Mathwiz

I'd start with the unofficial 98SE Service Pack 3.nn (whatever version he's up to) and KernelEx 4.5.2; both are in the Windows 9x Member Projects subforum. They'll let you use newer software and hardware than you could otherwise. If your laptop has more than 1 GB of RAM, you'll need to do some extra work to install Win98; see this thread for more info. Edit: Just in case, I should mention that some folks have run into incompatibilities between the 98SE Service Pack 3 and KernelEx. I haven't had any trouble yet, but I only installed the "main" Service Pack 3 updates. If you do run into problems, you can install KernelEx to default to "disabled" and only enable it for the software that needs it, such as Opera 10.x, 11.x, or 12.00-12.02. (Opera versions newer than 12.02 won't work on 98SE even with KernelEx.)

That feature would come in handy playing video recorded by cheap DVRs like the iView, Homeworx, eMatic, etc. On FAT32 HDDs those boxes break recordings at 4GB boundaries and number them sequentially like that.

You'd need a 64-bit OS to use all 4GB of RAM. Not sure about Windows 95, but 98 and ME will use 3+ GB with rloew's RAM Limitation patch. It's not free but it doesn't cost much. Haven't tried NT4 or Win2K but I assume both will use the same 3+ GB. No patch should be needed for them. Win 9x/ME also won't use both CPU cores. Again I'm not sure about NT4 or Win2K.

Batteries? D'oh! That should have been the first thing we suggested. All this discussion and nobody else (including me) thought to mention the obvious, but better late than never.

My M$ wireless mouse and PS/2 receiver have switches, with the positions labeled "1" and "2." I assume that sets the frequency to use. (Unfortunately I couldn't find the actual RF frequencies it uses documented anywhere! I'm guessing maybe 418 MHz and 433 MHz, since those two frequencies are commonly used for these kinds of devices, at least in the US....) I don't know if wireless keyboards in Germany have a similar switch, but if they do you might give it a try. (Make sure to switch both the keyboard and receiver! If they don't match, it won't work.) All these problems could just be RF interference from something else in or near your living room PC.

I haven't looked at keygen.bat yet, but from the sound of it, I'd guess it's used to generate private/public key pairs. (OpenSSL.org is revamping their site and their docs are temporarily screwed up, so I can't tell much more at the moment.) I'll take a closer look tonight and reply back, but if I'm right, you probably only need it to create your own certificates, for one of two purposes: Client certificates (to be used instead of a user ID & password to identify yourself to a server) If you're running your own server and want to secure it with SSL (using wrap.exe in reverse of how you and I are using it)Edit: I was right. It uses OpenSSL to generate a private/public key pair. Technically, it generates a 2048-bit RSA key, which is the de facto standard for SSL certificates today. The public key is included in a certificate that is set to expire after one year. OpenSSL will prompt you for identifying info for the certificate. The batch file then combines the certificate and private key into a .pem file, presumably for use with wrap.exe. (Since the .pem file contains your private key, you should not give it to anyone else.) End of Edit. So most folks probably don't need to worry about it. BTW, here's a definition I found here for the .pem file format: Also of note, from the same page:

I used the default for Telnet; just entered the host name. For my application (an IBM AS/400) I had to add a couple more forwards (insecure port 8470 to secure port 9470, and the same for 8476 / 9476). But that's specific to the AS/400 and its Telnet client software. A generic Telnet application wouldn't need those extra forwards. All the presets looked correct. The HTTP preset is probably unnecessary for most users. It might come in handy for securing a connection to an HTTP proxy, although in that case the port numbers might not be the default. But I'd think anyone using a secure HTTP proxy would know what port to use.

Sounds like U-Verse. Totally locked down to AT&T's equipment. WMC would be pretty useless for anything like that. Anyway, what I like about WMC is how it's such a good "all-in-one" video system, combining the functions of a DVR, DVD player-recorder, media player, and streamer into one application with an easy-to-use 10-foot interface. Sure, you can get good separate apps for each of those functions, but nothing that does it all, and does it from across the room, as well as WMC. But, it's been obvious for some time that M$ has given up on it. So it really wasn't a surprise when they announced no WMC in the Windows 10 they're trying to push on everyone. But despite all that, I'm still holding on to WMC, so no Win 10 for me.

Very useful. Thanks. BTW, I've used a similar product called "stunnel" on Windows XP. This app does the same thing, and is easier to set up (stunnel required manually editing a configuration file, but this one can be configured right from the GUI). It uses a current version of the well-regarded OpenSSL platform (specifically, 1.0.1p) so it'll support all the latest SSL and TLS protocols and features. It could use a little more explanation, but it's not hard. For those who are lost; first, start the program. It's installed in "C:\Program Files\SSL Protocol" and is named wrap.exe. You'll probably want a shortcut to wrap.exe in the Startup folder of your start menu so it starts every time you boot up. Once it's running you'll see a "WIN SSL" icon in your system tray. Next, say you want to set up secure email on a client such as Outlook Express. Set up an account on OE with "localhost" as the server names for POP, IMAP, and/or SMTP (whichever protocols you want to secure). Tell OE the connections to "localhost" are not secure. Then click the "WIN SSL" icon in the system tray, click "Services," put the real server names in the corresponding protocols (and if you use gmail, they're already filled in for you), click OK, then minimize (don't close) the window. Now OE will connect to wrap.exe, which listens on localhost, and wrap.exe will make the secure connections to the actual server(s), avoiding the problems of Win98's schannel.dll not supporting new certificates and protocols. Secure email is the most obvious app, but you can use it with other TCP/IP protocols too. I used it to secure a Telnet connection and it works fine. Its only weakness is HTTP (e.g., web browsing). With email, you usually have only one server per protocol to secure, but with HTTP, there are millions (billions?). Luckily, for straight browsing, there are good alternatives to IE6, so a program like this isn't needed. But if you're using Outlook or OE, Win98 is still using IE6 to open linked images and the like, so email will work but you may see a lot of blank image boxes in some of your emails.

OK, I get it. The receiver has a USB plug but that's plugged into a USB-to-PS/2 adapter, and the PS/2 end of the adapter is plugged into your PS/2 port. Seems like you've eliminated the keyboard itself as the problem (you tried another one) as well as the OS (same problem with 98 and XP). That leaves the keyboard receiver, the USB-to-PS/2 adapter, and the motherboard as possibilities (although to me, the motherboard seems unlikely to be the problem). Assuming you have two USB-to-PS/2 adapters, one for the keyboard and one for the mouse, try swapping them. If that's the problem, that will either fix it, or change the symptoms (the mouse may start acting up instead of the keyboard). If that happens, you'll know the problem is one of the USB-to-PS/2 adapters. If not, well, I don't know if you have another keyboard receiver to try....

I'm not sure about a wireless keyboard, but I do have a wireless mouse (Micro$oft's!) whose receiver hooks to a PS/2 port, so it wouldn't surprise me. Was the different keyboard also wireless, or was it an ordinary, wired PS/2 keyboard?

Well, I don't want Windows 10 on my home PC because I'm a WMC user and Windows 10 doesn't have WMC anymore. (Actually I'm surprised nobody has mentioned WMC yet as a reason not to "upgrade.") So I removed the Win 7 updates listed by NoelC and confirmed that the GWX*.* files are now gone. But oddly, I was never offered my "chance" to "reserve" Windows 10. I wonder why? Have I just been lucky? My copy of Win 7 was a "system builder" copy because I built my PC from components (case, motherboard, etc.) bought separately (like in the "old" days). Even came with a "Genuine Windows" sticker I got to put on the case! Does the "free" upgrade not apply to OEM or "system builder" copies of Win 7? They did let me get the Windows 8 Pro upgrade for only $15, and WMC for that for another $10 (but Win 8 is on a separate HDD; I decided to go back to Win 7 until I "needed" Win 8, and I haven't needed it yet). Or did M$ detect WMC's daily downloads of TV guide data and decide I wouldn't be interested since I obviously use WMC?

One thing y'all may have forgotten: many https: sites have blocked SSL 3.0 connections since the POODLE attack was discovered. By default IE6 only supports SSL 2.0 and 3.0. You need to go to "Internet Options / Advanced," scroll down to the "Security" section, and check the "Use TLS 1.0" box to work with these sites. While you're there you should probably also uncheck "Use SSL 2.0" and "Use SSL 3.0" since there are exploits known for both of those protocols. It's not a bad idea to do the same thing with other browsers. The details vary from one browser to the next, but the basic idea is the same.