Desktop PC Download
Note: please bookmark this page! This is your unique download directory for your purchase of PCDecisions. Also please note that some browsers don't recognize these file-types and will attempt to display them rather than prompt you to save the file. If that happens (you see garbled characters on the screen) you should right-click the same link and "save" the target file instead. Be sure to note into which folder you save the downloaded files, so that you can find them again and double-click them to install.
Note: please also see the installation sheet that ships with the CDROMs for more details and warnings.
This version of the Rules installs directly onto any modern Windows workstation, whether it be a desktop or laptop. Simply download and run the installer wizard, pcdinst.exe.
If you had a previous version of PCDecisions for Windows, you may wish to uninstall first using the uninstaller that came with it; otherwise you will have duplicate shortcuts which can be confusing. Also, the 2006-2007 and later versions of PCDecisions use your default browser as the user interface, unlike the 2004-2005 and previous versions. See our support page for issues related to this. Very important for Windows XP Pro users is the instructions for shutting down IIS (Microsoft's Internet Information Services).
IMPORTANT: If you are already running the 2006-2007 version, you will need to shut down the server before attempting to uninstall the previous version or install this updated version. To do that, click the "Search" icon from the main screen. In the search box, type QUIT in uppercase letters, and submit the query. The screen should come back blank, indicating the server has been shut down. If it didn't work, clear your browser cache and try again. Clicking this link, from the same computer on which your PCDecisions is running, should also work: http://127.0.0.1/QUIT20071213.
On newer PCs and laptops, with Windows XP Pro or newer operating systems, there may be one or more firewalls installed, which may block the server component of PCDecisions. Without disabling the firewall or granting an exception for the Rules server, your browser will not be able to connect to the server component and the program will therefore not work. Following are the instructions for the Windows firewall on XP. Hopefully these instructions will offer a guideline for any other firewalls you may have installed.
This is the message you
may see when first installing PCDecisions, if your firewall is enabled. This
means that GolfServe.exe, the server component of PCDecisions, is not being
allowed to bind to the loopback port of the computer, which is necessary for
the program to run properly. The next paragraph explains how to fix this.
This shows where, under the Exceptions tab of the
firewall in your Control Panel, you need to check to enable GolfServe.exe to
bind to port 80 of the local computer, if your Windows Firewall is
enabled. It doesn't hurt to check it even if your firewall is disabled,
as you may change your mind someday and you'll still want PCDecisions to work.
After enabling GolfServe.exe, you may need to restart your computer in order for the server to restart properly and bind to the loopback port. Then you should be able to double-click the PCDecisions, or "Rules of Golf", link on your desktop to launch your browser and see the Decisions on the Rules of Golf.