Gurgelmeyer

Thanx Bilou_Gateux - I'm gonna give it a try. B)

Are you talking about a patched up install CD with IE6SP1 and all known (just 200-250) applicable ie-post-sp1/2k-post-sp4 fixes? Well - it's definately not available from Microsoft. That's why I started my Hotstream project B) PS - yes - I believe it is possible to make such a thing.

I want it to work with nlite if in any way possible.

Hi, The complete unfficial SP5 (which includes all the non-security hotfixes) won't be out until Microsoft's own Update Rollup is RTW, because they have to be 100% compatible. Also I need to work on the /integrate option. Hope to have the Option Pack with all Security related hotfixes ready next month. Beta period will not be long, so hopefully it's final no later than May. I'm working like crazy on this project - but it is very important to me to get everything right. B) Best regards, Gurgelmeyer

Have you tried a step-by-step confirmation to see where things start to go wrong?

Actually, a huge market research done (for a company I know) in Q2 2004 revealed, that Win 98 were by far the most common business OS at the time. That's just one year ago. Go figure...

Out of curiosity, which tool is it? jaclaz <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It's just PQBOOT(32).EXE

I downloaded IE6 SP1 aready , is that what you mean ? i do see thou that once you've got IE6 sp1 installed that there are some other security updates, do i also need those too or jjust ONLY IE6 SP1 ? (99% of the time i am using firefox) Hi, Yes - you need all updates that apply to the optional components, such as DX9 and IE6SP1/OE6SP1 that you install yourself.

I am not sure that $Docs and $Programs are supported in 2k setup at all. I suggest that you place your $Docs files in $oem$\$$\TempDocs and add an xcopy command to the setup to put the files where you want them - something like xcopy %systemroot%\TempDocs %allusersprofile%.

Try pressing SHIFT+F10 when setup hangs - if it hasn't locked up your system you should get a nice command promt. Examine the files SETUPERR.LOG, SETUPAPI.LOG, and SETUPACT.LOG in the WINNT directory (use notepad) - maybe you can spot something there.

I often disable the Pnp OS option in the BIOS and pause the screen when the BIOS prints the Pnp info. You can match this info against the .INF file for the driver setup to see if you got the right driver. But of course, not all BIOS'es display the Pnp info at all.

Hi all I've changed my standpoint on XP components. Basically because I really miss some of the XP stuff not in 2k. So please post whatever you'll like to see in the upcoming Unofficial Windows 2000 Service Pack 5, and I'll look into it. XP components that I've already looked into include: WMP10, Themes Service, SHELL32.DLL, and EXPLORER.EXE. They don't run, I know why, and I don't have the time to do anything about it just now. Sry - I might make a generic middle layer for XP applications so they'll ALL run - but that's quite a project itself. I definately want remote desktop myself - I sorta can't live without it for much longer. B)

Hi Just a quick update: MDAC 2.71 (aka 2.7 SP1 refresh) + Q832483 + MSXML 3.0 SP5 + WSCRIPT 5.6 are now in the Option Pack. MDAC was complicated beyond belief - especially doing a safe uninstall. Next on my list are MSXML 4.0 SP2 + KB832414 + a few more base components of the same kind, but I've got the hang of it now, so it probably won't take more than an hour or two. The real fun starts soon, because I'll try to add IE6SP1 + OE6SP1 + .NET FW 1.1 SPx + WMP9 + DX9c + KBwhateverarethemostrecentonesforthosecomponentsthesedays. Any more suggestions for the Windows 2000 Option Pack are welcomed - but I'll not add anything from XP, because those things belong in a Windows 2000 Power Pack (which I'll probably do later). Shadow_Fi - if you want to test the Option Pack for me just send me a PM with a g/email address B) soldier1st - the Option Pack only requires SP3. Happy? The actual Post SP4 Update Pack (the one with the hotfixes) is not part of the Option Pack, but it is already being tested thoroughly (not by myself).

Bilou_Gateux - check your PM's Shadow_Fi - I'll look into it - but I can't promise anything, ok B)

I just remembered why I like to exit to DOS - I use a special tool to switch between OS'es (and hiding/unhiding partitions), and it doesn't run from within 9x. The 16 bit version requires "pure" DOS, and the 32-bit version requires NT. Thanx jaclaz and modicr for the links - VERY interesting stuff rjz, I don't understand why Microsoft abandoned Me the way they did either.

SFXCAB packaging is not documented by Microsoft, and there is absolutely no information available from Microsoft about it. I had to find out how to build SFXCAB's all by myself. It was not uncomplicated, and required some of the rather obscure information provided on CAB's in a document from 1997 - part of the CABSDK. I can tell you this much: 1 - The SFXCAB.EXE - the executable hotfix container/expander - is part of every Type 1 hotfix you download from Microsoft 2 - The big difference between SFXCAB (Type 1) and WExtract (aka IExpress) (Type 2) packages is, that in an SFXCAB the actual file cabinet (.CAB) is stored within the PE image itself, and in a WExtract the file cabinet and other information is stored as resources attached to the executable. 3 - The file cabinets - in both SFXCAB and WExtract - are compressed with LZX 21 compression. You can create such a cabinet file with the CABARC.EXE tool. Look here. Generally SFXCAB's are only useful if you know how UPDATE.EXE works, and if you know about cryptography. Also, you will need some programming skills to help UPDATE.EXE overcome some of its limitations B)

Thanks, Shadow_Fi It's hard to get the Themes service running in 2k. Often thought about it thoug. Maybe I'll make a "Power Pack" too with stuff from XP. Update: I just received the last missing hotfixes for 2K. Now I have ALL hotfixes for 2000 Pro + Server + Adv Server + Dtc Server + Windows Powered (rare edition of 2K). I'll get on with the Option Pack now. Got a few hotfixes for MDAC and XML3 SP5 + XML4 SP2 to add, and I also need to handle MDAC 2.6 upgrades. B)

Well - I know I shouldn't exit to DOS. I don't even have a valid excuse for it.

OE once lost all my business correspondance for more than 3 years. I was just doing a backup, and had erased the old CD-RW - worst possible timing. Same thing happened to a friend of mine. Never trusted it since that.

I ran Me for awhile. It was definately way faster than any other Windows and way more reliable than 98SE. On my equipment that is!! One thing to remember is, that SR is BROKEN in Me, and - over time - it may cause crashes and performance degrades. There's an update on WU that makes it work a little better. But a much better solution is to swith it off entirely as the very first thing after installing the OS. The only reason I've reverted to 98SE is, that Me cannot exit to DOS, and I want to do that sometimes.

Find the Network Settings, and choose Windows Logon rather than Network Logon or Windows Family logon. Always works for me

In the "old days" IDE masters always had better transfer rates than slaves. I don't know if this is still true - but a secondary master will allways perform as least as good as a primary slave I think. If not better, 'cause the swap file can then be placed at the beginning of the secondary master - in its own FAT16 partition - without occupying space from the OS on the primary master. If you are lucky enough to have Partition Magic, you can even format a FAT16 swap partition with 64K clusters - NT 4+ should support >64K clusters.

Update - the Option Pack is coming along fine. I've been in COM Hell for a few days now, but things are clearing up. I now have MDAC ready for the Option Pack and it uninstalls perfectly too - unlike Microsoft's own MDAC package, which cannot uninstall at all. B) Also got a few more server fixes for the Update Pack.

Thanx, prathapml So far things are going well - but if anyone are good (and I mean *really* good) at reading/creating .inf files I could definately use a little help to speed up things with the option pack. All the setup .inf's for each component need to be manually rewritten to fit the servicepack-like layout expected by update.exe. This takes time. MDAC 2.7 SP1a has no less than 6 .inf's....

OK - just to clarify a bit: I have also written a large app named Hotstream, which automatically analyzes any amount of Type 1 fixes and creates a new Type1 hotfix that truely combines them all. 1 - Using Hotstream I combine all known Type 1 fixes for W2K into ONE - an Unofficial Post-Service Pack 4 Update x (seen in the screenshots) 2 - I'm working on an Option Pack which will contain all the components usually downloaded from WU (MDAC,MSXML,IE6,WMP etc etc). It will be a single Type 1 hotfix too, and install all components with their latest updates in one operation. The Post-SP4 Update can be installed AND safely uninstalled on any W2K machine running SP4 - it doesn't have to be a clean install. It can also be manually slipstreamed - but I'll probably write a slipstreamer utility, or make /integrate work. The Option Pack will require SP3 only and may also be installed and safely uninstalled on any W2K machine. And slipstreamed. Both the Post-SP4 update and the Option Pack uses Microsoft's own hotfix installer to get the job done right. Another thing - and I'm a bit proud of this - is, that neither the Post SP-4 update nor the Option Pack will break ANY security catalog from Microsoft, nor do they mess with the system file protection. I use the File Signature Verification Utility to verify this.