I have a few questions about LOTR since I'm a new owner. Yes, they'll probably seem stupid to longtime owners, but they're nagging at me. And I'll be bumping this thread as new stupid questions arise in my mind. Others can feel free to ask their stupid questions here as well. Feel free to bust my balls!

1. Does everybody's center ramp get dented tips after a while, or is it just mine? The ramp looks like someone jammed it point-first against the ground. Small dings on the tip, but still noticeable.

2. When the machine is in attract mode, the DMD says on one of the screens, "Effect 69" What does that mean and how can I get rid of it? (Or can I?)

3. How can you find out what version of game, display, and sound ROMs you're running? Is there someplace in the service menu to find that info?

Thanks for anybody's help!

Thanks for the help, guys. My game is leveled correctly - set to 6.5 degrees and level from right to left. I'm currently running 9.0 and will be upgrading to 10.02 next week. (Just saw it on the sticker!) It's a bummer if I have to keep swapping ramps out...I get that pinball is at heart a violent game, but I do my best to keep my games as pristine as possible.

And now for my new stupid question: Is the distorted sound just because of the compression of the recordings being jammed onto the sound and voice chips? Or is it something that has been corrected in updated ROMs? Anything you can suggest to get better sound (flipper fidelity speakers, etc.)?

If I need to get new voice and sound ROMs, do I just get them from Stern, or does somebody else carry them?

Thanks to everybody! I don't know if I have the post upgrade kit installed. How can I tell? And since I don't know how to burn a ROM I'd have to buy one. If anybody knows of a good place please post a link. I'll upgrade all other ROMs in the interim.