Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If you have any questions concerning downloading, unzipping, etc. Check the list below for a possible answer.

How to unzip .ZIP files?
How to extract self extracting .EXE files?
How to install screen savers after downloading?
What is the meaning of shareware, freeware and public domain?
What is a virus?
What is VBRUNxxx.DLL?
Are all these screen saver files RatLoaf's creation?
The speed of the download is slow, why?
Why does it tell me that it requires a password or access denied?
Will Win3.x screen savers run under Win95?
How can I create my own Windows screen savers?

How to unzip .ZIP files?

To unzip a .ZIP file, you will need an archive utility program like WinZip. Please visit WinZip's home page.

How to extract self extracting .EXE files?

Any files within our pages ends with an extension of .EXE, it is a self extracting file, you do not need an unzip program to extract it. To start the self extracting process after downloading a file, copy or move the .EXE file to an empty directory and double click on its filename and it will automatically extract its files into the same directory.

How to install screen saver(s) after downloading?

Usually the installation instructions will accompany the downloaded file itself in the form of a .TXT, .DOC, .WRI format. Refer to that file on how to install the screen saver(s). If there is no accompanying instructions, and there is either a SETUP.EXE or INSTALL.EXE, run that file to start the installation process. If the downloaded file only contains file(s) ending with .SCR, just copy all files ending with .SCR to your Windows\System directory.

What is the meaning of shareware, freeware and public domain?

Any files that you download from our pages will fall into one of the following three categories, please review carefully.

Shareware: Shareware is try-before-you-buy software. It is created by nice people who put it out into the world for you to try, with a note attached (actually it's a file) asking you to please send the author a small fee if you continuously use the program after its specified trial period by registering. This registration fee can run from $5 and up (and usually less than $25), but it's almost less than you'd pay for a comparable product at a computer store. If you do register the program, the author may send you the latest version or maybe even a printed manual. It is so nice of these people to do this that we really should support them by sending their minimal fees. And believe me, there is a lot of work involved in creating any type of software.

Freeware: Freeware is software made available for public use by the generous author, and it's free. You're not under any obligation to pay for it, but the author retains the copyright of the software.

Public Domain: Public domain is also free software made available to the public by the author, by contrast, is given over in its entirety to the public domain with no strings attached.

What is a virus?

A computer virus is not the same as a human virus, like a cold. It is a program that an evil scumbag has written to do bad things to your computer, like displaying some humorous messages out of nowhere, corrupt some of your files, even worst, delete your whole hard drive. There are thousands of different types of computer viruses, and new ones are being produced all the time. The chance of you catching a virus is slim, but winning the state lottery is even slimmer. To be on the safe side, you should perform a virus scan on any files that you download. So, do practice safe downloading. You can obtain a virus scanning program from the Tools You Might Need... page.

What is VBRUNxxx.DLL?

Any program that was written in Visual Basic(high level programming language) will require its runtime library, which is a dynamic link library, inorder to run. There is VBRUN100.DLL, VBRUN200.DLL, VBRUN300.DLL, VB40016.DLL and VB40032.DLL. Depends on which version of Visual Basic the program was written in, it will need the corresponding .DLL, for example, Visual Basic v3 will require VBRUN300.DLL, v4-32bit will require VB40032.DLL.

Are all these screen saver files RatLoaf's creation?

Most of the screen savers were created by other authors, and we just link to their URLs inorder for you to download them from one place.

The speed of the download is slow, why?

Most of the time when that occurs, we have no control over it since most of the files that you are downloading are links to other sites, so, feel free to complain to their webmaster.

Why does it tell me that it requires a password or access denied?

Most of the files within our pages are links to other sites, when those sites has reached their limit of logged on visitors at any particular time, it will either ask for a Password or display an Access Denied message. Just try again at a different time. The best time to try would be late at night, like after 12AM, when most normal people would be asleep by then, but you and I will still be up surfing the Net and not get wet.

Will Win3.x screen savers run under Win95?

Yes, it should. If it doesn't work properly, it's the source code that was written improperly.

How can I create my own windows screen savers?

You can create your own Windows screen savers by using either one of the following programming languages, from easiest to hardest.

Visual Basic: VB is a high level interpreted language, very easy to learn. The next version of VB, which is version5, might come with a true compiler and even being cross platform. Published by Microsoft.

Delphi: Delphi is also a high level language, almost as easy to learn as Visual Basic. Comes with a true compiler to produce faster executables. But it really depends on what you are trying to write. Published by Borland

C/C++: Very cryptic, but creates very fast executables. It would be very hard to learn without any prior programming experience.

There are other languages that you can create screen savers with, but those are just some of the most popular languages. Good luck on your hunt for the right language, hope to see your creations soon.