WebTV wasn't thinking about games when they designed the box and network, so there are some limitations we have to work around. This page will help you get the best possible performance from Games4TV on the WebTV box. If you're on a PC, there's a link for you on the side of the page.
Quick Steps for Best Performance
- Instant Messenger and WebTV background music OFF! These should always be off when you play - they take up most of your memory all by themselves, and the Messenger also takes most of your processing power and connection speed. Always restart your box after you turn these off to make sure your memory is clear.
- Refresh Memory by Powering Off for 30 seconds. If games are acting sluggish, loading very slowly (or not at all), or suddenly start playing strangely, the reason is that the memory in your WebTV box is almost full. WebTV has a "memory leak" that doesn't clear its memory completly, so it will fill up after playing for awhile.
Refresh your memory by powering off your box for 30 seconds (not just hanging up), or switching user accounts. Either of these methods will refresh your box's memory.
- Do NOT jump directly to a game from your MSNTV Favorites. Each of our games has its own index page where you find links to all of the game versions, rules, and the leaderboard. In many of them, there also is some pre-loading of images for the game that you cannot see, but that will help the game load faster and play better. If you want to save a favorite, put it in your Games4TV favorites and save your Games4TV home page in your MSNTV Favorites. If you jump directly to the game from your MSNTV favorites, you're defeating some of our tricks for better performance.
If you have done everything, and you're still getting poor response, then it's time to use MSNTV Help Utilities. Check your connection speed (it should be at least 48600 or better), check the status board to see if a known problem is posted, and reset your cookies.
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