Nomen

Here's something about this random-port business: ------------ http://marc.info/?l=gauntlet-user&m=98450705427468&w=2 At 11:08 AM 3/13/2001 -0600, Talamantes, Jeremiah R. (TC) wrote: > Looking for some help and an explanation to these security alerts... > > The source connection info ":53" from "10.1.1.55:53" obviously indicates DNS > activity, but what type of DNS activity would utilize random porting? DNS queries go out from port 53 (usually) to port 53 on a destination server. When a query is about to be sent, the local DNS server allocates a random UDP reply port for the return response; the request effectively says "here's my question, send the response to this random port". That's why you're seeing random port DNS activity. The destination port is different to allow the responses to be associated with an active query. Why you get security alerts is because the DNS servers are aggressive - a query will be sent out, and if a response isn't quickly returned, another query goes out to one of the other nameservers for the domain. As soon as one of the outstanding queries for a request gets a response, the listener on the other ports gets dropped. If the response for one of the abandoned queries finally struggles it's way back, you get a security alert. ------------------- I just visited that site (www.rpg.net) with FF2 using it's default user-agent string - and the page came up no problem. Obviously in your case it is keying in on win-95. There was a comment in this thread about how your IP is now banned on that site. I don't know how common it is for an ISP to hand out static IP's (especially for residential customers) but I get a different IP from my isp when I tell my modem to disconnect and reconnect. Not to start a flame war, but I really don't see the point of running win-95 vs win-98. Yes, that site is stupid for blocking win-95. But if you're going to run win-9x/me, then whats the advantage of 95 over 98? Seems there are more limitations and troubles than advantages.

Looking at your list: 1) it's called a HOSTS file, and the use of it and the entries contained in it and ad-blocking in general doesn't necessarily belong in a forum focused on win-9x/me. 2) probably a single post would suffice for that. 3) I'd rather see a set of sticky-threads devoted to single applications, each containing info on how to make those applications run on win-98. Those threads need not focus on Kex dependency because the installation of Kex should be assumed as default for any given system anyways. 4) Don't care / less important than #3. 5) Win-9x/me doesn't need to be running AV software anymore - hasn't needed to for the past 5 or 6 years. 6) Not a fan of huge lists that need to be maintained. Software programs that are seen as staples or universal for all win-9x/me systems should be handled as described in #3, and that list is not necessarily a long one.

This discussion about the HOSTS file is somewhat universal across various versions of Windows, so I'm not sure it belongs in this win-98 forum. That said, here's what I can tell you about how use the hosts file. First, the correct file is not "hosts.sam". That is a sample hosts file. Windows only recognizes and uses "hosts". A good starting point for a third-party hosts file for the past 10 or so years has been the MVPS hosts file, located here: http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm My current hosts file is an old(er) version of the MVPS, to which I add my own entries as I encounter them. For example, I have many ad-serving google entries, as well as facebook and twitter (because most websites force your browser to contact those sites for one reason or another). Here are the google entries in my hosts file: 127.0.0.1 clients1.google.ca 127.0.0.1 googlesyndication.com 127.0.0.1 pagead2.googlesyndication.com 127.0.0.1 googleads.g.doubleclick.net 127.0.0.1 www.mygooglepagerank.com 127.0.0.1 google.tucows.com 127.0.0.1 googleadsense.ya.com 127.0.0.1 googlefastfind.info 127.0.0.1 google-analytics.cc 127.0.0.1 domains.googlesyndication.com 127.0.0.1 pagead.googlesyndication.com 127.0.0.1 adservices.google.com 127.0.0.1 video-stats.video.google.com 127.0.0.1 4.afs.googleadservices.com 127.0.0.1 feedads.googleadservices.com 127.0.0.1 imageads.googleadservices.com 127.0.0.1 partner.googleadservices.com 127.0.0.1 www.googleadservices.com 127.0.0.1 googleads.g.doubleclick.net 127.0.0.1 google-search.ru 127.0.0.1 google-analistyc.net 127.0.0.1 google-analytlcs.com 127.0.0.1 googleanalytlcs.com There is at least one entry I have that appears on MSFN.org: 127.0.0.1 www.gravatar.com Win-9x/me seems to have an advantage over the NT line in terms of the size of HOSTS file that you can have. For some reason, having a large hosts file has a performance impact on NT whereas 9x/me network tcp/ip or DNS operations don't seem to take a performance hit regardless how many entries you have in your hosts file. A good way to know what domains or sites your computer is accessing as you browse is to log into your modem or router and look at the outgoing access log. Just scan through the list and pick out domains / hosts that you've never typed in or book marked in your browser's address bar and add them to your hosts file.

Maybe this was posted somewhere else in this thread? http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-win98/download.html See also: http://www.storageforum.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-817.html and http://www.wilderssecurity.com/archive/index.php/t-350929.html

Something really strange about your 12 mb torrent. I found another source for the .torrent file, and was surprised by the relatively large number of seeds and peers (over 100) which is a large number for a software file that is specifically identified as being for Windows 98. I downloaded the file and submitted it to VirusTotal. Here's were it gets weird. VT says the first time the file was uploaded was 2014-01-07 17:58:04 UTC, and the last time was 2014-01-11 03:58:06 UTC (literally only minutes before my submission). If this file has existed as a torrent for (presumably) many years, then why was it first uploaded to VT only 3 or 4 days ago? And why are so many people downloading it? File properties gives the company name as "Acresso Software Inc" and file name as "Setup.exe" (not "Paragon NTFS for Win98.exe"). The wikipedia entry for Arcresso Software links directly to Flexera Software. I'm guessing that this file is identified as Acresso software because of Installshield. The file doesn't unpack with winrar or 7zip. VT scan comes up negative. I'll try running it after I post this - just in case my machine crashes. I've set the Kex compatibility to win-98se. Lets see what happens... ------ Well, nothing seems to happen. I've tried several Kex settings, and using cctask I can see the program does run when I start it, but it exits soon after, with no messages or any indication that it even started. Checking my hard drives - no new files or directories were created. wait - I ran the file through importpatcher, and if I understand the output correctly, it said that patches are needed for the file htmlayout.dll. I scanned my system for htmlayout.dll, and found it in windows/temp, with a time and date stamp that matches when I first ran the executable. So this file does unpack htmlayout.dll into the windows temp directory. Anyone know what that file is all about? ============== htmlayout.dll (931 kb) Version 3, 3, 3, 12 HTMLayout - embeddable HTML rendering and layout component Copyright © 2002-2012, Andrew Fedoniouk and Terra Informatica Software, Inc., http://terrainformatica.com Internal name: h-smile core, win32 wrapper Public version. Free for commercial and private use. HTMLayout contains libPNG (www.libpng.org), ZLib (www.zlib.org),libJPEG (www.ijg.org), AGG (www.antigrain.com) and PGBA (http://crl.nmsu.edu/~mleisher/ucdata.html) , special credits to their authors ================

Anything useful here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299656 ? =========== It is best to prevent storage of the LM hash if you do not need it for backward compatibility. If your network contains Windows 95, Windows 98, or Macintosh clients, you may experience the following problems if you prevent the storage of LM hashes for your domain: * Users without an LM hash will not be able to connect to a Windows 95-based computer or a Windows 98-based computer that is acting as a server unless the Directory Services Client for Windows 95 and Windows 98 is installed on the server. * Users on Windows 95-based computers or Windows 98-based computers will not be able to authenticate to servers by using their domain account unless they have the Directory Services Client installed on their computers. * Users on Windows 95-based computers or Windows 98-based computers will not be able to authenticate by using a local account on a server if the server has disabled LM hashes unless they have the Directory Services Client installed on their computers. * Users may not be able to change their domain passwords from a Windows 95-based computer or a Windows 98-based computer, or they may experience account lockout issues when they try to change their passwords from these earlier clients. * Users of Macintosh Outlook 2001 clients may not be able to access their mailboxes on Microsoft Exchange servers. Users may see the following error in Outlook: --The logon credentials supplied were incorrect. Make sure your username and domain are correct, then type your password again. =============== See also: http://www.imss.caltech.edu/node/414 ================ Installing DSCLIENT for Windows 9x In order for a Windows 95, 98, or ME computer to access the IMSS Active Directory, it is necessary to install the Active Directory Client Extension for Windows 9x software (also known as the DSClient), and make a change to the Registry to enable NTLMv2. This webpage provides simple step-by-step instructions that detail how to install the client and make the necessary registry changes. =================

Are there win-98se drivers for a GeForce 8400gs video card? The card in question is PCI (not PCIe or AGP) with 512 mb ram.

Maybe older versions work, but the current version gives me this (regardless how I set Kex properties): LIBRECAD caused an invalid page fault in module LIBSTDC++-6.DLL at 0187:6fc5483c. I'll try older versions...

My win-98se system has Office 2000 premium SR1. I recently got an error message (End Program-WMS Idle) when trying to shut down. All references to that error seem to indicate that it's related to Microsoft Office Communicator 2005. I had no idea that MS ever had a product that they called "Communicator" - seeing as that was the name of Netscape's email and usenet client going back 5+ years earlier. I don't believe that this MS-Office Communicator was part of Office 2k (I can't find it under my office 2K program group), and there is almost nothing on the internet describing MS-Office Communicator other than it was an IM client and was replaced with "Microsoft Lync". So - I'm basically asking if Office 2k had this "Communicator" component - or if there could be some other explanation as to why my system seems to be running this "WMS" thing.

There is far too much information and questions about specific apps that are being posted in scattered places within the 9X/Me forums that should be concentrated into their own sticky threads. It would be very useful for conversations about Firefox, Opera, and Flash to happen within their own sticky threads - even if (or especially if) those conversations, questions or answers involve Kex and/or Kex stubs. The stickies would include or start with what is known about any or all versions of the given app in terms of their compatibility with win-9x/me + Kex, instructions for installing the app (registry settings, kex stub entries, other tricks) links to installation files (current or old versions), etc. Just how many app-specific sticky threads are created is a matter for debate, but the list could also include Java, PDF readers, VLC, Other Browsers, Other media players.

It's not that I need a cad program to be able to print or send a job to the printer. These printers come with software to do that. What I'm looking for is a program where I can come up with the 3-D design plans for something I want to create. Once I save these plans as an appropriate type of file (usually .stl) then I can use the software that came with the printer to print that file. Most of these consumer-grade 3d printers rely on the owner either downloading cad files from sites like thingiverse or using google sketchup to create their own plans. Has anyone ever tried sketchup on win-98?

Having just acquired an Afinia 3D printer, I'm now wondering if there's any cad software that runs under win-9x (with or without Kex). Any ideas?

I've never had a 32 gb flash (thumb) drive that didn't work on my win-98 systems. I am leery of buying anything larger because of one instance of someone else's 64 gb drive that didn't work. I would like to know of other people's experiences with 64 gb thumb drives and win-98 (with maxim decim's driver). I note that the OP is asking specifically about thumb drives - not hard drives with USB interface. For the record, I'm not a believer in nor do I have any use for connecting hard drives to any computer via USB. It's a waste of time to use anything other than their native SATA interface.

Hmmm. I could have sworn I set the kex compatiblity to either 2K or XP for several different versions of K-lite before running them. I tried again, just now, and was able to work my way up through these versions: ffdshow_rev2583_20090105_clsid.exe ffdshow_rev2583_20090105_clsid.exe ffdshow_rev3176_20100102_clsid.exe ffdshow_rev3721_20110107_clsid.exe ffdshow_rev4225_20120105_clsid.exe and this time the install ran each time. So ok, I stopped at the last version (4225). At this point I have no idea if I've gone to far, or if it works or doesn't work. PS: This site is really a bear to post to for people that are really running win-98. I can only post using Opera 12. MANY other web forums I can still post to using FF2.

I've tried to install newer versions of K-lite, but the install ends quickly when it determines it's running on a win-98 system. I've tried to unpack the k-lite exe file using 7-zip, but that doesn't work. How do you get newer versions of Klite to bypass the win-98 check?

According to this: http://www.activewin.com/directx/features.shtml ============ DirectX 9 New Features There are many new and exciting features in all of the DirectX components. (...) DirectX Audio (DirectSound® & DirectMusic®) DirectSound support of 192+ kHz: The maximum frequency of sound buffers has been increased from 100 kHz to 200 kHz, where supported by the operating system (i.e., starting with Windows XP SP1). Note that this new frequency limit is not currently supported by DirectShow. =============

Ok, so I have VLC 2.0.8 installed, and it plays everything fine (including 192 khz / 24 bit audio) but I must have float32 turned off. VLC 2.1.0 and higher seem to turn float32 on by default, and this is known to produce distorted audio for some systems. So now I am trying the portable version of 2.1.1, and yes -> I can play 192 khz / 24 bit audio (including the test file) but only because I change the default Audio Output Module from "automatic" to "Waveout". The Automatic setting seems to always use DirectX (which doesn't work for me with hi-rez files). Another output option (Windows multimedia device output) also does not work. The setting for "Waveout" is to use "Microsoft Soundmapper". The other option is "C-Media Wave Device ($1, $64)" and if I select that, I get no audio, and diagnostic message is "waveout error: Waveout couldn't find appropriate channel mapping". When I had version 2.1.0 installed (it replaced older 2.0.x version) I could not play 192 khz/24-bit file no matter what options I tried. Version 2.1.1 still stutters on some 16-bit/44 khz flac files, and 2.0.8 plays the same files just fine. Here is the log output when the stutter happens: flac warning: an error in the stream caused the decoder to lose synchronization.flac warning: an error in the stream caused the decoder to lose synchronization.main warning: playback too early (-90136): down-samplingflac error: frame's data did not match the CRC in the footer.flac warning: an error in the stream caused the decoder to lose synchronization.flac warning: an error in the stream caused the decoder to lose synchronization.main warning: playback way too early (-179632): playing silencemain debug: inserting 7921 zeroesflac error: frame's data did not match the CRC in the footer.flac warning: an error in the stream caused the decoder to lose synchronization.main warning: playback too early (-91957): down-samplingflac warning: an error in the stream caused the decoder to lose synchronization.main warning: playback way too early (-184476): playing silencemain debug: inserting 8135 zeroesEdit: I have ffdshow (K-lite codec pack) installed Feb. 2010. FFdshow.ax version 1.0.5.2427.

So in terms of VLC 2.0.8 - for 24-bit/192 khz it doesn't matter if I have output module set to "Default" or "Waveout" or "DirectX", because Waveout will always be used (according to Module Tree output in message window) and I will hear silence unless Waveout device is set to Microsoft SoundMapper. Float32 for DirectX or Waveout can be on or off - it makes no difference. Properties for Win32 Waveout have 2 choices for output device (Microsoft Soundmapper / C-media Wave Device ($1,$64). I hear silence (no audio output) if I select C-Media Wave Device. If I select Microsoft Soundmapper, I can hear the music. Properties for DirectX have 2 choices for output device (primary sound driver / C-Media Wave Device). Now, when it comes to playing 16-bit, 44 khz flac files, things are different. If I force the output to use DirectX, and set float32 to ON, playback is noisy for a short time and I get blue screen errors and even if I get the desktop back, the system is unstable. I haven't tried, but I think I get the same (blue screen) if I set float32 on and set output to Waveout. My audio drivers are: - C-Media cmuda.sys (5.12.01.0042.6). - audio3d.dll + a3d.dll (Sensaura) 4.12.01.2008a - cmids3d.dll (c-media) 1.0.0.0 - cmirmdrv.exe (1.0.0.11) - cmuda.dll (5.12.1.135) - udaprop.dll (1.0.2.2) Also - Media Player Classic (6.4.8.2) and Windows Media player 9.00.00.3349 don't play the 192khz sample file.

When I was first interested in VLC 2.1.0 on Nov. 9, I downloaded the installer version (vlc-2.1.0-win32.exe) and ran it. It wanted to remove the previous version (which was either 2.0.6 or 2.0.8). I said sure, go ahead. So I now have fully installed 2.1.0, and the default for both waveout and DirectX was to turn on float32, which caused problems for audio playback (which made it really nasty-sounding noise). Even when I turned off float32, I couldn't play 192 khz audio. I then downloaded the portable (.zip) versions for several versions of VLC, such as 1.1.5, 2.0.0, 2.0.8 and 2.1.1. I ran those, and NONE OF THEM worked for 192 khz audio. I then downloaded the installer version of 2.0.8 (vlc-2.0.8-win32.exe) and ran it. It wanted to un-install the previous version (2.1.0) and I said sure - please do. I told it to delete cache and preferences during the install. I then started 2.0.8 and the default setting for float32 for waveout was on (I turned it off) and the default for directx was off. I then tried the sample 24-bit/192 khz file (the file I mentioned above) -> AND IT PLAYS. So -> VLC 2.1.0 is somehow incompatible with playing 192 khz audio files on win-98, and installing the "installable" version of 2.1.0 does something to win-98 system files that PREVENTS earlier portable versions of VLC (like 2.0.8) from playing 192 khz files. So when *installing* 2.1.0, what win-98 files (or registry entries?) does it touch / alter / replace?

I downloaded some music recently (2-channel stereo, 24-bit, 192 khz) flac files. They don't play on VLC 2.1.0 and 2.1.1 (I hear no audio during playback). During playback, VLC statistics shows the input bit rate (input, demuxed and content) all active, but the Audio statistics (decoded / played / lost) all show 0 blocks / 0 buffers. Even VLC 2.0.8 shows the same thing - no audio playback. I tried a test file that I got more than a year ago (2-channel, 24-bit, 192 khz) and it also doesn't play. The last version of VLC I had prior to updating was 2.0.6, and I know the high bit-rate files played on it, but I have to now go and find that version of VLC to be sure. Schwups - can you play any high-resolution flac files (24-bit/192 khz) with VLC? There are some available as test files here: http://www.2l.no/hires/index.html The file 2L50SACD_tr01_stereo_192kHz.flac is the smallest one (108 mb).

Does it make a difference if you turn off the float32 setting? I just downloaded this: http://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/vlc/2.1.1/win32/vlc-2.1.1-win32.zip It doesn't seem to require installation - vlc seems to run directly from the directory you unpack it from. So I ran it, and immediately checked the float32 settings and they were off. I then played a flac file (Acoustic Alchemy - Reference point) and it played fine. Bit-rate showed anywhere from 800 to over 1000 kbits/sec. I then played Yellowjackets - Live Wires (.wav file) 720 mb .wav file (I believe this is a DTS 5.1 file) with VLC reporting input bitrate of about 1400. Sounded great. But all is not well. I then played another .flac file (Pools - Steps Ahead) - with VLC showing only about 800 kbits/sec input bit-rate. It played in a sort of stuttering way - as if someone was opening and closing a switch connecting my PC to the speakers, with no noise or poping during the switching. I stopped the playback and ran VLC.exe from version 2.0.8 and played the same file - and it sounded fine. I played a few more large .flac tracks (Pat Metheny) with 2.1.1 and they seemed to play fine, but something I noticed is that there is a single stutter at the very start when playing many flac files.

Ok, I think I've solved the problem. First, I had to realize that changing settings in the advanced preferences always seems to require closing and then opening VLC for the changes to take effect. I found that the default setting for VLC 2.1.0 for Audio - Output Modules - DirectX and Waveout both enable "Use float32 output". Once I de-selected those (removed check-mark) the audio plays fine. I went back and looked at the settings for the stand-alone VLC 2.0.8 and float32 options WERE NOT CHECKED. So if someone wants to see if their win-98 system will play audio with the float32 option enabled, that would be useful to confirm if it needs to be disabled. Remember that you need to restart VLC after making these changes.

Here is the direct download link for what I think is the stand-alone (no installation required) version of VLC 2.1.0: http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/vlc/vlc/2.1.0/win32/vlc-2.1.0-win32.zip Or use what-ever mirror you're comfortable with. It would be useful to know what other experiences are for this version in terms of audio playback.

My current version of msvcrt.dll is 7.10.3052.4. The file is located in \windows\system and is 360,448 bytes (Apr 5/2004). I have msvcr70.dll also in \windows\system. It is version 7.00.9466.0 and is 344,064 bytes (Jan 5/2002). From DOS, I renamed msvcrt.dll to msvcrt.old and copied msvcr70.dll to msvcrt.dll and re-started windows. I made sure that vlc.exe kernelEx property was set to enabled (default) and tried again to play some music files. There was no change - audio playback was essentially noise (technically, not "white" noise or static, but strange frequency-shifted or maybe 4-bit audio instead of 16-bit?). I then downloaded the .zip version (stand-alone?) file vlc-2.1.0-win32.zip, unpacked it, then ran vlc.exe and tried to play an audio file - and again it was noise. Yesterday I downloaded vlc-2.0.8-win32.zip (again, I think this is stand-alone) and it plays audio just fine. Regarding msvcr70.dll - did I follow the instructions correctly? Do I have the right file?

A little while ago I installed VLC 2.1.0 over-top (or replaced) 2.0.6. Other than setting the install file to kernelX win-XP/sp2 compability mode, and also vlc.exe to the same, I haven't done anything else. VLC seems to run fine - except that it plays flac and mp3 files horribly - like it frequency-shifts the audio and it sounds really bad. I haven't tried to play any video with it yet. Is there anything I need to do (mess with codecs, edit a kstub file, etc) to get this to work? Edit: I've played various types of video files, and the video is fine, but the audio is horrible. PS: Is there any way to enable a "simple" text editor when creating or editing posts on msfn? I can't seem to type anything in the edit window using my default browser (Firefox version - Bon Echo) so instead I'm using Opera 12.