Monroe

dencorso .... thanks for the IE6 registry fix. I have decided to go that route for now, that's really good, this forum always comes through with help and good ideas. I agree with Dude112 ... I like IE6 and would like to stay with it for as long as possible. I know sometimes I have a web page that loads slow but I am never sure if it might be because of Proxomitron since it is filtering so many things out ... also I connect through my cell phone ... when I got the phone and mobile office kit in 2004, connections and everything (web pages) were pretty fast but as more people started texting, sending photos, downloading tv shows, movies or whatever ... I have noticed a drop in speed at certain times when I am on the internet. It's like I am waiting for "my turn" somewhere, but in general the speed is usually pretty good .... so a web page will open slow sometimes for me ... but it may not be completely the fault of IE6. ... I will still check out one of the other browsers as a possible "backup" browser to just have handy. *** update: I used the patch regIE7XP.reg and tried the two sites again. Does work ! ... no messages about IE6 being phased out. ... thanks again

thanks for the Proxomitron info ... I decided not to download Sea Monkey ... it is a - 13 MB download where K-melon and Firefox are both under 6 MB. ... herbalist, do you still have IE on your computer in any form ? ... or can it be completely removed. I have a program that will completely remove IE but should it be completely removed for Windows 98SE?

herbalist ... I use Proxomitron also with the latest Sidki filter set. I am in the process of downloading Firefox v2.0.0.20 now to try out. Yes, I think that IE 6 does seem slow to load a web page sometimes. Ok, so I will have Sea Monkey, K-Melon and Firefox v2.0.0.20 to work with ... anyone know for sure which one might be really low on resource use or are they all close? I have an old 98SE Toshiba notebook that I will test the three that I mentioned above. If I go with anyone of those three, can I then remove IE 6 completly from my computer or does it also have to remain on the computer, even if it will no longer be used? ... thanks Idb and BenoitRen also for your input.

herbalist .... thanks for the info .... may I ask, if it's not too time consuming or hard to explain, how can I do the same thing ... block or spoof the user agent in IE 6. I have heard of those two browsers (Sea Monkey / K-Melon) and have them downloaded somewhere. I will get the latest versions of each to have on hand but if I could block or spoof the user agent in IE 6, as you did, then maybe I could keep using IE 6 into the future. I also update IE 6 with "Maximus Decim InternetExplorer 6.0sp1 Component Update 2.7" , as they are released and IE 6 works very good for me at this time.

I go to YouTube a few times a week or every other week or so ... today this message was on the web page in relation to me being there using Internet Explorer 6. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ We will be phasing out support for your browser soon. Please upgrade to one of these more modern browsers. Google Chrome ... Firefox 3.5 ... Internet Explorer 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I had never seen this this message before, it may have been on the web page but today I did notice it. This is something I hadn't given much thought too ... keeping Windows 98SE "modern" in today's world is one thing but what can a person do if other web sites also start dropping IE 6 or other browsers that still work with Windows 98SE. Those browsers mentioned by YouTube do not work with Windows 98SE or 98 in general. *** Some further info concerning IE 6 .... I just went to this web site and they also read my browser as IE 6 and this message was displayed ... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Still using IE6?! Did you know that your security is at risk using IE6? Did you know many sites — including Lottery Post — will stop supporting IE6 this year? You really need to upgrade right away. It is simple and free — let us show you how. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This seems to be something that is going to happen sooner than later ... What modern browser would have future access to these web sites that would work with Windows 98SE? I will keep using IE 6 till these sites start refusing me ... maybe they will have a tab or work around for older browsers ... this is all new to me. Open to suggestions. Thanks ....

Thanks again for the extra info ... the whole thing is clear now and why it just wouldn't go away. from the link ..... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- rbbad.cab will just sit there forever in addition to the other 5 unless you either use scanreg, or Windows decides to replace it for some other reason (such as a bad boot). The latter doesn't usually happen very often unless you have bad RAM or some other problem. In the course of time there is no really good reason to keep rbbad.cab cluttering up the place but it does no harm. Bottom line: ignore it or delete it - ain't no big thing. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rick ... thanks for that info. I was never in that folder ... "sysbckup". All the numbered backups (rb001) were there and one that was labeled "rbbad". It's gone now but I am curious how that one backup ended up in there labeled that way. Again thanks for the solution ... this forum rocks.

OK ... where would I go to right click and delete that bad registry. I am aware that there can be more than 5 backups ... actually I save 10 backups, I just said 5 since that is the normal setup for Windows 98 and I didn't want to confuse anyone. I figured if I just do a Scanreg 10 times that one bad registry backup would just be replaced with a new backup dated today .... I have 9 backups dated today and that bad backup dated 30 March 2009 is still there. I am using a program called WinRescue 98 and it shows me the backups that are available. So where can I go to right click and delete that one backup out of my system? Thanks ...

I have a question about the 5 registry backups that "Scanreg.INI" keeps every day that Windows 98SE is turned on. I noticed today that one of the registry backups is dated 30 March 2009 and labeled "bad". It should have been replaced long ago with a newer backup but is still there. Is there a way I can get to this one particular registry backup that is labeled "bad" and manually delete it off the hard drive. Is there a registry program that will delete or clean out all or some of these backups. I'm wondering why it just wasn't replaced by a newer backup.

Guitar_Samuri ... imai If you want a fairly easy way to install all the Win 98SE updates and some extras ... after a fresh install of Windows 98SE then go to the Windows 9x Member Projects forum and get the "Maximus Decim Cumulative Update v3.05 for Windows 98SE" ... all the updates are there, plus a guide as to what to install and the order of install after you install the Windows 98SE OS fresh. It is currently on Page 3 of that forum, near the top. The other downloads that are in the guide that you will need are also there. Windows 9x Member Projects link: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showforum=91 This is Maximus Decim's install guide. Myself and many others use this guide and these downloads but you can decide for yourself if this will work for you. Sure can make things easy. The downloads are updated every so often. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maximus Decim aka Maxud The detailed description of the order of installation Windows 98SE, necessary updates and components. 08/20/2008 1. Install Windows 98SE. 2. Install full installation Internet Explorer 6.0Sp1. 3. Install Maximus Decim Cumulative Update ver.3.05 (mdcu305e.exe). for Windows 98SE English. Includes Official updates: 192425, 236926, 237493, 239887, 240075, 240664, 240896, 241052, 242004, 242193, 242928, 245272, 242975, 245682, 246817, 249146, 249635, 250514, 250876, 253697, 253711, 254660, 257630, 257821, 258191, 258680, 259253, 262232, 264650, 266772, 267304, 268064, 269601, 269874, 271701, 272621, 273017, 273727, 274113 274175, 274548, 275873, 276602, 277628, 278033, 278368, 280448, 281533, 283032, 284837, 288430, 288550, 290831, 293197, 295629, 305037, 306453, 306889, 307004, 308349, 309081, 310695, 311430, 311561, 313829, 315575, 318307, 319571, 321467, 323172, 323708, 329115, 329128, 811630, 823559, 827656, 896358, 896559. Replaced with unofficial updates: 246387, 249973, 263044, 273468, 289635, 291362, 320798, 891711, 918547, 274370 (replaced with unofficial 304708), 314147 (replaced with unofficial 926247). Replaced with ADclient: 245729, 293793. Unofficial updates: 249824, 271277, 272991, 835732, 932590, KRNL386.EXE, CONTROL.EXE, SHELL32.DLL, IFSMGR.VXD, OLE, HTML help, 951072, msimg32.dll. Other updates: Installer 2.0, VB6SP6 (replaced with unofficial VB6SP6), VB5SP3, VCredist, Adaptec ASPI v.4.60(1021), part of ADclient, Explorer with 256-color tray icons, DCOM98, TELNET, UNICOWS, 3D Control Libraries, GDIPLUS. BHDD 3.1 - support for hard drives larger than 137 GB, NUSB 3.3 - native (without installation of additional drivers for each type) support USB flash drives, universal stack USB 2.0 (without installation of additional drivers for each chipsets) with uninstall. WIA 1.1 - Windows Image Acquisition. It allows seemless communication between image acquisition applications and digital imaging devices (such as digital still cameras, scanners and DV camcorders). Optional components: Zip-folders; Spider Solitaire. 4. Install PCIO98.EXE (it is included in MDCU)- patch IO.SYS for change of the order of assignment of letters to hard disks. 5. Install DirectX 9.0c. 6. Install drivers for motherboard, sound card (preferably wdm-drivers), net card, video card and other devices. 7. Install MDIE6CU - Maximus Decim IE6sp1 Component Update 2.3. Includes Windows Script Update 5.6.0.8831; 917344 - JScript Security Update; 944338 - Unofficial Windows Script Security Update; 951066 - Unofficial Outloook Express Cumutative Security Update; 953838 - Unofficial Internet Explorer Cumulative Security Update; 905495 - Unofficial Security Update (MSIEFTP); 920670 - Unofficial Security Update (HLINK); 824220 - Unofficial Security Update (IMGUTIL); 886677 - Unofficial Security Update (MLANG); 896156 - Unofficial Security Update (MSHTMLED); 885258 - Security Update (PROCTEXE); 816362 - Security Update (MSHTA); 929969 - Unofficial Security Update (VGX); 891781 - Internet Explorer Security Update (DHTML); 908519 - Embedded Web Fonts Security Fix (T2EMBED); 918439 - Internet Explorer Security Update (ART Image Rendering); 816093 - Microsoft Java Virtual Machine update 3810; Windows Roots Update; IE advanced options; WindowsUpdate. 8. Update Macromedia Flash Player for Internet Explorer. 9. Install MDDACU - Maximus Decim Data Access Component Update 1.4 Includes: Jet ver.4.0sp8; Jet40Repl; MDAC ver.2.8sp1 (wiht MSXML 3.0SP7); 911562 - MDAC Security Update; MSXML 4.0sp2; 927779 - Unofficial Update for MDAC ver.2.8sp1; 925051 - Unofficial Update for Jet 4.0sp8; 924191 - Unofficial Update for MSXML 3.0sp7; 936181 - Unofficial Update for MSXML 4.0sp2. 10.Install Windows Media Player. For Windows Media Player 6.4 install 320920. Or install Windows Media 9.0 and updates 816044, 917734 Install codecs WMP 10.0. 11.Install .NET Framework 1.1, and update 867460 (Service Pack 1). 12.Install .NET Framework 2.0. 13.Install SAPI 4.0, SAPI 5.1. 14.Install Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and updates 282949, 260710, 285895. 15.Reinstall DirectX 9.0c. And still!!! Basically, Windows 98SE supports work with operative memory in the size up to 2Gb, but not all so is simple. Therefore, if Windows 98SE that is installed on a computer with operative memory greater than 512 Mb: 1.In BIOS sets the size of aperture AGP in minimal Value (64 mbytes are usual) for economy of addresses. 2. Sets the maximal cache size from 512Mb up to 64Mb - to whom as it is pleasant - too for economy of addresses. For this purpose it is used MaxFileCache=xxx (where xxx - the cache size in KILOBYTES) in section [vcache] a file System.ini If all works and is left, if glitches proceed: 3.If memory has more 1Gb, we add MaxPhysPage=40000 if from 1Gb up to 768Mb - MaxPhysPage=30000 in section [386enh] a file System.ini

Thanks Rick for the detailed explanation on the global hooks in SSM. I will put SSM back on one of my machines and check each global hook as they pop up. I do remember SpywareBlaster asking for one or two global hooks and also Microsoft Money 97 asking for global hooks permission. The term "global hooks" sounds a little sinister and I was wondering what the program might be hooking into or how far these "hooks" might go after connecting to the internet. ... I also will be looking forward to the web pages dealing with SSM and a 9x system.

I can't speak for Gape but I have always felt that MDGx is reading this board and other boards. They do have outside lives but MDGx does post every so often. We may think the moderators are long gone with no recent posts ... but I for one think they are around to keep "law and order" in some way.

herbalist - Rick ... some time back I tried SSM and really liked it with 98SE. Then I ran into the problem of opening Media Player Classic with SSM running ... the computer freezes up and has to be shut down. I think you were able to verify this on your end ... did you ever get any answers on that or figure anything out? I just put SSM back on one of my 98SE machines about a week ago ... had forgot about the Media Player Classic problem till today ... I could just try to remember to shut SSM down when I want to use Media Player Classic. There is certainly a problem there between the two programs. ... thanks ... that's the only program (MPC) that I found so far that has a conflict of some sort with SSM. I have many programs on my 98SE test machine. I have another question ... on some programs you tell SSM to "always" run a certain program when it is opened but on some programs there might be a 2nd or 3rd permission asked using the term "allow global hooks". Is it OK to give future permission for the "Global Hooks" question? I don't quite understand that "Global Hooks" question when it pops up on a program.

The download link that I posted earlier that didn't work out when I installed it did seem to be something that will install onto 98SE ... it's that 30 day trial ... which a person doesn't really get a "30 day trial" that interferes with the install and reboot. The company that made that program doesn't exist anymore but someone must have the ability to fix or take that part out ... the program should work after that, it did install on my machine ... of course I didn't know what setting to put in the boxes. Maybe someone can make contact or find a way to get in touch with somebody originally involved with the program. Maybe they might have a "softspot" for us 98SE users and make it workable. Isn't 98SE still in use in many countries around the globe? ... I read that once somewhere, but maybe now in 2009, XP has become more the norm. I will try to find a contact on my end and keep searching for another IPv6 program for 98SE. .... if you go to this web site, it will "read" your machine and probably tell you that you are using IPv4 and from where. .... http://www.ipv6.org

Everybody ... DO NOT use the Trumpet Winsock 5.0 Revision C download ... it will kill your machine. I installed it on my test machine ... it has a "30 Day" trial period ... it will still install but then you have to "re-boot" and the BSOD pops up and a message ... "Your Demonstration Period Has Expired. Winsock is now unusable." I can't get into the machine at all to do anything ... if it weren't for that 30 day thing, the download would probably be OK. If that download could be found without the 30 day trial period built into it, it should be OK. Maybe retroOS will have the answer in one of his links. I will remove the download link in the other post. Delete that download !!!

Agree with you retroOS and cyberformer ... it is years away (IPv6) from what I was reading in the short time that I have become aware of IPv6. I will still give it a shot on the older Toshiba test machine and see what happens. I'm curious about what the download will do. I will let you know how it all works out. All my machines have a Ghost backup so I can be up and running again without too much of a problem. However, cyberformer ... post any new info or if you know what download will really work with 98SE. As I said, I will test the Trumpet Winsock 5.0 Revision C download or if someone is already using it, please post.

cyberformer ... your welcome ... thanks for bringing this to my attention, after reading about IPv6, I got the impression that Win 98SE users could have a problem down the road. That download link for Trumpet Winsock 5.0 Revision C ... is that what you were talking about in your earlier post ? ... does this take care of our problem? ... or do 98SE users still have to worry? If this is what we need or if there is something newer or better from the post by retroOS, let us know. You know a lot more about IPv6 than I do and I will be looking for more information from you and others in the future. I have an older 98SE notebook that I use for testing things on ... later today or sometime I will try that download out and see if I can still get on the internet. .... you are not alone in worrying, I also worry about 98SE ... I am very happy with my current 98SE notebooks and the way everything works. Hope it stays that way ...

This IPv6 is something I was not aware of ... all new to me. I went to the IPv6 web site to get information. It told me I am using IPv4. Anyway, I spent sometime on Google searching around. I came up with this for Windows 98 users. Is this what we (98SE users) need ? Trumpet Winsock 5.0 Revision C - This is designed for Windows 95/98 users and is compatible with several applications including Netscape, Internet Explorer, CUTE FTP, WS_FTP and Eudora. ... Update ... download link removed, download does not work.

Hi dencorso .... yes, I also add NUSB ... but it is included in the Mdcu305e update. ... maximus-decim takes care of everything ! Maximus Decim Cumulative Update ver.3.05 for Windows 98SE -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Includes more than 100 updates received from service WindowsUpdate and from Microsoft web site. * Native (without installation of additional drivers for each type) support USB flash drives (NUSB 3.3). * Native support WIA and PTP (WIA 1.1). * Universal Stack USB 2.0 (without installation of additional drivers for each chipsets) with uninstall. * Support for hard drives larger than 137GB (BHDD 3.1). * Zip-folders (Optional components) * Spider Solitaire (Optional components) * The detailed description of the order of installation Windows 98SE, necessary updates and components. ... just wanted to add that info.

I second what gkar wrote ... as for myself ... after a new install of Win 98SE, I run Gape's older SP2.1a update then I run the latest updates by Maximum-Decim ... which are the 3 mentioned by gkar. Then I do all my settings - colors, sounds, whatever ... install the programs I want --- clean the registry, do a System Files Check, run Scan Disk and Defrag and then I make a backup copy with Ghost 2003 or 8.3 ... I made my last Ghost backups in Feb and don't plan on doing any more ... I have 3 notebooks with Win 98SE and those Ghost cds (for each notebook) are now my "Win 98SE install" disk whenever I mess something up. In less than 15 minutes I'm all setup, I have a few updates to do also ... but it sure makes for a speedy re-install.

... if you don't want an anti-virus running all the time you might want to check this route out. I have no anti-virus running but I do have and use Multi Virus Cleaner 2009 on my computer. It is updated every few months or so and very good for checking downloaded files or whatever. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Multi Virus Cleaner 2009 - detects and removes major viruses and spyware - Last version : v9.0.1 - April 21th, 2009 Multi Virus Cleaner is a free, stand-alone utility used to detect and remove major viruses. It is not a substitute for full anti-virus protection, but rather a tool to assist administrators and users when cleaning infected systems. Multi Virus Cleaner is regularly updated and can detect over 6,400 common viruses, worms, trojans and dialers (including all variants of the Sober, MyDoom and Bagle viruses). The program boasts a fast, user-friendly scanner that requires minimal processing power and is an excellent choice for repairing a compromised system. The new 2009 version also detects and removes major spyware. ... http://www.viruskeeper.com/us/mvc.htm ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ... I also keep the ISO Kaspersky Rescue Disk handy if I ever would get a virus ... it seems to be updated on a regular basis. ... http://www.thefreecountry.com/security/ant...rescue-cd.shtml ...... ... Kaspersky Rescue Disk (ISO) - ... http://downloads.kaspersky-labs.com/devbuilds/RescueDisk/ .... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are very careful and use or have these 2 items available ... you will have a good setup and nothing running all the time using up resources, if that's important. ...

... Herbalist, Rick ... just a note of thanks for posting so much info in this thread. I always learn something new from your postings ... I use Proxomitron and never heard of Andrew's Security Filters ... have been using them for a few days now and I really like that addition to Proxomitron ... I use Sidiki's set of filters and Andrew's filiters work just great with it ... took me a few hours before I figured out how to work with them and the A - B buttons in the upper right hand corner. Anyway, keep the info flowing ... Also, I was aware of WinSock but didn't have a copy in my software collection, thanks for posting the link.

MDGx ... I didn't know about REGBAKUP.BAT at your site. There is so much at your site that it's very easy to miss something, at least in my case. I have been using all 3 programs for maybe five years now and just decided yesterday to take a few minutes to do a write up on them ... thought they might be of interest to other 98SE users ... and also Windows 95 and 98, since they should work OK with those OSs also. That batch file that the guy wrote for the 2nd registry program really makes that one very easy to work with. ... as I said I have all three on my notebooks. COP 2.2 by Plato is really great for trying out software, it does a quick registry restore without getting too involved. I hadn't used those links for many years, I was suprised but very happy they still worked ... COP 2.2 by Plato is very hard to find, most links are dead now, if you can find any.

... maybe not quite but a couple of nice little Registry Backup programs for Windows 98SE that maybe some are not aware of ... the first is "Rescue by Ronaldo" ... I have posted what someone wrote about this little program, exactly what I read when I first discovered this little gem. It is listed as a recovery program for Windows 95 but does work with Windows 98SE. .... I will add a third registry backup program at the end ... all these programs are getting old but still seem to be available at the links ... never know, one of them might disappear someday, download and save if you think they are of some value. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESCUE by Ronaldo A Windows 98 Recovery program ... this little freeware program is truly amazing! The author must have had one of those moments of true inspiration when he wrote RESCUE. It is simple to use, easy to understand and provides valuable protection for your computer by backing up your registry. Sheer genius! ... and it works! I should know since I have had to use it once already (it was just a small, little change to the system.ini file, I thought it was harmless; but when I rebooted, all I had was wallpaper! ... no desktop icons, no explorer, no nothing, just wallpaper! ... but since I had backed up right before this small, little, harmless change, I just followed the directions to restore my registry, rebooted and was back in business. It took a whole 7 or 8 minutes!) let me tell you, this is one very cool program! All RESCUE is ... is a bunch of simple DOS commands arranged in the proper order in an executable batch file! This is what makes it so beautiful! Its simple elegance screams at you! Version 1 can automatically backup your registry every time you start windows and you can manually save your registry in a second place whenever you like and all that takes in one double click (there is no automatic backup with version 2, but that's ok, I like version 2 better). To restore from a backup, all you do is boot into DOS, make one simple directory change, then type a one word command. That's it! It's so simple, it's brilliant! There are some very expensive programs out there that claim to do the same thing, but they will never be as easy to use as RESCUE! Throw them all out! Download RESCUE now and get some peace of mind for once! There are no screenshots per se, so I have elected to talk at length about RESCUE on the screenshot page (but what else is new!) ... and before I forget, the author has told me that Rescue WILL WORK with Windows 98. So there! Also ... the download is on the appropriate screenshot page! Ok, I'm feeling adventurous! What else can you possibly say about RESCUE? A quick note about Rescue v2 and viruses ... (note to me: Sunday, August 13, 2000) It has been reported to me by two different visitors {earlier this year} that their version of "McAfee Antivirus" reported a virus when they tried to run the setup for Rescue v2. Briefly ... this is a false positive. McAfee has said themselves, after some research, that their virus scanning engine gave a wrong reading and identified it wrong, and that to solve this, you needed to update the DAT file to the most recent version. So, to recap, Rescue v2 does NOT have a virus. I was rather surprised to find this out. I use McAfee on my 3 computers at home. I have McAfee on the 30 computers at work, that I am in charge of. My parents and brothers use McAfee and I have installed Rescue v2 on all of those computers and McAfee has never complained once. Anyway, if this happened to you, sorry about that but Rescue does not contain any virus. All you have to do is look at Rescue, they are DOS batch files, open them up in any text editor and all that they contain are simple DOS commands, which is the whole beauty of Rescue to begin with. Anyway, I won't go on anymore because I hope that I have made my point. Please email me if you have any questions or concerns, I will address them as best as I can. In fact, Rescue saved my butt about three weeks ago (this would be the 2nd weekend in July 2000) I was playing a game on my Win 98SE computer, I hit a wrong key and my computer froze up. No big deal, I just rebooted, but upon rebooting, Win 98SE reported I had a corrupt registry and Win 98SE then said it would replace my bad registry with a good copy. I thought to myself 'ok, sure, why not' (actually I had no choice, this was just a blue information screen and my only choice was to hit any key to continue). So ... Win 98SE did something and automatically rebooted my computer and guess what happened ... same darn blue screen of death and windows saying that my registry was corrupt, it will replace it and hit any key to continue. I watched my computer do this 3 more times as Win 98SE kept replacing my corrupt registry with its own copy of my corrupt registry and rebooting. I just said screw it (pardon my language), I popped in a DOS boot floppy, booted into DOS, ran the repair batch file for Rescue, it restored my registry in 2 seconds, I rebooted my computer and it has been fine since then. Anyway, please download Rescue and backup that registry while you can before some stray electron from somewhere corrupts it. Rescue only works if you backup your registry when you know your computer is working well. I have no idea what I would have done to get my computer back, except for a complete reinstallation but because I had Rescue, I was able to restore my computer quickly. (note, the whole process took about 10 minutes, the first 9 minutes were spent quietly cursing my computer and watching it restore a corruptted registry 3 times; the last minute was spent restoring my registry with Rescue, rebooting back to windows and starting my game up again). Anyway, I've gone on now for far longer than I planned to but this issue is important to me because I love to try and use freeware. I've been doing this for several years now, (today's date being Sunday, August 13, 2000) and I've never had a virus or a virus warning, with any freeware or shareware that I have tried and the thought that I might pass a virus out is appalling to me. So, not knowing what else to say ... keep those virus definitions up to date. Thanks ... mikey ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, the above is long on details and description but it explains that program very well ... the "RESCUE by Ronaldo" link. ... http://www.softcom.net/users/mikey719/resc...screenshot.html ...... Now the second registry gem .... we all know how Windows 98 saves 5 copies of the registry in case a copy or two become corrupted ... this program will change that to 14 backup copies (or whatever number you want ... 20, 50) ... I think 14 would be enough in case of some serious registry problems, odds should be that some out of the 14 should be OK ... this is not a download, just simple instructions as to how to change the normal 5 backup number to 14 registry backup copies but there is a batch download available to make it all easy. All explained further down. At the web page you have to page down to the middle. Top is blank, at least for me. ... http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/regback1.html .... There is a link to "Bobstur's Batch File" in the article for his download that makes things very easy with this registry backup program ... the way they have the link to the download file I can't paste it here but the link does still work for this program at the web site ... it will be on Page 3 ... because the article is so long I edited out a good part of it ... on Page 1 there is a link for downloading the whole article in text but by simply downloading Bobstur's Batch File it makes everything easy and simple, if you would like a 14 day registry backup. Just grab both the article and batch download ... it explains that if you do a restore, you simply pick a letter to reload a registry backup. Bobstur's Batch File A very knowledgeable friend and all around swell guy, Bob Sturtevant, created a very crafty batch file which gives you more control over restoring the Registry. This batch file overcomes the serious limitations of SCANREG by making many more backup copies of the Registry easily and readily available. To look at it here you might think it is complicated, but in fact it's designed to be remarkably simple to use. We've made it available to you here in two formats: As text you can copy and paste into a plain text (Notepad) file and then save with the name CABREST.BAT in your root directory. Or you can click here to download a zipped copy of the batch file. Save it in a folder on your hard drive. After the download is finished, unzip it to your root directory. Either way, once it's in the root directory just leave it there and forget about it until you need it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Back Up And Restore Your Registry In Windows 98 Before you get started, we recommend that you print this article and keep it near at hand. When you first saw the title of this article you may have been mildly curious, but you may not realize just how important the ability to backup the Registry can be. I see numerous posts in help forums desperate for a solution to what seems like insurmountable problems which could easily be completely repaired by restoring the Registry. But there is one more important use for this skill: Have you ever installed a program only to find that the installation routine has either gone terribly wrong or has made unexpected and unwanted changes and even uninstalling the program doesn't set it right? This is just the sort of "damage" that can be instantly undone with a simple Registry restoration. The beauty of it is that it's dead simple to do. This information will guide you through the steps required to backup and restore your Registry. We will go a step further here though; we will show you how to increase the number of back up copies of your Registry as well as provide you with a small, simple and extremely powerful program which allows you much greater control over how you manipulate these backup files. The Standard Set Up By default, Windows 98 will make a backup of your Registry just once daily, but only if you reboot during that calendar day. The standard setting keeps a backup for each of the previous five days only -- a rather limited number if you ever get into trouble. Also, if you don't reboot for an entire day, Windows will not create a backup. And it doesn't matter how often you reboot, only one backup will be generated per day. This is critical because you may, through program installations or direct manipulation, make significant changes to the Registry during the course of your computing sessions on any given day. If you wanted to restore a version of the Registry from a point after you had made changes during the day you would be unable to do so unless you have more backup copies at your disposal. Remember though, each new backup will replace the oldest one archived by Windows 98. Improving The Standard Set Up We recommend that you make more immediate copies of your Registry on an as needed basis. Make a backup copy just before beginning an editing session or installing any program, even small ones, which modify the Registry. That way, should the results of your edits have undesired effects or if you make an error, you can simply restore the copy from a few minutes before, even if your machine has been rendered unbootable by your edits or installation. Presto - you're back in business. That it is remarkably easy to do this should serve to encourage you to be diligent in backing up your Registry. We will also show you how to make more than five copies of your Registry a little later on in this article. For now though, let's start with the fundamentals. To Backup Your Registry In Windows 98: Click Start/Run, type SCANREGW and click OK. This will launch Windows' Registry scanner and backup utility. Once complete you will see a Registry Scan Results dialog box informing you of the results of the scan (it will tell you whether there were errors or not) and asking if you'd like to create a backup. Click the Yes button and Scanreg will replace your oldest backup with a current copy of the Registry. That's it. It's that easy. If you read no further than this you'll have learned how to backup your Registry when you want, rather than relying on Windows' single daily back up. But we have much more good information here for you, so read on! To Restore Your Registry: In order to restore one of your copies of the Registry you must boot into DOS. There are three basic ways to boot into pure DOS. If you are in Windows you can go to Start/Shut Down... and select Restart in MS-DOS mode. The computer will restart in pure DOS (not a DOS box in Windows - very important distinction). Alternately, if your computer is already off, you can start it into pure DOS by holding down the Ctrl key as soon as the BIOS information clears the screen. As soon as the menu appears, press the Space Bar (or any other key) once. This will keep the menu active and allow you the time to read over the selections available. Choose Command Prompt Only from the menu. You will then be in Pure DOS. If you are having trouble booting your computer, you can use your ERD (the Emergency Recovery Disk) to boot into DOS. Simply insert the disk into the floppy drive and reboot the computer. It will do all the work for you. Any of these choices will get you into pure DOS. Once there you can restore or even make another backup copy of the Registry. In order to restore any copy of the Registry, either a copy you made or one that Windows 98 itself made within the last five days, just type SCANREG/RESTORE. Using the arrow keys, select the CAB (the CABs you will see are archived copies of the Registry) you want. The CAB files are listed by date with the most recent copy at the top. Once you've restored the Registry, use the arrow keys to highlight Exit and then reboot. If you like, you can also create another backup in DOS by typing SCANREG/BACKUP. Then follow the prompt. This backup will work exactly like the one you made in Windows. There is no functional difference. You should now be able to boot back into Windows 98 normally, just as before you edited the Registry or had a problem. Now you know how to restore those back up copies you made. See, we told you there would be more good information. And we've just barely begun. Making Additional Backup Copies Of Your Registry The mechanism that Windows uses to control Scanreg is amazingly simple. It's just a plain text file called SCANREG.INI which you can easily edit with Notepad. When you run Scanreg, it first checks in this file to see if you've customized any of the available parameters such as the maximum number of backup copies, or where the copies are stored. To view and edit SCANREG.INI, simply click once on a blank spot on the Desktop Taskbar and press F3. Type SCANREG.INI in the Named: box, and type C:\WINDOWS in the Look in: box. Click Find Now and in a moment, when you see the file in the window simply double click it to launch it in Notepad. The standard version of SCANREG.INI should read something like this: ; ; Scanreg.ini for making system backups. ; ;Registry backup is skipped altogether if this is set to 0 Backup=1 ;Registry automatic optimization is skipped if this is set to 0 Optimize=1 ScanregVersion=0.0001 MaxBackupCopies=5 [We recommend changing this number to 14] When you practiced restoring your Registry in DOS as described above, you probably noticed that only four copies of the Registry are available to SCANREG. Even if you create more backup copies of your Registry as suggested above, you will only be able to access four of those copies. What's more, SCANREG will seemingly randomly choose any four copies. The obvious drawback is that you don't have access to all your carefully stored copies. What if you need one of the copies that SCANREG has not made available to you for restoration? ... Not to worry, we have a solution. Bobstur's Batch File A very knowledgeable friend and all around swell guy, Bob Sturtevant, created a very crafty batch file which gives you more control over restoring the Registry. This batch file overcomes the serious limitations of SCANREG by making many more backup copies of the Registry easily and readily available. To look at it here you might think it is complicated, but in fact it's designed to be remarkably simple to use. We've made it available to you here in two formats: As text you can copy and paste into a plain text (Notepad) file and then save with the name CABREST.BAT in your root directory. Or you can download a zipped copy of the batch file. Save it in a folder on your hard drive. After the download is finished, unzip it to your root directory. Either way, once it's in the root directory just leave it there and forget about it until you need it. A few preliminary notes: You will see a table which will allow you to select which CAB file to restore from. So, for example, to restore from rb009.cab, you look at the table and see 09 corresponds to the letter J. You type the J and NOT the number. This batch file assumes that your CAB files are stored in the default location, C:\WINDOWS\SYSBCKUP and that your Windows directory is C: \WINDOWS. If you have your Windows installation on another partition or located in some other directory then please edit the batch file accordingly. Take a quick look in your C:\WINDOWS\SYSBCKUP directory and make sure that you currently only have CAB files in the range rb000.cab to rb014.cab. (Note: rb means Registry Backup.) If there are any other additional rb-CABs move them somewhere else. The program must be run from real mode DOS (Command Prompt Only) and will intentionally abort if Windows is running. Note in that CTRL-C will stop the program at any point, and you'll also be asked one last time if you want to restore the files. About the only thing you could do wrong would be to restore an older backup when you didn't want to, but then you could just run the program again and restore the correct one, so don't worry if you're unsure which CAB to restore. That's it. Simple, no? Once in your root directory just boot into pure DOS and simply type CABREST and hit ENTER. The rest is cake. Summary As you've seen, this whole process is much more difficult to explain than it is to use. Once you understand how to backup and then restore your Registry you can do it in a flash. The batch file provided should make it even easier. The versatility that this knowledge allows you should help you avoid problems or repair them quickly rather than end up stressing out because you have to reinstall Windows 98. Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The third registry backup program is a simple backup program called "COP 2.2 by Plato" ... it's just good for a quick registry backup just before you want to try out some software ... if something goes wrong, you uninstall the software and run COP and you are good to go again ... it does have a few little extras also. ... http://www.bootdisk.com/cop.htm .... Hope these programs will be of some use .... ...

... submix8c gave you the link to Auto-Patcher which is very good. I will give you the link to all the official and some unofficial updates by MDGx, in case that is really all you want. ... http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=89232 ..... Install Win 98SE and follow the "order of install" instructions that MDGx has in his download. Auto-Patcher has the Win 98SE updates with lots of extras that you might want .... the MDGx download is mostly the Win 98SE updates with some extras also ... both will bring Win 98SE into the 21st Century. ...