Introduction and Disclaimer
We know you’re not stupid. Chances are if you were, this CD would be in your floppy drive, which would be merrily chomping away, and you’d probably be wearing the magazine as a hat. However, it’s nice to know there’s somewhere to go if you do run into some trouble. So read on, troubled one.

While we don’t indulge any fantasies with the actual medium, considerable thought and effort goes into what we put on the Atomic CD each month. All content is scanned with Trend Micro OfficeScan 5.5; however, it is recommended you check any program you use from the CD with your own virus scanner. Neither Atomic Magazine nor Haymarket Media can provide support for any of the programs or drivers on the CD, nor are they responsible or liable for any damage or data loss that may occur before, during or after the use of the CD or any of the programs it contains. If you have any problems with the CD itself (for example, your CD-ROM drive cannot read the CD, or upon opening the CD package for the first time you find it damaged) contact cd@atomicmpc.com.au. We also do our best to put the latest versions of applications on the CD during its creation; however, it is not out of the question that newer versions of certain applications may be available after the magazine is printed.

All editorial (and some select imagery) on the CD is property of Haymarket Media. Distribution and publication of CD content in any form is forbidden without permission from Atomic Magazine or Haymarket Media.

The Atomic CD Interface
In its short lifetime, the CD interface has gone through some revisions. Here's a short guide on how to survive the latest one.

There's nothing overly complex going on -- all the important stuff is easy to access. Along the top are the main options: Boot sector, Magazine, then a few options that may change depending on the content of the CD, followed by Subscribe and Help. Boot sector contains all the latest drivers and updates, as well as a couple of neat and useful programs we believe should be on the CD every month. Magazine contains either content from or programs mentioned in the magazine. Subscribe links to the subscription page on the Atomic website and then there's Help - which you're looking at right now.

The left-hand navigation menu is a sub-categories menu, associated with the menu items along the top. This will help you get to the stuff contained on the CD. The section you're looking at now is the infobox, and it contains information and hyperlinks to the files you want to download. Use it wisely.

That's really all there is to it. If you have any problems, just send an email to the address in the Contact Us section.

Archives (ZIP; RAR; ACE; 7Z)
Sometimes a file won’t be self-installing (these are usually in the form of an EXE file). A lot of smaller developers and individuals will ‘compact’ their applications into a tiny file, called an ‘archive’. Not only does this reduce the size of the program (making it download faster), it also keeps all the application’s files in one place. They’re impossible to open without the correct archive tool, or ‘decompressor’.

Don’t worry, your salvation is here.

We’ve provided all the achivers you’ll need to access the files on the CD. While the choice is up to you as to which one you use, we recommend WinRAR or 7-Zip, as these two programs provide the broadest compatibility. This means they open the most number of formats, saving you from having to install multiple archivers.

Except for 7-Zip, all the archivers on the CD are trial or shareware. See the disclaimer for information on these.

When Programs Fail
One of the hardest things to deal with is a program not running on your system. Is it your computer, or the program? Does it have to do with the weather, or is God just angry at you for some reason? Whatever the cause, there is likely a solution.

An important point to remember is that if the problem doesn’t relate directly to the quality of the CD (as in it’s cracked, scratched or corrupted) or its interface, Atomic and Haymarket Media can’t help you. Sorry, we can’t and will not provide technical support, or any support for that matter, for the programs on the CD.

Don’t freak out though, as we’ve covered the unfortunate scenario of ‘Application Blues’. In the CD interface, you’ll notice a web link for each program you select. This link will take you to the website of someone who should be able help -- usually the developer or a community site, depending on the program. We’ll also note in the description any specific concerns we know of or have come across.

It also helps to look at the ‘readme’ file included with each program. This file can come under different guises, but most applications will either show it to you when they install, provide a link to it in the Start Menu, or place it in the main application folder.

Required Files
You might find a program doesn’t run because it’s missing a ‘required’ file. Required files come in the form of custom (made by the developer) or operating system DLLs (dynamic link libraries) and OCXs (ActiveX controls). We’ll do our best to include these files on the CD if a program needs them, but due to licensing and distribution reasons, we might not be able to. Instead we’ll do the next best thing, and provide a web link to save you from hunting down the files yourself.

Contact Us
If you have any problems that relate directly to the physical CD or its interface, contact cd@atomicmpc.com.au. Feel free to fire off comments and suggestions to this address as well.