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Me too. The 1054 was more of an experiment for the "YouTube Crowd" because people were frowning upon me for not considering YouTube as a tell-tale on 360Chrome's capabilities, performance, stability, reliability, etc. I own three different Roku devices and a SmartTV with Roku built-in -- the YouTube channel will crash all of my Roku's also! Granted, those Roku devices are all roughly 2 to 4 years old -- but YouTube shenanigans isn't about to force me to go out and buy new hardware or Smart TVs. YouTube doesn't crash my 2206 so everything past that was my attempt to assist the "YouTube Crowd". At this point, I think I've done everything possible aside from visiting China and befriending the folks that compile 360Chrome and thumping them over the head that YouTube crashes on XP x86 SP2

With Win 7, then with more effort with Win 8.1, I had developed a fully secure, private system setup that I managed with a deny-by-default firewall setup and a number of layers of atypical protection against malware. I was involved with every decision whether to allow an application to communicate online. With Win 10 I have been forced to give up the deny-by-default firewall setup. Nowadays, too many applications require too much complex network communication to make it practical to manage such a setup, and they keep changing! I have retained some of what I had set up before, but I don't feel nearly as secure, because I just am not able to keep on top of what talks to what. There is a real cost to having an extra 100 processes running. What's curious is that I'm not really doing any more work - I mean, back then I had Skype teleconferencing and eMail and web browsing and remote control over other systems, etc. on my Win 8.1 setup. It was initially a bit of a feat to get things like Skype - which is promiscuous as hell online - to work within constraints but I ultimately accomplished it. But now we have Teams and shared Office documents and Bluejeans and Zoom and 50 different ways to get those same things done that someone else requires in order for me to do my job. Because someone else thinks those things are important to be able to do. If anything the slightly less stable nature of the latest OSs cut into my productive time. I can never seem to print anything reliably any more. That never used to be a problem; now it is. The most useful things I do are still done the "old fashioned" way - developed right here locally on my computer system then shared later. Who thinks they're more productive while on a video call? Who isn't overloaded by all the inputs? But because everyone else seems to have swallowed the hype that "cloud apps are better" there's no getting away from it. It's a bit like walking quietly along a street to go to the store then being swept up by an overwhelming crowd of people headed to a riot. You end up being pushed and shoved to where you don't want to go, rather than reaching your intended destination, and you don't get to do what you wanted to do. You can't even remember what you wanted to do. And there is nothing you could have done to create a different outcome. -Noel

@roytam1 might not see this thread unless you ping him (I just did for you, though). I have to say, I salute your diligence on this matter. And you're not the only one who is repulsed by DeviantArt's changes in recent years, believe me. (Fellow XP enthusiast with a DA presence here!) Among other things, I know many, many people vocally opposed the Eclipse redesign and even more so when DeviantArt, as is typical of practically any online organization/business these days, forced the changes on its userbase ... Almost certainly because DeviantArt's managers were confident the users will likely just keep using the site anyway. (It is, after all, the same pattern that's happened with every YouTube redesign, every Twitter redesign, every Facebook redesign, etc. ... I remember when DasBoSchitt spent a whole GMod id*** Box intro in 2010 castigating YouTube for the forced layout change in; now, there's a whole subreddit dedicated to trying to hang on to that pre-Polymer/Kevlar layout.) I myself have been looking into restoring my old Newgrounds account and posting my art there from now on, as others have done. Also thinking about starting to post my stuff to Pixiv. That all being said, the problem might be less XP-compatible browsers being less capable of efficiently handling the current state of websites like DeviantArt and more that such websites are just demanding too much damn resources these days. When you look at the source code for sites like, say, DeviantArt or YouTube these days, there's pages upon pages of script code, and of course as all sites have done for a decade now, heavy reliance on off-site scripts and CDNs. (Which is ironic because when YouTube announced the incoming Polymer layout in 2017, they crooned about its simplicity. Ahaha, no.) Many years ago I had seen an article discussing how websites have dramatically increased their use of system resources (both CPU and RAM) ... and that was probably more than a decade ago by this point. Even back in 2016 some sites could hog 25% of a computer's CPU, which this author attributed to ads. It might just be that a lot of older machines won't be able to use most websites as-is anymore because the companies running them have become less and less concerned about efficient use of a computer's resources. They probably figure just about everyone's got 3Ghz multicore CPUs and at least 16 GB of RAM, and therefore no need to bother being frugal. Never mind that even if you have the resources, such a burden from a mere webpage (especially one which used to be very snappy and lightweight before a redesign) is not a welcome experience ...

Hi all.. Sorry I've been MIA - Just a lot going on in real life. Sorry :( Actually, in Serpent its default it set to "True" - so I toggled it. Thanks!

Look for Blackviper's site, he has a list of all services wiith details on what can be disabled, what shouldn't, etc. for NT based systems starting from XP. jaclaz

First, THANK YOU here for modifying browsers to work on older systems and to do more- it's a silver mine here. Roytam1, hopefully you can help me get started on modifying browsers myself? Obviously you know how it's done. A half-hobby, half-environmental effort of mine is trying to make old hardware go further. In particular is a 2001 Sony VAIO, Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3, 256MB RAM, Pentium 3 800MHz (so no SSE2), 1024h x 768v resolution, 16/24-Bit color, DirectX 9 (according to DXDIAG) installed, 32-Bit system. It is also a "Dual-Boot" laptop, its other Operating System being Puppy Linux 5.2.5 Lucid. This is important because not only does this give it more abilities but enables much safer browsing. Equally important is the fact that at least one local library has a poorly-done wifi system so using Puppy Linux is the only way to even detect it with that antique. The main reason I'm here was because an art website I'm a member of- "deviantart.com"- changed to the horrible (and unpopular) Eclipse style nobody wanted. Before, even with the puny Sylvania Windows CE netbook using Opera Mini 5, one could do just about everything there; with the Sony a number of browsers- including Firefox 40 and Opera 12 as well as Linux Palemoon 27 SSE- worked. With Java emulators it could also use Opera Mini. No problem. But with that crummy new style the Sony can no longer Comment, Reply, post Journals, or post Literature. I did submit instructions on how to use URLs to do a number of things for people with older browsers- in a number of cases it's the only way now since clicking directly won't work, including Search! No appending URLs can get around these problems, even with "#" for Comments, which does in some browsers sort of make the window appear. https://www.deviantart.com/griswaldterrastone/art/Deviantart-Old-Style-Best-But-For-Older-Browsers-883271146 And did I mention how ugly it is with a capital "UG?" Even Sta.sh no longer allows one to post Literature or Journals. Sadly, there is a problem- the "later modified" browsers can do it but are rather sloooowwwwww; the "earlier modified" are faster but cannot do those things- on the other hand MP4 is now a reality. Here are the results (all SSE versions at most); note that Windows programs can be run via WINE in Puppy Linux mode and this deals mainly with Deviantart.com: ArticFox 27: Never works, be it in Windows or Puppy Linux mode. It just gives a "COULDN'T LOAD XPMOD" error message. Why is that happening here and what can be done about it? The browser does show promise, although it cannot handle Deviantart fully. Palemoon 28: Can handle everything but is very, very slow. In Puppy Linux mode it never gets anywhere, all you see is HANDSHAKE, READ, etc. Can handle MP4, and HTML5 games like "Beam," offline, at least. Basilisk 52: Same as Palemoon 28, maybe slower. Remember this is an old laptop. Firefox 45 (modified): It too can handle everything, but it is also very slow, and does no better than the above. Of course it does handle MP4 as well. K-Meleon (KM76.4.4-Goanna-20210626): Faster, and can handle MP4 streaming. It cannot handle Deviantart fully, though, and ANY attempt to stream MP4 while in Puppy Linux mode causes it to crash. In XP mode this one is great for certain MP4 sites in particular. Palemoon 27: By adding two files from the "LAV-DLL-Lite-MMX" folder ("avcodec-lav-57.dll" 3,146 KB; and "avutil-lav-55.dll" 501 KB) the most recent version not only streams MP4 but does not crash in Puppy Linux mode. In particular is one MP4 website that the Sony can now handle, even in Puppy Linux mode, something it could not do before. Sadly it cannot handle Deviantart fully. To be honest that is its only flaw for me, otherwise it's the best one. Netsurf 3.9: Unable to stream anything visual (I haven't tried MP3 or old websites using the Windows Media Player, doubtful they'd work), unable to handle Flash-SWF, this browser is limited in a number of ways and is no better at handling Deviantart than other earlier browsers, not even including basic style. Curiously enough it does not work with my website, weird since it's a site even Internet Explorer 6 on the Windows CE Sylvania netbook can handle. You can reach "about:config" but cannot alter anything. That said, for basic browsing on most sites it's a dandy little browser, quick and simple to use. To access Literature and Journal submissions the following URLs could be used once one is logged in: https://www.deviantart.com/?submit_modal=literature https://www.deviantart.com/?submit_modal=journal This works with browsers that can already handle everything normally. With earlier browsers you get to the crummy new overall art page, then no further. It seems as though the modals used here are the problem. I do not know yet exactly how Comments and Replies work. My goal is to get a K-Meleon, Netsurf, or Palemoon 27 browser that can do all of this without being as slow as Palemoon 28 etc. If possible, I'd like to help by working on this myself. What tools did you here use? Where are the instructions to get started? How do you ascertain what the problem is? can anyone here link me to what is needed? My immediate efforts would be for: 1) Modify a faster browser to work fully with Deviantart. 2) Modify browser or those two DLL files to be audio-only for MP4 streaming. There are game sessions on Twitch TV I'd enjoy but whatever video streaming they use, even with 160p, isn't practical, especially if trying to comment in the chat area. Mobile streaming does not work. MP3 is not available to desktops or laptops without the special app, and I doubt it works with that old Sony. Audio would be great. Again, the Sony's MP4 abilities are now far better. Still, Flash-FLV worked better. Thanks, everyone! p.s. This was submitted using Palemoon 27.

im planning on continuing to use windows xp for as long as i can and im looking for any good tools to make it run even faster to make it really usable if any one knows of any thing like this it would be really appriciated-legacyfan

With that as your YouTube functionality, I would say skip on testing in Webex and I think I'll abandon this build also. 2206 really seems to be the route to take for most of our needs.

Seeing as Windows ME does not have this issue, it might be possible to actually fix it for 98SE. But yes, buying the cheapest router from TP-Link or something, dedicated only to 98SE machines, is a better and more flexible solution. Used cheap routers are abundant and cost not much more than a few bags of chips and some soda

I don't understand. Cheap router must have a known IP address. Then it may (or may not) have DHCP server on. Let us assume that the DHCP server on the router is ON and cannot be turned off (nor any other settings changed because you have no access to the router configuration). IF DHCP server is on AND the Win9x machine is set to receive its IP from the DHCP server, THEN it will have the delay/lag. IF DHCP server is on BUT the Win9x machine is set to a fixed IP, THEN there won't be any delay. The only problem may be if the DHCP server has assigned already the same fixed IP of the Win9x machine to another device in the network (IP address conflict). Generally (but not always) the cheap router will have an IP of 192.168.1.1 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, but the DHCP server is not set to assign all IP's in the range, and - again usually - it will assign them in order, starting from 192.168.1.2, setting the fixed IP to a high number, like 192.168.1.254 will normally prevent any conflict to happen. jaclaz

Every Direct3D game uses 100% CPU with V-Sync, which is necessary for good visual quality. They are not necessarily "old" games relative to the age of WinXP. This leads to inability to run any background tasks on single core without stuttering or crackling sound. OpenGL works correctly. Some older games even run at high priority, which makes the problem worse, to an unresponsive keyboard. Those games need to be patched. The current layout of YouTube uses CPU whenever its tab is in the foreground. It's but one example of a bloated site. Often I find Opera browser with its slower JS engine grinding to halt while displaying seemingly plain looking flat design site. Inefficiency has been increasing for as long as computers have existed. The majority software has been described as bloated at some point, and this is sometimes used as an argument why software bloat is not real. Software is like a gas. It expands to fill the container. I'm surprised that people pay money to use heavy "streaming" websites. Viewing media in a browser is always uncomfortable.

Which with a CPU that does 4 threads simultaneously translates to 100% on a single core CPU without hyperthreading. Full core utilization is natural for the code that's not waiting/sleeping. Very common with older games, though not as bad in that context and taking history into account, when CPUs were slow, unless we're talking about those that actually consume 100% to display Win32 configuration dialog, which one doesn't spend a lot of time in, so those webpages still win in ridiculousness department. JavaScript abuse at its finest.

If it's a router, then it should allocate a range of addresses to choose from for the internal network. You wouldn't use a low power Win98 PC as the sole computer connected to a modem, or accept a random address that makes locating the computer for file transfer or other services difficult. You could always add a good router behind the Chinese device.

Miranda-ng works great. https://www.miranda-ng.org/en/

Network login is later on in the boot sequence. Networking can be disabled. If C: drive is OK then it can be any drive. Unplug all USB drives or turn off USB booting. Old BIOS has this feature displayed as USB function for DOS. 1 minute is not too bad, worst case is it does not boot at all. It can get faster with time and registry settings like system.ini PageBuffers=300; DMABufferSize=128; Make sure discs are operating in 32bit mode.

cheap modern chinese ADSL or GPON router... which installed for user by local provide, w/o ask user opinion. yes, here often is possible assign fixed ip for the machine, in router configuration page, but not always... :(

Define "real life". To me "real life" (for a Win9x system) is not carrying it around and connect to *any* network, the machine(s) stay put in one place and connect only to the home network. Of course having a "better" vdhcp would be a better solution (BUT *tomorrow* ), *today*, in "real life" , static IP is the only available one, more a workaround than a solution, still .... jaclaz

static ip - very bad solution in real life... so we need find or make good patch for vdhcp - it wiil better solution.

It is not a bug, let alone a bag , it is by design, (though poorly implemented in Win9x), some related info: https://techgenix.com/w98tcpip/ Surprisingly Microsoft has still a related troubleshoot guide: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/troubleshoot/how-to-use-automatic-tcpip-addressing-without-a-dh turning APIPA off may help, but the "right thing" to do is to use static IP addresses and using not DHCP (on the Win9x systems). jaclaz

yes, its not a bag, its feature... present in all vdhcp drivers.

Yes and no. TRIM in Windows 7 is a sort of "background activity" but *any* manufacturer's tool should work under 7 even if it does not work under XP, and you can try using ForceTrim on 7: http://ticksontech.blogspot.com/2011/12/trim-for-masses_10.html The tool is (was) here: http://web.archive.org/web/20120530102049/http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?73888-Here-s-a-tool-to-force-TRIM-your-entire-drive Can still be got from here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/1cd8dh0msw2jq1w/ForceTrim.zip I am attaching a copy, just in case. Some more info: http://web.archive.org/web/20160714163804/http://www.thessdreview.com/forums/threads/forcetrim-an-excellent-little-proggie-that-works.2647/ As always, YMMV. jaclaz ForceTrim.zip

I don't think @Dixel is referring to me on that one. There were several conspiracy theory discussions in the 360Chrome thread(s) but I have moved on and accepted that @Dixel and I simply had a case of misunderstanding and I have moved beyond it. I haven't seen the need to dig up any sort of "history" as far as on my end. I think I have a relatively good history here of being "helpful" and staying "out of the fray". Long Live MSFN... Long Live Win XP...

Wait a minute, I have seen the post where your ego is cited, but I missed the ones where your person, political views and appearance were discussed. jaclaz

Oh, there are plenty of things to improve on a Windows XP system. Disable 80 % of all Windows services under msconfig (which you can start by clicking on the Start button, then "Run" (I think that how the menu, where programs can be started, was called in english...). But you have to be aware of your own needs, which can differ from other users. So go through everything, that is listed there, and use your serach engine of choice to understand, what each service does. Then ask yourself: Do I need that? Automatic network configuration? Designs? That depends on you. Speaking of designs, go to the Control Panel and click on "System", where all the system information is displayed, computer name, processor, stats... there are a lot of things to be set. Do you need a system recovery, or do you do this by yourself? Consider this can take a lot of hard disk space, if you let your Windows clone your drive settings for you. Remote Desktop? There are external programs for that, if you need a remote service. Anyways, there is a category probably called "Extended"? There you can set many graphical options. Your desktop might not look as soft, it might lack animations, but it will perform quicker.

DVBViewer Pro (view IPTV or TV trough tuner card on computer) latest version (7.0.2.0 in writing this) still works on xp with one tweak. On startup you will get error from bcrypt.dll missing but it will start just fine. Bcrypt.dll was on vista and newer. To get around in delete libssl-1_1.dll and libcrypto-1_1.dll on DVBViewer directory and it will fallback to older mehtod (not fully sure which). All features (Weather, RSS, Capture TV, tuning, IR remote control, games) seems work fine. Only thing I cannot say is if CI card used to paid channels works on latest since wont have one. Update: download this and replace libssl-1_1.dll and libcrypto-1_1.dll on DVBViewer directory. Those are XP compatible versions of files and All dvbviewer online features (addon downloader, weather, rss feeds) works without issue. Thanks to @VistaLover for the tip

Alright, I spent about 2 (maybe 3?) hours trying to make a proper list consisting of the final versions of software working on Windows XP. I put a list on my blog. The list is a total work-in-progress; I got lots of labels to fix along with organization. I think a few items (coding-related thingies) may not be in the correct category and a few items were also put in the "other" section, so I will organize some of those later. Give feedback and let me know if anything is off!

Installed those and it seems allright so far. Success story: it's now possible to run Java 7 and Java 8 without having to resort to my hacks, great job!