UCyborg

You can do that on your home PC, but not on others' computers, especially not on customers' at work. And I presume it's common for work computers at companies to be locked down. Not where I work, got Windows 10 Home there...seriously. ExplorerPatcher is also pretty capable of restoring useful features, but the problem are dependencies on MS's code, so when they delete it...which they are doing at slow pace...things will get pretty boring I think. Also like the weather widget, at least in theory, well it needs Edge WebView, so typical huge Chromium browser code running in the background, otherwise custom made, but really destabilizes Explorer, at least wherever I try it. Work PC running Win10 version 1809 seems to be holding up best if I turn off auto accent color changes when desktop background changes. But at home, either Win10 20H2 or Win11 23H2, either Explorer crashes after a while or the widget freezes and hogs one CPU core indefinitely. And nobody talks about it, maybe I should ask on GitHub. The only thing I haven't tried, I wonder if moving primary taskbar to a secondary screen could be a factor. That was supposedly considered a bug by Microsoft, who would've thought. ExplorerPatcher brought it back because number of people indeed consider it a useful feature. Also, Win11 has to hold a record with idle RAM consumption, got almost 2 GB with the usual stuff loaded and just looking at the empty desktop. But what exactly are we getting in return? That's with Microsoft Defender disabled, it's actually still doable, just kinda ugly as it needs more than just the obvious Defender service disabled, because otherwise it's stubborn and just won't turn off by any normal knob (eg. Group Policy). Another curious observation, Xbox Game Bar has been promoted to system component.

At least among Steam users, the Windows 11 usage has increased recently. https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey Huh, while setting Win11 up, I noticed a setting which at least in Win10 was related to timeline you could see by opening Task View. It's gone...while not recent news, kinda bummed. I didn't use it often, but sometimes it was nice to look at stuff I had opened in the past the way it way presented. Working on others' computers, the new context menus, very annoying! Why do we have to click more options to get to the old functional context menu to be able to do "Open file location" or whatever? Where did this mentality come from that they're making people have to click through more things to accomplish something?

Pretty much as usual, so nothing shocking, maybe even slightly better than usual. It's just, the things we have to do to get by, it gets old. A hamster can just sleep in the morning.

Not related to OS compatibility, but since you posted that screen with the red banner, it reminded me to bring up that they're serious about the free license and non-professional use. I used it at times at work when there was a customer that happened to have AnyDesk ready to be able to connect quickly, but I stopped using it since they started blocking with long timed nags about obtaining a license. So I have to stick with (licensed) TeamViewer for the most part. I liked the older version better that has labelled buttons on the command bar or however they call it, but one time a customer appeared that I just couldn't connect to, then it worked after I ran the update.

Sorry to hear that. It's such a time waste. Every day, same s***, it just doesn't end. Days turn into months, months into years and you start to wonder what's the point. At least during school there's some decent time off. Onto another thing, my phone's power button suddenly almost stopped working. Before I got out of the car after I got home, I went to turn off the Bluetooth, it was still normal, then 2 hours later I could barely wake it up. Not sure what now, may have to start looking for a new one. Hoped I would get some more years out of it. Even if I manage to take it apart somehow, no way I'm putting it back together successfully. Sigh, should probably at least adb pull data partition. Edit: False alarm, the button started working, so a temporary (software) glitch? Very strange.

It works similarly to KeePassXC's proxy. KeePassXC just happens to be a popular fork descendent from KeePass and that's how it communicates. Native messaging - stdio between the browser and proxy process, named pipe between proxy process and password manager on Windows or using Unix domain socket on other systems. Whether that's better or worse than HTTPS I shall not judge. Though HTTPS indeed strikes as the most straightforward since it's the most basic protocol any browser operates with. But KeePassNatMsg does bring an extension tailored towards KeePassXC to users of KeePass, so they can use another alternative if they wish. I personally consider the communication protocol just a minor implementation detail.

Never used ME, there just wasn't the time for it, went straight from 95 to XP. Never fancied Vista, used it long enough to know it's not for me. Confirmed this by messing with it in recent years as well. There were just less oddities with 7, applications on it were a bit more responsive and I liked UI better + more 3rd party support to augment interface further, although going multi-monitor, anything below 8 feels too simple to me. But 8.1 also felt like another Vista in some ways, don't remember what was wrong with 8.0, just recall that there was something that held me back then. I very much welcomed the multi-monitor taskbar, per-monitor desktop backgrounds, new file permissions dialog, but at the same, at least in 8.1, had fun with legacy DirectDraw (screens went blink-o-mania), had fun with Explorer going nuts and leaking lots of memory (not normally reproducible though) every time the desktop background changed...though I suspect smaller leaks are still there as-is, at least under certain circumstances, then at some point had an issue with default USB tethering driver, which I solved by updating to the one using newer NDIS version. Anyway, just few things that come to mind, I won't be too long, they may all have small things that work better in one version or another or one version has that issue, another has another... I don't know, Windows 10 version 1809 seems like a sweet spot for me, although trying installing 11 recently and using 20H2 for about two years, I'm not really sure where to go from here. Guess I'd get a bit more aesthetics back with 1809 and Big Muscle's Aero Glass, but otherwise, there's not much difference regardless of which version I use. Newer one could prove to be a bit more future-proof. I still like some bells and whistles there and there, what happens when Microsoft deletes the old taskbar code? Seems they're insistent on keeping some things dumb (default app management anyone?) and making others even dumber. Their reaction when 3rd party entities try improving usability of their OS? Let's recommend against such applications.

I don't think crx4chrome is doing anything else but what they have always been doing, collecting Chrome extensions and links to them on Google's servers. Maybe they just take "default" flavor, so even if extension exists in both variants, they may take V3. KeePassXC-Browser for instance, still pure Manifest V2 as they haven't bothered to update it yet. I seem to remember there being a special parameter for Google's CDN that can specify manifest version, would have to try some extension that is suspected to be still available in both to confirm that theory. BTW, got latest and greatest KeePassXC-Browser running on slightly older Chrome, should work on 80, old minimum was 93. KeePassXC-Browser_1.8.10.1.zip

Got it running after adding few polyfills (Object.hasOwn, navigator.locks, window.visualViewport) and changing few occurrences of array.at to an older, lengthier syntax. ZIP also includes modified KeePassNatMsg plugin and modified Chrome extension that may work on Chrome 80, though it's confirmed to work on version 86, old minimums were Chrome 93 and Firefox 96. KeePassXC-Browser_1.8.10.1.zip

Yes, I know it, 'been using it for a long time, though I've recently gravitated towards KeePassXC-Browser extension on browsers supporting web extensions. Its specialty, it supports filling one time passcodes. It requires KeePassNatMsg plugin, its configuration is very similar to the old KeePassHttp plugin, but it also downloads separate .exe as the communication mechanism uses Native Messaging Host. On XP x64, I had to modify the plugin to not request TLS 1.2 as XP x64 doesn't do TLS 1.2 and normal XP x86 doesn't either unless you do POSReady 2009 Updates. Presumably the following isn't required if you have an update that adds TLS 1.2. When you download the ZIP with source code from GitHub, you just have to extract KeePassNatMsg folder, inside you open /NativeMessaging/NativeMessagingHost.cs, where you have to modify this piece of code: protected NativeMessagingHost() { // enable TLS 1.2 System.Net.ServicePointManager.SecurityProtocol = (System.Net.SecurityProtocolType)3072; } I changed it like so: protected NativeMessagingHost() { // enable TLS 1.2 if possible try { System.Net.ServicePointManager.SecurityProtocol = (System.Net.SecurityProtocolType)3072; } catch { } } Also changed: public Version GetLatestProxyVersion() { var web = new System.Net.WebClient(); var latestVersion = web.DownloadString(string.Format("{0}/raw/master/version.txt", GithubRepo)); Version lv; if (Version.TryParse(latestVersion, out lv)) { return lv; } return null; } To: public Version GetLatestProxyVersion() { try { var web = new System.Net.WebClient(); var latestVersion = web.DownloadString(string.Format("{0}/raw/master/version.txt", GithubRepo)); Version lv; if (Version.TryParse(latestVersion, out lv)) { return lv; } } catch (Exception ex) { MessageBox.Show(ParentForm, "An error occurred attempting to check for the latest version of the proxy application:" + Environment.NewLine + ex.ToString(), "Proxy Version Check Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error); } return null; } The latter doesn't really help setting things up, just outputs an error message in case of error connecting to GitHub rather than crashing KeePass. Then you just follow the procedure at https://keepass.info/help/v2_dev/plg_index.html to build PLGX file. You basically just have to call KeePass.exe from command-line to build PLGX file, using parameter --plgx-create with the full path to KeePassNatMsg folder with plugin source code should suffice. I was in the folder with KeePassNatMsg and called KeePass from there, just in case as it should be a sure way for *.plgx file to end up in the same folder where you have the folder with source code. Then you install .*plgx file as usual, placing it in C:\Program Files\KeePass Password Safe 2\Plugins (or wherever you have KeePass) folder and launching KeePass, then you can configure it through Tools->KeePassNatMsg Options... and install Native Messaging Host. Any time you open dialog, it connects to GitHub to check for updates for the host *.exe, you must have working TLS 1.2 on the OS level, on XP x64 at least, it'll only work through proxy like Proxomitron to handle encrypted connection. While this was sufficient to get KeePassXC-Browser extension working on Chrome 115 XP backport everyone's talking about these days, I couldn't get the Firefox extension running, I modified its manifest.json to require lesser version of Firefox, it's set at 96.0, I put it at 68.0 (which I'm not sure if it's accurate, even with the following patches...), then copied Object.hasOwn polyfill at the beginning after 'use strict'; line in few files inside background folder that have a reference to Object.hasOwn. This got the options dialog running, but it complains about inability to encrypt the message and asks if KeePassXC is running. The polyfill was put in: /background/events.js /background/keepass.js /background/page.js The polyfill itself: if (!Object.hasOwn) { Object.defineProperty(Object, "hasOwn", { value: function (object, property) { if (object == null) { throw new TypeError("Cannot convert undefined or null to object") } return Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(Object(object), property) }, configurable: true, enumerable: false, writable: true }) } There should be a better place to put it in, but that can be figured out after changing whatever is required to get the core functionality working.

Ugh, sorry, forgot WDDM version should be 2.4 at least not 2.0...but I got Windows version right...2004/20H1 or newer. I don't think number of monitors matter, DxDiag just shows the underlying graphics card information for any monitor you select. Had to lookup Trigger II, appears to be a USB2VGA adapter, I suspect such devices don't have a temperature sensor either way. But plain discrete graphics cards on PCIe bus most likely do, so then just the software requirements should pass.

I meant it would be interesting knowing if anyone else using Win10 version 2004 or newer using WDDM 2.0 compatible or newer driver sees the issue with GPU temperature disappearing from Task Manager after hibernating or sleeping, also those that are on AMD or even Intel.

No doubt that you can. BTW, you're still a KeePass user, right? Do you use any extension in Mypal 68 to connect to KeePass?

I recall there was something about Mypal 68 and executing Web Assembly code...ud2 instruction was encountered and that threw crash dialog. There are legitimate uses of that instruction and a crash dialog (or kernel panic if you're in Linux kernel) are not expected (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7268352/linux-kernel-module-to-check-memory-integrity/7268558#7268558). And another one could happen when forcing OpenGL compositing, which AFAIK Mozilla never intended to be used on Windows in the first place, but works in some browsers with glitches. Not exactly performant either, but with it, you can have video in a web browser without screen tearing, which I find to be an unusual phenomenon on Windows XP. I did notice at the later point D3D9 compositing works as well as with the old Firefox versions and roytam1's forks, just needs to be turned on manually in about:config.

Aye, I suspected D3D9on12 requires higher feature level, although D3D12 in regular usage supports cards with only 11_0, but then you can't do as much with it as with more capable card, but it makes sense from game engine development standpoint to use D3D12 library to be able to utilize all available bells and whistles while leaving more limited experience for users with older cards (still better than nothing). NVIDIA does support their cards for a good long while. Kepler cards also get limited support until September 2024 (security updates), along with Windows 7 users in general. I think they have it as reasonable as it can get, seriously supporting a piece of hardware or software is not exactly trivial. BTW, found this: https://techunwrapped.com/dxvk-outperforms-d3d9on12-when-running-directx-9-on-an-intel-arc-a750/ What caught my attention more than DXVK vs D3D9on12 results, wow, Intel makes discrete graphics cards now? Anyway, I didn't get around trying the older driver yet, just not a big enough issue to deter me from messing with other things, but I'm still curious about users on other cards where temperature can be normally shown in Task Manager, especially those that don't use NVIDIA. Heh, maybe a better question for another forum, Vistapocalypse said it right when he said even Windows 7 is too new for many people on this forum. Edit: Wrapper for enabling D3D9on12, feature level 11_0 is minimum: https://github.com/narzoul/ForceD3D9On12

Made a big jump and experimenting with Win11 23H2 with the latest December 2023 cumulative update and NVIDIA driver version 546.29, the temperature still disappears in Task Manager, but no noticeable degradation in how graphics works in general. Interestingly, I have resolution 1440x1080 available out-of-the-box now, it had to be added manually before, it's the largest 4:3 resolution you can have on 1920x1080 screen, though it's been years since I used it for anything. I remember many years ago how newer drivers for GeForce4 MX 440 slowed games down to be practically unplayable, you already had to be extremely conservative with resolution, they looked pretty at 1280x1024, but had to use the blocky (on TFT-LCD) 640x480 for reasonable frame rates in any case. No such extreme issues these days that I can tell, though it's a funny contrast, having 2023 GPU driver while all other drivers are from 2010 at most. I read something about them running D3D9 games through D3D12, precisely D3D9on12. I don't remember specifics, not even sure I correctly understood that post, just seem to remember something along those lines was mentioned on VOGONS forum. Maybe it only applies to much newer NVIDIA GPUs, at least I don't notice any new DLL loaded related to D3D12 when running a D3D9 game.

Forgot to reply...while it's not a daily driver, I did use it for several prolonged sessions on XP x64, also made it consume most of my then 4 GB of RAM (I'm on 6 GB now ). I doubt my profile is anything special, but I did have to setup a specific compatibility shim to prevent crashes, which I'm not sure is still needed with current versions. I wrote about it many posts ago, nobody commented on it back then if I recall correctly...what a surprise, no one ever knows anything about my issues I post on MSFN...I'm always one-man army tackling them. I don't remember ever needing to generate crash dumps on XP, I'd have to learn it from scratch as well. We have it quite straightforward these days on current systems.

Since I'm normally on Win10, I don't use Serpent there, but I've also ditched Basilisk and didn't come back to it even after its development was taken over. Just don't like having to use huge extension to revert that Australis mess of UI to how it was before, and even with CTR addon, I remember there were quirks. Didn't even Tobin say at some point Australis GUI code is a mess of spaghetti code? Still, regardles whether you use Pale Moon/New Moon/Basilisk/Serpent/whatever, it's still plagued by issues everyone complained about back before Mozilla radically the overhauled browser. It's like tweakability has to come with CPU usage spikes, memory leaks, sluggishness with prolonged use. No one suffers with these issues while browsing the web...Chromium has minimal customization as far as browser behavior goes, but basics just work. Though considering existence and performance of Vivaldi, it doesn't have to be either one or another.

Trying out Win11 on real hardware for the first time, fresh initial version 23H2, using the good 'ol known tools for restoring/enhancing various functionality (ExplorerPatcher, OpenShell, 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, QTTabBar), noticed something odd with keyboard shortcut for moving windows between screens (Win + Shift + Left/Right arrow). The left screen has the resolution 1920x1080, the right screen is at 1280x1024. On Win10 (up to 20H2 at least), if I centered the window on any screen and moved it to the other screen with the shortcut, it would be centered on the screen it was moved to, but moving it on Win11, it's off by few centimeters. I didn't find anything written/discussed about it, TBH I don't even know how to word it. Wondering if it's a bug or just another intentional simplification and if there's a trick to make it work like it used to.

Release notes say something about GDI rendering improving remote font rendering over Vista level DirectWrite, so I flipped that flag over in chrome://flags to force GDI. While they render then, it seems to cause some misalignment of fonts in general here, how they're positioned in 2D space.

I noticed when trying out BasicThemer2, which uses functionality built into DWM to activate Aero Basic style window frames, which resources are still in stock Aero theme, that it then actually also follows *.msstyles setting for window title text placement (left, center, right). Did you use the same trick near the end of the video? I guess the text placement for normal theme rendering was always hard-coded, not sure whether it would be "correct" to take that same setting for text placement in "normal mode", though just judging by Explorer windows with ribbon, it should. I haven't checked if this basic mode also allows changing text color, either through the theme or registry settings, but it would be nice if this, along with text placement, was tweakable, in any mode, the basic theme rendering isn't compatible when the app does something with its own frame. If I remember correctly, the trick BasicThemer2 uses is similar to what compatibility shim DisableThemes does. I came across the utility when searching for info regarding Windows 11's frame/border rendering, last time I checked, it completely ignores theme resources for rendering normal window border, it's just always invisible while Windows 10's DWM renders it as usual. BasicThemer2 was suggested as the workaround as the rendering mode it activates still has normal border around windows. While default theme in Win10 lacks those borders, they are in Aero Lite theme and certain custom themes, as also evident in your video. So, another thing to consider if you get into tweaking Windows 11's DWM at some point, Windows 11 is catching on as the time passes.

Errors!

Anyone wants to check if BasicThemer2 works on Vista? It should, but few individuals feel like actually trying. It gives windows' frames/borders Windows Aero Basic appearance without having to actually switch to that theme and consequentially turning off DWM. May not work for processes that protect themselves from tampering.

4th page, first post.

There are ways to add CSS with JavaScript if you really wanted, eg.: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/15505225/inject-css-stylesheet-as-string-using-javascript