[WIP] Windows Vista Extended Kernel

[Karla Sleutel]

@win32, are there any plans to make new Brave versions supported with the extended kernel again, please tell.

[Ark_mage2180]

Is project still alive? It's already 9 months since latest version was released. I want to see fixed sidebar and experience index, but win32 does not spoil any news about new release too.

[erpdude8]

On 12/3/2023 at 8:39 AM, Ark_mage2180 said:

Is project still alive? It's already 9 months since latest version was released.

i wouldn't count on it now

[AstragonQC]

Iirc on a Supermium issue report, he mentioned that the "Extended Kernel's scope has been greatly reduced", and next releases would more focused on Kernel functions to make drivers working rather than making programs running on it.

That's also why Supermium exists : it's more easy to make a fork of that program that can run on the target OS rather than trying to backport syscalls that would require hundreds of work hours to achieve. In another issue report, he explained that making modern versions of Chrome working "natively" on Vista ExK would require to backport the shared memory API from Windows 10 1803/09 (if not making some weird things to replicate this behavior, with a significant risk of breaking everything during the process), which would imply a lot of work for not that much at the end. As soon he would have finished, Chrome probably received one or more updates and if we run out of "luck powder", it will need to backport even more syscalls. At this point, some would probably say "just run the other OS instead". A perpetual circle that would never ends.

From my part, I consider this choice more appropriate, especially towards people that don't want to modify their system (from a side they have legitimate reasons to refuse to install untrusted system binaries) but still want to have some quite recent programs, especially for the browser. (it's more easy to make someone accept installing a standalone program specifically made to run on their OS rather than trying to convincing them to install a "Kind of Kernel Extender they don't understand anything about, with the risk of a problem that can happen during or after the installation and break their OS").

So to resume quickly, no, Vista Extended Kernel isn't dead, just the main scope of this project has changed to something more technical and kinda """advanced users friendly""".

(This is probably badly explained but that's how I understand the current state of thing)

[Saxon]

I read several years ago, there were plans to make a 32bit kernel extension, it's not happening, right?

[WinSuper2005]

Microsoft Edge 114 does not work on Windows Vista Extended Kernel with the KERNEL32.dll error called FindPackagesByPackageFamily missing dll. So we need to wait for 2024 ( next month )

[Brickedandroid]

On 12/9/2023 at 9:07 AM, WinSuper2005 said:

Microsoft Edge 114 does not work on Windows Vista Extended Kernel with the KERNEL32.dll error called FindPackagesByPackageFamily missing dll. So we need to wait for 2024 ( next month )

Are you curious to try Copilot on Windows Vista?

[Sergiaws]

It seems that latest SeaMonkey stopped working with Windows Vista and the error given is very generic. seamonkey.exe - Application Error    The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005). Click OK to terminate the application. Any ideas to solve that?

[woi]

On 12/9/2023 at 10:07 AM, WinSuper2005 said:

Microsoft Edge 114 does not work on Windows Vista Extended Kernel with the KERNEL32.dll error called FindPackagesByPackageFamily missing dll. So we need to wait for 2024 ( next month )

Maybe you can try this Blaukovitch's modified Edge.

You really need to read what @AstragonQC says before begging win32ss for Chromium 112-122 support.

Edited January 2 by woi

[WinSuper2005]

4 minutes ago, woi said:

Maybe you can try this: https://github.com/Blaukovitch/Microsoft-EDGE-Windows-7-CRACK

You need to read what AstragonQC says before begging win32ss for Chromium 112-122 support.

I'm not trying to beg anything, but I've already checked.

[yoltboy01]

So, is the support for Server 2008 ending this month? I mean completly? I don‘t remember any other Windows based on Vista that is still supported after January. Can’t believe that they patched Internet Explorer 9 for nearly 13 years. After all, support for the 7601 line-up also ends this year, but in October right? (PosReady 7). 

[bruno16757]

49 minutes ago, yoltboy01 said:

So, is the support for Server 2008 ending this month? I mean completly? I don‘t remember any other Windows based on Vista that is still supported after January. Can’t believe that they patched Internet Explorer 9 for nearly 13 years. After all, support for the 7601 line-up also ends this year, but in October right? (PosReady 7). 

by jan 9 no more support for vista(server 2008)

by oct 2024 no more support for win7

only left after that is win8.0/8.1/10/11 left

[yoltboy01]

16 hours ago, bruno16757 said:

by jan 9 no more support for vista(server 2008)

by oct 2024 no more support for win7

only left after that is win8.0/8.1/10/11 left

Crazy. Time flies. 
 

I‘m laughing at Windows 8.0 which was discontinued in 2016 but is patchable till 2026 (with methods obviously not named here) 

[AstragonQC]

On 1/2/2024 at 9:15 PM, bruno16757 said:

by jan 9 no more support for vista(server 2008)

by oct 2024 no more support for win7

only left after that is win8.0/8.1/10/11 left

Some people have bet on the hypothetical "Premium Assurance" that MS sold to companies between 2017 and 2018 before being replaced with ESUs that stated "6 more years of updates after the original EoL date" and Windows Server 2008/R2 was mentioned in it. Also when MS replaced PA with ESUs, it was stated in a document (Page 5) that MS will honor the terms of PA for companies that have bough it, which "proves" that some companies may actually have bought those 6 additional years of support.

Some people are confident about the fact at least one company took the Premium Assurance when it was available (as it was a "buy early, pay less" model as this document proves it in Page 4), but they're unsure on how MS will distribute the update packages. The most probable is that MS will just continue to publish them through the MSU Catalog with another layer of artificial locks to "prevent" installing it on systems that are not "targeted" to receive them.

Those 6 years starts upon EoL date (so January 14, 2020), which means the actual deadline is January 13, 2026 (which is mentioned in this slide, at slide 11).
(If not counting some institutions like the army that will (without any doubt) buy additional support to Microsoft in order to maintain some systems until their decommission because XP is not the only in this case, 7 will probably have a such treatment as well, and also 10 in the future).

--

So to correct you on your supposition, the EoL schedule is more something like this (in case we can access Server 2008/R2 updates packages after January):

• October 2024: Windows 7 x86 (with the EoL of POSReady 7 as Server 2008 R2 is only available as x64).
• January 2026: Windows Vista, Windows 7 x64.
• October 2026: Windows 8 & 8.1.

(Or maybe *Plot twist* some companies will request more updates to MS, but that's more going into a crack theory rather than a probable thing).

--

(Oh and the funnier is on the slide I mentioned earlier is at slide 21 where they just copy/pasted the text because it's written that Svr2012/R2 to EOL in January 2023, which is not the case. But it also describes something more interesting: MS also considered to provide this Premium Assurance plan on Server 2012/R2 and get updates until (October) 2029).

The NT6 OSes never-ending lifespans are just hilarious. And Vista will outpass XP as the longest-supported OS with slightly more than 19 years worth of updates (December 2006-January 2026).

[WinSuper2005]

Alright guys, Windows Server 2008 including Server R1 and R2 will end the extended security update support tomorrow, and Windows Server 2012 including Server R1 and R2 will end the extended security update support on 2026. So, you guys, this is the last update of Windows Vista for you so that @win32 will know.