Molecule

Hi soporific! I've been lurking for a while, in great anticipation of your wonderful project, and if I might I wanted to throw in a small prayer. Admittedly this might be "on a wing" too far out there -- maybe it should really be in another thread -- but if you could integrate this idea as an option of your autopatcher, that would be great. I'd like to use a 98se Autopatcher-Kiosk edition for connection to the internet (56k), and use a w2k system for personal work -- under the totally paranoid theory that even if a hacker "has" my w98e system (it is my absolute assumption that any computer with a wire going out the back is controlled by a foreign power), the 98 kernel can't detect or molest files on a nt-partition. I would load the OS and all 98se programs on a 8-12 gig VFAT C-drive, and I keep all important data on other drives. Since I'm not a programmer, so I can only tell you what would make me "feel safe," which I understand is a kind of haha, but nonetheless, I hope it can't hurt to ask -- I would love to have the option to setup 98se as a Kiosk operating system -- creating a "98seR" R for Restored. After setting up the system with autopatcher, I'd love to have an easy way to keep it that way -- that is add an autopatcher restore function, as a routine and daily part of 98se-Autopatcher, Kiosk edition. On shutdown, I'd be given over to a simple batch file which gives me the option on a daily basis to Restore the system to pristine condition (or adopt new changes, such as after a program install). If the default Restore (or kiosk option) is selected, the system reboots down to DOS, runs a batch which lfn-copies the system directories from a "safe" area onto C-drive, and turns off the computer. Each time I boot up, I'm restored to autopatcher pristine. If the update option is selected, the system directories are lfn-copied over to the operating system "safe-area" and the system shuts down, so that the next time I boot up, I will see the updated system. (After the kiosk has been setup, I don't want to save *any changes to the registry ... later it might be possible to modify that, for certain keys for known programs, but that would have to be done on a personal basis for each user -- so it's setting up the core part of a 98se-Kiosk edition which stumps me.) Any chances for an Autopatcher-Kiosk edition? Regards, and thanks for your help!

Twice, I tried to download 1.5 autopatcher on dialup ... both nights the server ran at 5600 bps up until a file size of about 15-17meg, then it dropped down to 500 bytes per second -- changing what starts out as a std overnight download, into a 90 hr download (argh) ... this sounds like a great solution for keeping 98 alive (although I never used an "autopatcher" before, and I really like what gape did with his sp). I'll try again tomorrow night. wget produces this result (the index file is std root index "FileFactory - fast, simple and free! /n FileFactory lets you host files up to 300MB for free. etc")

two reasons for me -- first, is a concept of ownership which requires that before a person can confess to owning something, it first has to have full and exclusive control over it. With 98, if I want to boot from an image and/or hack my HDD without requiring any permissions or shells from M$, then I am free to do so. With all the M$ secrecy around NT's relationship with the 1s and 0s on the HDD, the "owner's right of access" to "his or her very own HDD" is restricted to what HAL allows, which raises the question why did the designer of NT hdd system have in mind when he, she, it or they, decided to hide its low-level contents from its theoretical "owner" and thus the question arises, given this secrecy, who then is the actual owner of an NT HDD? This is not the case with 98, or nix. IMHO, the person who paid money for the HDD, and on whose desk or lap the HDD sits, can *not be the actual owner/controller of that HDD, because they do not have a right to examine its 1's and 0's except by going through a M$ shell. (admittedly there has been a recent nix crack of NT HDD which doesn't require use of a MS core or shell.) second, is that for internet connections, 98 is IMHO the safest for the owner, simply because absent installation of NT driver, a dos-98 internet shell cannot mount and corrupt an NT drive elsewhere in the system. Thus, if an owner is hacked, wormed or slithered or whatever, while using 98, the infection is limited to the FAT partitions in the system. (98se is IMHO safer than a virtual shell on an NT core, especially one by MS.). The owner offers up 98 as a sacrificial lamb as it were, and can easily reboot from an image for a clean start. IMHO, governmen-financed hacker's don't care about 98 partitions, because they know it's too easy for an owner to put the banking and political stuff on an NT partition, which a 98 core cannot see. Absent a reboot during an internet session, there is no easy way for a hacker to mount a NT partition in the system, if all they have to work with are 98's core services. OTOH, if I browse with an NT system, the hacker can easily mount and control FAT and NT partitions from core services. It's my hypothesis that the paranoid communists, and the Microsoft monopoly that they protect, will eventually disallow 98 connections to the internet, precisely because 98 allows a HDD owner full control of his system. Thus, the main reason to keep 98 alive, is to keep the concept of a purchaser have a right of full ownership of his or her HDD alive (free of MS restrictions and peeking rights).

link to blackbox sources: http://bb4win.sourceforge.net/bblean/ link to bb4win homepage: http://www.bb4win.org/news.php link to bb4win forum: http://www.lostinthebox.com/ plugins include TCL shell for example screenshots and styles page: http://www.boxshots.org/ gives an idea of the potentials, including integration of winamp controls into shell toolbar on boxshots.org site, different replacements for windows shell are given in left frame unlike the fixed boundaries of the MS shell, the opensource shells are under continuous development footballking's question remains -- has anyone been able to configure nLite to remove windows [disk] explorer and install another shell, like bb4win.

shells ... bbLean: http://bb4win.sourceforge.net/bblean/ LiteShell: http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~mosses/rob/docs/faq.html http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~mosses/rob/liteshell.html LiteStep: http://www.beyondconvention.net/ohussain/index.htm http://img139.echo.cx/img139/3002/litesteprunastc3uy.png file managers (only one) ... Ghisler's Total Commander (awesome by itself, let alone the independent spirit of its plugins support group): http://ghisler.ch/board/viewtopic.php?t=10...eplace+explorer so, how can nLite remove MS shell and file explorer and drill in one of these? (many users don't want so-called Microsoft, or whoever behind it that operates The Mr. Bill N. Melinda Show as a U.S. government-protected predator-operated "monopoly" to automatically do anything they authorize to "our" hahaha computers. Now the "Mr. Bill" charade have imposed new WGA category, like Racists in America used to have for "their Blacks" ... legitimate, illegitimate and molato, a maybe-illegitimate this-week category which was based only on how often a Microsoft "owner" "escaped local control" by using non-approved software like Open Office.)

(note to footballking: I'm not trying to hijack your thread. I was going to open thread with exactly the same title and subject, but with one other question ... so they would be a replication. I'm an ancient 3.1_98se user/member who after all these years is finally going to try and build a w2k system and right now I'm choosing nLite (over SP5, HFslip and GreenMachine). I suspect I'm like you and don't plan to use and don't want to use either MS disk Explorer, MS internet Explorer or MS-Outlook. That said ...) Dirtwarrior: I don't understand your question/answer ... Does anyone know of any specific and invaluable MS or other programs which absolutely will not work unless IE and Outlook are installed (and thus also properly $$maintained$$)? If IE & Out are not absolutely necessary for anything specific (other than, "But, gee, everything else MS does is so kuel"), then, why not remove it? In which case, bootballking's question resurfaces -- how do we use nLite to accomplish the task?

If anybody else has perchance done the md5s for w2k english for comparison, it will make me feel better that I have the uncorrupted downloads. These md5s are generated after my download of today (2006-11-30), so the hash values may be for corrupted files. Since we don't know MS hash values, the only thing we can know is that if yours agree, then we may have the same corruptions! This will be my first w2k build, so you can only imagine how helpful WUD has been for me!! Critical Updates.md5 07eb47348b15d56c94779e8a9606f859 *Windows2000-KB920213-x86-ENU.EXE 65a13e8e5c549ad6b99d592bab7b1674 *Windows2000-KB923980-x86-ENU.EXE e06c835381f10033fca00720e9b29ef0 *msxml4-KB927978-enu.exe 44728e91d6e58056e07ca849a24be32e *Windows2000-KB924270-x86-ENU.EXE cb10dc72bbc87b7bd8a1856351a4b7ce *Windows2000-KB924191-v2-x86-ENU.EXE fe2584098f1da8ca143f8e84198ef791 *Windows2000-KB923414-x86-ENU.EXE a52ef2c844c668643d417554361a0f3c *Windows2000-KB923191-x86-ENU.EXE 4ed4154863089372aa6b53d8f9bc5bda *IE6.0sp1-KB925486-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe 09f6b7733eca534b2620549e1e184f7d *Windows2000-KB920958-v2-x86-ENU.EXE ff190fb454550eb4cef61c8d3fd5c029 *Windows2000-KB920685-x86-ENU.EXE 8759714efe54fb7328a8d8d6bc2a24e7 *Windows2000-KB922582-x86-ENU.EXE 931b59f77dd2003bb9da1fa1dcc0b5a1 *Windows2000-KB917008-x86-ENU.EXE bc076339423662ada8cf95ec6a551f54 *Windows2000-KB922616-x86-ENU.EXE 78ca8b12650071a95feaec68b79de6f7 *Windows2000-KB921398-x86-ENU.EXE 3f34e2931ef5734bb551f4d8da0fade5 *Windows2000-KB920683-x86-ENU.EXE 40a87a9a19b75b098a464b3825e5bbec *Windows2000-KB917422-x86-ENU.EXE bccdb2e13e59cb5528ee31c0a5a2290a *Windows2000-KB920670-x86-ENU.EXE 4325000069738e38dea156026df8e911 *Windows2000-KB917537-x86-ENU.EXE 81bc1d42778d19d064cb66de65fc2e5b *Windows2000-KB914388-x86-ENU.EXE e37f07496c537c329c3e033c18d4e4e3 *Windows2000-KB911280-v2-x86-ENU.EXE 7772ece0914aae341b9e031813af604d *Windows2000-KB917344-56-x86-enu.Exe fc1e99136c5fafe4ca428ca1ed77c269 *Windows2000-KB917736-x86-ENU.EXE 9bcf12d770c6f15b17f5812a34d07966 *Windows2000-KB914389-x86-ENU.EXE a166952e5cbcdd59c9f48d97eafdf3df *Windows2000-KB917953-x86-ENU.EXE e3a1d236e206cd705b92c5dc8f366f54 *IE6.0sp1-KB918439-Windows-2000-XP-x86-ENU.exe 77b7049cad4048e0f4558f3505cf1565 *Windows2000-KB913580-x86-ENU.EXE 85603960fcbcc45c06751a78ba1932ca *Windows2000-KB908531-v2-x86-ENU.EXE 822ad5cf60df1137f6347c5898cb8bdd *OE6.0sp1-KB911567-Windows-2000-XP-x86-ENU.exe e0679e633a39a19b35cdede9b535d469 *MDAC253-KB911562-x86-ENU.exe 64ebfadcf757e2215fb97d67a25e3c51 *Windows2000-KB908519-x86-ENU.EXE c7859254cd2bed279bfd2ff9236e1223 *Windows2000-KB912919-x86-ENU.EXE 88a0d0c3fe992d8d9f67167dc9b3fae0 *Windows2000-KB904706-v2-x86-ENU.exe f2cb4fa00c5d15ce03416856305bfbc5 *Windows2000-KB896424-x86-ENU.EXE 5c8ad56ec785c68cbdca8ee6a49cdb33 *Windows2000-KB908506-x86-ENU.EXE 516f230c66793fddce6f97347ba4f404 *Windows2000-KB902400-x86-ENU.EXE cb1bdc8fb4d1ae00faa2e067a2136084 *Windows2000-KB901017-x86-ENU.EXE 7e38d5f57789c3ebd3151bc852fe0458 *Windows2000-KB899589-x86-ENU.EXE 4dae18596914bfda64090ff2b59bb327 *Windows2000-KB905749-x86-ENU.EXE b0a8a7ea1f85b43ac04c7dc73426ad39 *IE6.0sp1-KB905495-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe 1faba92a26cefe8428f4d001970d8c7c *Windows2000-KB905414-x86-ENU.EXE e2ba66fbe145495e185a9aea03be35cf *Windows2000-KB900725-x86-ENU.EXE 6bc037dc4e0746477d39153223ddd695 *IE6.0sp1-KB922760-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe 2e4abce7410618af9e307d6fa4d3e2b2 *Windows2000-KB891861-v2-x86-ENU.EXE 38d34bae9f50b4f2cf7d15061182b1bd *Windows2000-KB893756-x86-ENU.EXE df554448112af00abd0cc1031b5ff753 *Windows2000-KB896423-x86-ENU.EXE dfc441f51d3c505452c0f2816cc9da3f *Windows2000-KB899591-x86-ENU.EXE 794b2e6744fc5d70e970c3b984e0b7a5 *Windows2000-KB899587-x86-ENU.EXE ecc0eccb1ea64779fb59fae65198f9d6 *Windows2000-KB901214-x86-ENU.EXE f3c69abe25d443cf51a5479044c44991 *Windows2000-KB896358-x86-ENU.EXE Service Packs.md5 a4ef6c91d418418b287cefe31f958175 *W2KSP4_EN.EXE .NET Framework 1.1.md5 52456ac39bbb4640930d155c15160556 *dotnetfx.exe 22e38a8a7d90c088064a0bbc882a69e5 *NDP1.1sp1-KB867460-X86.exe 073c735e36f2f0f584fe8236ae6204b5 *NDP1.1sp1-KB886903-X86.exe .NET Framework 2.0.md5 93a13358898a54643adbca67d1533462 *dotnetfx.exe bf65e9a54603bb187fa676d7ccf522f3 *NDP20-KB917283-X86.exe aafdce28c37c3faa3d250dbdccc9eb59 *NDP20-KB922770-X86.exe Windows Media Player.md5 e919c4e0050b32aebe83a5d2eb613dd4 *MPSetup.exe f3191e8d5ecd92679b2993bc5089064a *WindowsMedia-KB911564-x86-ENU.exe 1f94c193f06c79d9a94fbf0acb55f845 *WindowsMedia9-KB917734-x86-ENU.exe Other.md5 5243634e80109767514262a505c5ce8b *gdidettool.exe 87810d6c41b5a0f7d2bed9b7ad351743 *Windows2000-KB842773-x86-ENU.EXE 342f79337765760ad4e392eb67d5ed2c *WindowsInstaller-KB893803-v2-x86.exe 8e3b8f909d86035edd516ef81b357326 *Windows-KB909520-v1.000-x86-ENU.exe 61ba1c24efb256a8370bcc662fff1b69 *WindowsXP-Windows2000-Script56-KB917344-x86-enu.exe 4a451d2ad168e092874997dec6c5dd40 *UPHClean-Setup.msi 6f621d9ce78daffbb62a7789a6eb2aed *Windows-KB890830-V1.22.exe --edit-- If you have Ghisler's Total Commander, then if you save these as md5 files, put them in their respective directories, and double click them, then TC will automatically generate a full report of the comparisons.

wonderful program ... it works well on a w98se machine (after installing .net 2 and double clicking the .ulz file to unpack it to a .ul), to prepare a w2k build. during the overnight download on my dialup, my line got dropped (a std 5 AM Verizon trick). WUD was in the midst of getting a 31M file, and this revealed a potential problem of which I am sure you are aware, since I have no way of knowing whether or not file KBxxxxxx is 11meg (as per my HDD) or 31meg (as discovered): Case: connection is dropped in midst of a downloading a requested file Problem: WUD writes to disk whatever was in dl cache (or whatever) at the point the connection was lost. Since an incomplete file is in the directory, when reconnecting, the WUD icon then shows that half-finished file as fully green. Someone might understand that to mean that download was completed, and therefore not needed again. solution -- I'm not a programmer ... maybe we need to share our own db of md5's if MS won't provide them, or maybe even just request file size during dl from MS, and if the closing file size doesn't match an xml field for filesize or the MS response, write the cache buffer to disk as a xxxxx.exe.wud or something. again, thanks. This was a wonderful help!! Molecule.

I'm thinking of buying a copy of XPpro before it's pulled from the shelves when Vista comes out (like MS did with 2k when XP came out ... ) I have no clue as to which version to buy? (I prefer to build my own machine when I need one, and am happy with w98se for the moment, but my sense is that the horizon is approaching when mobo and video chipsets for 98 will be getting scarcer.) I like being legal and sleeping at night, but don't like, in fact cringe at, the idea of having to phone home to Bill to use my computer. If I can re-install XPpro OEM legally without all the commotion, it sounds like that might be better suited to my needs than the Retail version. As I understand it, with Retail version, I can change a mobo, video care, HDD etc, as long as I pull XP off the old HDD --- is that also true with the OEM EULA if my mobo or video card dies? thanks for any advice ... (also, do Retail and OEM versions dual boot the same, with 98se and/or ubuntu?) My question is provoked from the following from a recent thread What is "Corporate Media?" ... is that OEM?

[sorry ... after posting question in this tread, I realized my question was introducing a new thread ... I'll move it to a new thread ... ] Regards .....

-- has anyone heard if MS plans to pull XP pro from the shelves when VISTA is released ??? -- a cutoff date beyond which MS wil not longer emit an activation code for retail XP pro if it is pulled ???

LLXX -- It doesn't happen on all help files -- for example, the latest MySQL 5.0.26 chm help file works fine (as does MySQL once I figured it out--so I have some follow up to do there) but the chm for MultiEdit 9.1 and 2k6 don't. They are using active script or something, I have have everything MS possible turned off. I'm gave IE 6.026 installed but never use it. Is it possible that the chm is written in a way which requires that active scripting be turned on?

When clicking in a link inside a .chm help file, I get a yellow !-dialog title bar: Internet Explorer Script Error Line: 1 Char: 1 Error: object doesn't supprot this property or method Code: 0 URL: mk@MSITStore:C:\Program%20Files\blah blah . htm Do you want to continue running scripts on this page? [yes][no] when I install software, it usually spots something in the help file area, and announces something to the effect that "that newer help file program already installed" (loosely from memory) any idea what is going on?

any chance someone may have had any experience starting up a mysql 5.1beta server on a 98se w.sp2a machine? I had 4.1 running, then installed 5.0. It launches a server, which mysql clients, such as sqlyog, can see, but I can no longer administer the main server/user database from the mysql prompt--such as shut it down and close all files. Becaue of caching, etc., bad shutdowns can affect data security. Entering "mysqld --console" (from a dos window prompt) launches the service, but then the 5.0 server hangs on a blinking underscore, and does not return a mysql> prompt. I have to use ^C ^Z to shutdown. If I enter mysqld alone, it starts the service, and returns the C:> prompt, so shutting down the server requires a ctrl-alt-del. I was thinking of trying 5.1 before going back to 4.1 ...

what's the hurry --- 2.1a still works great for me! regards to Gape -- I sort of silently say him name every time I think of how stable my 'puter is and, with thanks to you all ... 98 forever -- the blood and guts of plain old goodness

anychance someone might have a link to MS Word2003 and Excel 2003 viewers ... for w98se? the download link at MS for the same requires 2k or up ... http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en

count me in -- already put some posts on MDGx' leads It's a danged long shot, but given the rising tide of Billanoia and the surrenders that his new "OS" will doubtless require, and given that there are 70+ millions of us w98er's left in the lurch -- it all emphasizes the importance of MDGx' idea -- if we organize efficiently right now, and indicating our intent to "survive" by growing the program, it is not totally inconceivable, that in a year's time this board could take control of w98 away from Bill -- leaving w98er's saying "Astala ?????" to Bill instead of the other way around.

handy little critter -- may have caught a bug? I tried to look at : http://www.astrosurf.com/astropc/cartes/prog/cdcbase276.exe (other files on same page seem to produce the same result) UniExtract.exe 121 (exe install all options off) in PIII win98se sp21a returns yellow-! "exe could not be extracted -- appears to be a self-extracting MS CAB file which is supported but extraction failed. see log" log is 2 bytes: 0d0a. regards --edit-- 7-zip 442 extracts the exe ok, creating a "presetup.bmp" which identifies a "Ghost installer Wizard ©2002 ginstall Corp"

Has anyone seen a 20 char "unequaled" environmental variable like the one right next to the red line (I'll try to upload a png)? Where's the equals sign! If I open a ram memory editor like HxD, what address would I start at to inspect my environmental memory area, to see what's on either side of those 20"x"'s? My "autoexec.bat" is clean (just the path statement), the "config.sys" is empty, and both "mydos.sys" and "msdos.---" seem to have standard calls in them (from sp21a with md5 ok) Possibly unrelated, but I also have problems with visual c++ runtime error R6025 ("pure virtual function call") when loading a svg into mozilla with javascript on. If the png is unreadable, typing "set" at the command prompt produces this result, which shows the 20 "x"'s right after the TMP= C:\WINDOWS>set TMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx PROMPT=$p$g winbootdir=C:\WINDOWS COMSPEC=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND windir=C:\WINDOWS BLASTER+A220 I5 D1 T4 P330 C:\WINDOWS>

Waywyrd-our wayward wordsmyth : that's a really great name for 98! I'm going to start refering to mine as an "Internet-98" system, instead of winders-98 -- it just might stick. That's one of its best roles.

you are right … fat32 is basically a flat file system, wherein everybody operates from root position — but suppose a fat32 partition was specifically designated as the internet sandbox … wherein "root" within this partition, is now converted into a heavily restricted user because of the above cited limitation, a breach into the 98 side of a dual boot system (breaches happen, even when protected by the usual antixxx, and deepfreeze or winrollback v1 for clean reboots), cannot see the NT filesystems on adjoining partitions, whereupon the NT partitions can then be used as an internally secure work area — in fact, absent a virus programmer somehow mounting an NTFS from 98 without a reboot, the intruder cannot even know it exists … that and the fact that a fat32 partition can be examined/edited/cleaned from dos, without the secrecy of microsoft designed kernels, might the first step toward security. OTOH, a breach into an internet-connected NT partition (they also happen-lol), can also have its way all over the NT and vfat partitions as well.

Nestersoft Timeleft v2 freeware -- countdown power is great fun, can snipe an ebay bid down to the second

Ok, so I'm learning how ignorant I am … I see so many "new" flags next to people's names, and some I can't find what country that flag represents -- try a google on "flag with [any description of your choice]" I was wondering if it might be possible to add a small mouseover tip to each flag icon, to name the country? (it might make a nice task for a beginning board coder) Best Regards, and great work in keeping up the board.

!see edit below! Does anyone have the so-called ms patch "which is circulating on the internet?" Also, as ms may be intentionally abondoning their side of our 98 eula agreements, I was contemplating hacking my gdi32.dll, but the website that gave information on how to do so has been pulled ... it was a fairly detailed description of what the attack is based on and what Ilfak Guilfanov's unofficial patch does to block it (trap a call to ???-need name here-??? to stop an abandoned printer process). Knowing the name of that call, it should not be that hard to hex edit the gdi32.dll in a 98 system, by just changing the name of the called service, from "abcde" to "xbcde" or whatever it is. ---edit--- With no patch applied, I ran the little 4K vulnerability tester ("wmf_checker_hexblog.exe"), and it came up ... negative vulnerability on my system!!! (as to that test anyway). NB. when I installed my w98, I did not install the "Paint" program, and apparently this virus uses program calls which are linked with that utterly useless program. (So, now I'm starting to wonder whether or not this whole thing is just another Osama bin Laden propaganda schmozzle (Blah Blah Blah, a bearded mickey mouse is hiding all day crawling in his cave, and "vast watershed moments," and now FBI going 911-code-Red over "Homeland Computer Security" and unfixable 98 vulneratilities, and etc.) is just a smoke screen to shut down all 98 systems ... as they afford their owners too much "ownership" over the dos kernels of their own computers.)

Can someone define exactly what is a WMF metafile? Is it a "[dot]wmf"? or is it a series of mime types, like, .jpg, .gif, .png, etc., or, .mpg, .mp3, .mov, etc.? I don't use MS explorer, and I don't use preview icons. Also, the offending file "shimgvw.dll" on w2k and xp systems, does not appear to be on my 98se system. (however, gdi32.dll is -- but M$ reports that rather than disable that, buy an xp, and etc.) (clueless: after this kind of "virus-happening," does Windows really expect me to upgrade from 98 to another Windows system, with more holes, more meta-philosophy, and less "owner" ownership of the kernel? >> a rant, not a part of the above question.)