King’s Quest 6 Game Technical Help
There are various technical problems in King’s Quest 6, but there are patches and troubleshooting documents that can help. It is recommended that when playing the game under Windows, no other programs should be running, such as screensavers, virus protection, etc. If the game is exhibiting too many problems under Windows, try running it under DOS. The most popular game problem for King’s Quest 6, though not quite technical, is not having the game manual to solve the Logic Cliffs and Catacombs puzzles. There are four patches and an online technical document for this game.
King’s Quest 6 Installation Requirements
PC PROCESSOR: 386SX-16Mhz, 486SX or higher recommended
PC OS: MS-DOS 5.0 or higher, Windows 3.1 or higher
PC RAM: 2 MB, 4 MB recommended
PC RAM CONVENTIONAL: DOS-575K
PC VIDEO CARD: 640×480 VGA 256 Colors
PC HARD DRIVE: 1 MB hard drive space minimum
CD-ROM DRIVE: 1x speed, 2x speed recommended (CD-ROM only)
SOUND CARD: Diskette-No/CD-Yes-Sound Card with DAC
MAC PROCESSOR: 68020
MAC RAM: 4MB
MAC VIDEO CARD: Color or Greyscale
MAC CD: No
King’s Quest 6 Installation Procedures
King’s Quest 6 DOS Version:
You should not be in Windows. If you are in Windows, quit now. Insert the CD and switch to the CD drive by typing the drive letter followed by a colon, and then press the ENTER key. Ex: D: [ENTER]. Then type INSTALL to begin the installation program. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
If you have the floppy diskette version, insert the diskette into the drive and switch to the floppy drive by typing the drive letter followed by a colon, and then press the ENTER key. EX: A: [ENTER]. Then type INSTALL to begin the installation program. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
If you have the collection version, then insert the second CD and and switch to the CD drive by typing the drive letter followed by a colon. For example, if your CD-ROM drive is D:, type D: [ENTER]. From the D:>, type: INSTALL6.EXE
Follow the on-screen prompts. When you reach the Installation Options screen, make sure the settings are correct. Older games often detect today’s 16-bit sound cards incorrectly, so check the MUSIC setting. You will probably get the best sound with the SOUNDBLASTER/ADLIB choice for MUSIC and THUNDERBOARD for AUDIO. For best game performance, select “Do not use extra memory” for the MEMORY option.
King’s Quest 6 Windows Version:
In WINDOWS 3.1, insert the CD into the appropriate drive. From Program Manager, click on File, then Run. In the Command Line field, type the letter of the drive followed by \SETUP. EX: D:\SETUP (press the OK button).
Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
In WINDOWS 95, insert the CD into the appropriate drive. Click on the Start Button, then Run. In the Open field, type the letter of the drive followed by \SETUP. Ex: D:\SETUP (press the OK button) Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
If you have the collection version, insert the second CD into the appropriate drive. In Windows 3.1, from the FILE menu on the PROGRAM MANAGER, choose RUN. In Windows 95, click on the Start Button, then Run. From the COMMAND line or Open field, type in D:\SETUPKQ6.EXE and click OK. (If your CD ROM is another letter besides D, substitute that letter in the above command.)
Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation. If you are using a Soundblaster or ProAudio compatible sound card, select Base Level MIDI. If you are using a General MIDI device like a Roland, choose Extended Level MIDI. NOTE: Windows MUST be using a 256 color video driver for King’s Quest 6 to display properly. If you get a message stating that you are not running in the correct resolution for the game, check Windows Setup in the Main program group to find out what display driver you are currently using. Your video card documentation should include information on how to install and change Windows video drivers.
King’s Quest 6 Game Patches
Sierra has four patches for King’s Quest 6. See Sierra’s online technical document for more technical problems. It may be able to correct your problem without needing a patch.
This patch is only for the CD-ROM version of King’s Quest 6. It corrects a problem seen with SoundBlaster 16 ASP sound cards, in which only the first digitized effect is heard.
KQ6PATCH1.EXE – 7.1 KB
This patch is for Macintosh versions only. It corrects timing-related lockups on the Mac versions of some of Sierra’s older games.
KQ6PATCH2.HQX – 86.0 KB
This patch is only for the original non-collection CD-ROM version of King’s Quest 6. It allows the game to use Windows resolutions higher than 640×480.
KQ6PATCH3.EXE – 103.9 KB
This patch installs the Gravis Ultrasound driver, which is a DOS-based music/sound driver for certain Sierra games using the Gravis Ultrasound card.
KQ6PATCH4.EXE – 202.1 KB
Once it is downloaded, run the program like any other installation program. Follow the instructions. Once the patch is installed, restart the computer and play the game normally. You no longer need the patch program, so just delete it off your floppy disk.
King’s Quest 6 Technical Document
Sierra has composed an online technical troubleshooting document for King’s Quest 6. In this document, you can find information concerning the following problems:
- When installing the game, you receive the message “Error reading drive D”. Message will vary depending on what drive you are installing from.
- After typing INSTALL, a row of dots goes across the screen and stops. The computer is locked up with this row of dots appearing on the screen.
- You receive an error message stating, “Your current display driver is not supported by this game.” (Windows version)
- When you attempt to run the game, you receive an error message indicating insufficient memory.
- The game locks up after the first sound effect is played (DOS version).
- You have trouble running King’s Quest 6 under Windows 95. There is an entire section for Windows 95.
- You have problems with the music and sound when running King’s Quest 6 under DOS, Windows 3.1, or Windows 95.
Click here to view Sierra’s KING’S QUEST 6 TECHNICAL DOCUMENT.
Note that these technical documents are rather outdated, and Sierra is no longer updating them. In fact, Sierra Planet was lucky enough to save a copy of the document before Sierra deleted all of them. If your problem is not listed there or not resolved, check out Sierra’s technical support knowledge base for more updated information.
Other Contact Information
If you need more technical support, then try SierraHelp.com. More experienced players might be able to help you out relatively quickly.
If you lost your game manual or your game did not come with one, you may not be able solve the logic cliffs because you do not have the Guidebook to the Land of the Green Isles. In this case, you need to get a new manual from Sierra. See Sierra’s Customer Service site. On some games that only came with a jewelbox, the manual is sometimes in the little CD booklet or as an online file on the CD-ROM itself. This file can be in a directory or is named doc, docs, docos, dox (or a variation thereof). In certain Slash versions of the game, the INSTALL.EXE program has the guidebook listed as one of the options. See if your CD-ROM has any of these before ordering a new manual. The actual answers to the Logic Cliffs and to the tile puzzle in the catacombs are copyright protected by Sierra and cannot be legally given out. Sorry!