VistaLover

... Be that as it may, I've witnessed the same thing on my own (i.e. on clips other than the one mentioned in the linked GH issue), e.g. on "SxVNOnPyvIU": yt-dlp_x86 -vF "SxVNOnPyvIU" => 95 mp4 1280x720 24 | ~23.64MiB 754k m3u8 | avc1.4D401F mp4a.40.2 WEB-S 136 mp4 1280x720 24 | 8.67MiB 277k https | avc1.4d401f 277k video only 720p, TV, mp4_dash 247 webm 1280x720 24 | 9.30MiB 297k https | vp9 297k video only 720p, TV, webm_dash 398 mp4 1280x720 24 | 9.48MiB 302k https | av01.0.05M.08 302k video only 720p, TV, mp4_dash 96 mp4 1920x1080 24 | ~64.60MiB 2060k m3u8 | avc1.640028 mp4a.40.2 WEB-S 137 mp4 1920x1080 24 | 30.06MiB 958k https | avc1.640028 958k video only 1080p, TV, mp4_dash 248 webm 1920x1080 24 | 25.13MiB 801k https | vp9 801k video only 1080p, TV, webm_dash 399 mp4 1920x1080 24 | 16.68MiB 532k https | av01.0.08M.08 532k video only 1080p, TV, mp4_dash ca. 300kbps for the video track for a 720p24 resolution is just too little, if you ask me; likewise for the 1080p24 resolution; notice how the Web Safari (WEB-S) formats have twice the bitrate of the TV_client (TV) formats ... FWIW, I don't consume that much of YT myself ; perhaps @j7n can share more on this ... Regards.

Well, both these missing DLLs are referred to as "dependencies" of wrapper DLL "kernelxp.dll"; but @cmalex has never provided them in his custom, XP-targeting, CPython assemblies, e.g. https://mega.nz/folder/jst2WJ5B#sknEpEBamwPomx8UULWuMA/file/igNWhbCb so he should know better ; in fact, I have tracked those wrapper DLLs (kernelxp.dll, ntext.dll, psapi.dll, ws2_xx.dll) inside below folder: https://mega.nz/folder/KxExlAiC#L9rAQ5kTCtlHgZUwaxMpgw/folder/Os1DmLgL and the accompanying README simply states: In any case, PyInstaller just issues WARNINGs, no fatal errors, and the resultant packages function as expected; so, these warnings can be regarded as "red herrings" and can be safely ignored; just my 2c ...

Well, it has come back again here ; I have to re-launch yt-dlp several times repeatedly to have the "tv_client" streams appear; most of the time, I simply get: WARNING: [youtube] ero26lcWXjo: Some tv client https formats have been skipped as they are missing a url. YouTube may have enabled the SABR-only or Server-Side Ad Placement experiment for the current session. See https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/12482 for more details WARNING: [youtube] ero26lcWXjo: Some web_safari client https formats have been skipped as they are missing a url. YouTube is forcing SABR streaming for this client. See https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/12482 for more details ... WARNING: [youtube] ero26lcWXjo: Some web client https formats have been skipped as they are missing a url. YouTube is forcing SABR streaming for this client. See https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/12482 for more details Well, this "poor quality" problem has now come back, but this time also affecting the vp9+av01 encodes ; an issue has been filed on GitHub: https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/14636 Nothing can be done from a yt-dlp standpoint ...

; starred and watching ... Confirmed : yt-dlp_x86_win7 -v [debug] Command-line config: ['-v'] [debug] Encodings: locale cp1253, fs utf-8, pref cp1253, out cp1253 (No VT), error cp1253 (No VT), screen cp1253 (No VT) [debug] yt-dlp version nicolaasjan/yt-dlp@2025.10.15.061641 (win7_x86_exe*) [debug] Python 3.14.0 (CPython AMD64 32bit) - Windows-Vista-6.0.6003-SP2 (OpenSSL 3.0.18 30 Sep 2025) [debug] exe versions: none [debug] Optional libraries: Cryptodome-3.23.0, brotli-1.1.0, certifi-2025.10.05, mutagen-1.47.0, requests-2.32.5, sqlite3-3.50.4, urllib3-2.5.0, websockets-15.0.1 [debug] Proxy map: {} [debug] Request Handlers: urllib, requests, websockets [debug] Plugin directories: none [debug] Loaded 1839 extractors Usage: yt-dlp_x86 [OPTIONS] URL [URL...] yt-dlp_x86: error: You must provide at least one URL. Type yt-dlp --help to see a list of all options. Splendid job!

I'm sorry. I have no idea... ... At least I got this figured out, as it was seriously bugging me ; the "what" is hidden inside a changelog: https://github.com/adang1345/PythonVista/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md Your v2025.09.23.052315 yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe binary has been compiled with a flavour of 3.13.7 which, at that time, supported only Win7+ ; Vista support for 3.13.7 came on Sep 25th, 2 days after v2025.09.23.052315 was built, but in time for the v2025.09.27.071342 to be built with a Vista-enabled 3.13.7 interpreter (this assumes you manually updated to the Vista-compat flavour of 3.13.7) ... What is still unclear to me is: a) were both versions built on the same OS (Win7 SP1 ?) ? b) were both versions packaged with "official" PyInstaller-6.16.0 ? v2025.09.27.071342: [debug] yt-dlp version nicolaasjan/yt-dlp@2025.09.27.071342 (win7_x86_exe*) [debug] Python 3.13.7 (CPython AMD64 32bit) - Windows-Vista-6.0.6003-SP2 (OpenSSL 3.0.16 11 Feb 2025) and v2025.10.05.061237 [debug] yt-dlp version nicolaasjan/yt-dlp@2025.10.05.061237 (win7_x86_exe*) [debug] Python 3.13.7 (CPython AMD64 32bit) - Windows-Vista-6.0.6003-SP2 (OpenSSL 3.0.16 11 Feb 2025) have been both compiled on a 64-bit OS, with the 32-bit build of Vista-compatible 3.13.7; why, then, is the next v2025.10.13.80600, built on a Vista-compatible 3.14.0, broken on actual Vista SP2 32-bit? I have a hunch, based on adang1345's notes: https://github.com/adang1345/PythonVista/blob/master/README.md So, the same 3.14.0 CPython will behave differently when run on a Win7 machine to when run on a Vista machine; likewise for the PyInstaller-packaged resultant yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe binaries; but this theory doesn't explain builds v2025.09.27.071342+v2025.10.05.061237 (which run OK on Vista), unless they were also compiled on a Vista SP2 64-bit VM ... FWIW, adang1345 has made a new release of 3.13.9 less than an hour ago, https://github.com/adang1345/PythonVista/tree/master/3.13.9 and issued a re-release of 3.14.0 along with the above: https://github.com/adang1345/PythonVista/tree/master/3.14.0 His changelog only mentions the addition of 3.13.9, though ... This one launches OK: [debug] yt-dlp version local@2025.10.13 [eafedc218] (win_x86_exe) [debug] Python 3.14.0 (CPython AMD64 32bit) - Windows-Vista-6.0.6003-SP2 (OpenSSL 3.0.18 30 Sep 2025) Was a Vista SP2 64-bit VM used in this case? And which PyInst version? This one launches fine : yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe -v [debug] Command-line config: ['-v'] [debug] Encodings: locale cp1253, fs utf-8, pref cp1253, out utf-8 (No VT), error utf-8 (No VT), screen utf-8 (No VT) [debug] yt-dlp version nicolaasjan/yt-dlp@2025.10.13.080600 (win7_x86_exe*) [debug] Python 3.14.0 (CPython AMD64 32bit) - Windows-Vista-6.0.6003-SP2 (OpenSSL 3.0.18 30 Sep 2025) [debug] exe versions: none [debug] Optional libraries: Cryptodome-3.23.0, brotli-1.1.0, certifi-2025.10.05, mutagen-1.47.0, requests-2.32.5, sqlite3-3.50.4, urllib3-2.5.0, websockets-15.0.1 [debug] Proxy map: {} [debug] Request Handlers: urllib, requests, websockets [debug] Plugin directories: none [debug] Loaded 1834 extractors Usage: yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe [OPTIONS] URL [URL...] yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe: error: You must provide at least one URL. Type yt-dlp --help to see a list of all options. Less puzzled now , but still with unanswered questions ... Time to call it a night, regards...

; and as I had suspected, just the "yt-dlp.exe" file was enough ; and if you 1. delete the 4 wrapper DLLs targeting XP (kernelxp.dll, ntext.dll, psapi.dll, ws2_xx.dll) 2. substitute files python311.dll, _overlapped.pyd, _socket.pyd with their Vista counterparts (thanks, cmalex ), you can even run the "onedir" distribution under Vista SP2 32-bit: yt-dlp -v [debug] Command-line config: ['--ffmpeg-location', '<redacted>\\FFmpeg', '--downloader-args', 'ffmpeg:-v 8 -stats', '-v'] [debug] Encodings: locale cp1253, fs utf-8, pref cp1253, out utf-8 (No VT), error utf-8 (No VT), screen utf-8 (No VT) [debug] yt-dlp version nicolaasjan/yt-dlp@2025.10.13.080600 (win_x86_dir) [debug] Python 3.11.4 (CPython x86 32bit) - Windows-Vista-6.0.6003-SP2 (OpenSSL 3.5.2 5 Aug 2025) [debug] exe versions: ffmpeg n8.1-dev-630-N-121254-g635cb45 (setts), ffprobe n8.1-dev-630-N-121254-g635cb45 [debug] Optional libraries: Cryptodome-3.23.0, brotli-1.1.0, certifi-2025.10.05, mutagen-1.47.0, requests-2.32.5, sqlite3-3.50.4, urllib3-2.5.0, websockets-15.0.1 [debug] Proxy map: {} [debug] Request Handlers: urllib, requests, websockets [debug] Plugin directories: none [debug] Loaded 1834 extractors Usage: yt-dlp_x86 [OPTIONS] URL [URL...] yt-dlp_x86: error: You must provide at least one URL. Type yt-dlp --help to see a list of all options. Best wishes ...

Testing previous "yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe" assets from GH, https://github.com/nicolaasjan/yt-dlp/releases/download/2025.09.23.052315/yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe doesn't launch under Vista SP2 32-bit ("K32EnumProcessModules" error); this one uses adang's CPython-3.13.7-win32 implementation. Both the next two following releases, https://github.com/nicolaasjan/yt-dlp/releases/download/2025.09.27.071342/yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe https://github.com/nicolaasjan/yt-dlp/releases/download/2025.10.05.061237/yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe launch fine here (Vista SP2 32-bit, see also my previous post); these two also use adang's CPython-3.13.7-win32 implementation. You've told us you build yourself the "win7" assets manually and then upload them to GH; so, what was the change between v2025.09.23.052315 and v2025.09.27.071342 in your building env that enabled Vista support for the latter (and the one after it) ? Likewise, what was the change, besides the CPython upgrade from 3.13.7 -> 3.14.0, that removed Vista support in https://github.com/nicolaasjan/yt-dlp/releases/download/2025.10.13.080600/yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe ? IMHO, this is not the root cause; see my comment just above about "v2025.09.23.052315 vs v2025.09.27.071342"; in any case, he's just providing a Vista-compatible Python interpreter, fixing the various Python modules shouldn't be his concern ... My impression so far about the PyInstaller Python module is: 1. PyInstaller==5.13.2 is the last one which produces XP+Vista compatible packages; but this one doesn't support py>3.12 2. PyInstaller >=6.0.0 target by default Win7+ systems (ofc, I haven't tested myself all individual versions 6.0.0-6.16.0); they say so on the module's PyPI page: So, my educated guess is that v6.16.0 produces, by default, Win7+-compatible binaries (but does this "default" depend on the actual OS the module is being run on? Have you tried building the "win7_x86" variants on a Vista VM with adang's CPython?) 3dyd's PyInstaller==6.15.0 fork is special in that it makes sure the produced binary retains NT6.0 support, because: https://github.com/3dyd/pyinstaller-builds/blob/d1a786dcb4316557df3c97f14e16cac7092b744c/.github/workflows/build-package.yml#L44 CFLAGS=-DPSAPI_VERSION=1 LDFLAGS=-lpsapi python waf all --target-arch=32bit --gcc where "CFLAGS=-DPSAPI_VERSION=1" is the crucial configuration! That is why I was, up until now, under the impression the working v2025.09.27.071342 and v2025.10.05.061237 yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe binaries had been compiled with 3dyd's PyInst mod... Right now, "we" should get to the bottom of this conundrum; but my clairvoyant skills are limited here; I've already described all I could think of ; as for using 3dyd's mod for the "win7" assets (since you're adamant you haven't used it until now), this won't hurt at all the Win7 users; plus, GH offers some extended retention of previous builds (10 last), whereas the dropbox "Vista" links expire/404/change etc., with the newer "Vista" build overwriting the previous one... As for the "downgrade", we can always nudge 3dyd for a newer build, though your previous request in his tracker has been standing idle thus far ... Thanks again (and really sorry for being a PITA ) ...

Thanks for the prompt explanation ; I'm probably being obsessive-compulsive here , but can you share the fixed "yt-dlp.exe" binary (I think that one only should suffice) inside the fixed (today's) "yt-dlp_x86_winXP.zip" archive? Many thanks indeed...

The previous "yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe" standalone binary from GitHub, https://github.com/nicolaasjan/yt-dlp/releases/download/2025.10.05.061237/yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe launches fine here in my Vista SP2 32-bit OS : yt-dlp_x86 -v [debug] Command-line config: ['-v'] [debug] Encodings: locale cp1253, fs utf-8, pref cp1253, out cp1253 (No VT), error cp1253 (No VT), screen cp1253 (No VT) [debug] yt-dlp version nicolaasjan/yt-dlp@2025.10.05.061237 (win7_x86_exe*) [debug] Python 3.13.7 (CPython AMD64 32bit) - Windows-Vista-6.0.6003-SP2 (OpenSSL 3.0.16 11 Feb 2025) [debug] exe versions: none [debug] Optional libraries: Cryptodome-3.23.0, brotli-1.1.0, certifi-2025.08.03, mutagen-1.47.0, requests-2.32.5, sqlite3-3.50.4, urllib3-2.5.0, websockets-15.0.1 [debug] Proxy map: {} [debug] Request Handlers: urllib, requests, websockets [debug] Plugin directories: none [debug] Loaded 1833 extractors Usage: yt-dlp_x86 [OPTIONS] URL [URL...] yt-dlp_x86: error: You must provide at least one URL. Type yt-dlp --help to see a list of all options. ... OTOH, the current "yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe" standalone binary from GitHub, https://github.com/nicolaasjan/yt-dlp/releases/download/2025.10.13.080600/yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe fails to even launch here : Is that a deliberate change? If it is, then allow me to say how disappointed I feel ... ; because you wrote previously: and afterwards: so I took that to mean: 1. You're gonna use adang1345's "CPython-3.14.0-win32" build to compile them, which is Vista+ compatible 2. Use the special, Vista-compatible, build of PyInstaller-6.15 (by 3dyd) to produce the standalone "yt-dlp_x86_win7.exe" binaries (as I believe was the case when preparing recent 3.13.7-based binaries) ... Why did you change plans ? Thanks again for your time and efforts ...

... When launching in debug mode the previous "WinXP_onedir" distribution, https://github.com/nicolaasjan/yt-dlp/releases/download/2025.10.05.061237/yt-dlp_x86_winXP.zip it reports: [debug] yt-dlp version nicolaasjan/yt-dlp@2025.10.05.061237 (win_x86_dir) with "win_x86_dir" being the correct "format" ; OTOH, when launching in debug mode the latest "WinXP_onedir" distribution, https://github.com/nicolaasjan/yt-dlp/releases/download/2025.10.13.080600/yt-dlp_x86_winXP.zip it now reports: [debug] yt-dlp version nicolaasjan/yt-dlp@2025.10.13.080600 (winXP_x86_exe*) What changed and... why? "winXP_x86_exe*" befits more the standalone binary, https://github.com/nicolaasjan/yt-dlp/releases/download/2025.10.13.080600/yt-dlp_x86_winXP.exe Thanks for any clues ...

Thanks ; they note: Hopefully, the brotli py3.14 wheel (file brotli-1.1.0-cp314-cp314-win32.whl) you kindly shared remains Vista-compatible; though, TBH, I'm not aware of any tests (within the context of yt-dlp or otherwise) I can submit it to ... Other than that, thank you for the details of the compilation procedure ; I agree it's not for the faint-hearted (or those lacking access to recent OS+H/W); when I, regrettably, find that PyPI misses wheels for a specific "module+module version+CPython+architecture" combination, I usually issue: python -m pip install module==specific_version and then let pip do its job in invoking setuptools+wheel to compile from module source; in the meantime, I cross my fingers for things to go as expected , which isn't always the case ; if the compilation succeeds, then pip will store in its cache a copy of the generated wheel, for easy re-usage; the local path to that wheel is being displayed in the command prompt window, so I always grab a copy from there ; of course, this is for pure Python modules, for ones with C/C++ extensions, a compiler must be made available to CPython (as you detailed yourself); CPython > 3.4 requires VS2015+, not compatible with my current OS ... Huh??? The above was meant to be written as: ... are compiled with adang1345's py3.13 (branch) implementation so that was a typo/oversight on my part ; apologies... Ofc I'm aware you've been using 3.13.7 for the win7 (+Vista) yt-dlp variants, that's why I wrote an update was due to recently released 3.13.8 ... ... That's your call, surely, but I'm more of a conservative person myself , who doesn't believe "the latest is the greatest"; however, if you're absolutely certain the yt-dlp code is fully compatible with recently released py3.14 (and the CPython itself doesn't come with any major bug), then go for it ; personally, I'd stick with the minimum CPython version mandated by yt-dlp, soon to be py3.10 (but it's also nice I can experiment with higher versions here, all thanks to adang1345 ) ... Best regards.

... Same is true (new bugfix release) for his py3.13.x builds: https://github.com/adang1345/PythonVista/tree/master/3.13.8 (seeing that your GitHub "Win7" release assets are compiled with adang1345's py3.13 implementation )

Pardon my asking , but which type of C compiler was used there? MS Visual Studio 2022 on Win10?

Hi ; well, cmalex's py3.11.4 assemblies (one compatible with just XP and one with Vista+) aren't currently being hosted on GitHub (AFAIAA), but they can be ; OTOH, adang1345's py3.13.7 assembly is already hosted on GitHub, and so is 3dyd's custom PyInstaller build used to make the Win7/Vista yt-dlp distributions; it may be possible, at least in theory, to author a modded GA workflow file to point to the custom implementations of CPython+PyInst necessary to package the Win7/Vista builds; e.g., upstream are using their own, custom, build of PyInstaller to create the "official" yt-dlp releases; perhaps a consultation with your "AI friend(s)" (or a question on SO, etc.) could prove beneficial in fully automating even the (currently) manually created release assets ; just a thought from a dedicated (hardly intelligent ) friend of yours... Best wishes !

... Hi ; most unfortunately, this isn't how things work ; Google , the owners of YouTube, have unleashed a war of annihilation against every kind of YT downloaders and they're NOT excluding/pardoning any of them based on the OS they're compatible with ; and, trust me, every breaking change Google implement (on purpose) isn't meant to leave "older" versions of downloaders unscathed ... XP-compatibility in Q4 of 2025 is also a concern for many Windows apps, not only Video Downloaders... I tend to stay clear of GUI media downloaders, so, alas, if you're in search for one of them, I'm afraid I won't be the person to recommend one to you... My own experience is that most of the GUI YT downloaders are frontends of the well-known CLI (Python) apps youtube-dl and its fork, yt-dlp; the GUI apps either use the standalone youtube-dl.exe or yt-dlp.exe binaries under the hood or use the respective libs inside their source code; as a consequence, whenever Google break youtube-dl/yt-dlp, the apps become broken, too ... Recently, Google implemented a breaking change of a great magnitude, which should explain your observation that yt-dlp and youtube-dl were impacted/broken, too, a stop-gap/interim solution has been implemented for both, but they were actually "stitched back together with duct tape", meaning they can break again at any time... More permanent solutions for YouTube downloading in those apps will leave, probably, any WinOS < Win10 uncovered (too early to tell with absolute certainty, maybe Win7 will be spared, but things are very grim for XP/Vista ) ; at the time of this writing, working versions can be found at: https://github.com/ytdl-org/ytdl-nightly/releases/download/2025.09.29/youtube-dl.exe (official nightly version) https://github.com/nicolaasjan/youtube-dl/releases/download/2025.09.29/youtube-dl.exe (fork of the above with a few custom modifications) https://github.com/nicolaasjan/yt-dlp/releases/download/2025.09.27.071342/yt-dlp_x86_winXP.exe If you're not familiar with those two CLI apps, am afraid this isn't the place to ask for help; however, ample HowTos can be found online with a simple web search, both apps have detailed wiki sections (assuming one already knows to invoke apps from the Windows command prompt) ... For developments related to both youtube-dl+yt-dlp, keep an eye on the dedicated MSFN thread: https://msfn.org/board/topic/184368-who-here-has-a-youtube-dl-compile-for-winxp Best regards ...