Gurgelmeyer

Actually - if someone made a 2k driver pack it would be nice

Finally USP 5.1 is available for public download. Enjoy this one Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

Sure - I added a fix for Japanese IME and I rebuilt the support tools .CAB and .MSIs. That's about it Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

There's a newer version of explorer.exe in all my USP's /G B)

THANKS for all your hard work Well - nothing more to say really - I'm uploading the final version right now. Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

Hi Fixed the support tools problem yesterday. Also I just added a reg fix for WordPad, a reg fix for the CPU HALT problem, and a hotfix for Japanese IME which I forgot. Are the servers coughing up blood by now? /G B) PS - Can I dl the VGA driver setup package which shows up as 'x' in ARP somewhere? /G B)

@donutbandit - No, this is definately NOT normal. Which file is it complaining about? USP 5.0 / 5.0 SR1 breaks no security catalogs, nor does it leave ANY patched binaries on your system. Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

AH - someone else figured this out too: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=59364&st=0 /G B)

I think the problem could be cause either by nLite or - more likely - by my IC package, because it expects OE to be installed. Fortunately the IC package will be obsolete when USP 5.1 hits the web in a few days. Best regards (and sry if it really is my IC package), Gurgelmeyer B)

There's a problem with the support tools - don't test those. I believe I know what went wrong. Does AD require a PDC btw? /G B)

Thanks for this - I really appreciate your efforts Generally, I included the DX patches for DX7 in USP 5.1 Basic. Corporate WU doesn't seem to offer (m)any updates for AD that aren't already included btw - just checked Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

@azagahl - so the "right" thing is to include both .NET 1.1 and .NET 2.0 and the managed DX9? Roger that /Gurgelmeyer B)

Hi I recently digged into this, and this might be the answer: the only hotfix included in the MSURP1 which requires an updated HALMACPI.DLL is the KB835730 fix. The KB article also mentions P4 HT and "the C3 power-saving state", so I borrowed a P4 laptop with HT and tried all post-sp4 versions of HALMACPI.DLL. Version 5.0.2195.6988 mentioned in the KB artivle and all later versions seemed to have this problem. Second time I tested I modified the registry after installing the KB835730 fix as described in the KB. That certainly made a difference with all versions of this file - even with the MSURP1. The registry change I'm referring to is this • Edit the registry Add a DWORD value named 14140000FFFFFFFF that has a value of 00000010 to the following registry setting: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\HAL Maybe MS forgot this setting in the URP1 (it's not there - I checked) ? Or maybe it only works with Dell hardware? Dono Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

Thanks @Janis - yep, I ought to look into (W)SUS. /G B)

Done /G B)

Hello everyone Well - I'm back - although my PC is overheated it does seem to run (and I do keep backups!). I'll have to go back to the hospital later this month, but for know I'm just fine Today is exactly ONE YEAR ago that I started looking into W2K hotfixes - so what better way to celebrate than to release USP 5.1 Basic Edition...? I intend to upload the final version later this week, because it's actually done now. And what's in it? MSI 3.1 v2, BITS 2.0, IE 6.0 SP1, OE 6.0 SP1, WAB 6.0 SP1, ALL critical updates from WU, all updates and fixes (including some non-publicly available) for IE6/OE6, and even more non-publicly available hotfixes for W2K than USP 5.0 SR1. With USP 5.1 installed MSURP1 will no longer show up on WU. I might sqeeze in a USP 5.0 SR2 release just before xmas too with all the new hotfixes and security updates for W2K and IE501/OE55. Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B) (PS - my messenger is full - sorry if I can't answer everyone right away - but I'll try)

Hi I'm happy that you like my work - lets keep 2k running /G B)

Hi (yeah - I'm back!) There's one thing that we need to consider when providing alternative desktops: will these have a bad influence on Terminal Services clients? Or generally put: should 5.1 EE be a Workstation-only USP? As far as Window Blinds I love that product - but last time I checked (about 2 yrs ago I think) it wasn't very stable - has it improved? Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B) PS - almost everything is "possible" btw

Hi I'm in and out of hospitals these days (I'm not well at all), which is why I haven't been able to sign in here as often as I want to. To make things even worse, the CPU fan on my computer just broke, so I cant keep it on for work for more than 10 minutes or so (sigh!). I'll get a new (used) one tomorrow!! To make WFP protect an unsigned file is not as easy as I anticipated. Now, there's no such thing as "impossible" - but I'll look into this later on. sfcfiles.dll has some interesting undocumented entry points, and the MS .cat's also have some interesting undocumented attributes, which Setup uses to determine stuff. And - let's not forget - NT5 does to some extent support load-time executable patching - although this is undocumented too. Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

Looks awesome /G B)

*SLAP* Six years back or so everyone wanted the latest MS OS release only. Today it's different. Maybe because releases are so far apart that we actually have time to get really comfortable with our "old" OS, maybe because newer MS OS'es are considered to be too DRM-friendly, maybe because a lot of people don't like WPA which could make pirated copies more attractive than legit copies to those. Maybe - with two years between service packs - you are really not very "up to date" anyway, even if you do run the latest MS OS. I don't know - but I still love my W2K - I actually got so much value for my money, that I'd hate to abandon it.

Count me in as well @-I- - I agree - there should be no 3rd party alphas or betas in 5.1 EE. Any third party component must be rock solid. @Seppl (@everyone actually) - USP 5.1 Basic Edition RC1 might only be three registry entries away... and I might finish it during the weekend. Yesterdays build 14 really looks good! MS URP1 is now popping up on WU (again! I just got rid of it a few weeks ago) - I'll need to look into that. Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

@HappyRay - none of my USP's require or will require SP4 - they are fully cumulative. USP 5 is integrated the same way MS SP1/2/3/4 are integrated: w2ksp5.exe -s:<your image root dir> or w2ksp5.exe /integrate:<your image root dir> or you may use nLite if you prefer. USP's behave like normal service packs in every way. Every time I've estimated when any of my work would be ready I've been wrong. Mostly because I want to get everything 100% right, even down to the last registry entry. After all my USP's are supposed to solve problems - not generate problems @-I- - okay then - I'll let you know when RC1 is ready and make sure you have it. (Thanks ) Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

Hi Yes, that would be the right way to do it But the more I think about it, the less I feel like adding XP stuff to the EE. Mostly because adding such components should be a different project entirely (not necessarily done by me). And honestly, all I ever wanted myself was to fix the bugs - but adding IE6 and other optional components has turned out to be great fun. For now I'll stick with the W2K components - those require plenty of work anyway You guys might remember that I mentioned an "integrate-only" version of the upcoming USP 5.1 - but I couldn't help myself, so I've done the install/uninstall part too now. USP 5.1 RC1 is done except for three registry values or so. Also I have added all applicable security fixes and even more hotfixes - and there will be a USP 5.0 SR2 too. Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

@slippykillsticks - Yes - it will be cached in the dllcache and WFP will protect it.