os2fan2

In Win2k, you create the structure that you want, and then change the settings in the present boot. Copy the files to the new structure, and reboot.

You can quite easily unpack a service pack, and uninstall it from there. That is, regardless of whether you install SP6B from an archive packed or unpacked, the result is still the same. Windows NT4 does not have this checksum nonsence. You can quite easily stick whatever you want into any service pack, or even the base install. The name comes from an installed version of 6B, complete with the rollup of later stuff. One should note that NT4 is 1996 vintage. Microsoft had from then gone from pleading that IE was a loose tie-in to actual integration so hard that it is impossible to defang it in the manner of Win31/95/NT. Still, i learnt how to do Windows 3.1, and Windows NT (which are essentially defanged already), and then you have to forrage around for tools to do Win2k and later. The Windows NT4 package does work. I made one silly mistake in the setup files, but this is fixed up for the big one. It has directx 5 installed, the plan is to put 8.1 or even 9.0c (gosh) Still. It is nice.

The settings created by diskpart and the windisk.exe both reside in the system registry. Different installations of windows can maintain different drive letters. More over, if you add extra partitions to disk 1, and install a new Windows on that disk, the drives are different again. Each copy of windows essentially sees the drives as they appeared the first time, and remembers this order. You can use diskpart and windisk to change these to something else, but that is only for that version of windows. Even having something like a thumb-drive in the usb can affect the drive-letter windows is installed on, if the OS goes onto an extended partition.

Windows XP has no OS/2 support, but still insists loading OS/2 programs in the OS/2 subsystem! Enough said.

The SP5 files install by straight copy, as implied in the readme file. This means that they can be included in some SP6 build without error. We might be able to install defectx 8.1 as well, by the same method. If what Fred Vorck did with defectx 9c in his hfslip package is anything to go by, we might be able to install defectx 8,1 as a smaller package than the defectx already there. This could be done as a fixpack, so users have choice of installing defectx 5 or defectx 8.1 at install. I have two different defectx control panels (5 and 9), the former says the file versions in the defectx 5, and the win2k system (it has 9c), are vers 5, while the SP6 files are vers 4.06.1381. I have not managed to download defectx 8 as yet, so i leave this alone to this while. W

You should have command.com in a known location. The message is comming from io.sys, and it's because it can not find comspec. If you don't have a config.sys on your bootable medium, create one, and point it at the real shell, eg command.com or 4dos.com W

Winnt.sif can go anywhere, because its location is passed by a command-line switch to winnt32.exe. I normally regard winnt.sif as data file, and so there is a separate install tree for this. For example, if you launch winnt.exe from NT4, or bartpe XPSP1 (both work), winnt.exe is in the drives and directories as seen from these OS's. When Windows 2k installs, the drive-names will be set up as the character-mode setup sees the drives. This means that if you have a usbstick in, you will get a hole in your drive allocations. W

Should need to prowl through registry too.

You can use any name for your config.sys file. If you want to use this by itself, make a PIF file for it, and then go to the Properties / Programs page. The advanced button will allow you to select a file for the config.sys and autoexec.bat file (if these are different to the NT stuff). BUFFERS=20 FILES=30 DOS=HIGH, UMB SHELL=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM /P /E: 512 DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM 2048 X=C800-CFFF D=64 FRAME=D000 DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\ANSI.SYS /X You might need an alternate ANSI.SYS file here, eg PC-MAG's ansi.com or Nansi.sys. Windows NT emulates dos 5.5. You only need setver for a limited range of progs. You should run the proggie from command.com, if you need something like TSR's etc. A game might require it. Get a real command.com if you need this: eg freedos command.com, or 4dos.com. The NT command.com is a wrapper to comspec. Use drivers in the Windows %systemroot%\system32 directory, not c:\dos.

You then need a hotfix pack. This is so we can run something like [ProcessesToRun], because the update does not do this. You can use all sorts of interesting things here, too. You basically gut 299444.inf of file information, except for these three sections. Leave all the sections in place. [ProcessesToRun] "%systemroot%\system32\regacl40.exe" "%systemroot%\system32\schmupd.exe /n aspkeepsessionidsecure /f 1 /i 7043 /p 7043 /m 1 /g 101 /d 0 /c iiswebservice,iiswebserver,iiswebdirectory,iiswebvirtualdir" "%systemroot%\system32\crlupd.exe" [CopyAlways.System32.files] REGACL40.EXE crlupd.exe schmupd.exe [SourceDisksFiles] REGACL40.EXE=1 crlupd.exe=1 schmupd.exe=1 You go ahead, and add extra fixes, including entries to HKLM. [Product.Add.Reg] ; Leave the hot fix stuff here! ; This is a global kill parseautoexec for dual boot systems. HKLM,SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon,"ParseAutoexec","0" [System32.files] QBASIC.EXE QBASIC.HLP QBEDIT.COM HELP.COM HELP.HLP [Osldr.files] NTLDR NTDETECT.COM [SourceDisksFiles] NTLDR=1 NtDetect.com=1 qbasic.exe=1 qbasic.hlp=1 qbedit.com=1 help.com=1 help.hlp=1 The J386 project then is copying all of the Sp6b and SP6bhf files into a copy of the i386 directory. This becomes j386. You then point the installation to this, and you don't need to do any thing about reinstalling after updates etc. The latest patch becomes the update. The next step is to rebuild a batch file that will expand -r *.* to some temp directory, and unpack some zip file, to become the temp dir for the fixpack install. The same batch file can be used to remove this stuff, or you can use something else to do this. I tried using the compressed files on the cdrom (ie have the sp6a files already compressed, and the update directory as a subdirectory of j386), but this does not work

The next step is to build "Revised Service Pack 6a". You need to get hold of the files. MDGX http://www.mdgx.com/ has a good list (look for NT4 fixes), and basically download the lot (or what you are missing). You don't have to worry about whether they're workstation or server, since that is a feature of hotfix.exe, and we're not using that. Another good reference is: http://nt4ref.zcm.com.au/patch.htm Once you got what you need, create directories for each fixpack, eg for Q838138, create a directory with just the number 838138. This provides the essential sequencing of fixpacks, as some replace the others. Create a directory 000006 and unpack SP6a into that. ; Rem This is the SI stuff for 299444.inf. ; Add this into UPDATE.INF. and then copy the 299444 files over the ; SP6A files. ; ProcessesToRun does not exist in UPDATE.EXE, so we might need to use a ; service pack to add this into the system. We can always gut something ; like 299444\hotfix.inf to get this file, as well as deliver the XP ; boot files, etc. ; quartz.dll from 819696 ; itircl.dll from 825119 ; ProductAddReg, msan1.dll and mf3216 from 835732 ; psxss.exe from 841872 ; 841356 contains updated shell32.dll, ntlanman.dll and grpconv.exe ; but these are also in the SRP. Just have to figure which ones to use! ; the nw and ad files are NT5 vers, while the OS vers are NT4. ; ; You need to include these items into SP6a's update\update.inf. [Product.Add.Reg] ; Stuff from 835732 [ProductInstall.ReplaceFilesIfExist] CopyFiles=Netmon.files CopyFiles=Netmon.Parsers.files CopyFiles=FPSE.files CopyFiles=PhoneBook.files [DestinationDirs] Netmon.files=11,"netmon" ; %windir%\system32\netmon Netmon.Parsers.files=11,"netmon\parsers" ; %windir%\system32\netmon\parsers FPSE.files=65620,"Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\40\bin" [Drivers.files] floppy.sys netdtect.sys parport.sys [MustReplace.System32.files] quartz.dll [System32.files] ppp.dll,,,8 tcpip.dll,,,8 winhlp32.exe,winhstb.exe,,8 browser.dll,browser2.dll,,8 LMREPL.EXE,,,8 mprdim.dll,,,8 riched32.dll,,,8 riched20.dll,,,8 itircl.dll mf3216.dll psxss.exe [CopyAlways.System32.files] msasn1.dll [CopyAlways.Convert.files] html32.cnv ; Removed the =1, which causes an error [CopyAlways.IIS.files] rmiisupd.cmd,,,8 ; new section [FPSE.files] fp4autl.dll ; new section [Netmon.files] nmapi.dll PARSER.INI ; new section [Netmon.Parsers.files] atalk.dll bone.dll browser.dll ipx.dll ncp.dll netbios.dll ppp.dll smb.dll SNMP.dll tcpip.dll Trail.dll VINES.dll [PhoneBook.files] pbserver.dll [SourceDisksFiles] PARSER.INI=1 nmapi.dll=1 atalk.dll=1 bone.dll=1 ipx.dll=1 ncp.dll=1 netbios.dll=1 ppp.dll=1 smb.dll=1 SNMP.dll=1 tcpip.dll=1 Trail.dll=1 VINES.dll=1 rmiisupd.cmd=1 ; REGACL40.EXE=1 ; crlupd.exe=1 ; schmupd.exe=1 floppy.sys=1 netdtect.sys=1 parport.sys=1 fp4Autl.dll=1 lmrepl.exe=1 mprdim.dll=1 riched32.dll=1 riched20.dll=1 rmiisupd.cmd=1 winhstb.exe=1 quartz.dll=1 itircl.dll=1 mf3216.dll=1 msasn1.dll=1 psxss.exe=1 html32.cnv=1 If you don't install the referenced packages that add the five or so files listed above, you should remove references from here too. Note there is a great section of [Product.Add.Reg] from 835732. You need to copy most of this section (except the hotfix stuff), into here too. Then, copy files other than hotfix.inf, hotfix.exe into the SP6a directory, replacing existing files. This becomes SP6B EDIT: Corrected the inf file (see [CopyAlways.Convert.Files] section). W

At the moment, I have not actually slipstreamed in the NT5 sense. What i did do is to create a single SP to make up all of the released fixes for NT. This is the working file for what files to add to NT4, based on a number of references i found in different places. Basically, you have alternate source files from the Nt4 distribution, or the SP6a stuff (or in 2 cases, Win2k or WinXP). I used the same code to test different combinations of this package. This is the one that worked (ie ignore H and h). You should not at this point, integrate the NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM from NT2k or XP here. Use SP6a or SP6hf to do this. extproc rxloop.rex goto :end http://smallvoid.com/tweak/winnt/build_cd.html#WINNT4_SLIPSTREAM The slipstreaming of service packs is not available with WinNT4, as it was first introduced with Win2k. But it is still possible to do some tricks: Update these files on the install-image with files from the service pack (SP4+), as it will enable AGP support, remove 8gb limitation etc. $data $fsx Source file A,atapi.sys, atapi.sys B,bootfix.bin, B,bootsect.w40, H,fastfat.sys, fastfat.sys h,gdi32.dll, gdi32.dl_ h,hal.dll, hal.dl_ H,hal486c.dll, hal486c.dll H,halapic.dll, halapic.dll h,halast.dll, halast.dl_ h,halcbus.dll, halcbus.dl_ h,halcbusm.dll, halcbusm.dl_ H,halmca.dll, halmca.dll H,halmps.dll, halmps.dll H,halmpsm.dll, halmpsm.dll H,halncr.dll, halncr.dll h,haloli.dll, haloli.dl_ h,halsp.dll, halsp.dl_ h,halwyse7.dll, halwyse7.dl_ h,kernel32.dll, kernel32.dl_ h,ndis.sys, ndis.sy_ A,ntdetect.com, ntdetect.com H,ntdll.dll, ntdll.dll H,ntkrnlmp.exe, ntkrnlmp.exe A,ntldr, ntldr H,ntoskrnl.exe, ntoskrnl.exe S,setupdd.sys, setupdd.sys C,setupp.ini, setupp.ini h,tcpcfg.dll, tcpcfg.dl_ h,user32.dll, user32.dl_ h,win32k.sys, win32k.sy_ S,winnt32.exe, winnt32.exe h,winsrv.dll, winsrv.dl_ $end Fixes for A atapi fix From SP6a B bootfix From Windows 2k C corporate fix This is a well known avoid serial nr fix H hal fix. From SP6a S setup sp4 fix You need sp4exti.exe for this. $new _fixwin.cmd $loop $ compress -r -zq7 $f .. $loop $abcs $loop $ copy $f .. $loop $ABCS $end $a Install the service pack unattended (SP4+) Place the service-pack file in this directory: X:\i386\$OEM$\SP4 Create a text file CMDLINES.TXT in this directory: X:\i386\$OEM$ Open the text file CMDLINES.TXT and add these lines: [Commands] ".\sp4\sp4i386.exe -z -u" More Info MS KB Q168814 Make a shared directory with the original WinNT4 install files and extract the contents of the service pack to this directory. Then use the shared directory when adding components (after install), so you don't have to apply the service pack for every change. Note it is possible to create a bootable WinNT4 CD by using the boot sector from Win2k. These files are extracted from later copies of Windows, and added to the package. 1. bootfix.bin Default boot to hard disk. 2. bootsect.dat Win2k boot loader :end Windows NT thus prepared will install onto modern machines, but the 8G requirement still applies for the boot partition. You should not access other partitions until you install SP6a/b.

The instructions given here work just fine for Windows NT 4.0. I used something similar to slipstream the additional fixpacks into SP6a. You can even add registry hacks to HKLM this way too. Windows 95, Windows NT and Windows 3.1 were written when microsoft encouraged that sort of thing. I learnt the particular secrets from the Windows 3.1 (DOS version) resource kit. By the time Windows 98, 2000, etc came to town, Microsoft was insisting that IE was part of the OS, and made rather stiff process to prevent the install files and fixpacks from being modified. We see this with experiments like that Windows File protection thing, and a few other sorts of things, such as CAT files. The actual hack of SP6a to SP6b took me something like 3 to 4 hours. You end up with a single exe file that has all of the fix-packs and quickfixes rolled into one. This in turn becomes the basis of the J386 package, which is the slipstream of SP6b into the I386 files. This in itself prevents you having to reinstall the service packs and later fixes every time you change the system. However, you will find that with NT5, there is all this crap about digital signatures based on CRC or MD5 signatures, which means you just can't replace a file with another of the same name.

This is the source tape for "deltree". It contains all the goings on for the batch files etc. Most of my batch foles are woven in this manner. Extproc is a cmd/4os2/4nt command which tells the processor to let an external processor handle the batch. Here the external processor is weave.rex. You can fake the process by using regina.exe weave.rex zerase.cmd. Note that we use weave.rex as a kind of preprocessor type script. The settings table tells you where everything hides. This form of weave.rex was written largely for direct readability, with limited functionality. None the same, it supports writing binary files as well: you could have a relatively short weave script that makes blank bootable floppy diskettes! REGINA is a freeware REXX process. Google for Regina REXX. TSE4 is buyware. You can use an alternate sort algorithm. CRC is from the UTILSOS2 package, comes in DOS, Windows and OS/2. This makes the script work under OS/2 as well. extproc weave.rex goto :end Rewrite of zdelsame.bat !topic - The files to use !src !! home / work !!inc bartpe !inc part2 !lbl home !! The command drive !!set ydrv d:\ !! The script drive !!set yscr #ydrv# !! where the batch file goes !!set ycmd cdata\batch !! where uerase.rex lives !!set ydll cdata\batch\util !! tsort.com: oou !!set yapps d:\mswin\apps !! where the exe files go !!set ypath d:\mswin\exe !lbl work !! The command drive !!set ydrv h:\ !! The script drive !!set yscr #ydrv# !! where the batch file goes !!set ycmd apps !! where uerase.rex lives !!set ydll apps\dll !! tsort.com: oou !!set yapps c:\winnt\data\apps !! where the exe files go !!set ypath c:\winnt\data\mswin\sh !lbl bartpe !! tsort.com: OOU !!set ydrv i:\ !! where the exe files go !!set yscr #%SystemDrive%\# !! where the batch files go !!set ycmd Programs\Exe !! where unerase.rex lives !!set ydll Programs\Ini !! tsort.com: oou !!set yapps #%SystemDrive%\Programs\Exe !! where the exe files go !!set ypath #%SystemDrive%\Programs\Exe !say #ydrv#ycmd# !end This mob of settings is not layout specific. Also this is where we do the main batch files and rexx files from. !src part2 !set ytemp #_delsame.ba## !set ycrcx #ypath#\crc.exe -ls !set ysort #ypath#\tsort.com !set yrexx #ypath#\regina.exe !set ydeltree del /sxeq !set ydosdel del /sqexz !set yvoidtxt lpt2 !set ydelete del /q /e /x !set yutil udelsame !set yname delsame !set yldr #call lineout batfile,# !exe erasecmd #ydrv#ycmd#\#yname#.bat !exe erasecmd #ydrv#ycmd#\#yname#.cmd !exe erasecmd #ydrv#ycmd#\#yname#.btm !exe eraserex #ydrv#ydll#\#yutil#.rex !end !topic - The erase batch file. !src erasecmd !new #zvar1# !put #@echo off ##:: #zcomment##::~ Delete files by size, crc## !var #ydosdel# #ytemp#? !var #yrexx# #yscr#ydll#\#yutil#.rex /1 %1$ !var #call %temp%\#ytemp#t !var #yrexx# #yscr#ydll#\#yutil#.rex /2 !var #call %temp%\#ytemp#t !end What we do with the first command, is to write a batch file, based on the command options. This is then run, to generate the first round of output. This output is then passed through the delsame utility, to give a list of deletable files. !topic The erase.rex utility !src eraserex !new #ydrv#ydll#\#yutil#.rex !put #/* REXX #zcomment# */##/*~ ZDELETE utility */## numeric digits 15; parse arg option cmdtail; !put #batfile=value('TEMP',,'ENVIRONMENT') || '\#ytemp#'; # unsort= batfile'u'; sorted=batfile's'; batfile = batfile || 't' !var #sortexe='#ysort#'; crcexe = '#ycrcx#'; delete='#ydelete#'; !put #select; # when option = '/1' then call writebat when option = '/2' then call dosorted otherwise; call optwrong; end; exit !inc writebat !inc dosorted !inc optwrong !end !topic - writebat Here we read the tail, and write the command accordingly. !src writebat !put #writebat:; # !exe filewrite #batfile## !put #if pos('/?', cmdtail) > 0 !put # then call ttyhelp;# !put # else call databat;## !exe fileclose #batfile## return ttyhelp: !var #yldr# 'echo #yname# is used to delete files with duplicate size and CRC'. !var #yldr# 'echo.' !var #yldr# 'echo # run #yname# in the directory base where the duplicate files are' !var #yldr# 'echo # eg #yname# *.txt *r*.cmd' !var #yldr# 'echo.' !var #yldr# "echo #yname# uses TSE4's tsort, UTILOS2 crc and REGINA rexx" return databat: if cmdtail = '' then cmdtail = '*' !var #yldr# '@echo off' !var #yldr# crcexe cmdtail '>' unsort !var #yldr# sortexe unsort sorted !var return !end If the command option contains a /?, then a batch file is written to give help indications. This is what ttyhelp does. Otherwise, the role is to make a data batch. In the command tail, we replace '' by '*' because crc expects a wildspec. !topic - dosorted !src dosorted dosorted:; osize = -1; ocrc = 0; deleted = 0 !exe fileread #sorted# !exe filewrite #batfile# do while lines(sorted) incard = linein(sorted); parse var incard nsize ncrc nname; select when nsize > osize then call filejump when ncrc <> ocrc then call filejump otherwise; call delfile; end !! do while !!var end !var #yldr# 'echo' format(deleted, 6) 'files deleted' !var #yldr# '#ydeltree# #yvoidtxt#' !exe fileclose #sorted# !exe fileclose #batfile# return filejump:; osize = nsize; ocrc = ncrc; return !inc delfile !end By the time we get here, we have files sorted by size, crc and name, in the form as shown in the table below. The idea is that we delete files if the first two columns match. This overcomes the obvious ability to touch files and rename them, but not where the files are genuinely different. [D:\CDATA\batch\source]crc -ls *r*.* | sort 233 0x79C0585B "zrpn.cmd" 248 0x3483E3DF "descript.ion" 1577 0x71253737 "zerase.cmd" 5861 0xA31FB720 "nrxch.cmd" 6702 0x554C58FE "matrix4.rex" 6775 0xEE945191 "matrix5.rex" 24781 0x2FC9582C "ZRXC.CMD" It still is possible for different files to have the same crc. We can also do a trick where we leave undeleted files under a certian size, eg 5 bytes. !topic - - delfile This is what happens when we want to delete the file. deleted = number of files deleted (counter) nname = name of duplicate file #yldr# is command to write batch to file delete = command required to delete file !src delfile !put #delfile:; deleted = deleted + 1; # !var #yldr# delete nname; #yldr# echo 'Deleting' nname; return !end !topic - optwrong !src optwrong optwrong: !var #say '#yutil# is called as part of #yname#. Please run #yname#.bat.' return !end !topic Utilities fopen, fclose !src fileread !var #call stream #zvar1#, 'c', 'open read' !lbl filewrite !var #call stream #zvar1#, 'c', 'open write replace' !lbl fileclose !var #call stream #zvar1#, 'c', 'close' !end :end The output consists of two files, a batch file and a rexx script. This is the batch file. Note we use explicit paths to prevent files in the current directory being used. (These could be OS/2 or DOS programs!) @echo off :: Woven from zerase.cmd by Wendy Krieger on 20040604 at 21:34:58 ::~ Delete files by size, crc del /sqexz _delsame.ba? d:\mswin\exe\regina.exe d:\cdata\batch\util\udelsame.rex /1 %1$ call %temp%\_delsame.bat d:\mswin\exe\regina.exe d:\cdata\batch\util\udelsame.rex /2 call %temp%\_delsame.bat This is the rexx script. /* REXX Woven from zerase.cmd by Wendy Krieger on 20040604 at 21:34:58 */ /*~ ZDELETE utility */ numeric digits 15; parse arg option cmdtail; batfile=value('TEMP',,'ENVIRONMENT') || '\_delsame.ba'; unsort= batfile'u'; sorted=batfile's'; batfile = batfile || 't' sortexe='d:\mswin\exe\tsort.com'; crcexe = 'd:\mswin\exe\crc.exe -ls'; delete='del /q /e /x'; select; when option = '/1' then call writebat when option = '/2' then call dosorted otherwise; call optwrong; end; exit writebat:; call stream batfile, 'c', 'open write replace' if pos('/?', cmdtail) > 0 then call ttyhelp; else call databat; call stream batfile, 'c', 'close' return ttyhelp: call lineout batfile, 'echo delsame is used to delete files with duplicate size and CRC'. call lineout batfile, 'echo.' call lineout batfile, 'echo run delsame in the directory base where the duplicate files are' call lineout batfile, 'echo eg delsame *.txt *r*.cmd' call lineout batfile, 'echo.' call lineout batfile, "echo delsame uses TSE4's tsort, UTILOS2 crc and REGINA rexx" return databat: if cmdtail = '' then cmdtail = '*' call lineout batfile, '@echo off' call lineout batfile, crcexe cmdtail '>' unsort call lineout batfile, sortexe unsort sorted return dosorted:; osize = -1; ocrc = 0; deleted = 0 call stream sorted, 'c', 'open read' call stream batfile, 'c', 'open write replace' do while lines(sorted) incard = linein(sorted); parse var incard nsize ncrc nname; select when nsize > osize then call filejump when ncrc <> ocrc then call filejump otherwise; call delfile; end end call lineout batfile, 'echo' format(deleted, 6) 'files deleted' call lineout batfile, 'del /sxeq lpt2' call stream sorted, 'c', 'close' call stream batfile, 'c', 'close' return filejump:; osize = nsize; ocrc = ncrc; return delfile:; deleted = deleted + 1; call lineout batfile, delete nname; call lineout batfile, echo 'Deleting' nname; return optwrong: say 'udelsame is called as part of delsame. Please run delsame.bat.' return

It should not be that hard. I wrote a script that deleted duplicates out of a tree, but this was heavily based on 4NT / REXX / CRC / TSORT. Files with matching size and crc were deemed equal. I suppose i could have used fc or fcb to do this final test! W

There was an alternate shell floating around LitePC (makers of 98lite &c), which was a hexedited version of Win95 explorer.exe and shell32.dll. This allowed you to still run proggies that needed the win98 shell32.dll but use the 95shell. I ran it for some good time on some ancient pentium with 16 MB ram, it went OK. I have at various times, installed both SP2.1 and MDGX 98toME package. I did not see any evident drop in performance, from either kit.

I downloaded this MS-DOS 7,1 creater some while back. While the DOS it creates does look like Wengier's DOS, there are no win9x files in the package. It is a kind of Wengier for Win98/SE/ME package, it will produce a MS-DOS 8,0 if applied to Windows ME. It does contain the memmaker, dosshell, and msbackup, all of which have been free downloads from microsoft. It also contains some patched files for WinME, but these have been distributed elsewhere. It does contain some files from PC-DOS, from Datalight RomDOS and a few other sources, but these are a very small portion of the package. The vast bulk of the package is either assorted freeware that can be downloaded elsewhere, configuration files, and a few home-grown efforts. The actual "MS-DOS 7.10" is inserted into existing binaries by the utility CHANGE.EXE, This is a string-edit program that changes these from the batch file. The cdrom etc are also built from under windows (mkbt.exe), so you get either real floppies or diskette images to process later.

I played around with the diamond package some time ago. It seems to be heavily driven by setup-like files. I know that i did a fair bit of modifications to the Windows 95B package, largely to remove the ISP packages and a few other things. There was plan to integrate M!nus (ie a pruned P!us 95) into the package, but it only got so far. One of the files you have to pull out is SETUPP.INF, as well as LAYOUT.INF. It's a horrible mess, none the same. More later when i find the bones of the project...

You need a specifically formatted MS-DOS boot sector to boot MS-DOS. The version with Windows 9x will not do here. Programs like WinImage will create a boot sector with MS-DOS 4.xx-6.xx boot sector. A pc-dos boot sector won't do either. For formatting a disk, if a real DOS session is not available, try the freedos SYS. It has options that allow you to build MS-DOS, WIN9x, PC-DOS and DR-DOS boot sectors along with the standard freedos one. It works with pc-dos. (who but fanatic OS collectors has ms-dos or ms-os2??). You might want an older DOS disk, because some programs will not run under DOS 7, or you might be trying to recreate vintage systems in a virtual machine. The particular DOS i am using here is PC-DOS 6.31 (ie 6.30 + assorted patches, with this as a working title).

Doesn't SP2 make windows go slow?

You can easily add or replace files in cabs, either by removing these, or by redirection in the INF file. You need to get something like setupp.inf, or layout.inf out and put them in the install folder. Then create your own cab with extras etc in them, and add these to setupp.inf and layout.inf. W

Try http://snoopy81.ifrance.com/en/main.htm for proggie hight "willipad". The help-file tells you a lot about INF files, and the editor is INF friendly....

WinPE 2.0 is actually the smaller of the two WIM files in the vista files. You need to get the matching ximage.exe to be able to add things to it. W

WGA consists of two elements, a validation check, and a daily phone-home bit. The first element is legitimate, and is not deactivated by this program. This check is still preformed each time you access a website wishing to download WGA software. The second element is spyware, and currently the matter before two court-cases in the USA. The following program removes _only_ the second element, is found at http://www.firewallleaktester.com . It does work under Windows 2000, and still allows the validation to work under Windows 2000. W

I have a version of Windows 2.11 (w286 and w386 versions) and 3.01 lieing around here. Also, you forget WinOS/2 in 3.0 and 3.1 versions (i have both!). Although WinOS/2 3.1 has been upgraded with successive versions of OS/2 (ie 2.1, 2.3, 2.31, 2.4, 2.45, 2.451), it does not really count, i suppose... Windows 3.0 also has a subspecies Win30mm (multimedia extensions), but this is rare and hard to come by). There's also Windows 3.2 as well, it's a chinese release, though. Of the Win9x, i usually rate 5 releases, eg OS/R1 = 950, 950a OS/R2 = 1111, 1212, 1214 OS/R3 = 1998 (98fe) = OS/R4 = 2222 (98se) = suckers edition OS/R5 = 3000 (98me) = multiple errors