Appendix A

About the CD

In This Appendix

arrow System requirements

arrow Using the CD with Windows and Mac

arrow What you’ll find on the CD

arrow Troubleshooting

To help you prepare for the GRE, this book’s companion CD offers you electronic versions of the practice tests included in this book plus two all-new practice tests. Choose between timed and untimed versions of the tests — and check out the set of electronic vocabulary flashcards — to improve your score on the real GRE. This appendix explains how to use the CD, what it contains, and what to do if you run into problems.

System Requirements

Most computers these days meet the minimum requirements, but if yours is an older model, here are the requirements just in case. If your computer doesn’t match up to most of these requirements, you may have problems using the software and files on the CD. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the ReadMe file located at the root of the CD-ROM.

check.png A PC with a Pentium or faster processor or a Mac OS computer with a 68040 or faster processor

check.png Microsoft Windows 98 or later; or Mac OS system software 7.6.1 or later

check.png At least 32MB of total RAM installed on your computer

check.png A CD-ROM drive

check.png A sound card for PCs; Mac OS computers have built-in sound support

check.png A monitor capable of displaying at least 256 colors or grayscale

check.png A modem with a speed of at least 14,400 bps

If you need more information on the basics, check out these books published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: PCs For Dummies, by Dan Gookin; Macs For Dummies, by David Pogue; iMacs For Dummies, by David Pogue; Windows 95 For Dummies, Windows 98 For Dummies, Windows 2000 Professional For Dummies, Microsoft Windows ME Millennium Edition For Dummies, all by Andy Rathbone.

Using the CD

To install the items from the CD to your hard drive, follow these steps:

1. Insert the CD into your computer’s CD-ROM drive. The license agreement appears.

Note to Windows users: The interface won’t launch if you have AutoRun disabled. In that case, click Start⇒Run. In the dialog box that appears, type D:\start.exe. (Replace D with the proper letter if your CD-ROM drive uses a different letter. If you don’t know the letter, see how your CD-ROM drive is listed under My Computer.) Click OK.

Note for Mac Users: The CD icon will appear on your desktop. Double-click the icon to open the CD and double-click the “Start” icon.

2. Read through the license agreement, and then click the Accept button if you want to use the CD.

After you click Accept, the License Agreement window won’t appear again.

3. The CD interface appears. The interface allows you to install the programs and run the demos with just a click of a button (or two).

What You’ll Find on the CD

The following sections provide a summary of the software and other helpful stuff that you can find on the CD. If you need help installing the items provided on the CD, refer to the instructions in the preceding section.

Practice tests

The CD includes the three practice tests from the book as well as two additional practice tests. Take untimed versions of the tests for extra practice, or take each test with the built-in timer to get a feel for the GRE testing experience.

Vocabulary flashcards

Check out more than 400 computerized flashcards on the CD to stock your mental word bank and boost your verbal score.

Troubleshooting

This program is designed to work on most computers with minimum system requirements. However, computers and software being what they are, they may not work properly for some reason.

If your computer is an older model, it may not have enough memory (RAM) available to run the software. However, it’s more likely that the installation or software is conflicting with something else that’s running on your computer. If you get an error message such as Not enough memory or Setup cannot continue, try one or more of the following suggestions and then try using the software again:

check.png Turn off any antivirus software running on your computer. Installation programs sometimes mimic virus activity and may make your computer incorrectly believe that it’s being infected by a virus.

check.png Close all running programs. The more programs you have running, the less memory is available to other programs. Installation programs typically update files and programs, so if you keep other programs running, installation may not work properly.

check.png Have your local computer store add more RAM to your computer (or find out how to add RAM yourself). This is, admittedly, a somewhat expensive step. However, adding more memory can really help the speed of your computer and allow more programs to run at the same time.

If you have trouble with the CD-ROM, please call the Wiley Product Technical Support phone number at (800) 762-2974. Outside the United States, call 1(317) 572-3994. You can also contact Wiley Product Technical Support at http://www.wiley.com/techsupport. John Wiley & Sons will provide technical support only for installation and other general quality control items. For technical support on the applications themselves, consult the program’s vendor or author.

To place additional orders or to request information about other Wiley products, please call (877) 762-2974.