The General Drill
Whenever I start a new game, especially an "older one", I have always made it a habit to make sure my system is clean. (So let's clean house) Our cleaning products?? No, I'm not talking about special Orange Sprays or Pine smelly disinfectants! I'm referring to the "3 Musketeers" of WINTEL Systems. They are: Disk Clean Up, Check Disk (the old Scan Disc in pre XP Windows based systems) and Defrag.
I know this seems like a bother, but if you take the time to make sure your system is sparkling on the inside, you'll have less headaches later. Remember a healthy XP is a happy one.
- Disk Clean Up
Go to: Start --> All Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools --> Disk Clean Up. Empty out what you don't need (you'll be surprised at what you can accumulate!)- Shut down all extra programs.
The easiest way to terminate your TSRs (terminated but staying resident programs, also known as "background applications") is to right click on each of the little icons in the lower right portion of your "Tool Bar" (located near your clock). As you right click on each of them you will get the option to either exit", "close" or "unload" or "disable". Do this for each of them.- Disable Screensaver if you have one.
Right click on your desktop. Select Properties --> Screensaver. Change it to (None). Click OK.- Check Disc
Go to: My Computer --> Point to Hard Drive Local Disc "C" ("C" is mine but your Local Disc maybe assigned another letter) --> Right Click --> Properties --> Tools --> Check Now
Make sure that both boxes are checked:
1.) Automatically fix file system errors and
2.) Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
Click Start. (this will take awhile depending on how big your hard drive is)
(If a message window pops up, select Yes then cancel out and reboot your computer if necessary)- Defrag
Start --> All Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools --> Defrag Hard Drive -OR-
My Computer --> Hard Drive Local Disc --> Right Click --> Properties --> Tools --> Defragment
(Analyze the drive to see if it needs it)- Check your system by doing a "Ctrl, Alt + Delete", this will bring up "The Task Manager".
If you have closed out all Windows Programs, the field under "Applications" will be blank.
(Leave the field marked "Processes" alone. Yep, I know there are lots of interesting files in there...but your really better off not touching anything in there unless you really know just what you are doing.)Installing Blue Heat
Basically you must by-pass the automatic installation routine, apply the patch, set compatibility and check your video and audio settings.That's it! you're done. Keep in mind to play this great but rather "spicy" detective adventure you must use the "Start --> All Programs --> Blue Heat --> Blue Heat for 95 Icon" path. It will crash if you use the autoplay feature.
- Get The XP Patch
I must say a very heartfelt thank you to Raymond Piquette for finding this patch for me. Thank you Raymond!
Download the XP Patch: WINXPFIX.ZIP- Place Blue Heat CD1 into your default CD Rom Drive. (If your autoplay is enabled, just exit out of the launch)
Go to: My Computer --> The CD ROM Drive which holds you CD (Mine is "D") --> Right Click and choose --> Explore.
Locate "Blue Heat" Folder --> Double Click --> Locate the file: "Setup.exe" --> Right Click. Follow the picture below:
Click Apply. Click OK.
- Double Click on the "Setup.exe" file to start the installation. Follow through the prompts --> Choose "Typical Install" when asked and at the end uncheck "read me" and "play Blue Heat Now" options. Click on "Finish".
- Apply the Patch
Locate the "Patch" WINXPFIX.Zip and extract to "C:\Program Files\OrionInt\BlueHeat" Folder.- Set the Compatibility
Go to: Start--> All Programs --> Blue Heat --> Blue Heat for 95 Icon --> Right Click -->Choose --> Properties --> Compatibility. Make sure that you follow the picture below:
Click Apply. Click OK.
- Check Video and Audio Acceleration
Make sure you set the video at the 3rd notch from the right -- and audio should be set to the 2nd notch from the left (I find that this is the best setting for Blue Heat on MY system. Yours may be different, but this is always a good place to start and you can increase or lower them as you see fit after the game is installed.)- Change Display Resolution
It seems that Blue Heat likes to run in 640X480 and 16bit color Display. So make sure that you change your Display settings to fit these parameters before you start the game.
To set your Display and Resolution, just Right Click anywhere on your Desktop --> Properties --> Settings --> Advanced --> Adapters --> List all Modes. Then choose your preference from the cascade menu. Click OK. OK. Apply. OK.
I would also suggest that you disable all Screensavers and Anti-Virus software before starting Blue Heat.
...So sit back with a glass of wine and some "seasoned" popcorn, a few sharpened NO.2 pencils and a new notebook. Get ready to enjoy Blue Heat: The Cover Girl Murders!Back to: Blue Heat Index | Jeanne's Great Game Links
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