hello cracin and welcome...let's back up a little and recall a line from a popular song...
Slow down, you move too fast...
You got to make the mornin' last...
Very appropriate here.
You really have a number of things to do here - but first, and this is very important - where are you? City/state will do just fine. This is important because locals can spot you more easily - they're often the best help when trying to hear a particular area - and we can also spot whether the system you're trying to hear is decodeable on the 796. There are many newer systems since that radio came out that this radio can't decode
Next, let's take a look at the VUP and .scn files. These are firmware updates, not data files. When you apply firmware fixes, do NOT skip any steps no matter how odd they might seem. Obey the instructions EXACTLY. You may think of the firmware as the 'brains of the radio ' - without it, the radio is nothing more than an expensive collection of parts.
The instructions for applying these updates are found on the same wiki page you got those files. I am going to assume here that you have a USB-serial cable and have already made the connection between the scanner and radio. This is critical - neither the firmware updates nor anything else can be loaded without it. If not, we have an article in our wiki that lays out some common off the shelf (often abbreviated 'COTS') USB adapters you can get, and specific tips on the various Windows and how to use Device Manager. The link (always blue) is here...
Connecting scanners via USB - The RadioReference Wiki
and since I'm going to start hitting the character limit per message, my next message will talk about loading data for your scanner....Mike