FreeGuide INSTALL-windows

(by Sam Pye and Andy Balaam)

Installation Instructions

  1. Download and install the Java Runtime Environment, Version 1.4 at least. To find out whether you've got this, open a CMD Window (MS-DOS window), and type java -version. If it says you've got an earlier version, or if you get an error, you need to get an upgrade from http://java.sun.com/j2se/.
  2. Set your environment variable "TZ" to your time zone. ("EST5EDT" refers to New York timezone, so you'll need to adjust it if this kind of thing worries you.) Here's how:
  3. With Windows 2000/XP:

    With Windows 95/98/ME:

  4. Download the FreeGuide-(some stuff)-Install.jar file, and double-click on it to install FreeGuide. You can decide where to put it, but it's probably best to leave as it is. If all has gone well, the window should disappear when you click "Finish". [NOTE: if you have WinRAR installed, or another program that opens JAR files instead of allowing them to be run as java programs, you'll need to open a Cmd window, cd to where you downloaded it, and run java -jar FreeGuide-(some stuff)-Install.jar.]
  5. Connect to the Internet.
  6. Open a command window (on Win XP: Start --> Run --> CMD [enter]) (on Win 98: Start --> Programs --> Accessories --> MS-DOS Prompt) and type this:
  7. cd "C:\Program Files\freeguide-tv\xmltv"
    then one of:
    tv_grab_uk --configure
    if you're from the UK, or
    tv_grab_na --configure
    if you're from North America

    Now follow the instructions and provide the info you're asked for. This will configure your listings grabber. Now you can run FreeGuide.

    Note for UK users: don't use the regional analogue TV settings. Instead, say no to the various options and then at the end name each channel you want individually. FreeGuide doesn't support the regional way of working as it needs to know the name of each channel explicitly.

  8. To start FreeGuide, double-click on "FreeGuide.jar" in "C:\Program Files\freeguide-tv\" from Windows Explorer. You can create a shortcut by right-clicking on it, and then drag this onto your desktop if you want.
  9. See the README for info on how to use FreeGuide.

    If you have any problems, contact us and we'll sort you out.