At the switch, there is a switch ball with a lever. The stairway is open and I think I must close the stairway to continue with puzzle. The lever to the left doesn't close it. How does one close the stairs

Jeepers,
Did you use the water tone machine in the other room to make the stairway accessible? You will use the machine again for the final switch setting, but you must solve a puzzle in the conservatory to find out that setting. Getting to the conservatory involves another puzzle with the t-flyer.

I am at end of Alida and have completed per walkthrough:
Raised the stone gate
Completed the Rune Panel (double checked all)
Went to number wheels and changed numbers to 2, but when I pressed the button, I got two dots on each number instead of the code for the vaults. I went ahead and used the walkthrough (top,bottom,bottom,top,bottom,top,bottom,bottom) to release Arins vault and the light turned green. Went to the strummer and clicked on lever and Arin spoke to me, but not what he was supposed to say.

There are so many glitches and crashes in this puzzle, I am not sure if this is a glitch or I did something wrong. However, I went back and did all as walkthrough said, but still I cannot get Arin to tell me to play the guitar again, so I am stuck.

Has anyone had this problem, and if so, what did you do?

Jeepers, I had exactly the same problem and replayed everything till I was blue in the face. Sorry to say after the seventh time I gave up. No game is worth that much hassle. I wish I could offer you some words of encouragement.
Kay

Makes one wonder why (they) release a game when it is so full of bugs!! Takes the enjoyment out of playing when you get through a difficult puzzle, just to have it crash and have to start over.URGHHHH

Jeepers--

Set it back to the way it was when you first opened it. I can't remember which note that was and no longer have the game. As soon as you position it to where it was when it opened for you the first time, go back to the ball and the lever should close it. Then you can reset it to the new position.

I hope this makes sense.

Good luck.

Jayne

Thanks for info Jayne, but I got past that one and am stuck at end, per last post.

Jeepers,
There is a patch for the crashes. I believe one of the moderators posted it in the "Alida Quest" thread.

SPOILERS:


.

The reason you didn't find the button code is you didn't hold the cabinet button in long enough. The reason that you are not getting the ending sequence is that you haven't set one of the parts of the guitar correctly. I recommend doing the following:
1. Check the spherin in the conservatory which shows the switch. Many people set the water tone machine correctly and then forget to pull the lever. The stair opening should be flush with the floor.
2. Make sure the potentiometer planet panels are set according to the spherin at the top of the jack tower. They are not the same settings you used in the cabins to get to the top of the jack tower.
3. The peghead is the easiest to check. If the lights are out when you look out of the peg porthole, that part is set.
4. Enter the vault codes on the two nearby vault doors and strum.

Jeepers, if you are playing in XP, you can download the patch here ...

I downloaded the patch at the git-go. No help!

I went through the whole game using the walkthrough as posted on gameboomers and at the end of each puzzle, something has to happen. re: doors become available, sphere rotates overhead, etc. I made sure all of these outcomes happened, yet when I reached the number wheels cabinet to enter the #2 on all buttons, instead of a code coming up on them, the two dots were on all of them. (I did hold down on the button until all #'s showed 2 dots). I tried to go on, but no go. I have gone back to all the places mentioned and all is set. I guess I could go back and start over, but doubt I will. Thanks anyway for your suggestions.

Jeepers,
After you see the two dots on the number wheels cabinet, hold it longer. It will show the up-down code.

This is a very non-linear game. If I wanted to, I could open a new game, solve all the cabinet puzzles, and enter the button code. To get the correct ending, it is critical that the three areas be set correctly. If you are not getting the correct ending after entering the button codes on the vault buttons, then one of those areas is incorrect. I have played this game 3 times, so I know. Don't give up. You are so close. I'm sending you an email with the final settings.

Thanks Lady K. I finished the game by holding down the buttons about 15 seconds and sure enough the code come up and so I was able to finish the game. HOW SIMPLE!!!!!

Thanks again

Ah, I'm glad you finished it, Jeepers! You were so close to the end that it would have been a shame not to reach it.

By the way, you might want to email the developer at the Alida website regarding the crashes you had. I know that this game was tested extensively before release, but you may just have a configuration that fell through the cracks. It could help them to improve things for later versions.