.
4. Compress it with stuffit or some other common compression
tool.
5. E-mail it to us with a description of your problem.
4. Marine Aquarium 2.5 runs fine in application mode, but slow as a screen saver.
This is still an issue of system resources.
The screen saver will not change the screen resolution or bit depth in order
to get a hardware renderer, as this can cause compatibility problems for other
applications which may be running at the time. The application will change screen
resolution and/or bit depth to get the hardware renderer because the user explicitly
ran it and is giving it permission to do so when going full screen.
See the FAQ entry on Slow and Frozen Graphics for more details.
5. I set Marine Aquarium 2.5 as a screen saver, but it does not come on when it should.
This can happen if your Energy Saver options are set to put the computer or
display to sleep at the same time Marine Aquarium 2.5 is set to activate. To check
this, do the following:
1. Click on the Apple Menu and select your System Preferences.
2. When the System Preferences window comes up, click on
the "Energy Saver" icon.
3. Check to be sure that the "Put computer to sleep..."
and "Use separate time to put monitor..." options are set beyond the
time that you have Marine Aquarium 2.5 active. In other words, if you have Marine
Aquarium 2.5 set to come on in five minutes, the Energy Saver settings will
have to be longer than five. We recommend at least fifteen minutes between the
two settings.
6. Marine Aquarium 2.5 does not fill my whole monitor.
Pressing the "F" key will switch Marine Aquarium 2.5 to full screen
mode.
7. How do I get Marine Aquarium 2.5 to display on multiple monitors?
The multiple monitor function on Marine Aquarium 2.5 only works with the screen
saver mode not the application. You can change the multiple monitor settings
by going to System Preferences/Desktop & Screen Savers (Screen Effects in
OS10.2 Jaguar) and clicking on the OPTIONS button.
8. Marine Aquarium 2.5 has lines or artifacts when it runs.
White lines and "scuffs" are usually caused by the renderer of OpenGL.
The bug shows up on our products because we allow people to select any resolution.
Other products (like games) have it too, but it is less noticeable because they
tend to take control of the screen. Changing resolutions by resizing the aquarium
window will fix the problem almost every time. To do so drag the lower right
corner of the window to a different place.
9. I cannot use the eighth Fish.
There are always eight Fish slots in the Fish settings screen, however the
eighth Fish only appears in widescreen mode (click HERE for
more information on Marine Aqurium's widescreen mode). The note at the bottom
is simply an explanation. Count the slots to be sure that you have eight. Also,
to be doubly sure you can set all but the last slot to the same Fish then watch
the Aquarium for the lone eighth Fish.
10. I have a very large screen. Marine Aquarium 2.5 looks pixilated at higher resolutions.
A single image at the higher resolutions would be about 7 megabytes (for example
1920bits x 1200 bits x3). Our whole program, with fish and code and art is about
4 megabytes. About 95% of our current users do not have such an amazing display.
So sadly, as of yet, we're sorry to say that the product will begin to show
its resolution on such high-end equipment.
Screen Savers & Burn-in
Miscellaneous
1. What are the types of fish that come with Marine Aquarium 2.5?
Marine Aquarium 2.5 currently includes the following Fish:
Addis Butterflyfish
Blue Chromis Damselfish
Clown Triggerfish
Copper-Banded Butterflyfish
Flame Angelfish
Forceps Butterfly
French Angelfish (juvenile)
Koran Angel
Percula Clownfish (common)
Picasso Triggerfish
Powder Blue Tang
Purple Sailfin Tang (juvenile)
Queen Angelfish (teenager)
Red Volitan Lionfish
Regal Angelfish
Regal Tang
Royal Gramma Basselet
Threadfin Butterflyfish
Three Stripe Damselfish Wimplefish
Yellow Tang
Marine Aquarium 2.5 also includes a starfish that crawls along the bottom of the
tank and on the "glass" of your monitor!
A full color guide to the Fish can be found at the Inside:
SereneScreen fan site
2. Can I make my own Fish for Marine Aquarium 2.5?
Currently we do not permit people to create or add custom fish for Marine
Aquarium 2.5. There are many reasons, but the most important is that while we
trust an artisan would be motivated, and even capable of creating a truly wonderful
masterpiece, there are others that might not, and a version were to get out
that was less than the highest quality, it might reflect poorly on us.
If you are interesting in creating fish or wildlife for our company, we are
always seeking talented artist. Please e-mail
us samples of your work.
Thank you for your support.
3. How do I register my SereneScreen Product?
If you purchased a CD from a retail store or from Encore Software, you can
register this product using the link below:
Encore
Software Registration Page
Products purchased directly from our website as an electronic download do
not need to be registered, all of your information was entered into our database
at the time of purchase. However, if did not check the "I would like to
receive email updates, notices, free offers and gifts." option when you
made your purchase then you will receive none of these services.
If you would like to join our mailing list, click HERE.
4. Will you be updating Marine Aquarium 1.1 to work with any OS beyond OS10.2 Jaguar?
No.
As it stands, Marine Aquarium 1.1 works on all pre-Panther OS versions, even
Mac OS9. Marine Aquarium 1.1 was originally written for the Mac in early 2002
and we have since moved on to Marine Aquarium 2.5 and are putting our efforts
into improving that version. Marine Aquarium 2.5 is fully compatible with OS10.3
Panther and higher OS.
For information about upgrading click HERE.
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