Common Problems

Solutions to Common Problems for Pretty Good Solitaire

Problem: When installing, getting an "OLE files are in use" error.

Solution:

The problem is that certain OLE system files are in use by some program running on your system and the installation program can't replace the file while it is being used.  You need to close all running applications before running a setup program.  In some rare cases, this may involve closing programs running in your system tray (right end of the taskbar), as well as those that appear on the main part of the taskbar.  Also, if you have Microsoft Office the Office Fast-Start in the Startup folder may be using these OLE files.

If you are having trouble determining what programs are running, you can get a list by press Control-Alt-Delete ONCE (twice will reboot the system).  

Problem:  When starting the game, getting a message "The file OLEAUT32.DLL is out of date. This program requires a newer version", or starting Pretty Good Solitaire and only the tips window appears (the game does not load).

Solution:

Pretty Good Solitaire uses a number of support files in the Windows/System folder and some of these files have versions that are incompatible.  The setup installation of Pretty Good Solitaire installs the proper versions of these files, but setup programs from other applications may overwrite these files with older versions.  A common culprit for this is the installation of the utility software that comes with Iomega Zip drives.  Installing this software will overwrite OLEPRO32.DLL and OLEAUT32.DLL with incompatible versions that will cause Pretty Good Solitaire to hang at startup.

The solution is simply to reinstall Pretty Good Solitaire using the original setup installation program.

Problem:  When starting the game, getting a "Pager Initialization error 3".

Solution:

This error is caused by not enough memory being available.  If Windows has been running for awhile with programs being loaded and unloaded, often memory is not reallocated properly after programs exit.  This causes the amount of memory and resources to erode with time.

The solution is to simply reboot the computer.  This re-initializes memory and frees up all available memory.

Problem:  When playing the cards are smearing or breaking up.

Solution:

Pretty Good Solitaire may experience some card smearing or other display problems on some systems with 3D "Voodoo" video cards.  Try turning off (or down) some of the advanced settings of the card (particularly, hardware acceleration - this is set in Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Display -> Settings -> Advanced).

Problem:  When playing the game freezes up.

Solution:

Pretty Good Solitaire is a heavily graphical program that tends to reveal problems with video drivers.   Most video drivers are updated frequently.  These updates can usually be downloaded from the video card manufacturer's web site (or the computer manufacturer's web site).  You can determine whether a problem is caused by a driver by running Pretty Good Solitaire in "safe mode".   To go into safe mode, reboot the computer.  When the computer is booting up, press the F8 key.  At some point in the boot up process you should get a menu of options.  You want to choose the option that says "Safe mode".  This is a special Windows boot up process that uses default drivers for everything.  Once it boots up, the screen may look different but that is ok.   Run Pretty Good Solitaire and determine if the problem is still occurring.  If it does not, odds are that the problem is driver related.  To get out of safe mode, reboot.

In some cases, Pretty Good Solitaire may freeze because of interactions with another running program, such as a virus scanner or other program that runs continuously (such as the Norton Utilities program).  If you have any such programs, disable them and see if the problem continues.

Problem: When starting to play a game, the cards play themselves even though AutoPlay is off.

Solution:

This is the automatic game saving feature.  When you quit a game in progress, the program will automatically save your position.  When you play that particular game again, the program will replay all your moves up to the point where you left off.  You can either continue playing or click on the new game button for a new game.  The automatic game saving feature can be turned off in the Options menu.