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Updated FFmpeg for Windows XP. Same libfdk-aac.

Is there a way to launch Serpent 55 without using Kstub825 or Enable API logging + ApiLog method? I do have Kstub825 but I don't use it since it tends to break both IE and Explorer (while desktop works) so I reverted back to 824. [OLEAUT32.DLL] 0327= Doesn't seem to work on 824 so I really wonder if it's possible to add it.

It doesn't work - black screen. but I found other working player - TCPMP

Is this of any help? https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/24434039/RECOVER-LANGUAGE-BAR-IN-VISTA-DELETED-FROM-TOOLBARS-LIST.html

My initial installation of Windows is in English, so I added another language to type in. I just noticed today that all of a sudden I can't switch between languages, and the Language Bar won't appear no matter weather I choose to have it in the Task Bar or Floating in Language and Regional Settings!

Delete

Impressive! You've given me a lot of information in a very short time. Feel like getting started right now, but if I do, I'll be locked up again for weeks and I don't think I can keep up with this pace. I'll make progress little by little instead. For now, I was also taking advantage of this small window of "stability" to test other interesting software for 11, some tweak applications like Wintoys, they say it works great and I have to learn how install that app from outside the Store. I'll continue with these for a bit to see how they work, if they cause problems or if they're worthy and keep that in mind when I start from scratch again with a clean install. Thank you so much for all the info NHTPG.

I can officially confirm that the OLD TRICK still works even for as new as Win11 25H2. The utility is called Windows Update Blocker v1.8 (last updated way back in 2023 - again, STILL WORKS for brand new Win11 25H2). It's just a run-as-is portable program, NO INSTALLATION, just extract and execute once then delete if you so desire. Yes, this was originally intended to block Windows Updates but it also works to disable an otherwise 'automatic' Windows Defender Firewall. YOU HAVE TO EDIT / ADD TO THE DEFAULT .INI FILE - Before: After:

They never will, because legacy start menus were not designed with Metro apps in mind, because they were not existing back then. Windows 8 start menu was the first one to support that afaik, and SAB does not use it as its base for the SAB Start Menu if I'm not mistaken.

I've trial-ran Phoenix in the past and again as recently as two weeks ago (when "Nexus" was brought to my attention). Phoenix, Tiny, Micro, Slim, Nano, X-Lite, Nexus, Chris Titus Tech - DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH ANY OF THEM !!! These (all of them!) are targeted for the SPOON-FED CROWD too "lazy" (my opinion) of doing the legwork themselves. Not to be misread, there is a HUGE "MARKET" for that route (I applaud the endeavor, it's just "not for me"). You kind of sound like me - ie, YOU WILL NEVER BE 100% SATISFIED with these spoon-fed variations and the ONLY way to achieve 100% Satisfaction is to DO THE WORK YOURSELF. I cannot stress it enough, you need WINREDUCER-EX. Yes, takes time, but WELL WORTH IT in the end.

The How-To guide would be welcome. Won't abandon XP. Today I was using it after many weeks of struggling with 11 and everything about it is comfortable and straightforward. This Phoenix version is from 2022. The times I tried to make radical changes to the OS ended up with irreparable problems that forced me to start from scratch. 11 looks beautiful and I've discovered new programs that blew my mind, like Zen browser. But I have the feeling that if you want to get along with 11 you have to walk on eggshells.

I should add that when I say "can be", I am referring to *ALL* versions of 10 and at least *early* versions of 11. I will have to REINSTALL a newer version of VirtualBox and a Win11 25H2 VM to see if the "old tricks" still work for *all* versions of 11.

I can post the How-To later today. Trust me, it CAN BE PERMANENTLY DISABLED. Admittedly, I would still be running XP if there was no way to disable Windows Defender "crap" in 10 and 11.

Hello friend, thanks for joining. I've been trying different debloated versions for weeks. Tiny11, several X-Lite releases, miniOS11... unfortunately I had instability issues with all of them. The kind that don't leave you alone and make you decide it's not worth it. That's why I was almost ready to settle with X-Lite 10 Optimum when someone recommended that I try X-Lite 11 Phoenix. Works very well but... comparing XP with Windows 7, they improved the robustness but also made an attempt to “shield” the OS so that you can no longer do what you want with it. With 10 and 11 I've noticed that they've made more of an effort not only to shield it but also to condition you to follow the path they lay out for you and if you stray from it... a sad screen appears and Windows won't start anymore. Since the XP days, the first thing I always do when clean installing is permanently disable Windows Updates and the Windows Firewall. Here -after much struggle- I was able to force 11 to stop downloading updates. But in all the versions I tried, the Firewall is not only enabled, it's forced-enabled. Although you can go to Services and Stop it somehow, you cannot access to Disable it. Only one of these versions did not have it enabled -which made me happy- but after a while of installing programs and tweaking it to my liking, it suddenly activated itself out of the blue and that resulted in problems, incompatibilities and instability to the point it became impossible to cope with. It's as if in these newer versions of Windows all native services like Windows Update, Defender, Firewall plus other programs, are all interdependent, so if you decide to do without one, it results in a series of problems wich ends up creating so much instability that it becomes unbearable. After so many attempts, I've learned a lot about what to touch and what not to, let's say, to not interfere with the system's "sensitivities" in an effort to keep it stable, even if I have to go along with it, like this decision to discard TinyWall and install GlassWire, accepting the native firewall. That way I've achieved some stability = fewer problems. Honestly, what you're telling me gives me hope and makes me want to keep investigating. But that would mean starting from scratch with another clean installation... and as I said, I've spent many weeks on this and as the seasons are changing, I won't have the time to sit here for so long anymore. But I appreciate the info, as always. I'm leaving you an image so you can see that the "Windows Defender Firewall" cannot be disabled, or at least, I was unable to achieve it. If you have any information on whether the Firewall can really be permanently disabled without ruining the OS, let me know. Maybe I'll give it a try. Everything I tried on my own, in-depth Google searching, was unsuccessful.

You have (intentionally) MISSED THE POINT. People that post Windows-related questions are HYPOCRITES when they use DEROGATORY abbreviations tied to WINDOWS. It's an ENTIRELY different story if a LINUX user is posting LINUX questions and use the same DEROGATORY abbreviations - at least they PUT THEIR MONEY WHERE THEIR MOUTH IS. Besides, it does NOT take a "capitalist" to be SMART ENOUGH to know that MS = Morgan Stanley and MSFT = Microsoft. Case closed.

What is your investment in microsoft pray tell?

Voodoo Player https://sourceforge.net/projects/voodooplayer/ I have not tried DivX.

Irony here, I just had a conversation this past week with a "friend of a friend". For the past TWELVE YEARS, this "friend of a friend" has never had a 'job' (ie, not on any 'payroll'). He does "gigs" instead. Install a furnace, only charges $600 in labor. Build a deck, only charges $600 in labor. Auto repair, only charges $600 in labor. New roof, only charges $600 in labor. The $600 always paid "under the table". Apparently it's some IRS Tax Loophole. This of course confused the H#LL out of me, so I asked question after question trying to understand. "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." Needless to say, this "friend of a friend" is now JOB-HUNTING for a "real" job.

Here in my part of the US, you can buy your lunch via cryptocurrency. Pizza and hamburger establishments accept Bitcoin. Makes absolutely ZERO sense (or should I say cents?) to me. The "news" talks about cryptocurrency as an "investment". Um, is it? I can't go into those pizza and hamburger establishments and buy my lunch via "w.xy shares of Company Z" !!!

Here in my part of the US, large cash transactions are increasingly encouraged. Retail markets encourage cash by charging HIGHER for non-cash. Of course, the $40/mo for 30 months phone folks choose to pay the HIGHER cost.

Windows Firewall CAN and SHOULD be DISABLED in Win10 and Win11. Not that difficult! You should also go one step further and disable one of its "dependencies" (ie, BFE Service [Base Filtering Engine]).

It was being blocked by TinyWall. Seems the latest version for Windows 10 and 11 you have to allow certain necessary services in TinyWall to be able to browse thou I also suspect incompatibilities with the Windows Firewall, which apparently in these versions can no longer be disabled. So installed GlassWire which is a "friendly" Windows Firewall manager and it works fine thou now I'm having some problems with the wifi adapter. Seems system instability. Of these trimmed versions of X-Lite, Windows 10 feels more stable than 11 but I must admit that 11 is much prettier. I'll try to surf and try to deal with the problems to see if I can achieve some acceptable stability. Thanks again guys!

That is interesting, VL. I always learn something from your posts! Here in the US, cash transactions aren't quite so discouraged (thank goodness for privacy), but large cash transactions are nonetheless quite rare. Given the risk of theft or loss, I'd probably never plunk down $2000 cash for a new PC even if I had a money tree! I'd pluck those notes and deposit them in my bank account as fast as they grew.... I guess, for Eurozone residents craving privacy, there's still cryptocurrency, but that has its own headaches.

The English word "some" is not limited to "fewer than ten," as you appear to insist on believing. As with most words in most languages, its meaning depends on context. I already made the point that "some" is not synonymous with "a few," but you omitted that part of my post when you quoted me. If one could pluck notes from a money tree as easily as leaves from an actual tree, it would be quite easy to pluck a dozen, or even a score, of them, don't you think? I find this argument absurd, tiresome, and pointless. You are hereby ignored.

Accidents happen, but cell phone insurance and repair shops exist, so I'd say that if you're (a) so chronically careless with your phones that you're repeatedly breaking their screens, and (b) using that as an excuse to buy a new phone rather than getting your old one repaired, methinks you really wanted a new phone all along. So evidently, they can afford a new phone after all (or at least, they think they can). I think I figured it out, at least in the US. Here, new phones are often sold locked to a service provider, and paid for over a 2 to 3 year period. So instead of having to shell out (say) $1200 for a new phone, it's $40/mo for 30 months on top of the cost for cell service. Once you're used to that scheme, it's tempting to just get a new phone and sell the old one once it's paid off, rather than keeping the old one and pocketing the $40/mo savings. Also, both Apple and Google make it easy to upgrade without losing apps, data, etc. (at least, as long as you don't want to switch between those two platforms!) I suspect those factors go a long way toward explaining why we Americans are so willing to throw away good phones every few years. But they don't apply to PCs, even despite the "Androidification" of Windows since Windows 10. It's still painful and expensive to move to a newer PC, still arrogant of anyone to suggest that those dealing with artificial blocks on older Web browsers should just "buy a new PC" (to get back to the original topic), and so there's still a reason for sites like MSFN and developers like @K4sum1 to keep working on projects like R3dfox for older PCs that run older OSes like Windows Vista or 7.