NOTE: Microsoft Agent is not fully supported on Windows 7.  It works, but there are problems with it. 
As of Windows 7, Microsoft has discontinued Microsoft Agent. :(

Below are the steps for installing Microsoft Agent 2.0.

MASH FULL SETUP already includes most of these, however you can find additional Foreign Language Text-to-Speech Engines in Step 2 and the Speech Recognition Engine in Step 4.

If you have problems with these setup instructions, please visit the Microsoft Agent Home Page.

Required:

• Windows 9x/Me/NT4/2000/XP
• Internet Explorer 4.0 or later
• A Pentium 100-MHz PC or faster
• At least 16 MB of RAM
• At least 1 MB free disk space for the core components
• An additional 2-4 MB for each character you install.
• An additional 32K for each language component (dll).

Recommended:

• An additional 1.6 MB free disk space if you plan to use the Lernout & Hauspie® TruVoice Text-To-Speech Engine for speech output
• An additional 22 MB free disk space if you plan to use the Microsoft Speech Recognition Engine for speech input
• A Windows-compatible sound card
• A compatible set of speakers and microphone

Install Microsoft Agent Core Components version 2.0 (395K)

WINDOWS 2000/XP Users:  The Microsoft Agent Core Components are already installed on Windows 2000 and XP, so skip this step.

Download the above MSAgent.exe setup program and run it to install the core components.  You may then delete the setup program.

Install the Lernout & Hauspie TruVoice, Text-to-Speech Engine (English version)  (1MB)

The Lernout & Hauspie TruVoice Text-to-Speech (TTS) Engine provides speech output capabilities for Microsoft Agent so you can hear what the characters are saying through your sound speakers.  

Download the above tv_enua.exe setup program and run it to install the TTS Engine.  You may then delete the setup program.

If you've already installed this, you should see
Lernout & Hauspie TruVoice American English TTS Engine
in the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs list.

Additional Lernout & Hauspie TTS3000 Engines may be downloaded from the table below.  You need to download and install both the TTS Engine and the Language Add-On for the desired Language.

For example, to install French Text-to-Speech, download and install both lhttsfrf.exe and agtx040C.exe

Microsoft TTS Enginesd

Mary - Female Voice (English) 2.3MB

Mike - Male Voice (English) 2.4MB

Sam - Male Voice (English) 2.1MB

Microsoft Agent and MASH can utilize TTS Engines from many other speech vendors, including versions of ATT Natural Voices, Digalo, Elan Speech, IBM ViaVoice, and more.  The only requirement is that the TTS Engine is SAPI 4.0 compatible.  SAPI 5.0 is not currently supported.

Install the Microsoft Speech Control Panel (840K)

The Speech Control Panel will add an icon to your Control Panel to enable you to list the compatible speech recognition and text-to-speech engines installed on your system and customize their settings for your use.

Install the Microsoft Speech Recognition Engine, version 4.0 (6MB)

The Microsoft Speech Recognition Engine provides speech input capabilities for Microsoft Agent. This allows you to speak to characters through a microphone.  However, Microsoft Agent must be specifically programmed to understand and interact with what you are saying.  Also, Microsoft Agent does not support dictation.

Download the above actcnc.exe setup program and run it to install the TTS Engine.  You may then delete the setup program.

If you've already installed this, you will see
Microsoft Agent Speech Recognition Engine 4.0 (English)
in the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs list.

Download some Microsoft Agent Characters

* MASH FULL SETUP already includes Genie.

* WINDOWS Me/2000/XP Users:  Merlin is usually pre-installed on Windows Me, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.