dencorso

While ReactOS is still a long way from being usable instead of XP, it can be very important in helping keep XP itself usable. They've officially adopted Alter's UNIATA project, for instance, and heve been of great help in testing and debugging it. Now, IMO, ATA and chipset drivers are of paramount importance for keeping XP alive indefinetely, while they are available, any motherboard can be used. All other resources, video included, can be addon boards, which allow for the deliberate selection of compatible hardware.

It's a pity it didn't. But do keep it, anyway. It's one variable less to worry about. All HIMEM.SYS versions are indifferent to DOS version, so the latest (98SE's) is the one that should be always used. It's also the less buggy extant version, having no major known bug.

Which himem and emm386 are you using? If you're not using them already, use those from Win 98SE, regardless of the DOS version you're using.

@Tihiy: You didn't answer JorgeA's question. Is "Windows 7 explorer for Windows 8" still ongoing, or has it been fully superceded by StartIsBack?

Observe that I said the 2007 compatibility pack works OK with Office 97 on Windows XP SP3. All the info needed is on this thread and on this other thread, too.

Thanks for that one, had no idea No problem. I actually posted about it here, but anything posted in the Office forum usually remains unnoticed, unless one is talking about the very latest version... And, of course, it's too bad the 2007 compatibility pack files themselves don't work in 98SE (although (i) I didn't try to transplant the actually installed files from XP to 98SE, and (ii) I don't use KernelEx). I think .NET 2.0 may also be needed (and I don't have any .NET installed on 98SE either).

I still use mainly Office 97 on both 9x and XP, and I'm quite happy with it. Office 2k is also all right (I've got it on two machines). On XP, both accept the 2007 compatibility pack so that even the newer .???x (like .docx) can be opened all right. For 97 this is an undocumented fact .

Did you investigate it further? I mean... did you ascertain what those changes mean?

Moreover, alternating between AHCI and IDE Compatible modes can only be done at BIOS configuration level, and requires a further reboot, AFAICS. Or is it there any software capable of performing the mode change after the BIOS has executed (i.e. at DDO or bootstrap-loader or boot-menu time)?

I confirm WildBill's finding: both WinRAR 4.20 and 7-zip 9.20 are unable to open the zip in post # 635. Since you can do it, please do repack it as a normal zip or a cab and attach it, please.

Right! Too many questions... too little answers. I join submix86 at suggesting you all should wait for Montjuleant to reply to the many already posed questions before proceeding...

Yes, it'll.

WindowsXP-KB2839229-x86-ENU.exe is 2,269,856 bytes (2.16 MiB) long and has CRC-32 = 0BFC2236 and MD-5 = A4590A6465D1859014E01B8C7DE8E908... MS may have temporarily suspended offering that update to avoid the crapstorm, due to the issue with Kingsoft software products, but may have resumed offering it again already... I've just redownloaded KB2839229 and compared the files inside it to those I had installed just after Patch Tuesday, and they're identical, so MS did not revise the update silently (and, in any case, when MS does revise, they usually indicate it clearly by adding a number to the filename). So probably Kingsoft solved it from their end, maybe by pushing some auto-update or the like. All my comments on what MS and/or Kingsoft may have done are nothing more than guesswork on my part, I've got no information whatsoever on it.

You asked a mod to split the thread. I went ahead and did it. You managed to click on "add reply" exactly while the thread was being split... so your reply fell through the "memory hole"... and disappeared in the ether! It's not your fault nor mine. And probably neither one of us will ever see that happen again, but that's Murphy's Law at its best!!!

Done! But you were not fair: jaclaz had answered you latest question pretty comprehensively, AFAICS... and none of the other responders had anything else to add. Did you overlook his reply?

It's OK! My point is we must do everything we can to avoid raising unnecessary alarms... there's plenty of necessary ones already. I've got really nothing against proceeding cautiously, on the contrary, you know that. And to wait at least one week before applying any new updates is wise. That way one avoids any jajor blorkups. I usually don't wait because I do a full system back-up (by imaging) before every updade, which is just another way of being cautious, of course. ... and of falling back, whenever things go wrong!

USB keyboards that have built-in hubs and/or card-readers are also composite devices. And they get even more "composite" when one connects a USB moushe through such a hub. Now, 98SE and ME (at least, the older 9x I'm not sure, but probably) support both USB mice and keyboards natively, as "HID" devices, and cooperates nicely with NUSB, so that, through the HIS driver stack, those input devices (or Human Interface Devices) are also supported, but that's not due to NUSB. NUSB 3.6 also expands the compatibility with some types of HID devices (particularly KVMs...).

KB905074 WGA Notifications is just a nagging system, and is not required at all (I always hide it on "Win Update", on new installations), but it does install files, in addition to registry entries. On the other hand the WGA Validation KB892130 is fundamental, but one always gets it while setting up "MS Update" or "Win Update", anyway.

Do *NOT* create and divulge urban myths! All recent security updates concerning the Windows Kernel remain available for download. They were *NEVER* pulled out by MS after their original release! Here are direct download links for them: WindowsXP-KB2839229-x86-ENU WindowsXP-KB2813170-x86-ENU WindowsXP-KB2799494-x86-ENU I have installed each, on the day they were released, using the QFE branch, and neither ever gave me any problem. The issue with Kingsoft software products is real, but it's solved by updating the problem software. This is discussed at lenght in the "known issues" section of KB2839229 (@duffy98: a link I had already provided to the KB document, so you'd be aware of that issue and its solution, had you taken the trouble to read it!) BTW: How many actual users of Kingsoft software products do you know of? Do any of you all actually use them? Yet MS may have suspended offering that update to avoid the crapstorm, since it'd be installed automatically for most users (because the default state of auto-updates is on, you know). The "Never Ending Windows Update" issue is another matter altogether: it's some kind of major janfu in the way "MS Update" and "Windows Update" detect that an update is already applied. It's known to have happened to different users with different updates at different times (mine is with KB982524...), so it has not anything to do with any particular update. When "MS Update" or "Windows Update" report the update was successful, then offers the same patch again, check that all files in the patch (they are listed in the KB) are present in the system, and are of the correct version, and then go to "MS Update" or "Windows Update", untick the problem update and hide it. And forget about it. As I said, it's just a major janfu in the way "MS Update" and "Windows Update", there's no reason *at all* to worry about it. Dont worry, be happy!

Source: this post @ thefreewareforum

Just like nusb33e, nusb36e supports only mass storage devices, but some composite devices were added. No scanners or printers whatsoever are supported. BTW, Maximus Decim Native USB ver.3.4 (= nusb34e) was never released.

Any nano-moto-continuo will do fine, but I still favor a nano-Kamehameha (viz. かめはめ波) orb... either way it'll be able to fly forever, while sending countless data transmissions...

Presumably, config.sys and autoexec.bat exist (and usually are no more than just entries in the root directry, since they're both 0 bytes long in the default XP installation) for backwards compatibility with programs that require them. They also may be useful for multibooting scenarios using the built-in multiboot system controlled via boot.ini, which can boot more than one OS from the same partition (I never considered that option wise, BTW). My point was a different one: the NT-OSes don't create by default a DOS VM at boot, like the 9x/ME-family does. So, the NT-OSes' DOS-boxes are just applications (like any others) which must be loaded to be there, and one loads them through a .pif (which causes the .nt versions of the files to be read, if they exist, but not the classic ones), or by calling cmd.exe directly.

No, XP ignores the config.sys. Then again EMSMagic is not needed anymore to get EMS, MS fixed the kernel for some months already. The update from 12 February 2013 mentioned above is KB2799494, but it's already superceded by KB2839229, which, if you have it installed, already provides you the needed EMS.