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RealPlayer 7 Plus
Frequently Asked Questions

Upgrading and Installing

  1. What are the system requirements for RealPlayer 7 Plus?

    To use RealPlayer 7 Plus, you need the following:

    • A Mac OS or Windows (95, 98, or NT 4.0) computer
    • 32 MB RAM for Mac OS and 16 MB of RAM for Windows
    • A hard drive with at least 30 MB of free space
    • A video card capable of displaying 65,000-colors
    • An Internet connection & web browser

    Windows minimum system requirements

    • 90 MHz Intel Pentium processor (or equivalent)
    • Windows 95
    • 16 MB RAM
    • 30 MB free space on your hard disk
    • 16-bit sound card and speakers
    • 65,000-color video display card
    • 14.4Kbps modem (audio only); 28.8Kpbs modem (video)
    • Internet connection and web browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator)

    Windows recommended system requirements

    Audio and video performance will increase if your computer meets or exceeds the following:

    • 120 MHz or faster Intel Pentium processor (or equivalent)
    • Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 3
    • 32 MB RAM
    • 30 MB free space on your hard disk
    • 16-bit sound card and speakers
    • 65,000-color or better video display card
    • 28.8Kbps or faster modem
    • Internet connection and web browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator)

    Mac OS minimum system requirements

    • PowerPC 604 processor (200 MHz or faster)
    • Mac OS 8.1 or later
    • 32 MB RAM and 65 MB virtual memory.
    • 25 MB free space on your hard disk
    • 14.4Kbps modem (audio only); 28.8Kpbs modem (video)
    • Internet connection and 4.0 browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator)

    Mac OS recommended system requirements

    Audio and video performance will increase if your computer meets or exceeds the following:

    • PowerPC G3 processor (233 MHz or faster)
    • Mac OS 8.1 or higher
    • 64 MB RAM and 65 MB virtual memory
    • 25 MB free space on your hard disk
    • 28.8Kbps or faster modem
    • Internet connection and 4.0 browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator)

    Note: Higher bit rate content will not perform well on a lower end Macintosh with a minimum amount of RAM. We recommend playing higher bit rate content on a Macintosh with a 233 MHz (or faster) PowerPC G3 processor (e.g., iMac, iBook, or G3 and G4 models).

    We recommend that you use RealPlayer 7 Plus with Virtual Memory turned on and allocated to at least 65 MB. As a general rule, please do not run many programs while using RealPlayer 7 Plus for Macintosh with high bit rate content.

  2. Does RealPlayer 7 Plus automatically overwrite older versions of RealPlayer?

    RealPlayer 7 Plus will automatically overwrite RealPlayer Plus G2. It is not possible to have both RealPlayer 7 Plus and RealPlayer Plus G2 installed on the same computer. All your custom channels and favorites will migrate from RealPlayer Plus G2 to RealPlayer 7 Plus.

    RealPlayer 7 Plus will not overwrite RealPlayer 5.0 Plus and earlier unless you install RealPlayer 7 Plus into the same folder as the older version.

  3. When does the RealPlayer 7 Plus beta expire?

    RealNetworks intentionally sets an expiration date in both the beta installation program and RealPlayer 7 Plus beta executable file. All our beta programs expire to remind our customers to update to the latest beta or final release of the RealPlayer. Final release versions do not expire.

    The RealPlayer 7 beta will expire 120 days after it was released. There are two ways to update your copy:

    1. If your copy of RealPlayer 7 Plus beta has not yet expired, start RealPlayer 7 Plus beta, click Help, and choose Check for Update.

    2. If your copy of RealPlayer 7 Plus beta has already expired, check the RealNetworks download page.

  4. Why am I having problems after removing RealPlayer 7 and reinstalling RealPlayer G2 for Windows?

    If you have RealPlayer 7 (Basic or Plus) and RealJukebox (Basic or Plus) installed and you decide to revert back to RealPlayer G2, you must also uninstall RealJukebox.

    Because RealJukebox requires some RealPlayer components, it will "lock" those RealPlayer components, preventing the RealPlayer G2 installer from overwriting them during the reinstall.

    If you...
    1. Leave RealJukebox installed and reinstall RealPlayer G2 over RealPlayer 7

      -OR-

    2. Leave RealJukebox installed, uninstall RealPlayer 7, and reinstall RealPlayer G2

    The RealPlayer 7 components cannot be replaced with the RealPlayer G2 components. This results in a partial install containing both RealPlayer 7 and RealPlayer G2 components, which causes compatibility problems.

    To correct this problem, you must uninstall RealJukebox and RealPlayer 7, then reinstall RealJukebox and RealPlayer G2.

    Note: Be sure you write down your serial number(s) before you uninstall Plus versions of RealPlayer or RealJukebox. You can locate the serial number by choosing About... from the Help menu. If you need to download a new copy of RealPlayer Plus or RealJukebox Plus, contact Customer Service at http://service.real.com/

    This issue will be corrected in a future release of RealPlayer 7.

  5. Why do I receive a "destination folder is currently locked" error when I try to install RealPlayer 7 Plus for Mac OS from CD-ROM?

    When you double-click the "plusinst.hqx" file located on the RealPlayer 7 Plus CD-ROM, the Macintosh returns the error, "The disk with your preferred destination folder is currently locked. Error -44" (or a similar error).

    The RealPlayer 7 Plus installer on the CD-ROM is stored in a compressed archive format that must be decompressed before you can install RealPlayer 7 Plus. When you double-click the "plusinst.hqx" file on the CD-ROM, the Macintosh tries to decompress to the CD-ROM. Since it is not possible to write to a CD-ROM, the decompression fails and you receive an error message.

    To prevent this problem from occurring, you must copy the installer to the hard drive and then decompress the file.

    To copy the installer to your hard drive and install RealPlayer 7 Plus, do the following:

    1. Open the CD-ROM by double clicking the RealNetworks CD-ROM on the Mac OS Desktop.
    2. Drag the "plusinst.hqx" file from the CD-ROM to your hard drive.
    3. Once the file has finished copying, double-click the "plusinst.hqx" file located on your hard drive.

    The RealPlayer 7 Plus installer will decompress and create a RealPlayer Plus Installer icon. Double-click this new icon and follow the on-screen directions to complete the installation of RealPlayer 7 Plus.

    Note: You must have Stuffit Expander (or equivalent) installed in order to decompress files with the .hqx extension. If you do not have Stuffit Expander, you can download a copy from the Aladdin Systems web site.