What you need: To run the Vortex simulation program, you need access to an IBM or IBM-compatible machine.

You can obtain a copy of VORTEX either by downloading it from http://pw1.netcom.com/~rlacy/vortex.html or by asking your TA for a floppy diskette with the needed program files. Next, create a directory on your hard drive (e.g. "vortex") and then copy all the files to this directory. Note that you should not try to run the program off of a floppy disk as you will quickly run out of disk space. Finally, you can run VORTEX from DOS by changing to the VORTEX directory (e.g., CD \VORTEX) and then typing VORTEX followed by the ENTER key. Alternatively, you can run VORTEX from Windows by double-clicking on the file VORTEX.EXE from Windows Explorer. See the survival guide for further directions.

Start by logging into your account. Next, create a subdirectory called "vortex" within the "home" directory of your WAM account (you can due this in Windows 95, 98 or NT by using the File-> New -> Folder command from Windows Explorer). At this point, you need to copy the VORTEX program files into this directory. You can do this by asking your TA for a floppy diskette with the needed program files and then transferring these files to this directory. Alternatively, you can download the program files directly into this directory from the site http://pw1.netcom.com/~rlacy/vortex.html.  NOTE: To download these files from a WAM PC computer station, you must use Netscape . . . you will not be able to use Internet Explorer (this was true for the 2000 course, not checked for this year).

Running Vortex from a ZIP Disk

A third approach is to copy the program files to a ZIP disk. You can then run the program from the ZIP disk on any WAM PC computer station with a ZIP drive. Note that if you use this option, make sure to keep backup copies of your files . . . zip disks are notorious for ruining data.