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Win98FE Service Packs


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I'm looking at MDGx's page containing the Windows 98FE SP1 and unofficial SP2, and I'm hoping that MDGx or someone else who's familiar with these will be able to clarify this for me.

The thing is, both of these listings (for SP1 and SP2) are said to install "ALL previously released Hotfixes, Patches + Updates" (MDGx's emphasis). So then, what's the difference between them? What does the SP2 contain that the SP1 doesn't?

Is there a comprehensive contents list somewhere? I imagine that the .EXE to download might (?) contain a description of the contents, but the time to learn what's in a package is before making the decision whether to download, not afterward.

Would also like to know what the relation of these SPs is to the "Essential Free Upgrades + Fixes" that appear further down the page. Are they included in either SP, or are they supplementary files?

It's wonderful that MDGx maintains that site and makes all of this neat stuff available, but it would help to have a bit more information as to what's what. I've been to the site a number of times over the years, but I always come out of it feeling like I've been hit by a tsunami of loose data points, so I've never actually downloaded anything from the site. Now I have a fresh install of FE that can't be updated because Microsoft sent the Win98 update page down the memory hole, and it would help to have this kind of information so that I can make a reasoned decision.

Thanks a bunch for any guidance you might offer.

--JorgeA

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The thing is, both of these listings (for SP1 and SP2) are said to install "ALL previously released Hotfixes, Patches + Updates" (MDGx's emphasis). So then, what's the difference between them? What does the SP2 contain that the SP1 doesn't?

SP1 is the official service pack released by Microsoft. The unofficial SP2 by erpdude8 contains SP1, and the official and unofficial updates released after SP1.

Is there a comprehensive contents list somewhere? I imagine that the .EXE to download might (?) contain a description of the contents, but the time to learn what's in a package is before making the decision whether to download, not afterward.

MDGx's page contains a link to the main thread: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=44732. Be prepared to do some reading.

Would also like to know what the relation of these SPs is to the "Essential Free Upgrades + Fixes" that appear further down the page. Are they included in either SP, or are they supplementary files?

Files in this section were probably out of the scope of the SP, did not make it to the SP, or were not included for a specific reason, although some files may already be included in the SP.

I don't have Windows 98 FE and haven't tried this service pack. All the information I currently have is from reading the links, but I hope this helps.

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SP1 is the official service pack released by Microsoft. The unofficial SP2 by erpdude8 contains SP1, and the official and unofficial updates released after SP1.

Foxbat,

Thanks very much for the information -- it sure did help.

MDGx's page contains a link to the main thread: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=44732. Be prepared to do some reading.

I went through the whole thread, and it's a challenge to tease out what's actually included in the SP2, considering the stuff that was included and then taken out, or were maybes and then not specifically excluded. But it does help to know that SP2 consists mainly (or largely) of official post-SP1 updates. Maybe I'll just download it and see if it includes a text file with a contents list.

So, if I understand this, on a fresh Win98 install you could do SP2 and end up also with everything that's in SP1? How about if you install SP1 by itself first -- if you then do SP2 later, will it know to pass over the SP1 files or will it try to install those all over again?

Then there's the question of knowing what issues, exactly, the various fixes and patches are intended to address. Would be useful to have a dedicated page for each one, like Microsoft used to have. In fact, since I'm not a developer, this is one area where I might be able to contribute something to MSFN: gathering up info about the different files in the SP2. I know that for a while I used to print out and save the individual web pages for Win98 MS Updates as the updates were released. I did this in case my system got messed up after installing an update, so that I had the uninstallation procedure. I know I don't have printouts for all of them, but maybe I can scan in the ones I do have and somehow track down comparable info for the rest.

BTW, do you know if in Win98 there's a way to determine which updates you have installed on the system, like the Update History for XP and later versions of Windows? I have a working system that has just about everything that was released up until support ended in 2006 (except for various international language packs), so if there's a way to find that out then I can do a more comprehensive search.

Much appreciated.

--JorgeA

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Maybe I'll just download it and see if it includes a text file with a contents list.

There's a license.txt in the package. It is just a basic description.

So, if I understand this, on a fresh Win98 install you could do SP2 and end up also with everything that's in SP1? How about if you install SP1 by itself first -- if you then do SP2 later, will it know to pass over the SP1 files or will it try to install those all over again?

Although you can experiment by installing SP1 and then SP2, based on my experience with Win98SE service packs, I would say that installing just SP2 would result in a cleaner installation. The reason is SP1 may contain files/fixes that were be out-of-date or superseded by better ones in SP2. This certainly true for Win98 SE's service packs, where if a user were to install official updates first before a service pack, some of the outdated files would still remain active in the system, even though the service pack installed a newer/better fix (and one of the reasons why files are removed from the SP because it may have been superseded).

BTW, do you know if in Win98 there's a way to determine which updates you have installed on the system, like the Update History for XP and later versions of Windows?

Go to Start, Run, type qfecheck, click OK. This lists some of the updates you have installed. Use it as a guide only; it does not include everything. You can also use NirSoft's WinUpdatesList, which lists pretty much the same files as qfecheck.

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I get why some folks like running Win98SE, but why do you want to run FE? Just curious.

bphlpt,

That's the OS that came with the computer when I bought it from Dell back in 1998. I still have the original installation disk, so when reinstalling I can re-create the exact environment Dell provided, including a number of Dell utilities and accessories. Some bloatware too, of course, but I can deal with it.

In terms of being able to enjoy current technological capabilities, I have other PCs for that, so it's not like I'm missing out on anything just for the sake of running an old OS.

--JorgeA

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Foxbat,

Thanks a whole bunch for your reply -- it answered all of my questions! This is exactly what I was hoping for.

:thumbup

I'll try qfecheck and see what it comes up with.

--JorgeA

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Go to Start, Run, type qfecheck, click OK. This lists some of the updates you have installed. Use it as a guide only; it does not include everything. You can also use NirSoft's WinUpdatesList, which lists pretty much the same files as qfecheck.

Foxbat,

Just FYI -- qfecheck causes an invalid page fault (tried it twice, before and after rebooting), but WinUpdatesList worked great. Thanks again.

--JorgeA

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Win98 FE SP1 was the only official SP released by Microsoft around mid-1999, a few weeks before Win98 SE (4.10.2222) was released to the public.

The Win98fe SP1 file was called wucsp.exe but it's no longer available from Microsoft anymore.

and yes, I'm still in charge of making unofficial SPs for Win98fe and Win95 OSR2.x (and maybe for WinME later on).

I do plan to release updated versions of these unofficial SPs sometime between early summer and late fall of 2012.

a longtime friend of mine used to have a custom-made computer with pre-installed Win98fe (4.10.1998) with a BCM KR632 motherboard,

Intel Pentium 2 (333Mhz) processor and 192Mb of RAM back in the late 1990s and it was good. though several years ago, he's using

a WinXP machine using an AMD Sempron 2500+ CPU and 768Mb of RAM.

I may set up my next door neighbor's Dell Optiplex gx100 computer as a dual-boot system booting Win2000 SP4 and Win98 FE and later SE.

I had some experience setting up dual-boot systems and they're pretty good.

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Win98 FE SP1 was the only official SP released by Microsoft around mid-1999, a few weeks before Win98 SE (4.10.2222) was released to the public.

The Win98fe SP1 file was called wucsp.exe but it's no longer available from Microsoft anymore.

It is still available from Microsoft, here:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/0/8/c0872b4c-ddfc-4dbc-b3e5-ef385a4d349e/wucsp.exe

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and yes, I'm still in charge of making unofficial SPs for Win98fe and Win95 OSR2.x (and maybe for WinME later on).

I do plan to release updated versions of these unofficial SPs sometime between early summer and late fall of 2012.

erpdude,

This is very good news, thanks! :thumbup

--JorgeA

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Win98 FE SP1 was the only official SP released by Microsoft around mid-1999, a few weeks before Win98 SE (4.10.2222) was released to the public.

The Win98fe SP1 file was called wucsp.exe but it's no longer available from Microsoft anymore.

It is still available from Microsoft, here:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/0/8/c0872b4c-ddfc-4dbc-b3e5-ef385a4d349e/wucsp.exe

bristols,

Are you sure that that link works? I tried it on one of my Win98FE machines: it was only a 1.03MB download, and when I clicked on it to open, it didn't seem to do much of anything. There was a box that popped up with a progress bar, but it all went away quickly before I had a chance to read what it was.

Could that be because the PC in which I opened wucsp.exe already has SP1 installed? I was hoping to download a large file containing all the SP1 updates that I could then burn to CD and install as needed.

--JorgeA

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Win98 FE SP1 was the only official SP released by Microsoft around mid-1999, a few weeks before Win98 SE (4.10.2222) was released to the public.

The Win98fe SP1 file was called wucsp.exe but it's no longer available from Microsoft anymore.

It is still available from Microsoft, here:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/0/8/c0872b4c-ddfc-4dbc-b3e5-ef385a4d349e/wucsp.exe

bristols,

Are you sure that that link works? I tried it on one of my Win98FE machines: it was only a 1.03MB download, and when I clicked on it to open, it didn't seem to do much of anything. There was a box that popped up with a progress bar, but it all went away quickly before I had a chance to read what it was.

Could that be because the PC in which I opened wucsp.exe already has SP1 installed? I was hoping to download a large file containing all the SP1 updates that I could then burn to CD and install as needed.

--JorgeA

Yes, it is quite small. :wacko: Honestly, it's been so long since I had a 98 FE system, that the details escape me, except that I always took it to be necessary to install a couple of associated updates along with wucsp.exe, as listed by MDGx, which somehow together with wucsp.exe constitute 'SP1':

http://download.microsoft.com/download/win98/Update/Y2K/W98/EN-US/y2k.exe

http://download.microsoft.com/download/win98/Update/Y2K2/W98/EN-US/Y2KW98_2.EXE

wucsp.exe contains these files inside CSP.CAB (perhaps check to see that you have these builds installed):

accwiz.exe 1.0.0.3

devmgr32.dll 4.10.0.2000

enable.inf

hidclass.sys 4.10.0.2000

joyhid.vxd 4.10.0.2222

mag_hook.dll 4.10.1723.0

magnify.exe 4.10.1723.0

msinfo32.exe 4.10.0.2222

msnp32.dll 4.10.0.2000

msupdate.ocx 4.10.0.2222

oleacc.dll 4.2.2209.0

oleaccrc.dll 4.2.2209.0

openhci.sys 4.10.0.2019

rnr20.dll 4.10.0.2002

stimon.exe 4.10.0.2222

tapisrv.exe 4.10.0.2000

uhcd.sys 4.10.0.2000

usbd.sys 4.10.0.2019

usbhub.sys 4.10.0.2019

vserver.vxd 4.10.0.2000

vtdapi.vxd 4.10.0.2222

Edit: maybe submix8c can expand on this.

Edit by dencorso: added the version info for the VxDs, which I've determined while on XP, by using my VxDVer tool.

Edited by dencorso
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