The Super Start Project QuickStart Previous: Precautions         Home         Internet Resources

Before you start with the serious stuff, look carefully at the baby top-right. Gotta be one of the cutest pictures I've seen yet.

The Windows version of Super Start is now available and still free! Click here to download it.

Please note that you will need the Windows version if your operating system is more recent than Windows 95 (XP, 2000, etc.). This DOS version needs something called direct port access. More recent versions of Windows do not allow direct port access.

While the software is free, donations through PayPal to keep this site alive are more than welcome!

Please be sure to read the precautions and the disclaimer before you use a Super Start system with a child.

When you get through here, take a look at the the instructions for using Super Start. That will give you an idea of just how easy it is to use.

Now that all of that's done, I hope you will consider letting others know about Super Start. Just high-light the following, copy it and drop it in a few emails (your whole list, for example):

You might find The Super Start Project interesting:
http://www.superstart.org

I hope you will drop me an e-mail letting me know how you are going to use Super Start, and to let me know how it's working. I sure would like to know about any bugs, and especially about how kids respond to Super Start.

Just so you will remember, put this in your address book:

joe@superstart.org

Joe Reeder -- Super Start

This page outlines the fastest way to get a Super Start system up and running. It assumes you already have an appropriate computer. That translates to

• an XT or better computer
• a 10 meg or better drive
• 512K or more memory
• a floppy drive
• keyboard
• CGA or better display
• a speaker
• a microphone
• a sound card
• DOS 3.2 or better
• A an old dot matrix printer would also come in handy

You might want to look in Ebay for a computer. I recently found a 486 for only $25. Just be sure to get one with an empty ISA slot. It might be necessary to email the seller to make sure. Some Ebay searches:

Search For Pentium	Search For 586		Search For 486	Search For 386

Some of the computers offered in Ebay have had their hard drives erased. No problem. I have seen DOS there for around $5. Ebay search for MS-DOS

Non-profits can even find better deals (free computers) below.

If you are trying Super Start out on a Windows-based computer, you might want to look at the steps for setting one up here.

An alternate to the standard sound card is the original board that was designed for Super Start. It is especially useful if there is a person in the family who is interested in learning to program computers with emphasis on monitoring and control systems. You can see a description of the hardware at the hardware description page of the Embedded Systems Tutorial site. If it looks interesting, go to the tutorial home page and try out the tutorial. You can order a board for the tutorial and it can be used for both applications. Super Start will automatically recognize it. You will not need a sound card.

Please read all of the following before you buy anything. That way you can get the least expensive system that will work. Non-profits, remember that you can get a lot of the equipment free at computer recycling sites, which will permit you to provide free systems to the kids who need Super Start the most. Also try Share the Technology Data Base Search. Select "Search through our database for equipment offered for donation," then select PCs and your state. Look for someone close enough that you can pick up the equipment. You can also search for other equipment you might need.

First Step -- Download The Super Start Files

The best way to go is with the full system zip file. The zip file SUPER100.ZIP contains all of the basic Super Start system files, construction and hardware documents, test files and source files. It needs a about 5 megs fully expanded, and about 4 megs without the zip file. Download SUPER100.ZIP to a temporary directory then extract it with WinZip which can be downloaded free of charge. It should build the \SUPER, \SUPER\SOURCE, SUPER\DOCS and \SUPER\TEST folders and extract the files. I recently discovered that the sub-directories are not always generated, apparently depending on the operating system. That's why it's a very good idea to make a temporary folder then extract the files inside it first rather than in the root. It should work if you go to actions, then extract, then click the boxes to Use Folder Names and Overwrite Existing Files. All you will need for a basic Super Start system are the files in the SUPER directory which can be copied to a floppy. Once the files have been downloaded, just copy the ones from the \SUPER directory to a floppy then to the target computer into a directory called SUPER. To make a directory in DOS, type the following: cd\ then enter to get into the root directory. md super then enter to make the directory for Super Start. Use a similar procedure when it is required to make a directory in some of the following procedures. Download SUPER100.ZIP -- about 2,000,000 bytes If you have a slow connection, you can download the self-extracting file SUPER100.EXE. It contains a fully functional basic Super Start system. It needs about 1,000,000 bytes when it's expanded with SUPER100.EXE included, and about 711,000 bytes if SUPER100.EXE is deleted. All of the resulting files will fit on a 3 1/2" disk. SUPER100.EXE includes MANUAL.TXT, Super Start's manual, and all other major data and executable files mentioned in the article. Put SUPER100.EXE in a directory (folder) called SUPER on the target computer. Type in super100, then press the enter key. This will extract the 161 Super Start files. Download SUPER100.exe -- Super Start version 1.00 -- 310,000 bytes You will probably want test if you do the short download. The self-extracting file TEST.exe provides executables and other files for testing Super Start. It needs about 400,000 bytes fully expanded. Put TEST.exe in a directory under SUPER called TEST (\SUPER\TEST), then type in test then the enter key to expand it. Download TEST.exe -- 130,000 bytes

Finding a Sound Card

The next thing you will need is an ISA sound card. After you have checked computer recycling sites if you are a non-profit, you might check some of the following. This one is for non-profits and very good. It's a search service of Share the Technology computer recycling project. Go to "Search through our database for equipment offered for donation," select PCs and your state. Look for someone close enough that you can pick up the equipment. You can also search for other equipment you might need. Share the Technology Data Base Search I have seen some very good deals on Bob Johnson's site. He has refurbished cards for as little as $6. The link that follows searches his site for sound cards. Another good place to look is Ebay. Click on the search link below to see what they have these days. I found a SoudBlaster CT2980 for $4.95 there a short time ago. If neither of those produce anything, you can do a general search on Google using the links below. Try to find a SoundBlaster. They are relatively easy to set up. Bob Johnson's Computer Sound Card Search Ebay blaster sound blaster isa sound card Search Google Search for used ISA sound cards Google Search for surplus ISA sound cards Google Search for ISA sound cards Please e-mail if you know of other sources of recycled or used sound cards and I'll add them once I check them out for being child-safe.

The Easiest Sound Cards To Use

The final step is to set up the sound card so it will work with Super Start. If you get one of the jumper-settable ones, just add the following to the end of your adutoexec.bat file with a text editor after you have set the jumpers on the sound card for a port of 220, and interrupt of 5 and a DMA of 1 (don't know what that means? -- grab the closest 10-year-old!). If those settings don't work, simply try others until settings are found that do work. The autoexec.bat file is in the root of a DOS drive (no spaces should be used on either side of the = sign): set BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 cd\super super This type of card has a volume control on the back that you can adjust for best sound. It's the easiest to work with for this application. Some Sound Blaster examples with Ebay searches for each: CT1320 - Sound Blaster 1.0/1.5 (works with XT) Ebay CT1350 - Sound Blaster 2.0 (works with XT) Ebay CT1330 SB Pro 1 Ebay , CT1600 SB Pro 2 Ebay CT1690 SB Pro 2 OEM Ebay , CT1680 SB Pro 2 OEM Ebay CT1730 SB16 Ebay , CT1740 SB16 Ebay , CT1750 SB16 Ebay CT1759 SB16 Ebay , CT1770 SB16 Ebay , CT1779 SB16 Ebay CT1780 SB16 OEM Ebay , CT1790 SB16 OEM Ebay

If you get a PnP card you will need to download the appropriate software to set it up. I have shown the procedures for setting up some below. I will post others as I work them out. Please e-mail with procedures to set up other cards and I'll publish them here (giving you credit if you wish).

E-mail if you want updates as procedures are added. The subject is already entered, so you don't have to enter any text unless you have something more to say.

Setting up an Opti931 for Super Start

This one is easy. I used the method outlined below with an ExpertColor card that had MED3931 printed on one corner. Download opti931.exe here . It is a self-extracting file that I put together for DOS. Copy it to a floppy, then to a directory of your choice on the target DOS computer. A directory called opti931 will be used here for purposes of illustration. Type cd\opti931 then press enter. Type opti931 then press enter. The files will be extracted. Type set sound16=c:\opti931 then press enter. This tells the program you will use next where everything is. Type sndinit then press enter. Use the tab key to move around. Note the highlighted letters on some of the selections. Press the alt key and the letter at the same time to get to the selection. Alt-h will get you to the help screen. Get into the mixer section and use the test routine to check the volume. I set Master to 85 left and right, turned on the 20 DB Mike setting and set the Mike gain to 99. The outputs are lined up near the bottom. I turned the mike all the way down to avoid feedback. Edit the autoexec.bat file in the root directory and place the following at the end: sound16=c:\opti931 \opti931\sndinit /b cd\super super Remember to change the name of the directory if the one you use is not opti931. Reboot. Super Start should work, although you might need to run sndint and go into the mixer section to adjust some of the volumes.

Setting up the Sound Blaster CT2980 for Super Start Ebay search for the CT2980

If you wish, the ctcmbbs.exe Creative PnP Configuration Manager file can be download here (690K), and the sbbasic.exe Sound Blaster 16/SB32/AWE32 Basic Disk for DOS/Windows 3.1 file can be download here (1.2meg), with the understanding that you agree to all of the licensing provisions on Creative's site. Also note that I might not have the latest versions. Or, click here to go to Creative's Technical Support Page. From there, select DOS and Sound Blaster 16. Then click on get files. Select your region then click get files again. This process should take you to the driver page where you can download the two files. Make a folder on your hard drive called CTCMBBS then download ctcmbbs.exe into it. Make a folder called SBBASIC then download sbbasic.exe into it. Double click on each of the above. This will expand out of them the files they contain. Copy the files from each folder onto individual floppy disks, less the ones you downloaded, since there's not enough room for all of the files plus the ones you downloaded. Put the disk with the CTCMBBS files in the floppy drive of the target computer. On the target computer, type in: a:install then press the enter key. This will install ctcm.exe in the CTCM directory and make some changes to some systems files. Do the same thing for SBBASIC. Put the disk with the SBBASIC files in the floppy drive of the target computer. On the target computer, type in: a:install then press the enter key. This will install mixerset.exe in the SB16 directory. It would probably be a good idea to print the readme file while you are at it. Edit the autoexec.bat file in the root directory and place the following at the end: \ctcm\ctcm \sb16\mixerset /MA:255 /mic:255 /OPS:mic- /IPL:mic+ /IPR:mic+ /IPG:4 /OPG:4 /AGC:+ cd\super super CTCM will set up the PnP board. The mixerset program sets up the mixer in the sound card so that master volume (MA) is at maximum, the mike volume (MIC) is at maximum, input left (IPL) is turned on for the mike as well as input right (IPR), the input gain (IPG) is at maximum and AGC is turned on. The computer is then made to change to the Super Start directory and run Super Start. Reboot the computer to start Super Start with the CT2980.

Setting up the Avance ASOUND AS007 ALS120 for Super Start

Download als120.exe -- about 234,000 bytes . This is a version I shortened. I also put it in a file that can be extracted in DOS. Copy it to a floppy, then into a directory on the target computer called ALS120. While in the directory, type in als120 then press the enter key to extract the files it contains. Type in dosinst then press enter to install the driver files. The setup program will automatically start. Use the tab key to move around in it. Use the space bar to turn off IDE and everything else in the green area except Adlib. Use the up and down arrow keys to move around in the green area. The space bar turns things on and off. Use the tab key to move to the volume button, then press enter to get into the mixer section. Use the right arrow key to turn all of the volumes up to maximum, then press the enter key to leave the mixer. Use the tab key to move to the 8-bit test section. Press enter. You should hear a sound. Do the same for the other two tests if desired, although they will not be used by Super Start. Use the tab key to move to the OK button and press enter to leave the setup program. Edit the autoexec.bat file in the root directory and place the following at the end: cd\super super Reboot the computer to start Super Start with the ALS120. Record something, then play it back. If the sound is too loud or distorted, leave Super Start and type in \a4sound\a4config and press enter. This will get you back to the configuration program so you can work with getting the volumes where you want them. Other similar drivers Frankly, I'm not too impressed with this one. If anyone finds a better driver, please e-mail .