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Opera, KernelEx and related matters


marxo

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KernelEx v4.5.1

Release announcement

Hi there!

Sorry for long wait folks. Unfortunately I have to confirm what some of you might have already suspected. The development of KernelEx has stalled. The release you see here is an almost unmodified version from February. I have decided to finally release it so that the work which has been done is not completely lost and so that you could benefit from it.

This is mainly a bug fix release with an addition of new feature for developers who want to hack around KernelEx and Windows APIs.

The update brings mainly fixes for Opera 11 and GTK application users but as usual the fixes might also help other applications.

Developers can now experiment with monitoring or filtering APIs on-the-fly in single applications without affecting the entire system.

What's new:

  • New KernelEx API Hook infrastructure for developers
  • Various bugfixes

Apps fixed / now working:

  • New Opera 11 non-MSI installer now works
  • Fixed download numbers in Opera 11 not being displayed properly
  • Fixed missing checkboxes in GTK applications – Pidgin and GIMP among others
  • Fixed Google Earth 5.2 installation on non-english systems

Please note that Opera 11 auto-update doesn’t currently work, so you have to perform the updates manually.

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

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

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

Thanks Xeno, that's great!

Sorry the project has stalled, but even if there is no further development at all, it's still been well worth having, and thanks for all your efforts, and thanks to any others involved of course too!

:thumbup

Thanks for fixing the download display in Opera 11, it was only a slight annoyance, but great that it was fixable.

The only thing I'd noticed which is still outstanding is that the keyboard shortcut underlines on the Opera drop-down menus seem to be fixed on, which is not the case when running it in XP.

A very minor cosmetic thing though, so don't worry about it unless it's a symptom of a more serious problem.

Thanks again, Dave.

:)

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This sounds like a bad stall. I hope some new developers are able to grab the controls and recover.

Our household's two XP machines are currently down and out, so we have resorted to this 14-year-old Pentium I with Win98SE. Thanks to KernelEx, we're able to use a fully modern browser (Opera) and get done what we need to. Xeno86, thank you for all your work on this project!

I have a suggestion for future development, whoever might be doing it. For me, the most important software BY FAR to get to work on Windows 98 is Opera, followed by K-Meleon and Adobe Flash. No other software is important to me. Maybe the project would demand less time If the developer(s) focused on these programs only, especially Opera.

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This sounds like a bad stall. I hope some new developers are able to grab the controls and recover.

Our household's two XP machines are currently down and out, so we have resorted to this 14-year-old Pentium I with Win98SE. Thanks to KernelEx, we're able to use a fully modern browser (Opera) and get done what we need to. Xeno86, thank you for all your work on this project!

I have a suggestion for future development, whoever might be doing it. For me, the most important software BY FAR to get to work on Windows 98 is Opera, followed by K-Meleon and Adobe Flash. No other software is important to me. Maybe the project would demand less time If the developer(s) focused on these programs only, especially Opera.

I totally agree with that, Adobe flash is really important to me.

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(Or is it impossible to run version 4 on AMD K6-3+@550 MHz ???)

Version 4 is abysmally slow on any KernelEx 98/ME system I believe.

I don't really care about it as I use Opera 11 as my default browser and that one is blazingly fast. :thumbup

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Bug Report:

Using Opera 11, I have an instant crash of the software or even of the whole OS (freeze that needed reboot from the unit button),

if I try to access 'Print preview' or to print in 'Acrobat PDF Writer'. :}

Print on my HP LaserJet 1022 is working fine.

Tried with KernelEx 4.5 Final & new KernelEx 4.5.1,

in Opera 11.01 (build 1190) and in Opera 11.10 (build 2092).

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Print preview and printing seem to be fine for me with Opera 11.11 and KernelEx 4.5.1.

Using an Epson R285 printer.

In fact the issue with printing which I reported here in Windows XP, doesn't happen in Windows 98! The print preview is still useless, but it does print.

Don't have Acrobat PDF Writer so I can't test that.

:)

Edited by Dave-H
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Opera 11.11 just released still working fine.

:thumbup

Installer now works too as long as set to Windows 2000 mode before running.

:yes:

Could you give a link to Opera 11.11, as I may try it.

:)

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Could you give a link to Opera 11.11, as I may try it. :)

Read post #1166

With last KernelEx 4.5.1 installed, you can also use the classic exe installer, from here.

EDIT:

With last KernelEx 4.5.1, run the classic installer 'Opera_1111_int_Setup.exe'

-> Options

-> Install for: choose 'Stand-alone installation (USB)'

Install path: as you wish,

so everything will stay in 1 folder.

No change to your registry or anywhere else on the HD.

If you don't want to keep it, merely delete the folder :yes: .

Edited by CharlesF
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@ Dave-H & loblo : Thanks for the feedback. :)

I have try with Opera 10.63, but the bug is still the same.

Oddly, if I set the KernelEx compatibility of Opera 11 to 'Windows NT4.0 SP6',

I have only 1 line left in the Print' section: Print...

and don't see anymore the 2 others.

EDIT:

With Opera 10.63, if I disable KernelEx everything is fine.

So, it could be somehow KernelEx related.

Xeno86 or Tihiy do you hear me ? :D

Edited by CharlesF
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Xeno86 or Tihiy do you hear me ? :D

In space no one can hear you scream. :D

Yeah I hear ya :D

I'd suggest finding out which DLLs are in use by PDF printer (lower pane in Process Explorer might help) and trying to disable KEx for just those DLLs. Opera is working in Win2k mode so by default all DLLs used by it also think Win2k system and if the driver has single DLL for both 9x and NT systems (switching depending on visible system version) then it's likely it won't work coz 9x has completely different printing subsystem.

When you last checked Opera 10.63 did you leave it in Win2k mode or switched to default? :>

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Thx for your reply, Xeno86!

* Opera 10.63:

When you last checked Opera 10.63 did you leave it in Win2k mode or switched to default?

With Win 2000 compatibility, I have a crash if I try to use Print preview or Pdf Writer.

If I disable KernelEx extensions, no more crash

* Opera 11 (any build):

With Win NT2k compatibility, I have a crash if I try to use Print preview or Acrobat Pdf Writer (= same thing).

But the printing with HP LaserJet 1022 is fine!

Print preview & Pdf Writer are working normally in Maxthon.

Opera is working in Win2k mode so by default all DLLs used by it also think Win2k system
If I tick 'Don't use these settings in child processes', even after a reboot, it doesn't help.

* Dll's:

I'd suggest finding out which DLLs are in use by PDF printer

For the 'Print preview', I don't know if there is a specific Dll that could be targeted.

Pdf Writer, is displayed as a printer and I don't know where to find it. :}

Through this link: Crash_Opera11.rar ,

I have uploaded a few stuff about the crash: Screenshots from Process Explorer, Log from Dr Watson and from Filemon.

Could you be kind enough to take a look.

Thanks in advance. :)

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With last KernelEx 4.5.1, run the classic installer 'Opera_1111_int_Setup.exe'

-> Options

-> Install for: choose 'Stand-alone installation (USB)'

Install path: as you wish,

so everything will stay in 1 folder.

No change to your registry or anywhere else on the HD.

If you don't want to keep it, merely delete the folder :yes: .

Thanks for the tip!

Just the sort of detail that makes it worthwhile to try this; I've just installed and am trying Opera for the first time in many, many years. Looks good so far, and there's a huge improvement in speed of JavaScript-laden pages (such as here) compared to FF (v2.0.0.22pre).

Joe.

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Yeah I hear ya :D

I'd suggest finding out which DLLs are in use by PDF printer (lower pane in Process Explorer might help) and trying to disable KEx for just those DLLs. Opera is working in Win2k mode so by default all DLLs used by it also think Win2k system and if the driver has single DLL for both 9x and NT systems (switching depending on visible system version) then it's likely it won't work coz 9x has completely different printing subsystem.

When you last checked Opera 10.63 did you leave it in Win2k mode or switched to default? :>

After installing Opera 11.11, I also tried printing. The printer driver pop-up appeared (BTW, I use a network printer), but after clicking "OK", no actual printing occurred.

Then after a reboot (more on this later), I tried printing from Notepad and Wordpad, with and without various KernelEx compatibility modes. Basically, if I use any NT mode (I tried NT 4.0 SP6, 2000 SP4 and XP SP2), the same occurs as for Opera (except that for Notepad, the driver pop-up window only flashes briefly, which is normal behaviour).

Furthermore, after resetting Notepad and/or Wordpad to KernelEx default mode, I must either log-off/log-on or reboot before printing will work again.

So, this problem is not specific to Opera.

Joe.

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