I am not sure if this is a technical problem, but I can't open the door in the starting room. All the walk-throughs say to just open the door, no mention of anything tricky. Am I missing something?

When you grab the door handle, you need to turn it, kind of like how you crank a handle. Does this work for you?

miltowngal625

Yes, in this game, like Myst IV, the hand is really a hand and lots of things you do require using it just like you would your own hand, such as grab and turn a door knob, or pull or slide something, etc. The days of simply touching something to make it do things are long over!