Walkthrough to Install and Operate the Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance

(HELP) Model v3.07

HELP v3.07 is a DOS executable program, meaning it does not run in a Windows or iOS
environment. The 16-bit program will not natively work with 64-bit systems (i.e., most Windows
7 and more recent systems). Therefore, a 3rd party emulator is required. This walkthrough will
describe how to use a DOS emulator to install the HELP model. HELP v3.07 will run natively on
32-bit systems, through the Windows Command line. For 32-bit systems, unzip the program and
double-click INSTALL.exe, following the walkthrough from Step 7. To check if your PC is 32
or 64-bit, navigate to the Start menu (may be a Windows icon), Click Computer, Click System
Properties (or similar). A window with your Windows Edition and System Information will
appear. System type will display either 32 or 64-bit Operating System.

If you have difficulties with installation of HELP, contact Thabet Tolaymat for troubleshooting:
[email protected]

Updates will be posted to:

https://www.epa.gov/land-research/hydrologic-evaluation-landfill-performance-help-model

Instructions for software installation begin on the following page.

Instructions to load HELP after a successful installation begin on page 10.

Last updated: June 16, 2017

Installing the HELP software
Step Image Comments
1 No image Download a copy of HELP v3.07 from
EPA’s HELP model webpage. It is an
executable (.exe) in the form of a zip
folder (.zip).
2 No image To operate HELP on a 64-bit system,
you must first download and install a
DOS emulator. Search “DOS
emulator” in your preferred search
engine and download the software of
your choosing. EPA cannot
recommend specific software. This
walkthrough uses the DOS emulator
DOSBox v0.74.
3 Navigate to your Downloads folder or
wherever the zipped HELP folder is
located.

The file is called: zHELP3P.zip

HELP v3.07 Walkthrough Revision 1 Page 2 of 13

Step Image Comments
4 Right-click and Extract All.

For convenience, we are saving to the

C: drive in a new folder called
“HELP”.

File path is C:\HELP\

NOTE: Some computers may have

administrator privileges that prevent
saving directly to the C: drive or other
locations. Find a suitable location for
these files.

Click Extract.

5 Navigate to C:\HELP

Right click on the Executable file

zhelp3p.

Right-click and Extract the files from

the EXE. Clicking Open on the EXE
in a 64-bit system will result in an
error message.

The HELP folder will populate with

several executables, folders, and
zipped folders.

6 Find the INSTALL executable.

Drag and drop INSTALL to the DOS

emulator desktop shortcut.

The emulator will be used to install

HELP files.

HELP v3.07 Walkthrough Revision 1 Page 3 of 13

Step Image Comments
7 We will now go through the prompts
to install HELP.

There are many files which are

required for proper operation. Pay
careful attention to the prompts.
Generally, you will want to Type “y”
for yes. Starting with the first prompt:
Do you want to continue installation?

Type y

8 For convenience, use the suggested

directory.

NOTE: This does not install files or

programs to C:\HELP3.
It will install to wherever in the C: drive
you have the INSTALL file.

In our case it is:

C:\HELP\HELP3

In your case it may be embedded within

several folders. e.g., C:\...\...\HELP3

Another NOTE: It is important to keep

track of where these files and folders are
located. To run the software later, you
will need to type the file path into the
user interface. It will not let you browse
for the folder (like most modern
programs do).

Press Enter

HELP v3.07 Walkthrough Revision 1 Page 4 of 13

Step Image Comments
9 Type y

10 Type y

11 The test should be successful.

If not, there may be an issue with the

downloading process and the model
may not operate properly.

For installation troubleshooting,

contact Thabet Tolaymat:
[email protected]

12 If the test was successful,

Type y

If the test was not successful,

Type n

HELP v3.07 Walkthrough Revision 1 Page 5 of 13

Step Image Comments
13 Several files will then be inflated/
unzipped.

Press any key

14 Although this information is optional,

we feel it is best to install default data.

Type y

15 Generations ago, people did hard math

by hand with pen and paper.

Today, we can install vast quantities

of data on hard drives.

Type y

16 Decades ago, computers used multiple

disks to perform computing tasks.
Programs were measured in kilobytes.

When was the last time you saw a

floppy disk?

All of the required files are contained

within the zip file.

Press Enter

HELP v3.07 Walkthrough Revision 1 Page 6 of 13

Step Image Comments
17 These will be necessary for the
Example problem for operating HELP.

Type y

NOTE: Similar to Step 8, although it

says the subdirectory is
C:\HELP3\EXAMPLES, it is actually
C:\...\HELP3\EXAMPLES

In our case it is:

C:\HELP\HELP3\EXAMPLES

18 Press Enter and let the credits roll…

19 Type y

20 Press Enter

HELP v3.07 Walkthrough Revision 1 Page 7 of 13

Step Image Comments
21 The User’s Manual and Engineering
Documentation are now available
separately here:
https://nepis.epa.gov

The web documents are identical to

the installed copies.

Type y or n

22 Press Enter

23 Press Enter

24 Congratulations! You have mastered

the latest in 1980s technology.

We can now run HELP.

Press Enter

To operate HELP immediately: The

emulator has the HELP directory
already mounted.
Type HELP3 in the command line.

HELP v3.07 Walkthrough Revision 1 Page 8 of 13

Step Image Comments
25 The image to the left should be
displayed.

Press any key to continue operation of

the HELP model.

If you close the emulator, your session

will end and HELP will close.
Follow the instructions on the
following page to load HELP.

HELP v3.07 Walkthrough Revision 1 Page 9 of 13

Once HELP is installed you will use a DOS emulator to start the program using the command
line. We will mount the C: drive (or whichever drive your folder is located in). Then we will
navigate to and run the program.
To run HELP after it is installed on your computer:
Step Image Comments
1 First, navigate in Windows Explorer
(the folder system) to your HELP files.

In this example, the directory is on the

Desktop in a HELP parent folder >
HELP307 > HELP3 subfolder

Look to the left, if you see zip folders

and a HELP3 folder, you need to go
into that HELP3 folder.

Double-click the HELP3 folder.

2 Look for a SOURCE folder. Now we

are in the right location. This folder
(HELP3) is the folder we will point to
(mount) in the DOS emulator.

Note: You will not see all the other

folders. Those are created by the user.
The EXAMPLE folder has the example
files from the installation which may
be helpful.

DOC contains the user manual and

engineering document.
3 Note the file path of this location by
clicking in the Explorer bar
(highlighted).

You will want to write it down as there

is not a simple way to copy/paste to the
emulator.

Note the EPA username has been

censored for security purposes.

HELP v3.07 Walkthrough Revision 1 Page 10 of 13

Step Image Comments
4 Open your preferred DOS emulator.

The command line will read a virtual

drive (Z:\> or similar).

We will mount directly to the HELP

folder where all the HELP working
files are and where your data will be
saved.

In this example HELP is located on the

C: drive so we will mount the C: drive.
5 Type:

Mount C: C:\[enter your file path here]

You cannot paste, so write carefully.

Press Enter.
If successful, the emulator will tell you
the C: drive has been mounted.

If the directory is incorrect, the

emulator will notify you. Look to the
left for an example.
6 We’ve mounted the C: drive directly to
the HELP3 folder but the directory will
still be pointing to the Z: drive

Type: C:

Press Enter

The directory will now be pointing to

the C: drive.

IMPORTANT: The emulator displays

C:\ but really the drive is directly
pointing to the file path you specified.
So whenever you see C:\ in later in the
HELP program it is really to the
HELP3 folder.

HELP v3.07 Walkthrough Revision 1 Page 11 of 13

Step Image Comments
7 Let’s load the program.

You may be tempted to type HELP.

But that will give you the help menu

for the Emulator (of course).

With the C:\> directory mounted

Type: HELP3
Press Enter
8 HELP is now loaded and ready for use!

9 One last quick note about functionality:

We recommend creating a new folder

for each HELP simulation in Windows
Explorer before you create new files in
HELP.

When you go to save the files in HELP,

because you mounted the C:\ drive
directly to the HELP3 folder, you don’t
need to reenter the whole file path. Just
the new folder name.

C:\SANDIEGO in HELP
is really
C:\users\desktop\...\HELP\HELP307\HELP3\SANDIEGO
on the computer

HELP v3.07 Walkthrough Revision 1 Page 12 of 13

Step Image Comments
10 Also, the print functionality within
HELP is not recommended for printing
the output files.

Locate the output file (*.OUT) and

open with your preferred text editor for
printing or saving as PDF.

You may want to resize the text for it

to display properly.

Questions can be directed to:

[email protected]

Happy HELPing!

HELP v3.07 Walkthrough Revision 1 Page 13 of 13