Windows 98 system shell replacement idea.

[Fredledingue]

- After copying or deleting large amount of files the system works fine. Absolutely no Explorer freezing.

- I solved this problem a long time ago by using an altenative file manager. Actualy Xplorer2-free, but I think no alternative file manager has this bug. Ages I didn't open "Explorer". + you get many many extra features and options not available in Explorer.

- A patch to fix this bug was released two months ago. Check the updates on MDGx thread on the Unofficial Win98 SE Service sub-Forum.

[Sfor]

Xplorer2-free is not a solution for me, as it is free for home or educational use, only. In other words it is not completely free.

As for the "98 (FE), 98 SP1, 98 SE + ME SHELL32.DLL fix, for Explorer lockups with IE 5.xx/6.xx" thread. There is no Polish language version of this fix. So, I did not tested it, myself. Also, I've readed this thread some time ago. The general feeling was, it is not a 100% reliable solution.

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I've been experimenting with a LiteStep and Dark.Lua theme. It is almost 100% compatible with the standard windows interface. Unfortunatelly it uses Explorer for displaying desktop and file exploration windows. So, the result is even worse than without the LiteStep running (hangs without large file operations, as well).

[Sfor]

I've tested the SHELL32.DLL fix from the thead:

http://www.msfn.org/board/98_FE_98_SP1_98_...137#entry572137

The results are very promissing. Unluckily, the fix is not working properly with other language Windows version. Apparently the country specific folder names are hard coded into the SHELL32.DLL.

[Sfor]

Well. I abandoned the "98 (FE), 98 SP1, 98 SE + ME SHELL32.DLL fix, for Explorer lockups with IE 5.xx/6.xx" for quite a long time. So, I felt happy when I found the polish version of the fixed SHELL32.DLL in the last post.

I can only say it works better, than any other solution I found. I did tested it along with the IE 5.5 browser dll substitution. I do not know how it will work without the browser dll fix applied, but when both are applied I can not replicate the locking effect, any longer.