Atari800XL

JFX, "Harkaz" has released his first (?) public beta of an XPSP4 (English only at the moment). I tried it on a clean XPSP3-ENU (as a standalone update, after installing with WinNTSetup, of course) and it seemed to work OK (very nice work by Harkaz!!). Then I tried integrating in into the XPSP3-ENU source, which seemed to work OK as well. But installing *that* version (SP4 integrated) with WinNTSetup was not a big success. Maybe this has to do with dosnet.ini/ txtsetup.sif (like the OnePiece pack), but I know too little about that to make a judgement. I you ever have some spare time, maybe you can have a look. But **only** if you have spare time, because I know this is not a priority, specially considering the OnePiece Final pack/ updated source is already working very nicely. It would just be so cool if WinNTSetup would support this one as well. Please share your views on this, if you decide not to bother, that perfectly understandable as well.

I was "archiving" all the POSReady stuff (documenting, saving all the tools used, etc), there are several options now to make new updated XP isos and using the new updates (of course people in this thread know what I'm talking about: POSReady=1, adding with nLite, adding to OnePiece Final pack, making a OnePiece AddOn, etc.). Thanks again for all your help. Modifying the POSReady updates for XP is not really necessary anymore at the moment, but I still think it's a very clever idea, maybe we're going to need it again in the future. There's one thing that wasn't really clear to me though, I'll try to explain as clearly as I can: - To save the "first part" of a localized update file, I did what I was told, and searched for the third occurence of the "MSCF" string. Then I deleted everything following that byte and saved the first part. For a Dutch update exe, this left me with a 44544 byte file. - However, when I used copy /b to add this SFX module to the modified cab, it didn't work ("This is not a valid Windows program", or similar error). - When I used a different update file (same version: 6.3.13.0) from a different KBxxxx update, things worked correctly. This one had the exact same filesize: 44544 bytes, both files were not 100% the same though, I believe the "padding" area was different. I don't have the exact difference available at the moment, but I could check if you want. So my question is: How can I tell which one is supposed to work? Granted, this is not of the utmost importance at the moment (now that we have "POSReady=1"), but I was just wondering what I'm missing here. Thanks...

...edit mishap...

Harkaz, I was just "archiving" this, but there's a tiny mistake here. There should be an "x" right after the " -r:", so: "-r:E8" should be "-r:xE8". We might need this one after all some day in the future Thanks once more for your work!

Well, the POSReady/Installed=1 tweak is getting a lot of press now, eg. one of the biggest Dutch PC news sites: http://tweakers.net/nieuws/96252/windows-xp-gebruikers-kunnen-door-registerhack-updates-blijven-ontvangen.html If microsoft would decide to "do something about it", maybe we'll have to go back to modding the update files, so please harkaz, keep the original instructions available here!

Thank you so much, I was a bit when Nonno Fabio didn't add it here, in his box folder. But I guess the .NET update is not a true POSReady update, that must be the reason. Thanks again!!!!!!!!1

As long as we're on the subject of the .NET update: could anyone please explain what is the best way to integrate this into my updated XP source? I'm not a pro on this subject, but I managed to create a fully updated iso with Ryan integrator (using Nonno Fabio's localized Final Updatepack). Also, Nonno Fabio explained how to add kb2953522 and kb2926765 (and future POSReady updates) in an extra Addon pack (as he doesn't want to include them in an "official" Updatepack himself). All of this is working nicely, but the .NET update is not mentioned in his tutorial. So now I'm wondering what's the best way to add it: - Can I just add the .NET update to the "source" folder of DXUPAC creator? - If so, can I use the original update, or do I need the modified version? - Or will this not work at all, and should I use nLite (as I understand it, nLite should always be used *after* using Ryan integrator). I hope this question makes sense, I would just like to know how to create a fully updated XP iso. Thanks for listening...

Thanks JFX, knowing that you find it interesting is reward enough for me :-) Well, I could have edited/ deleted the whole first part, but I thought it might be an interesting read after all. If it's really only one reg tweak, I can add it in my postinstall system, time will tell. Thanks again!

Thanks Sebijk, this is getting better and better. Now I'm wondering why Myrrh would use the "ProductSuite" entry, though... Together with Nonno Fabio's "Final" XP updatepack (and the post-EOL/POSReady addon packs, that you can create relatively easy with his great DXUPAC tool), this seems to be a very nice, clean and simple solution!

Sebijk, I just read a similar post on MDL Only Myrrh uses two registry entries. Are you sure this single WAP\POSReady entry is enough? Also, I tested the Myrrh mod from "outside" (offline regedit, with Win8PESE), how did you do the edit? Thanks for mentioning, this looks quite promising (I'm on XP with Myrrh-mod right now).

(please read the edit at the bottom first) JFX, I just read an interesting post on MDL by Myrrh He used offline registry editing to make XP think it's a POSReady system. This way, the system will receive new updates, probably until 2019: HKLM\System\ControlSetXXX\Control\ProductOptions:ProductSuite==EmbeddedNT HKLM\System\WPA\POSReady\Installed==DWORD:1 Now I'm sure this could be seen as a "dirty hack" by some, but I just tested it and it seems to work (more testing needed, though...). I was just wondering if you would give your opinion on this, would this be a good idea? Also, is there a way for this mod to be integrated into WinNTSetup? If not, do you have any tips on integrating this into some kind of "RunAfter" cmd or exe? I'm really interested to learn what your opinion is about this mod. Thanks! EDIT: Now it seems only the "Installed=1" reg entry is needed?! See here

Thanks. I was confused, becaue OnePiece/ Nonno Fabio didn't include them in their updates folder and the tutorial. So the .NET updates can be "treated" in the same manner as KB2926765 and KB2953522? (=extract, patch, repack)?

To get my own little Howto complete, I was just wondering: As the very first step (to collect the XP-post-EOL updates), what should I search for in Windows Update Catalog: - "posready" (only KB2926765 and KB2953522 show up) or - "xp embedded" (then sort on date): The .NET updates also show up. Do I need the .NET ones as well? I'm a little confused... Thanks!

Thanks for the tips on pechecksum.exe and gsar.exe, much appreciated, and added to my "XP-post-EOL" treasure chest.

Hey harkaz, that's very nice!!! Thank you so very much! I will test as soon as I can.

harkaz, this is not the same patch as tomasz86, right? When everything's tested, can you make a nice patch like tomasz86 did here

Thank you harkaz, all clear now. Sorry, don't want to rush you, please take your time. I never thought I'd get all this working anyway, so you're my hero already...

Well, I was talking about update.exe, and how you modified that.Never mind, don't want to complicate things. Please remind me: is there only one "update.exe", or are they localized as well? In that case, please tell us how you modified it.

Thanks harkaz, can you tell us which modifications you made (and maybe where this particular version is from)? So we can apply the changes to localized versions and/or for "safety"'s sake? Thanks!

Yes, working now in normal XP. So what error message would that be? It correctly asks to download the files now, so I'm wondering now what has changed, I certainly did not change anything on this particular XP setup. Thanks again JFX, you're the best!!!!

Thanks for the new version. A quick test in 32bit XP (old laptop) doesn't seem to work, though? When I start WinNTSetup_x86.exe, there's just a quick flash. Maybe something's going wrong in checking for/ loading the tools? When I add the tools from a previous version, everything works fine in PE, but on a normal XP it briefly flashes, then quits. Test in (normal, not PE) 32-bit Windows 7: OK Test in (normal) 32-bit Windows 8.1: OK So it looks like starting from XP doesn't work, I'm not sure since which version this is the case, it's not a problem really, just wanted to mention it. If running from XP is no longer possible, maybe you can add some sort of warning, instead of just exiting? As I said, no biggie, thanks again for the new version!!!!

Well sorry, I screwed up yesterday (must have had my tests messed up somehow). The new beta2 works perfectly on the new (unchanged) Nonno pack, I can confirm. Works with both "XPSP3 with NonnoPack" and "XPSP3 with NonnoPack + slightly nLited". To be sure that beta2 indeed is the solution here, I tested again with the previous WinNTSetup version, and as expected, the 5 files were not found. For that case, there's the "add the files manually" solution. So the new beta2 is VERY welcome after all! Sorry for confusing things... EDIT: To make this post slightly more useful, I would like to add a little plug (advertisement) for Nonno's new pack. One of the great things about it is that you can enter these settings in Winnt.sif, to turn off certain components you don't need in a setup: (and of course, with WinNTSetup it's easy to have more than one Winnt.sif around). eg.: [Components] ... WDSearch = off ... These are the components you can add here (use the component name on the left only, followed by "= off"). BitLockerToGo = BitLocker To Go Reader BrowserChoice = Browser Choice DirectX = DirectX Post-SP3 Update ICCDSCD = Windows Feature Pack for Storage IMAPI2 = Image Mastering API MDX = DirectX Managed Code MSXML4 = MSXML 4.0 SP3 Parser (KB2721691) MU = Microsoft Update NETFX30 = Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Service Pack 2 NETFX35 = Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 NETFX40 = Microsoft .NET Framework 4 PowerShell = Windows PowerShell PowerShellISE = Windows PowerShell ISE Silverlight = Microsoft Silverlight WDSearch = Windows Desktop Search WgaNotify = Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications WinRM = Windows Remote Management (WS-Management) WRMC = Windows Rights Management Client XP_EOS = Microsoft Windows XP End of Service Notification

bphlpt, thanks, and yes, I agree with you. It's up to JFX... I will test the new beta2 again with an unmodified OnePiece pack (maybe 2 or 3 more times), but if it still doesn't work, I really don't want to "bother" JFX with it anymore, specially when the "manual" method works OK.

OK, here's the deal: Test 1: Took Nonno Fabio's tips to edit entries.ini, zipped up new pack, made new iso. Tested: Didn't help. Test 2: Used new WinNTSetup beta2: Also didn't help So it looks like JFX's original suggestion was the most simple and the only effective one so far: Just manually add the files to the iso. JFX, if it's up to me, you can remove the new "copy the 6 files" feature in beta 2, the previous version worked perfectly well as long as I add the files manually... (just for the record: beta2 doesn't "hurt" when I add the files manually, it just seems unnecessary now.).

OK, I will test as soon as I can. Remember, these issues were only with the new OnePiece pack, my other source had no problems, I hope the new change will not affect other sources...