Install looks for IE6, how to spoof?

[chromatic47]

LG's Forte Manager won't install unless it finds IE 6.0 or higher. I don't have any version of IE installed, nor do I want it.

I recall seeing a registry hack somewhere that is supposed to spoof a version look-up — it involved adding the proper reg keys/data necessary to deceive the installer into believing that IE6 resides on a machine. Can someone point me to that, or describe the method (if it is indeed possible)?

[BenoitRen]

You can use PROtab.

[chromatic47]

You can use PROtab.

Thanks BenoitRen, I did try it, unfortunately to no effect. It is a great add-on though, so I'm keeping it.

I just can't discover what this setup app is looking for. I tried tracing the process with FileMon and RegMon both, no clues there. As far as I know I have all the library files for IE6 but I might be overlooking something. It might not be worth the trouble; this install is for a control panel that came with my new LCD monitor, useful mainly for color calibration, and if I can find alternative software for the same purpose it won't matter.

[cannie]

Maybe the solution could be:

1.- Clone Windows in a different drive (ie D).

2.- Boot the clone instead of Windows C:.

3.- Install IE6 and after that install LG's Forte Manager in the clone.

4.- Save all *.dat and *.ini files from the clone in a new folder (we may call it "back-d") and eliminate all their "Properties". Using a word processor (I use Notepad++), open them all and substitute all "D:\Windows" occurrencies by "C:\Windows".

5.- Save all *.dat and *.ini files from C:\Windows in a new folder (we may call it "back-c")and eliminate all their "Properties", so that you may restore all them to their original place in case of need using DOS.

6.- Substitute all *.dat and *.ini files in Windows C: by the saved in the "back-d" folder

7.- For additional security, scandisk C: and defrag C:.

8.- Reboot (without the floppy), clean the registry and compact it.

If everything goes well, you may have LG's Forte Manager installed, but use the firewall to avoid it calling home.

If things go wrong, xcopy all "back-c" files into C:\Windows and scandisk C afterwards using DOS, and everything keeps being as if you had done nothing at all.

BTW: in case you have not done it before, cloning Windows in a different drive, ie D, is done as follows:

1.- Copy-paste C:\Windows (complete, except the .swp file) into D:\, and eliminate all "Properties" in all the D:\Windows main folder files.

2.- Using a word processor (I use Notepad++), open all *.dat and *.ini files at Windows D: and substitute all "C:\Windows" occurrencies by "D:\Windows". You may do it to all them at the same time.

3.- Copy in a free floppy the C:\ root files Io.sys, command.com, autoexec.bat, config.sys and msdos.sys. Eliminate all their "Properties". Then open the last three (autoexec.bat, config.sys and msdos.sys) and and replace every "C" occurrency by "D".

4.- Reboot using the floppy as boot floppy. This way C:\Windows is not used at all and you may clean or modify everything into it, or create a .rar file to be used as complete backup to restore the whole OS in case of need.

HTH

[chromatic47]

Cannie, thanks for the well detailed reply. Before following your advice I plugged the LG monitor and software into an XP machine and it turns out that Forte Manager is useless for serious calibration. Subsequently I obtained several gamma and color reference images from http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ and calibrated using those and the nVidia driver controls. Worked fine, and with no additional IE dependent crap on my machine.

Also, thank you for the cloning description, I've never done that, never even thought of it, and it's prime good info.

[cannie]

Happy to know you've found a solution.

You say cloning is new for you. I edit this post to tell you something more about it, because it is not very known, I don't know why. I've used it for years and it is the most important reason why I keep using Windows 98.

You need to have at least 2 logical units in your HD. You may achieve it without formatting or loosing anything at all using i.e. Partition Manager from Windows (don't use fdisk from DOS).

Some of the many advantages of cloning are:

1- If C:\Windows doesn't work properly you boot the clone and from it you may delete and restore it by only unzipping a previously saved .rar copy, no need even to know what happened and not loosing anything at all.

2.- You may try any kind of program using the clone, and if things go wrong delete the clone and restore it from scratch in a few minutes.

3.- In case that you need XP (maybe eventually something can't be done using Windows 98) you may have double boot using the clone as Windows 98 unit (you only need to copy Autoexec.bat, Config.sys and Msdos.sys from the floppy to C:), deleting afterwards the folder C:\Windows and installing in its place XP. The double boot file is created automatically.

4.- If you have double boot, you may save a .rar or .zip copy of both on a CD, and in case of need use each one of the two OS to backup/restore the other.

HTH

Edited September 15, 2008 by cannie

[chromatic47]

Thank you for the additional information. I have bookmarked this thread for reference and really it should have a topic of its own so that others can see it easily.

I am putting the clone on an available second hard drive rather than a partition on the first HD, in case also of mechanical failure.

If I could ask for elaboration on this part:

3.- In case that you need XP (maybe eventually something can't be done using Windows 98) you may have double boot using the clone as Windows 98 unit (you only need to copy Autoexec.bat, Config.sys and Msdos.sys from the floppy to C:), deleting afterwards the folder C:\Windows and installing in its place XP. The double boot file is created automatically.

If I have it clear, the steps are,

1) copy the system files that reference D:\Windows from the floppy to C:

2) boot normally, and the copied system files on C: will point the boot into D:\Windows

3) From D:\Windows Win98, delete C:\Windows and install XP there instead

And my question, what is the double boot file and how is it used? And it is created automatically during the XP installation?

[cannie]

Hi chromatic47!

For as long as you don't need XP it is better for you to use only Windows 98. Maintenance is much easier and freedom also, repair is extremely easy and if you have one or more clones security is 100%.

If you really need double boot mind that you must keep using FAT32 and no logical unit can be bigger than 32 GB, being this dimension an artificial limit introduced by MS to "convince" users to switch to their exclusive NTFS system, which allows XP to use any big HD, instead of the common FAT32.

If your HD is bigger than that you need to divide it. You may use Fdisk, but you must format all afterwards. You may use Partition Manager instead of this and this way you don't loose anything at all. You have to create an extended partition and divide it into as many 32GB units as needed until the whole HD is divided.

After reboot you may see appear in the explorer as different diskletters the units D, E, F, G etc.

Then you clone Windows 98 in one of the other drives and use the clone as main Windows 98 OS, leaving in C only the root files IO.sys, Command.com, and conveniently edited also your Autoexec.bat, Config.sys and Msdos.sys changing all references to D:\Windows.

I.e. Msdos.sys begins this way:

HostWinBootDrv=D

WinDir=D:\WINDOWS

WinBootDir=D:\WINDOWS

After reboot, when you open Explorer.exe you will see how it starts in D drive (logical units are considered as different drives).

You may also use DOS and type:

set

DOS will confirm you that it is D:\Windows the OS which is working.

In this moment you only have to click on C:\Windows and delete it. Then Scandisk C and Defrag C.

After that you only have to install XP normally. The install disk will create automatically the file C:\boot.ini, containing both systems and giving you at every start the possibility of choosing one of both.

By default XP will be loaded at start after a short delay if you don't choose the other one. You may change it by simply editing the boot.ini file to invert the order or reduce the waiting time. Totally easy.

HTH

Edited September 22, 2008 by cannie

[chromatic47]

Indeed I do not have any reason to use XP, and won't unless I absolutely have to B) but wanted to be sure of how to do it just in case.

Since my Windows 98 clone will reside on my second HD, which has first partition of driveletter H, I assume that H: can be substituted for D: in all of your instructions, and all will be well.

Thanks again Cannie, hopefully I can provide some good advice in return sometime!

Edited September 23, 2008 by chromatic47

[cannie]

You may clone so many times as you wish on different drives.

As you know it takes less than 5 minutes to create a whole working clone so valid as the original unit, so you may do as many experiments as you like with no risk at all for your OS.

In my own comp I have it on four logical units using the same HD. Apart of this I use two external HD for backups, using an IDE-USB card which fastens 40x the transfer speed.

Greetings