Get Rid of XXCopy's 30-day Repeating Update Nag Message!

[dencorso]

You all know I'm a big fan of XXCOPY, and that I consider it the best option for file-based incremental backups (as opposed to images, which can be seen as sector-based, time-fixed backups). You all also know that the last free version of XXCOPY which is guaranteed (by Kan Yabumoto -- the author -- himself) to work in 9x/ME is v.2.96.5. This snippet of XXCOPY's version history quoted below shows the telltale remark "Unicode support", which usually means "not anymore for 9x/ME", from the time it was originally published, and, more recently, Kan even added the "(lost Win9X/ME support)", to avoid leaving room for any doubt about it.

2.96.5 2008-01-08 Tested with Windows XP Service Pack 3

2.97.0 2008-03-02 Unicode support (lost Win9X/ME support)

This means we, 9x/ME users, are stuck with v.2.96.5 of XXCOPY. Later versions are UNICODE, and while Unicows.DLL (or KernelEx + Unicows) may enable one to use them, there's no telling which quircks may then lurk in them. For mission-critical tasks, like incremental backups, I do use the latest version while on XP, but on 9x/ME I don't trust anything above v.2.96.5! However, XXCOPY implements an aggressive update policy, so that, while always free for personal use, it'll nag one to update, as explained by Kan himself here:

With the Freeware version, you will see the following notice at the first invocation after the 60th day of the installation, and then if you do not download a newer Freeware version, you will see the same message once in every 30 days.

=======================================================================

You have been using the XXCOPY Freeware Version for more than nn days.

Since XXCOPY is a constantly evolving product, you should check the

XXCOPY home page every now and then and download the latest version.

http://www.xxcopy.com

You may use the XXCOPY Freeware for your personal use, free of charge,

1. if you install the XXCOPY program on a computer that is your own

personal property and you are the primary user of the computer,

2. if you transfer files between networked computers using XXCOPY,

all of the computers are also your own personal property.

If your usage of XXCOPY does not qualify for the Freeware license,

please acquire a valid license for the use of the XXCOPY product.

=======================================================================

The motivation for us is primarily to eradicate the use of very old versions of XXCOPY as much as possible. As you may be aware of, we try to respond to nearly all user questions and inquiries (including freeware users) in Email and phone calls. Answering questions regarding an "ancient" versions of the freeware versions is really [a] pain in the neck. More often than not, the injuries [inquires] do not include the version number the user claims to have problems [with]. The above reminder is to encourage the user for an update on a periodic basis. Since we post new versions fairly often, we would like everyone to use newer versions ----- we spend time to improve and fix bugs to eliminate problems. So, we feel the freeware users should do their share by trying the latest version before asking for help, or reporting problems that had long been solved. [...] The user should see it once [every] 30 days. Not on every invocation.

Now, while I respect Kan's motives, in my understanding, once one cannot update anymore because of lost compatibility, this nag should be disabled...

Of course, anyone who disables it, does so on his own, and knowing fully well that no support whatsoever should be expected from Kan himself or anyone from the XXCOPY team. Moreover, as always, the standard disclaimer applies: It works great for me, but YMMV and I can guarantee nothing whatsoever about this patch, and about the use one makes of it. So, by deciding to apply it you fully accept that anything you do is of YOUR SOLE RESPONSIBILITY... Hence, if after performing this mod your pc morphs into a purple mushroom and explodes, causing a 10-day worldwide blackout in the process, you know you can't blame me for it! You have been warned.

That said, here's a patch pattern exclusively to disable the nag on XXCOPY freeware v.2.96.5 (it applies to no other version but this one).

0) Get the free version of XXCOPY (you must get XXCOPY FREEWARE v.2.96.5 - xxfw2965.zip. From that zip one must extract XXCOPY.EXE and confirm it has the following characteristics:

Size: 388,608 bytes

Created: Tue Jan 08, 2008 04:09:06 GMT

PE Timestamp: 0x4783F0A8 or Tue Jan 08, 2008 21:52:40 GMT

CRC32: 5C139E0E

MD5: 994BB5EE8E3317FADF6D978D97E6F858

SHA-1: D73B93A15A7CA4BA5A48427DB3BDBBC6162FBAC9

1) Download the freeware command-line utils.zip, from KanastaCorp, grab inside it just patch.exe and drop it into the \%windir%\command\ folder;

2) Download the xxcopypat.7z attached below, grab inside it xxcopy.pat and drop it into the same temporary folder one put XXCOPY.EXE in;

3) Rename XXCOPY.EXE to XXCOPY.ORI;

4) Start a DOS box, go to that temporary folder, and run the following command from the DOS prompt:

patch -p XXCOPY.ORI xxcopy.pat XXCOPY.EXE

All having gone well, the new, nagless version of XXCOPY.EXE shall have:

CRC32: 7926035F

MD5: 09783DA9A811BF596FCFA1CB0F531CDD

SHA-1: 20E6A15819CF0639A8626AA5FEF0D12F483FB1C1

For those who decide to install XXCOPY for the first time, it's maybe easier to install the package as downloaded and then replace the XXCOPY.EXE file by the patched one. In any case, on installing XXCOPY FREEWARE v.2.96.5 it'll nag about it being a too old version, but this nag is another one, not related to the one addressed by the patch, and it happens just during installation, so it can be ignored and forgotten about.

xxcopypat.7z

[dencorso]

[...] We discourage people [from] using very old Windows versions. There are good reasons for Microsoft to phase out their support for very old OS environments. Much of those reasons also apply to our business.

Some years ago, we had to give up supporting Win9X. At that time, our reason for dropping support on Win9X/ME was it became not practical to support Unicode in Win9X/ME. We chose the Unicode support over legacy environments. The most recent version of XXCOPY that runs under Win9X/ME is v.2.96.8.

[...] Since our resource is limited, we do not want to pay attention to those who insist [in] using an obsolete Windows system. We reluctantly provide old versions to paid customers on an as-is basis.

To be perfectly honest, we do not even discuss problems using XXCOPY on very old systems. We stop[ped] having test machines running Windows NT4 and 2000 and we do not want to spend time just to verify few things

Kan Yabumoto

2.96.5 - 2008-01-08 Tested with Windows XP Service Pack 3

2.96.6 - 2008-05-21 Undocumented silent release...

2.96.7 - 2008-09-13 Undocumented silent release...

2.96.8 - 2010-05-15 Undocumented silent release...

2.97.0 - 2008-03-02 Unicode support (lost Win9X/ME support)

Hence, I stand corrected: the last free version of XXCOPY guaranteed to work with 9x/ME is really v.2.96.8 - xxfw2968.zip.

From that zip one can extract XXCOPY.EXE and confirm it has the following characteristics:

Size: 385,024 bytes

PE Timestamp: 0x4BEF6642 or Sun May 16, 2010 03:28:02 GMT

CRC32: FDE5CCB3

MD5: E8DDA25DBDB7FDC93FAC471FBEBD9B84

SHA-1: 6F166273EA975148C3C0477EA9CDD2ACDD9F561A

Bear in mind that the new patch pattern is named "xxc2968.pat", not "xxcopy.pat"...

So, the patch command must now be:

patch -p XXCOPY.ORI xxc2968.pat XXCOPY.EXE

And, after patching using the patch pattern attached to this post, all having gone well, the new, nagless version of XXCOPY.EXE shall have:

CRC32: 731C8F2F

MD5: 721AF3B37412BAC880E528A341FFC14A

SHA-1: A0B0C766CB8B010C50EC860613C9444DA6F7C028

xxc2968.7z

[PROBLEMCHYLD]

Have you tried HDCopy 2.104 http://web.archive.org/web/20040618235540/http://home.tiscali.de/zdata/mainpage_e.htm

[jaclaz]

Have you tried HDCopy 2.104 http://web.archive.org/web/20040618235540/http://home.tiscali.de/zdata/mainpage_e.htm

Nice , though it seems like "limited":

http://web.archive.org/web/20040619083303/http://home.tiscali.de/zdata/hdcopy_e.htm

to copying the WHOLE CONTENTS of a drive to another one (and it has to be found if the result is a "copy" or a "clone", it sounds more like a "copy"), it is thus corresponding to:

http://www.icompute.info/xcopy_drive_copy.htm

http://www.duxcw.com/digest/Howto/hd/cpyhd/cpyhd2.htm

 

I SERVe Kentucky Fried Chicken Hot!

 

(though possibly this won't work in Me, while it does on 9x)

 

Or to xxcopy /CLONE (which does not really-really "clone"):

http://www.xxcopy.com/xxcopy10.htm

http://www.xxcopy.com/xxcopy11.htm

 

jaclaz