Offler

Miranda didnt worked here. i don know why. Also i have added features list to inform about which features are available for win98 and which i am planning. Minor Bug: If using any DX9 program it will pop up the mouse pointer on screen. While using older interface this error does not occur. Also present in WinXP - linked with DX9.

ou version from 5. february was not released when i was testing the builds

Tools Open Office 2.3 FREE - Still supported Media FFDSHOW Beta4 rev 1723 FREE - LAST? IrfanView FREE - Still supported

browsing: ie is still being measured after voltage correction, and i watch if any trouble shall occur but it seem to work good now. Aspi: aspi which i use is in nSP 2.1, and it works correctly. newest aspi was not good one (prey was not running, while it has not detected aspi) cdrom: i mean - if you put out CD while it is playing media from it you will get BSOD. it is quite normal, and it does not freeze computer. but some people dont like idea when computer in this situation acts like this. for me its not a problem because i keep my cd rom clean and i am not so stupid to open CD door while it is playing. some users just want classical window for this kind of situation. Logo: for buggy behaviour (gui was not booting) removed.

Video player problems solved. Reason: l3codec is more sensitive to overclocking as other applications which i have available - even more as 3d engines. Quite strange, but good to now. I added voltage to CPU and did test (play 105 videos without crash). System has passed... to icefireicefire: i have my own reasons why to use it - mostly old java. i use webicq and i will use it for a while, but it is not very compatible with newer java plugins for other browsers. Also i hope that OC problem solved will stabilize the system - question is how much it shall affect IE... also i tried to fix logo problem - still no effect.

Crash history Not maintained at this time Info Immolator project is a betatest project. My goal is to test some applications and settings on windows 98SE to provide information for other users about some features which are still available on Windows 98Se. Minor part contains test of several hardware devices. Software which is linked from here has been sucessfully tested on my system and seems functional. If it needs additional software upgrades it is mentioned there. Update This post will contain full list of software and will include all settings which have been sucessfully tested, and if possible it will contain Link to tested software. FEATURES - classical os functions - files managing (OS + Total Commander http://www.ghisler.com/ - image editing and creation (Photoshop 7.0, still no Freeware replacement available) - image viewing (Faststone viewer, http://www.faststone.org/ - sound editing, capturing and creation (Audacity - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ - sound playing (MPC - http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Media_...er_Classic.htm - Analog Video Capturing (ATV2000 - ATI VIVO, Pinnacle 300i - http://www.mikecrash.com/index.php?name=Downloads - Digital TV Viewing and Capturing (ProgDVB, Pinnacle 300i - http://www.progdvb.com/download_progdvb.html - at the bottom version 4.85.3. KEX required) - Video editing and creation - Virtual DUB ( http://www.virtualdub.org/ ) - Video Playing (MPC) - teletext (atv2000 - Not functional anymore, ProgDVB - Functional, needs settings) - internet browsing (Opera 10 - http://www.opera.com/ - mail and instant messaging via web (webicq, web email client) - Voice communication (Ventrilo, Teamspeak) - text and document creation (Open Office) - Gaming (depending on HW - games seems to be most problematic types of apps. many bugs which are not possible to fix and there is no replacement for them ) Realtime multimedia processing provided by apps: - realtime shader filtering for video (MPC: deinterlacing, color correction, embossing...) - realtime video filtering (FFD video: actually used only for decoding) - realtime Sound filtering (AC3 Filter: channel settings if you have generic card - http://ac3filter.net/ ) - realtime video compression (during capture) Xvid04102002-1 (640x480xRGB24 fps25 - up to 6 hours/single file depending on quality) - subtitle filter (DirectVobSub 2.23 - http://www.free-codecs.com/download/vobsub.htm - Reccomended Xvid/DivX video decoder - Koepi's Xvid - ( http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Koepi_XviD.htm ) Multimedia processing provided by hardware: - Hardware Mpeg Decompression - clvsd.ax - Part of Cyberlink DVD player 6.0 - Hardware AC3 Sound decompression - Creative sound card in my case - realtime Sound filtering (Creative Surround mixer if you have creative card) Features not available or not completed: - NTFS/other filesystem support, best bootable - currently available: Winternals NTFS Driver for Win98. Works but slow and buggy. Unused hardware capabilities - Video conferencing (app missing) Supported formats - "long list of file types for media" - HD *720 at 30fps for this cpu - all word and office documents - DVD, CD, Floppy, USB 2.0, Firewire400 (800 planned) - cinematic sound (5.1/ac3/ASIO) - FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS drivers (not bootable, with poor performance) - files up to 4gb. - ATA, Parallel SCSI - some SATA adapters - SPDIF Currently unsupported - Blu-Ray - Files larger than 4 gb - USB 3.0 - PCI-E - Some SATA adapters, SAS - Lightscribe feature I have been working pretty hard last two years on my home PC, on HW and SW level. I want to thank all you guys which have created all unofficial updates and patches. After all there are few things which a fail to fix, so all you guys can take it as bugreport Complete list of System updates installed as follows: - Internet Explorer 6 - home made system.ini - Exuberant Service Pack nSP1 (Slovak) - home made system.ini - VCRedist 2005 + manual install of critical DLLs - Mdac - NetFramework 2.0 (http://www.filehippo.com/download_dotnet_framework_2/496/) - DirectX 9.0c (first edition - http://www.filehippo.com/download_directx/168/) - DirectX 9.0c (nov 2007 - it seems to be last version - http://www.filehippo.com/download_directx/3345/) - Windows Media Player 9 - kernel upgrade for 4gb files - Kernel EX 0.4.0 - WLL logo (removed, maybe forever) - Revolutions Pack 9.0 (some bugs still persist) - VCRedist 2005+ SP1 Manually upgraded/added files: - msvcp70.dll - msvcr70.dll - msvcp71.dll - msvcr71.dll bugs already fixed/features added: - support for XP programs - improved system stability - improved compatibilty - improved performance - support for 4gb files - Aspi Layer - support for 137+ gb disks - skinning, explorer bug fixed - lock taskbar (Revolutions pack 9.0) - "not Enough memory" fix with maxfilecache=32768 - Video decoding (FDDShow filter) - Wll trouble (wll removed) - browsing (Opera) Demanded features: - WinME driver handling (ntkern.vxd, mmdevldr etc) - ability to install win2k drivers (Signature:winNT, not only signature Chicago) if those three errors shall be fixed this system will be flawless (until i find another problems ) I dont want to use other upgrade packs, i am looking for standalone solutions (as was uberskin), and i dont want to change hw. In some cases i might be willing to change programs... Current Buglist 1. Video Conferencing troubles (mostly driver based, partially app based) - linein/mic - graphical errors in video output - hw or driver is not able to handle all the "on/off" correctly - WDM driver of VIVO only partially usable (not working with all apps) 2. Window spam >> memory consumption >> system crash - partially can be fixed with instances managing in apps - design trouble deeper in system - partially fixed or supressed. Window spam now gives error "not enough memory to run application" instead of crashing - solved by maxfilecache=32768 or less. does not help with IE. 3. Gaming - very individual. Games designed as XP only can run flawlessly, althought games designed for all systems are crashing constantly. This is not a system problem. 4. List of minor system bugs: - cursor visible in 3d generated windows (games, video - fixable with mouse cage, but little bit strange solution, caused by DirectX9) - Oblivon starts too long (can be fixed when opengl32.dll is replaced before oblivion starts and later restored) Studio) - civilization II cannot start (reason unknown) - nfs4 cannot start (reason unknown) - app cannot start "newer version of windows expected" - common os check which does not refer to the reality that updated windows can run most XP apps correctly. Can be fixed thorought system? - system not fully localized (nor english, nor slovak) - unsolved implementation of 16bit vfwwdm capturing device - unsolved automatical close for MPC when video/audio ends - unsolved automatical minimize to icon for audio playing - when driver is sucessfully installed and system requests reboot dont answer "yes". system shalll hang... Dont reboot from applet - reboot from start menu. - CDplaying with MPC not working. Bug connected with Win98 version Planned non crucial upgrades: - creating "immolator" theme including loadimage, closing image, sounds, cursor and icon pack.. jeez This is not a upgrade pack, i am only common user which is customizing its own system, but i believe my example can help us all to fix some things. edit: Since the bug and crash log was not maintained for some months i removed it. This topic will be updated as soon as possible and in some time i will add more usable apps and solutions here (mostly regarding to multimedia and internet browsing)

i was never willing to move to XP. not before, and now when it selling is going to end i have more reasons why i will not do that. After 2003 there were first programs for Xp only, but only few and todays after KernelEx there is less apps which i cannot run here. Microsoft is the organisation which rules the market. In few years there will be Vista Only apps, or 64bit apps which were not be able to run at XP. Therefore i would rather stay with Win98SE, update it, maintain it to run more apps on it, just because its compatibility potential for all Win32bit and of course Dos applications.

some say that Vista or XP are much better to perform, but the same bug is in ALL systems with start button... If possible i would be grateful for complete fix in explorer.exe/dlls. also i think that this bug could be responsible for some performance trouble with certain applications... hard to say. edit: so i tried the uber skin. it doesnt seems to work at all. some new themes appeared, but no skins available - no lock taskbar function at all i have slovak windows98SE with english internet explorer, and czech service pack maybe some mess with local versions... edit2: Fixed. look up to Uberskin topic also thanks. i didnt want to use RP pack because of applets and some broken graphics but this skinning engine is just wonderful

i tried those reg files, and also i tried another one which i found on web, but it didnt work... since i am not planning to use RP or 98SE2ME (no windows millenium available) i have to do manual partial upgrade (as with rest of my system)... i just dont know how... new explorer? new dlls?

thanks for reply. "lock toolbar" is available in any Explorer window, but it is not available at start panel. i dont have 98SE2ME and i dont use RP pack... i have bare windows with all updates (service pack, kernel ex and official updates). What files shall i replace, what registries shall i edit to do this?

install any application which can measure processor utilisation. than catch the slider next to quicklaunch and hold it for a while. after few seconds system shall reach 100 percent. How can i remove not even quicklaunch bar, but also that slider? (btw this error is also present in XP,2k and Vista)

open msconfig and disable almost all. Powerprof.dll, taskman, taskmon, mstask, also i disabled smtp agent for intel lan card (i dont use smtp server), also i dont use active desktop... you shall find it in your system...

in a real world ... my system is not bloated, but not stripped down too much. everything what i need is available (approx 90 percent of common windows systems). because i have 1024mb of ram available i believe that windows is using approximately 10megabytes of memory with all drivers available... only few background processes have been disabled (taskmon, taskman, mstask, powrprof, software bundled with drivers), and overall performance is not affected by it so much... but it is good to now that i have reached the topmost limit with memory optimizations, and now i can safely test some bugs with my system.

thx. by the way i have reached 99 percent of free system resources after fresh boot. has someone reached 100 percent?

Hi Offler, I ran Dependency Walker on my Explorer.exe and got the same missing exports in delay-load dependent modules of shlwapi.dll. The file is part of Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 (it shows how embedded IE is into Windows!). It is part of the Cumulative Update for IE6 SP1. Because of this, the file (and others in IE) are designed for all OSs from 98 to XP. Therefore, it will check the OS and available DLL exports and run accordingly. In this case I would not be concerned by DW's report. Hi, Offler and RetroOS! As RetroOS explained, there are files designed to work both in the 9x/ME family AND in the NT/XP family. These files do have missing dependencies, when used in the 9x/ME family, which can be safely ignored. They can be, AFAIK: i) For DLLs: these missing DLLs APPHELP.DLL USERENV.DLL UXTHEME.DLL and these missing imports CoWaitForMultipleHandles in OLE32.DLL SHBindToParent in SHELL32.DLL SHPathPrepareForWriteW in SHELL32.DLL ii) For SYSs and MPDs (WDM files): NTOSKRNL.EXE HAL.DLL As long as only these dependencies are missing, you usually are on the safe side. Of course, a note saying so ought ideally to accompany Dependency Walker, but things are usually far from perfect, as you well know... thanks for explanation, but i would rather see all dlls work properly.

msyuv, ioctrl, iyuv are parts used by my WDM TV tuner driver. all these surely works. by Wow32 i am not so sure, but it works, althought i really dont know if it works, or makes benefit to system.

Thanks for dependency walker. it helped me to analyze so much Dll related problems as possible. Since this system is being upgraded for long time i was quite dissappointed when i ran the analysis for some crucial applications. It seems that most apps (including explorer.exe) are using shlwapi.dll. This dll is connected to missing, dlls and missing exports which are mostly NT based (as this dll too). Has someone of you noticed it?

there are similar drivers with vxd or sys extension. these are loading after the system is completely online. that means it will not help with too much ram. Maybe xmsdsk using dos4gw or similar stub will serve exactly as we want by the way i am using 1gb of ram without any software fixes. system can normally boot, and install with this amount of memory. i was able to run computer with 1,128 mb ram without any sw fix. also i have a question regarding to cluster size. Developer of XMSDSK is recommending so small cluster as possible. one web page with some tips about win9x optimizations is recomending to use swapfile on drive with at least 32 cluster size. the tip was recomended for classical HDD's and not for ramdisks. i really dont know if i shall use ramdisk witn 32 or 1 cluster size because i use it with swapfile...

by the way... few missing dlls caused serious trouble with installation process of a single application. My home windows is upgraded with everything available, but as i see it was not enough. How can an user detect which dll he miss? I know - if it should be easy it is not called "Dll Hell" In some cases app gives an error report where i can find all information about which dll it needs, but in cases like this one... I was the lucky one so i was able to fix all tv tuner related multimedia. Shall i download all windows related files and hope that thay shall work or ... i dont know...

i was able to install and play file with WVC codec in Windows Media Player 9. After download of codec i had to reboot system and after it i was able to play it. But that video is in fullHD. you need a really strong processor for it. Also i experienced error when some HD formats were unable to render in some video players. the reason remained unknown to me, but it is possible that it is connected with HD quality - some renderers and filters are unable to handle so much pixels.

for me is not a problem to digitalize up to 4 hours of 640x480 video in realtime to Xvid and then directly burn to DVD in AVI format. good quality for VHS to DVD convert...

these were contained with 3dMark2003. right now it helped me to fix some errors - mostly with Tv tuner application. normally this issue will be described as a system error (common with win9x systems) but again it is not true. Even WinXp had same trouble with that application. Programmer was sure about that those files are automatically contained with windows or with VCRedist... i hope it shall fix more invisible or unspecified app and other bugs.

try to reinstall system. reboot after each driver install and after each installation of any application or upgrade. than you shall find your problem. but before it send here bootlog.

is this occuring with clean installation? no updates? check bios. disable acpi if possible, disable "PNP os installed" if present during installation. that setting will prevent of installing any driver for devices on PCI bus. That will lower the probability of such errors.

Since NTFS is lowering disk performance (i have measured it with HD tach) i am looking for more advanced solution - such as linux filesystems or exfat filesystem. I have found ERTFS filesystem which seems to be most compatible with either dos and windows 9x without further patching. But it is commercial product at all and i am not sure about its compatibility and performance.