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KernelEx 4.5.2


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KernelEx v4.5.2

Release announcement

Hi there!

This is a maintenance release to allow running the recently released official Mozilla Firefox 8.0 build.

Greets to aceman and felicitas for discovering the nature of the problem which prevented it from working.

What is not working yet: recently visited addresses, history and bookmarks.

fvbjhw.png

KernelEx enters the dark world of VMM and kernel drivers.

In this release KernelEx doesn't make any modifications to system files on disk.

Instead all patching is done on-the-fly in memory, while the system is performing the startup via a specialized driver.

Please report if you find any problems with copy protection-engines - like SecuROM, SafeDisc etc. that you didn't have in v4.5.1.

What's new:

  • Added KernelEx Virtual Device (VKrnlEx.vxd) project which makes modification of kernel32.dll file on disk unnecessary by patching the image directly in memory from kernel space before the shell starts
  • Implemented a fix for a crash occuring when accessing a locked file through file mapping object
  • Some programs shouldn't complain about not having admin privileges anymore
  • Various bugfixes

Apps fixed / now working:

  • Now working: Mozilla Firefox 8.0

KernelEx home page: http://kernelex.sourceforge.net/

KernelEx Wiki: http://kernelex.sourceforge.net/wiki/

Download: http://sourceforge.net/projects/kernelex/files/

I got an update notice in my e-mail, I see you have an updated version.

This is great as it looks like you are working on a bug I'm having with a stupid LG DVD rewriter, it has securedisc on it and that may be why it isn't working so far.

I got it for $12.00, so its not a big loss if it is a bad drive.

I thought it was just a driver issue, and I got a question to LG support(I'm still waiting for a reply.).

If its some securdisc problem then at least I'll know what it is.

Its acting weird, as it recognizes a CD\DVD but won't read.

Thanks for KernalEx its a great project!

We need more people in the world who do things to help people.

Plus I love keeping money out of microsofts greedy coffers.

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.... do the intervening versions of FireFox (4,5,6,7) work using KernelEx 4.5.2?

What about the Aurora or Pale Moon thing I've heard bandied about? Is there any validity for using them? Do they require less processing power, RAM? Or are they irrelevant?

Basically, is there any benefit in using 4,5,6,7 over FF 3? Or should I go straight to FF8 and forget about the others?

Anyway, thanks for your work.

Edited by ScrewUpgrading
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.... do the intervening versions of FireFox (4,5,6,7) work using KernelEx 4.5.2?

Although I didn't test version 4,5 and 6 they most certainly run now.

What about the Aurora or Pale Moon thing I've heard bandied about? Is there any validity for using them? Do they require less processing power, RAM? Or are they irrelevant?

Aurora = Firefox beta

Pale Moon = Firefox fork optimized for speed but incompatible with older hardware

Latest builds of both are now running.

Basically, is there any benefit in using 4,5,6,7 over FF 3?

No version above 3.5x supports Java applets.

Version 4 and above don't have Bookmarks or History working but have WebGL.

The newer the version the better/faster javascript, HTML5 spec, etc... are supported.

Or should I go straight to FF8 and forget about the others?

The choice is all yours.

Edited by loblo
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Xeno, of course it's a fantastic news, that you've updated KEx! :thumbup

Honestly, I'm even more confused now - what about this topic, which you've created a couple months ago?

Btw, upgrade would be beneficial also, if I do not plan to use a latest version of Firefox (8.0)?

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This is great as it looks like you are working on a bug I'm having with a stupid LG DVD rewriter, it has securedisc on it and that may be why it isn't working so far.

I got it for $12.00, so its not a big loss if it is a bad drive.

I thought it was just a driver issue, and I got a question to LG support(I'm still waiting for a reply.).

If its some securdisc problem then at least I'll know what it is.

Its acting weird, as it recognizes a CD\DVD but won't read.

Actually, I don't think we're talking about the same thing.

What I wanted to tell in that post is that the new KernelEx v4.5.2 *COULD* possibly conflict with some copy protection engine, which does compare in-memory file image with what it can find on disk and notices a difference.

On the other hand previous releases, including v4.5.1 were modifying a file on disk, so in-memory image would be the same as actual file on disk.

As I have no possibility to check all copy protection engines, I bring this to public attention, so that we can find the problem quicker.

Hope this clarifies my previous post a bit.

If your drive wasn't working properly with previous versions, eg. v4.5.1 and especially without KernelEx then there are good chances that it's a faulty drive problem.

Thanks for KernelEx its a great project!

We need more people in the world who do things to help people.

Plus I love keeping money out of microsofts greedy coffers.

Thank you for kind words.

Happy user keeps me motivated and more willing to put my effort!

Cheers

Edited by Xeno86
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Now... what would it take to have IE8 or later install and run under 9x? Because I want - no, scratch that: I need - to run SlimBrowser (the Unicode, updated version). Of all these other fancy, useless (for me) browsers, none has the two options I need, in the exact form provided by SB: Auto-Logins and Groups (which accepts auto-logins as launch address). The closest is K-Meleon (which I'm using daily and which forces me to reboot everytime it crashes the video driver on some web page, for unknown reason), because it keeps me logged in (through its own cookies or something I haven't yet figured out), but still it has its limitations because - for example - I still need to log out of one Yahoo account to log into another, operation that has to be done manually, which beats the purpose of automatic logins - naturally, I'm only talking about single-user machines with no concern about local privacy.

The imposibility of saving/launching bookmarks makes Firefox completely useless for someone that routinely accesses the same URLs, one or more times a day. More so when those URLs require logging in (such as GMail, Yahoo Mail, forums, etc.

Am I hopeless...?

EDIT:

Having had an incident with a link not opening in K-Meleon 1.7.0 (particularly a MSDN link to LoadImage() returning the message The specified CGI application encountered an error and the server terminated the process.), I fired up Firefox 9.0 beta that I just installed on the 98SE machine and I noticed it doesn't create either a taskbar button or a SysTray icon. Meaning a minimized Firefox could run in the background without the owner knowing (or remembering) it. It'll only show up through Task Switcher (ALT-TAB). Also, the Hand cursor wouldn't show up over a link on a page. Compatibility was set to Windows 2000 SP4. It's all fine when set to XP-SP2, but it crashes on exit, maybe when the Bookmarks panel was accessed before exit.

Edited by Drugwash
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Aurora = Firefox beta

Pale Moon = Firefox fork optimized for speed but incompatible with older hardware

Okay, thanks. I won't bother with Pale Moon then.

As anticipated they all run fine (apart from the bookmarks & history).

Confirmed. I'm using Firefox 4 as I type this. Pretty much exactly like 8. So I might as well just keep 8.

Edited by ScrewUpgrading
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First thank you very much for working on KernelEx modern Firefox support! (Haven't tried yet. I am still using Firefox 3 with KernelEx 4.5.101.)

HELP!: Which colorimeter is best for Win98SE+KernelEx?

I need to repair my CRT monitor (big SGI GDM-5411 with the infamous Trinitron "too bright" problem) and want to buy a cheap used colorimeter for monitor calibration. Which one is best for Win98SE? I have found out that the great open source software HCFR Colorimeter 2.1 (designed for Win2000 and above) works fine with Win98SE+KernelEx. It has a great screen test feature, how ever I could not test whether colorimeters actually work. They need to be installed with their own drivers, and so far I know, only ColorVision Spyder 1 was made for Win98SE and has a not too good reputation. Later versions don't officially support 98 at all, but it may be that this only refers to their original software. Does anybody know whether I can use them with KernelEx and that HCFR software? Or will I need to build the open source DIY colorimeter for that?? (Haven't worked with microcontrollers before,yet.)

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Now... what would it take to have IE8 or later install and run under 9x? Because I want - no, scratch that: I need - to run SlimBrowser (the Unicode, updated version). Of all these other fancy, useless (for me) browsers, none has the two options I need, in the exact form provided by SB: Auto-Logins and Groups (which accepts auto-logins as launch address). The closest is K-Meleon (which I'm using daily and which forces me to reboot everytime it crashes the video driver on some web page, for unknown reason), because it keeps me logged in (through its own cookies or something I haven't yet figured out), but still it has its limitations because - for example - I still need to log out of one Yahoo account to log into another, operation that has to be done manually, which beats the purpose of automatic logins - naturally, I'm only talking about single-user machines with no concern about local privacy.

The imposibility of saving/launching bookmarks makes Firefox completely useless for someone that routinely accesses the same URLs, one or more times a day. More so when those URLs require logging in (such as GMail, Yahoo Mail, forums, etc.

Am I hopeless...?

EDIT:

Having had an incident with a link not opening in K-Meleon 1.7.0 (particularly a MSDN link to LoadImage() returning the message The specified CGI application encountered an error and the server terminated the process.), I fired up Firefox 9.0 beta that I just installed on the 98SE machine and I noticed it doesn't create either a taskbar button or a SysTray icon. Meaning a minimized Firefox could run in the background without the owner knowing (or remembering) it. It'll only show up through Task Switcher (ALT-TAB). Also, the Hand cursor wouldn't show up over a link on a page. Compatibility was set to Windows 2000 SP4. It's all fine when set to XP-SP2, but it crashes on exit, maybe when the Bookmarks panel was accessed before exit.

Hey there. Have you looked at the firefox add-on's section?

If I'm decoding your post properly, you want saved passwords and auto-logon to web sites, and saving bookmarks, and I think things like auto opening of a set of pages you look at often, and some other features in a browser for win98.

I use firefox 3.6 on winME with KernlEX and have lots of add-on's to do all sorts of things.

I can tell you the firefox add-on's section has something for just about everyone.

Just look threw the add-on's and I'm sure you can find add-on's to do what you want to do.

You can add the capability to use internet explorer short cuts directly, run ad blockers, run daily load these tabs, have preview pics of web links, download all images on a page, etc. etc. etc.and on and on.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

Sometimes the newest stuff isn't the best stuff, no matter how many flashy ad's they throw at you.

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Thanks, I've been there first time I ever installed a Firefox on my 98SE (which is not so long time ago) and there was all kind of stuff that someone might find useful but nothing resembling what I want.

The auto-login I'm talking about doesn't just store username+password in some cookie (as K-Meleon does); instead, it's an automation that opens the login page, pastes the required information and validates the login. This way, one can choose which information to use for a given site (i.e. which of my three Yahoo accounts to log into).

The groups feature can save all open tabs as a group and can open any such group with a menu item click. But the real feature is that any existing auto-login link can be added to any group, so that regular pages can be opened while logging in with specific credentials to other sites.

The two features working as explained above, are nowhere to be found in any other browser AFAIK. Or at least, none that would work under 9x. Anyway, let's not hijack this topic with browser discussions; I just mentioned these features in relation to the IE8 request.

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Now... what would it take to have IE8 or later install and run under 9x?

Forget it, no chance at all - you can't install IE 9.0 under Windows XP, which is still officially supported by Microsoft.

Edited by rainyd
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