Gurgelmeyer

Hi, Well, IE6 / JS56 etc are not in SP5 at all - some people prefer the older IE, and some prefer third party browser/mail etc. So I "played safe" and updated the built in IE 501SP4, OE55SP2, and JS51 instead. But thanks again for the links you sent me - it definately saves me a lot of time When SP5 is done (not too much left to do it seems), I'll probably do an SP5.1 or SP5a (or SP6?) with BITS2, MSI31, IE6SP1 - just the important updates from WU Cheers -G

Bug: "Publisher: Microsoft Corporation" show up in ARP when doing a "regular" install rather than a slipstream. Totally forgot about that.

Unofficial SP5 for Microsoft Windows 2000 Release Candidate 3 is now available for download at http://www.willsdownloads.com/hotstream/hotstream.php Known issues: 1) The MSURP1 shows up on WU. You don't want it (trust me) 2) Before integrating the latest hotfixes and or security updates please expand the SVCPACK.IN_ integrated by SP5. It's not empty. I'm working on removing the silly little sp5-upd.exe however. Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

Thanks -- yep, RC2 of SP5 is ready for public release - I'm just testing it myself at the moment. I THINK I "solved" the CPU HALT problem by rolling back halmacpi.dll to build 6801 - tested this on a pc today, and it didn't heat up when I left it alone. That's the same build number as the other HAL's btw. Anyway, halmacpi.dll is the only HAL in URP1, so it has to be that one I guess. I do have to check all the hotfixes to see if build 7006 of halmacpi.dll from December 2004 is "required". Also, this HAL is only for P4 HT or multiprocessor architectures (same thing as far as W2K is conserned), so a lot of people shouldn't experience any problems. Other than that, I've chosen NOT to include the FLT*.* files from the URP1, so URP1 now shows up on WU again - as it should. You won't need it though, unless you want the kernel mode FS Filter driver installed. Well - gotta finish my testing - anyone who've tested RC1 will know where to find RC2 - but it will be public in one or two days from now. Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

OK - I've checked. The most recent kernel files still have the CPU HALT flaw. Does anyone know exactly which file has this flaw? B)

Hi Almost fixed the adminpak.msi too now. The TS client files have been wrong since SP2. Best regards Gurgelmeyer

@-I- - yes, you may nLite your slipstreamed image. @fdv - yes, kernel32.dll and ntdll.dll are post-urp1. @hoak - some of these problems might very well be related to the FS filter driver introduced in the msurp1, and/or the configuration of the tcpip.sys. I'll have to test to be sure of course. @janerik - In general the hotfixes can be obtained from Microsoft in most languages, and localizing the remaining files - if necessary at all - with a resource editor is not complicated. Most are language neutral. I'll be happy to offer my assistance. Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

A good question actually SQL Server 2000 was the reason that I chose the MDAC 2.7a SP1 Refresh (plus a few fixes) rather than the MDAC 2.8 "SP0" Refresh. At the time I made this decision MDAC 2.8 SP1 was not available for W2K, and an MDAC 2.8 "SP0" would likely cause more problems than the much older MDAC 2.7a SP1 Refresh, and no applications I could think of would require MDAC 2.8 SP0. It did come as a nice surprise to a lot af people I think, that MDAC 2.8 SP1 was released for W2K, and I do plan to have a look at it. I do not have access to SQL Server 2000 myself, so I have to rely 100% on the input I get from others who do. So if anyone knows how SQL Server 2000 performs on W2K with MDAC 2.8 SP1 - please enlighten me B)

PS - it's not just about integrating whatever shows up on WU - also it's not for techncal or political reasons that I've decided to "split" my work into an Unofficial SP5 and an Option Pack. It's because many people - myself included - prefer not to have new features in service packs. Thanx for all your kind words and all the great feedback :thumbsup: Best regards, Gurgelmeyer

Just to clarify a bit further: my SP5 contains >250 non-publicly available post-sp4/urp1 updates which cannot be dl'ed directly from anywhere in addition to the publicly available ones of course. It also adds missing registry entries, fixes some yet undocumented (but very real) problems, etc etc. Also the product support tools shipped with SP4 are updated. The /integrate part has worked perfectly for some time now. That turned out to be much less of a problem than first anticipated. The SP5 must be able to safely install and uninstall safely on top of any existing W2K. People who have servers to maintain are not likely to just reinstall. That's what I'm working on right now. Also, I don't want to include >300 .cat files - I've improved upon the logic which analyses .cat's, and it's down to 150 of those. The Option Pack (or Plus! pack) will contain the IE6/NETFX11/WMP9/DX9C/MDAC27/MSXML4/JETPOSTSP8/MSI31 etc etc, including some non-publicly available hotfixes for those as well. It will be out later when the SP5 is completely done. Best regards Gurgelmeyer B)

Thanks guys Started to really test the non-slipstreamed setup myself, and found a few issues that I'm working on. Installing on W2K Gold/SP1/SP2 is quite complicated because of the MSI upgrade to version 2.0. Anyway, it works now. Got a few more issues that need fixing - thanx to the beta testers That reminds me: I'm gonna keep MSI 2.0 in the unofficial SP5 - I'll explain later. Did this logo between clockcycles http://www.imagerage.com/pictures/7fO91770.jpg Best regards Gurgelmeyer B)

Ooops----

In that case, I'm sure it was endeed meant for you, Will SP5 RC2 (=final?) will be a PUBLIC release as soon as it's ready - have to add two more minor security updates and the root certs update, write an EULA and that's about it. At the moment I'm still looking into the MSURP/WU issue. When SP5 is done I'll take a small break and then do the Option Pack (the one with IE6, WMP9 etc etc). Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

Interesting. Very interesting actually. I deliberately removed the FLT*.* files, because I know what they do and why they are there. I can easily add those files - but I'm not sure I want to, since the new behaviour of WU just substantiates the speculations I had which made me remove them in the first place. In plain English: this file system filter driver is intended for DRM, and Microsoft wants to make REALLY sure you installed it, and that it is in proper working condition. Now - I don't mind DRM. From a professional point of view I think the technologi is brilliant. But I do mind that new kernel mode drivers are introduced two days before mainstream support is ended, and I do think people are entitled to know what they install. This filter driver is not even mentioned at microsoft.com. But I'll consider adding it anyway - maybe I'll wrap them up as a seperate hotfix. First I'll have a closer look at the wms\* files though. Best regards, Gurgelmeyer B)

I don't think that remark was meant for you Anyway: got some great feedback from testers - only unexpected issue (so far ) seems to be that the MSURP sometimes shows up on WU. MSURP1/WU is strange. I had to set up a testpc with w2ksp4 at work yesterday - had to install the MSURP1 twice from WU. Also, when I dl'ed and installed it manually on another workstation, it still showed up on WU. Well - I'll get to the bottom of that. Still got a few theories on this. Best regards, Gurgelmeyer (Alive and well - lol)

Hi - enjoy your stay :

Hi everyone, I won't need to call Microsoft it seems, because someone has offered his assistance. Thanx to you-know-who-you-are (and you probably saved this project!!!) I remember the problems Bart ran into, and it might be a very good idea to have his story too. I'll get in touch with him. Anyway: First RC of Unofficial SP5 is being tested right now - just finished it a few hours ago. (I might just make myself a nice cup of coffee to celebrate )

Hi everyone I'm dealing with the legal aspects of my Unofficial SP5, because I've been advised to do so. These things need to be cleared up before I proceed to public release. I'm considering to just give Microsoft a call and ask their opinion, because I honestly can't make much sense of their EULA's. But don't worry - things will work out somehow. They always do B) Best regards, Gurgelmeyer

Hi all I - for one - still can't do online banking without MSJVM. I already looked into this a few months back, and I've briefly examined the original multi-platform MSJVM package (3802), the W2k SP3 version of MSJVM (3805), the original multi-platform version of Q816093 (3810), and the W2k SP3-only version of Q816093 (3810). Best regards, Gurgelmeyer PS - Yes, I'll do it

As far as my eyes can tell by comparing to font samples in a book: "Microsoft" seems to be written in ITC Franklin Gothic Book (Regular) "Office" seems to be in ITC Fransklin Gothic Medium (Regular) MS almost always use Franklin Gothic

The IE so-called "cumulative" updates are a mess these days. Especially the IE6 ones - because they are not always cumulative, there are some times 2 updates with different KB #'s - one for admins and one on WU, and most IE6 security updates contain more than one version of the same binary. In w2k3 it gets even better: different versions of the same file sometimes share the same build number. Must be a nightmare for admins What actually gets installed is yet another thing to be conserned about. When installing IE6 one file which has to do with security/encryption seems to be kept permanently in the pending file-rename operations queue on w2k. The reason is, that it has a lower version number than the built in file with the same name, so the .inf installer doesn't replace the one in the dllcache. Anyway - thanks guys for clearing this up. You saved me a lot of time :

I aim to please

PS - Wish I had all those O2K fixes - what are their KB #'s?

Run regedit and navigate to this key in the left pane: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Products\904000001E872D116BF00006799C897E\InstallProperties (S-1-5-18 might be something else) Now change the value for InstallSource in the right pane - that ought to do the trick.

@boooggy - I have to figure out what goes on with WU/MSURP1 before I release any rebuilt stuff. @At0mic - You're welcome - hopefully I'll be able to finish the Unofficial SP5 soon. I didn't have it ready monday as expected (well, guess more than a few people noticed - sry), but that's only because there was still room for "improvement." @pene - There's something odd going on with this MS URP / WU. I'm investigating it; I do have quite a few theories on this already....