The way to change information about the language version

[egrabrych]

Looking at the different language versions SP2 and SP3 (other than "EN-US"), I met 16-bit files of type "NE" (e.g.: Krnl386.exe and Gdi.exe) that were in the revised language version, but information in the file description said that it is a version of "English". I suspect that these files were modified using eXeScope – a program which does not allow editing this information.

Looking at these files in hex-editor, I noticed a certain regularity: block of information about a file ends of the word "Translation". At some distance it is followed by two adjacent groups of hexadecimal values, which are mirror image of the sequence values of ASCII, defining of the language, contained in initial part of the file information block. And so, for example: when the version of "EN-US" will have sequence consecutive ASCII codes: 040904E4 in the initial part of the block of information, the corresponding sequence hex values will be: 09 04 E4 04 (at the end in the file information block). Translation of the file to the “Polish” language version entails changing the sequence ASCII values to: 041504E2 - for which the correct hex values sequence will be: 15 04 E2 04 (at the end in the file information block).

“English” language version:

“Polish” language version:

Correcting this way the "NE" file (with the resources previously translated into the desired language using eXeScope program) in the hexadecimal editor – is the unique correcting carried out in a hex-editor. It seems not to affect the correct structure of the file, but enters the correct information about the language of this file. The files: Gdi.exe and Krnl386.exe modified in this way, served me for several weeks, without introducing noticeable errors in functioning of my Windows 98SE system.

If there is something wrong with my argumentation above, please correct me.

egrabrych

Edited February 28, 2015 by egrabrych