dencorso

Hi PROBLEMCHYLD! DFS.VXD, NTKERN.VXD, UDF.VXD and VNETSUP.VXD are the next files I intend to patch and test, as soon as I release those I'm still testing. VMM32.VXD is a compressed compilation of VXDs, created during windows install procedure, so patching it afterwards is impossible. If all its components are patchable and work ok it would be possible to recompile a new VMM32.VXD from the individual VxDs, but that's another story entirely. All others may work. And may even enable other files to work, that depend on them.

Yes. Update manualy, but don't have it search, check "specify the location, and ask for a list, selecting the newer driver from the list. Ignore the message saying it already has the best driver. But, please, do backup before you start. If your newest driver doesn't work well, try Via Hyperion v. 456 instead (available from ViaArena). Good luck!

Way to go, PROBLEMCHYLD! Glad it worked! That's for sure!And, as soon as you feel sure it really works OK, do please post here a detailed how-to. Keep on the great work!

Old HP Windows Drivers: Some are to be found here: Old Windows Drivers Other useful links for old HP drivers are to be found in posts #11-#17 on this thread: HP supports Win 9x no longer HTH

AVG rules!

Hi, Lecco! Read this thread. HTH

LAST - SHAR - MobTime Cell Phone Manager v. 6.0.9 --- http://www.mobtime.com/en/cpm/cpm_en_v6.0.9.exe; info on v.6.0.9 here; MobTime site. Before buying licence, it's a good ideia to write to support@mobtime.com to ensure they'll provide you with a key that works for v. 6.0.9

Hi, PROBLEMCHYLD! Well, probably with most VxDs, yes. Then, there are three types of Win ME VxDs: 1) Those that don't need any patching to load (almost all are included in 98SE2ME, except for a handful that load but do not work well, at least in some setups: VCACHE.VxD and NDIS.VxD are representative examples of the latter). MDGx has fully explored this field already. There are 11 VxDs (from %windir%\system\) and two PDRs (from %windir%\system\iosubsys\) that can just be transplanted as they are. See MDGx's 98SE2ME page. 2) Those that need downversion patching to load, but then work OK: besides the three already released (DISKTSD.VxD, CDVSD.VxD and VNETBIOS.VxD), I'm testing three more (DISKVSD.VxD, CDTSD.VxD and SMARTVSD.VxD), as I reported above. I do beleieve most VxDs and PDRs from %windir%\system\iosubsys\ and from %windir%\system\ will load after patching, the question is whether they'll work OK. 3) Those that do not work in Win 98SE, despite patching, even when patching gets them to load (probably most in %windir%\system\VMM32\, as well as those packed inside VMM32.VxD). I've kept away from those on purpose, because I don't believe they'll work. With other types of files, like WDM drivers (.SYS and .MPD files), possibly, but I don't know for sure. They are PE executables, not LE executables, anyway... I just didn't investigate it at all, up to now. In general, unnecessarily over-restrictive version checking is still a common programmer practice, so relaxing this restrction by patchig can provide many good finds. On the other hand, sometimes files are really tied to a specific OS version, and those won't work, despite patching (or worse: may wreak havoc in the test system, once one gets them to load through patching...). Lots of patience, good backups and careful testing are all that's required to find out.

Well, here is a brief version history for VNETBIOS.VXD: 04/23/99 10:22PM 4.10.0.1998 39,506 Vnetbios.vxd Win 98 SE (original distribution, same for FE) 07/13/99 08:32PM 4.10.0.2223 35,434 Vnetbios.vxd Win 98 FE (+ SE ?) Q265528, which nobody ever has obtained; 06/08/00 05:00PM 4.90.0.3000 38,633 Vnetbios.vxd Win ME (original distribution, also in Q272991) Unpatched Win ME VNETBIOS.VXD will not load under Win 98 SE (or FE). Windows'll instead throw a "file is damaged" message and freeze while loading. But this can be solved by using my downversion patching trick. So here I offer you the patched version of Win ME VNETBIOS.VXD v 4.90.0.3000, renumbered as 4.90.0.3001, to reflect the fact it has been patched and runs OK under Win 98SE and FE (but not anymore under Win ME!). Download-link: VNETBIOS.VXD v. 4.90.0.3001 for Win 98 SE (and FE) As always, the standard disclaimer applies: It works great for me, but YMMV and I can guarantee nothing whatsoever about this patch, and about the use you make of it. By deciding to use it you fully accept that anything you do is of YOUR SOLE RESPONSIBILITY... Moreover, modding files voids the EULA, of course. You have been warned.

I'm totally flabbergasted! How on earth did you trace your problem to vnetbios.vxd in particular? You installed a new bluetooth driver and the internet stopped working. OK, it shouldn't happen, but so far I do understand. Now, there are at least 70 files involved in enabling internet communications, how can you be sure the problem lies with vnetbios.vxd? Or is there some additional evidence of it you just forgot to tell us about? As for what happened when you susbstituted vnetbios.vxd v. 4.10.0.1998 by v. 4.90.0.3000, thats just what you should have expected. If you use 98SE2ME, you should know that v. 4.90.0.3000 does NOT work with Win 98SE, that being the reason why it's not part of 98SE2ME. So this is a well known fact. What is less well known is that, whenever a .VxD asks Win 98SE for windows version 4.90, instead of the expected version 4.10, Win 98SE hangs while loading the .VxD with "file is damaged" message, even when the file is, in fact, not corrupt. If you want a patched version of Win ME vnetbios.vxd that Win 98SE is able to load OK, get it here. But I do doubt it'll solve your problem, because I'm not at all convinced it is the one causing your problem, to begin with.

Yes. They work on registry files > 8MB. eidenk, in post #2 of this tread said: But you can also export the whole registry to, say, RegFile.reg, then go to pure DOS (not a DOS box) and run: smartdrv regedit /c <path>\RegFile.reg You'll get essentially the same results. NB: The above applies to the registry *compactors*. All other apps mentioned in this thread remove junk from different parts of the registry. When used in sequence they do a beautifully comprehensive registry cleaning job, for sure! But some care is required, because too agressive a cleaning job can cripple the system, so doing a registry backup first is a must.

You can also remove the memory sticks, clean their connectors with a rubber eraser (for pencil writings), brush or air-clean the board memory slots, and reassemble it all. It can't hurt and, sometimes, works miracles. Good luck!

@herbalist: Thanks for the pointer to MRU blaster It sure is great at cleaning out the MRUs! @Dave-H: Thanks for the pointer for "Registry Space Profiler". It's wonderful. And do try MRU blaster, it sure'll weed out some more entries from your registry. You all rock, my friends!

You're welcome, Dave-H! I'm glad to know it worked Yes, the downloads section on Helamonster's page doesn't work anymore. But, while it is highly unusual for the Internet Archive to cache applications, this is just the case for UserAss 1.2! To download it just click on this link (in fact, you missed it, it's the same link I posted in post # 23 above, all you had to do was to click on the underlined UserAss and it would have started to download...). If, for some reason, you are not able to get it in this way, PM me and I'll upload it somewhere and post here the link. I guess you got the wrong Registry Compactor. The japanese program translated by eidenk is freeware and does not require you to pay anything. But, although it seems to attain slightly higher compressions (i. e. better optimizations) than the Norton Optimisation Wizard, at the end of the day, it's about the same thing. There is a link for an archive containing it along with another utility and documentation in eidenks's post # 26.

Did you try NUSB?

Dave-H, don't stop at Easy Cleaner! It and Norton WinDoctor are the light weights, although, nonetheless, important. The real heavy weights are the others. I bet they'll find things to yank off your registry. Do at least two passes with all of Norton WinDoctor, UserAss 1.2, oleclean 1.4, EasyCleaner, RegSeeker 1.55, Wise Registry Cleaner 2.95 and Registry Compactor, in this order. RegSeeker and the Wise Registry Cleaner rank their findings as "safe to remove" (green) and "probably not safe to remove" (orange or red), so, to remain on the safe side, just remove the green findings on both. If you get to take out 10% like I did, it'll still amount to 1.2 MB...

Does NTKERN.VXD from Win 98 FE load in Win 95C OSR2.5 and crash the system or does it refuse to load? If the latter, maybe my downversion patching trick might work here too... I can do it for you, if you want me to, just upload both NTKERN.VXDs (the original from Win 95C OSR2.5 and the one from Win 98FE) to rapidshare or wherever you prefer and PM me the link. I cannot test the result, however, 'cause I don't have any Win 95 system, nor can set up one any time soon, though.

If you make an image of the system's partition before starting, you can always restore it afterwards, no matter how messed up the system gets. You can use symantec ghost one of its competitors to do so. Or make a full copy (clone copy) to another partition (preferably on a different hard disk) with the freeware XXCOPY. Both ways work well, but the image strategy is less prone to mistakes, and quicker. HTH

Here are my results: before doing anything: SYSTEM DAT 8.593.440 17/11/07 20:42 SYSTEM.DAT USER DAT 1.777.696 17/11/07 20:42 USER.DAT after Norton WinDoctor 7.0.22, UserAss 1.2, oleclean 1.4, EasyCleaner 2.0, RegSeeker 1.55, Wise Registry Cleaner 2.95 and Registry Compactor: SYSTEM DAT 7.757.856 18/11/07 0:05 SYSTEM.DAT USER DAT 1.523.744 18/11/07 0:06 USER.DAT after one day of use: SYSTEM DAT 7.790.624 19/11/07 2:46 SYSTEM.DAT USER DAT 1.642.528 19/11/07 3:13 USER.DAT after Norton WinDoctor 7.0.22, UserAss 1.2, oleclean 1.4, EasyCleaner 2.0, RegSeeker 1.55, Wise Registry Cleaner 2.95 and Registry Compactor: SYSTEM DAT 7.761.952 19/11/07 20:59 SYSTEM.DAT USER DAT 1.523.744 19/11/07 20:59 USER.DAT So: system.dat and user.dat shrank about 10% each just on junk removal! Of course, here, YMMV! And, as the junk accumulates again, new junk removal restores them to (about) the same clean sizes. Notes: 1) I only removed the GREEN findings with RegSeeker and with Wise Registry Cleaner, and, even then, did so selectively. 2) I do have two backups of the registry, from immediately before I started, although, so far, everything seems OK. 3) I used the Registry Concentrator provided by eidenk (Thanks again, eidenk!) with Options -> Before -> Force reconstruction in case of Ghost keys selected. PS: I've yet to try my hand at COMView...

I'm aware of that, erpdude8, and have been using Q285189 for a long time now. But thank you for the heads up just the same. You do rock!

Here's a very simple batch file to help monitor the System.dat/User.dat sizes: datsizes.bat =========================== @echo off dir %windir%\system.dat > #123#.tmp dir %windir%\user.dat >> #123#.tmp type #123#.tmp | find /i ".dat" del #123#.tmp =========================== HTH

@ galahs: I think you should group Microsoft IntelliPoint and Kensington under a new heading: Mouse Drivers You did not yet add HDD Health, from my last post, here's some more info: its a S.M.A.R.T. monitor for HDDs It's the LAST FREE v. 2.1 beta, build 159. You also did not include PopUpKiller, but don't do it just yet, because I've just found out the project was resurrected and there is a new version I mean to test. About it, more later. Keep on the great work! This topic sure rocks, and you do too!

Sorry, but no solution to it has yet been found. Read about it here.

I doubt you'll be able to uninstall .NET v.2 alone cleanly. What I'd do, were I you: 1)Make a fresh image of the whole systems partition, just in case... 2)Make two backups of the registry. 3)Clean the registry up with TonyArts EasyClean, then Wise Registry Cleaner . 4)Remove both .NETs using Control Panel -> Add/Remove. 5)Clean the registry up after removal with Aaron Stebner's cleanup tool. 6)Remove any remaining directories/files related to .NET under \Program Files and \%windir%. 7)Clean once again the registry up with TonyArts EasyClean, then Wise Registry Cleaner . 9)Compress the registry with Registry Compactor (for a link see eidenk's posts above). 10)Reinstall .NET v.1.1 11)Compress the registry with Registry Compactor. 12)Compare the sizes of SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT with both .NETs, without both and with v 1.1 alone, to see whether it was worth it, and how much registry hungry .NET really is. I can assure you this procedure from (1) to (9) works perfectly, because that's how I removed .NET from my own system. And (10) to (12) should be OK also. But for (12) to be fair, you should compress the registry after (3), and take note of the sizes of the .DATs before .NETs removal at this point, on afterthought. Good luck! ...and keep us posted about it.

What CONTROL.EXE v4.10.2000 fix??? If you mean v4.10.1999 have care, because it is problematic. Both fastlanephil and myself have had system lock-ups due to it. It's reported here. Keep on the great work!