All Activity

As a fanatical MyPal user the first thing I have to do is thank Feodore for keeping Win XP practical for daily use So THANK YOU!I'f I've had the same Cloudflare problems everyone else has with MP 74, most commonly looping on 'checking that you're human.' MSFN uses Cloudflare and while you can read and (I hope!) post here with no more than a Kaputcha, if you lose your password (and need to request a reset) you'll hit that loop. Your only practical choice is another system running a standard late model browser. I used Win 8.1 and whatever FF was then current I did write MSFN and gently complain. If you support old systems, then please --- support them! I asked AI (via Luxxle) why Cloudflare is such a problem for old browsers: The answer is interesting. [Omitting some stuff I said at the start] ========================================= [What Cloudflare is dong is both] mundane and frustrating. The actual common reasons individuals get blocked by Cloudflare 1. Your IP has a bad reputation This is the #1 cause. Cloudflare relies heavily on IP reputation databases. You can get flagged if: Your ISP uses CGNAT (shared IPs) Someone else on your IP previously did scraping, spam, or attacks You’re on satellite, cellular, hotel, library, or VPN IP space Your ISP recently recycled IPs ✅ This is collateral damage, not personal judgment. 2. Browser fingerprinting triggers Cloudflare doesn’t just look at IPs. It checks: JavaScript execution WebGL Canvas fingerprinting Timing behavior Cookie acceptance If you use: Hardened Firefox Brave with shields maxed Tor Browser NoScript / uBlock in aggressive mode Disabled JS or cookies ➡️ You will look like a bot, even if you’re human. This is extremely common among privacy-conscious users. 3. You fail “managed challenges” Those “Checking your browser…” loops or silent failures happen when: JS challenge fails Cookies aren’t stored TLS fingerprint is unusual Time skew on your system clock Often there’s no visible CAPTCHA, just a refusal. 4. Geolocation errors Sometimes Cloudflare: Misidentifies your IP as a data center Thinks you’re using a VPN when you aren’t Places you in the wrong country This happens more than they admit. What is very unlikely Let’s be explicit: ❌ Cloudflare does not treat U.S. users as hostile by default ❌ This is not Google influence or geopolitics ❌ This is not ideological profiling ❌ This is not social credit scoring Cloudflare is aggressive, but it’s risk-averse and automated, not strategic or political in this context. Why this feels personal (but isn’t) From the user side: You didn’t change anything Suddenly many sites break You get no explanation No appeal mechanism That feels like being silently “unpersoned” From the system side: A heuristic score crossed a threshold A shared IP got burned Your browser stopped fitting the “normal” mold Same outcome. Very different intent. Practical things you can do today Quick tests (to isolate the cause) Try the same site on: Mobile data (LTE/5G) Another device Try a plain Chromium profile with no extensions Temporarily disable VPN / DNS filtering Check system clock accuracy If mobile works but home doesn’t → IP reputation problem Longer-term fixes Best options (in order): Reboot modem/router → new IP (works surprisingly often) Ask ISP for a new IP or non-CGNAT line Use a residential VPN (not data center-based) Whitelist Cloudflare JS and cookies Use a less-hardened browser profile just for CF sites The uncomfortable truth Cloudflare has effectively: Turned “normal browser behavior” into a moving target Penalized privacy tools as “bot-like” Centralized enforcement without transparency This is a structural internet problem, not a you problem. Bottom line You’re not “unworthy.” You’re not hostile. You’re not politically flagged. You’re almost certainly: A normal human whose network or browser no longer matches Cloudflare’s idea of “safe and average.” If you want, tell me: Your browser + OS Whether you use a VPN Home ISP type (fiber/cable/DSL/satellite) What error or behavior you see (CAPTCHA loop? blank page?) I can help you narrow it down precisely. >My IP is Earthlink. I've been using them for 20--some years. I don't have a lot >of control over 'JavaScript execution' -- that's built into the browser I use -- >a fork of Firefox 74 that works fine virtually everyplace else. What I see is >a 'security error.' And since 'contact us' links also go through Cloudflare there's >no appeal. Sick humor of the day -- the current example is MSFN which has large >sections devoted to old OSs for which such browsers are necessary. That’s a very clear picture now — and unfortunately it puts you in one of the worst‑treated categories on today’s web: “legacy but legitimate.” You’re not doing anything wrong, and your analysis is basically correct. Let me explain exactly what’s happening, why Earthlink + Firefox‑74‑era forks are getting caught, and what (limited) options you actually have. What’s really breaking in your case 1. Cloudflare no longer supports Firefox 74–era TLS & JS fingerprints Even if: JavaScript exists Pages render elsewhere The browser is secure enough for you Cloudflare’s bot management stack assumes modern browser behavior, including: TLS 1.3 with specific cipher suites Modern ALPN negotiation ES2020+ JavaScript features WebAssembly support Newer HTTP/2 framing behavior Modern User‑Agent + Client Hints consistency Firefox 74 dates to early 2020 Many forks intentionally: Remove telemetry Disable features Cloudflare now expects Break fingerprint coherence Result: Your browser fails Cloudflare’s silent challenge, so you get a generic “Security Error” instead of a CAPTCHA. This is not configurable by you unless you update the browser. 2. Earthlink IPs are collateral damage Earthlink today: Resells last‑mile service (often AT&T, Verizon, Spectrum) Uses shared IP pools Has relatively low traffic volume → poor reputation inertia If any Earthlink IP block: Gets abused Hosts scrapers Appears in bot traffic Cloudflare responds by: Raising challenge strictness for the entire ASN range That means: A perfect browser might pass A slightly nonstandard browser will fail hard You’re hitting both factors simultaneously. 3. MSFN is the perfect irony (and you’re right to call it out) You’re absolutely correct — and this is the sick humor part: MSFN serves users who must use legacy systems MSFN sits behind Cloudflare Cloudflare blocks the very browsers MSFN exists to support This isn’t hypocrisy by MSFN — it’s Cloudflare defaulting to “maximum paranoia” mode, often without the site owner fully realizing the impact. Many admins: Enable Cloudflare Leave “Bot Fight Mode” or “Managed Challenge” on Never test with legacy browsers Never see the damage Why there is no appeal path (and this is the real problem) You’ve identified the structural failure correctly: Cloudflare blocks you “Contact site owner” pages are also Cloudflare‑protected Site owner never sees the block Cloudflare does not accept appeals from end users This is a closed loop with no human in it. From a classical‑liberal perspective, this is a textbook example of: Private infrastructure exercising quasi‑public power with no due process. ============================================== Sorry that's so long but it shed a lot of light on the CF issue. AI's first recommendation was 'use a later system.' It's second choice was a local proxy server that looks modern and well-behaved on the side that talks to my router but accepts inputs and returns content in a format suited to older systems. There's no reason that translation function couldn't be packaged to run in your own machine; I've seen evidence that parts exist but I wonder if anyone has built the whole thing?

Very blurry, eye killing, over aliased, pixelated fonts, super hard to read.

As part of my work on ytBATCH, I have investigated many ffmpeg releases that are supposed to be compatible with Windows XP. These include, for example, the releases from @Reino, sherpya and @autodidact. The relatively new ones from @Reino and @autodidact work well with YouTube. But when it comes to TV streams, it's a completely different story. Their latest ones in particular have considerable problems with TV stream URLs. On my old Windows XP computer, negative performance changes are immediately apparent. FFmpeg 3.4.1 from 2017 is too old and can no longer access TV stream addresses. The newer releases 7.1 from 2024 and 8.1 from 2025 require much more CPU power than before. They are therefore problematic for older, weak Windows XP computers. That's why I still have been using ffmpeg releases from 2019 for TV stream addresses.

Agreed. "Liked".

No, It's a lot of posts I still didn't "like". But then again, it's so off-topic, but still you're allowed to post off-topic, so why would I not be allowed to do the same? add No off topic from me again because I respect the forum users!

I believe in those numbers, as I already stated, I don't trust someone will perform the fake scheme you just described. People have things in life, apart from the forum, you know! Besides, it's easy to check, as I already stated, too! So what? It's my business in what to believe. But at this point, it's too obvious you're very annoyed with someone else's fame. I also think there was a hidden reason to disable topic views. As already stated by @Monroe. Otherwise they would've gotten them back by this time already.

Admins don't care. The numbers are meaningless so there is no need for them to care. That doesn't mean we are not allowed to discuss them. And think about it. We have members that are no longer here FOR A REASON. None of us know that reason. None of us need to know. The problem arises because we have members that "believe" in the numbers, BRAG about them PUBLICLY, and cite them CONSTANTLY as if they "do" mean something, as if they are "real". THAT is the real problem. Bottom line is this, this thread is here to discuss "numbers" being shown on this web site. We have done that. The smart people here can believe what they want. The not-as-smart can believe what they want. To be honest, no skin off my back either way. Reality is this, the *fake* numbers are a result of people with nothing better to do logging in daily, tracking down EVERY post by three different members, and hitting the "like" button. THEY RAN OUT OF POSTS TO CLICK "LIKE". THAT IS WHY D.DRAKER FELL OFF THE LEADERBOARD. Again, believe what you want, be blind to what you want, makes no difference to me. I have stated my case, I have *FACTS* to back it up. Our "numbers" are MEANINGLESS, admins admit that, I have informed as to WHY they are MEANINGLESS and HOW they were MANIPULATED. I cannot be banned for speaking the truth. Report me as a "thorn" all you want. I have made my case and I can 'move on' now. Dot Org. Waka waka waka.

That would be too easy, reminds a second grader school project. And most importantly, why would someone do that for a member who is not here for a year? Probably already forgot and chills somewhere on Bahamas. Last but not least, ask the admins to look at the logs! They will show real IPs.

With the Alpha-013 version, ALC662 produces sound, but, as in the case of the ALC887 codec, it is garbled.

I don't have Windows ME on bare metal right now to test this. However, on Windows ME running in Virtual PC, the behavior of "SCANDSKW" is similar, and the effect is quite good: This provides a clear demonstration of the change in write speed during disk surface scanning, where: "1" - when the SCANDSKW window is in the background; "2" - when the SCANDSKW window is active; "3" - when intensive mouse movements occur above the active SCANDSKW window.

I can run Final Fantasy VII Remake, but Final Fantasy VII Rebirth got fatal error and BulkLoad Demo crashed OS because they use DirectStorage. Although DirectStorage 1.1.0 or later fixed compatibility with Windows server 2016, it requires Turing or later NVIDIA GPUs and only Quadro RTX GPUs can work on 1607 without modification. I don't have a Quadro RTX card, so I don't know what will happen if I use Quadro RTX instead of GeForce RTX 4070. Anyway, this is another issue related to SetThreadDescription support on 1607. Besides, r535 only supports shader model up to 6.6 on 1607.

Here is version Alpha-013 which rearranges a lot of the codec init code and tries to init all the Line Outs no matter what. https://github.com/andrew-hoffman/WDMHDA/releases/tag/Alpha-013 My SFF with an ALC887 codec now produces some sound but it is garbled; small segments will keep looping until I do something that causes hard drive activity and then it will play a bit more into the buffer. It's possible that the interrupt is not firing or is being suppressed. The problematic system has most devices sharing IRQ 11.

I have the same problem, but I solved it this way - as soon as the system boots, I click mouse in the lower right corner of the desktop, the desktop is cleared of open windows (if there were any), after that I click again in the lower right corner of the desktop, everything is restored, and after that this problem disappears (until the next session). I do all this automatically when I log in.

It's not rocket science. The "views" on MSFN are cheated, rigged, manipulated. Meaningless, as even our mods point out. I agree with YOU, they are there for us members to read, they are supposed to tell us something. I'm telling you that they are *FAKE*. We have people (they know who they are) that visit the "profile" page to keep track of how many DECADES they have to go back to post a "like" they haven't yet posted. I can do the same. Four people live in this house. It isn't against forum rules for those other three people to register an account here and start viewing my profile daily and rack up their daily limit of "likes". Here, I'll show you. 100+ "views" in less than two minutes of my time. Just visit and refresh the page a few times. Notice that the count jumps TWO INCREMENTS for every ONE refresh. On a profile who is no longer an active member because he cannot log in due to email now required. "Auto Refresh" scripts are a piece of cake. I can "view" my profile once per minute for my 6hrs of sleep and return to a computer that "viewed" my profile FOUR THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED TWENTY times. Well, not my profile (I disable the recent visitors), but how 'bout yours? Do you want FOUR THOUSAND "views" by the time I cook my breakfast? It appears that a logged in member view counts as two views and a not-logged-in view counts as one view. Before: After:

XP + Win7 + Q4OS in a convenient 3-boot setup here, on pc & notebook (and several backup disks)

Rigged? It's not election. Explain how it's "rigged" and why all those thousands of people create those views! Just for the sake of what? Especially if we assume D.Draker could care less, he's not currently present. And I agree with Monroe.

Fake a$$ b&llsh#t. Rigged b&llsh#t. "Stop the madness!"

It's a way to say thank you! Or you prefer paypal? @NotHereToPlayGames, I've examined your profile for the last two years. After D.Draker disappeared. you barely posted for a year, and I understand you, we all were, still are, and will be in a depression. But the year before that, also rather weak posting, not to count the endless off-topic posts filled with displeasure and disgust about other members' popularity, what's the explanation for that? A friendly advice, jealousy isn't a good thing, start making contributions to MSFN, you will get the feedback! As of now. you will still have zero views on your topics, even if they fix the counter. Take a look, while I was on holidays, D.Draker got another thousand of views, all despite being absent! Take example.

Here is a forum (first found via Google Search) that indicates this bug has been around since last March. https://invisioncommunity.com/forums/topic/482438-view-counts-missing-in-multiple-layouts-and-widgets/ Maybe that narrows it down for us.

If it doesn't mean anything, then why even display it? And would the membership herein start a new thread entitled "rep count missing"? Sure, "I'll shut up now".

Reputation count doesn't mean anything, it is just a button to click if you want. The only times such a system actually works is when positive rep is tied to something meaningful, like a question/answer system or feedback on sales. Topic views being 0 is certainly a bug. That has never been a setting for any version of IPS or any other forum software I've ever used.

i have a problem with StartAllBack, version 3.9.20 build 5345 with Windows 11 build 28000.1340 (also applies for all 28000 with all minor version) - i have multiple apps with multiple windows open. - when i do click (right of left) on desktop or an desktop icon or a space from desktop, all windows will be minimized. - i've verified if another apps can be the culprit, so i found the StartAllBack is the problem. - the bug is happening with dark magic enabled and dark magic disabled. - restarting explorer it fixes the issue for current sesion. rebooting it restores the bug.

There is Following service on this forum and pretty strange that author of thread with question(s) does not follow his thread.

Only just checked this thread again. This is excellent insight - thanks for the info. I'd always been curious about what this does, and now we finally have an answer.

No, an exception is the furthest I could get (if SystemFunction036 is disabled, I don't need to touch that) but FineSSE lacks any details. That's why I ask for FineSSE updates. Seems like Jumper is about to test Mypal68, only time will tell if he manages to figure out the cause of the issue.