[WIP] Windows Vista Extended Kernel

[winvispixp]

2 hours ago, yoltboy01 said:

Hey guys. Can someone please tell me which update was prerequired for installing the Extended Kernel? I usually install all patches up to 12/2017 and after installing the May Kernel, I get a BSOD about winload.efi

updates up to april 2017 + kb4474419 and kb4493730 + updated root certificates

just said that a couple of days ago

Edited August 29, 2021 by winvispixp

[yoltboy01]

32 minutes ago, winvispixp said:

updates up to april 2017 + kb4474419 and kb4493730 + updated root certificates

just said that a couple of days ago

Thanks. Havent checked the forum for a while

[win32]

Work continues on the Vista extended kernel. With the next release, you will be able to spoof version numbers on-demand, for either a specific application or the entire system. The values will be set in osver.ini in the Windows folder.

Because I had difficulty accessing high-performance, Vista-compatible hardware for the past few months, I was initially forced to test it on NT4.

 

[SigmaTel71]

2 minutes ago, win32 said:

With the next release, you will be able to spoof version numbers on-demand, for either a specific application or the entire system.

Whoa! That's a very nice feature. Were you inspired by BlackWingCat's NNN4NT5 thing while making this possible?

[win32]

12 minutes ago, SigmaTel71 said:

Whoa! That's a very nice feature. Were you inspired by BlackWingCat's NNN4NT5 thing while making this possible?

Yes, and fcwin2k (for specific applications). However, they don't manipulate the GetVersionEx* functions and just manipulate some registry values instead. This was good enough at the time, but isn't 100% effective like my method. And the registry value that win2k used to grab version numbers has been deprecated as of Vista.

Edited August 29, 2021 by win32

[SigmaTel71]

3 minutes ago, win32 said:

This was good enough at the time, but isn't 100% effective like my method.

I wonder what applications could be manipulated by this method. Will such work on modern browser installers like Google Chrome or Vivaldi?
____
Also, are there any plans on DXGI patches to bring DirectX 11.1 support in future or it's not related to extended kernel?

[Ark_mage2180]

Will next kernel update bring the missing functions to Secur32.dll required to run Edge? And is there any progress with 32-bit libraries?

Edited August 29, 2021 by Ark_mage2180

[giogio3472]

1 hour ago, win32 said:

Work continues on the Vista extended kernel. With the next release, you will be able to spoof version numbers on-demand, for either a specific application or the entire system. The values will be set in osver.ini in the Windows folder.

Because I had difficulty accessing high-performance, Vista-compatible hardware for the past few months, I was initially forced to test it on NT4.

 

with this it will be possible to use apps that support windows 8.1 and below?

[winvispixp]

that means that steam could finally work normally? 

edit: and make csgo running ?

Edited August 29, 2021 by winvispixp

[burd]

48 minutes ago, winvispixp said:

that means that steam could finally work normally? 

edit: and make csgo running ?

Hopefully, would love to see it running properly on vista and could possibly fix some issues with some games aswell.

Edited August 29, 2021 by burd

[burd]

i wonder if we can install IE10 with this, would be a slight upgrade to IE9 even with updates.

[winvispixp]

22 minutes ago, burd said:

i wonder if we can install IE10 with this, would be a slight upgrade to IE9 even with updates.

i don't think that ie10 is more secure than ie9 on vista given the server 2008 updates

[mina7601]

I hope within the next release of vista extended kernel, it will be possible to run the current latest version of firefox (91.0.2) and vmware (workstation) 16.

[win32]

4 minutes ago, mina354 said:

I hope within the next release of vista extended kernel, it will be possible to run the current latest version of firefox (91.0.2) and vmware (workstation) 16.

The culprit for Firefox 89+ font issue has been found: something in ntoskrnl that has yet to be identified (although it should be not be difficult, as it was a bug fixed between Windows 7 RC and RTM). A few other extended kernel users helped identify the source of the bug by running Firefox 89 on Windows 7 builds 7100 to 7600. 7100 to 7264 (the RC) have this issue as well, then RTM runs it fine.

We are blessed by the stability of Windows 7 beta builds as they have helped us identify various issues (6519 as lacking the "drift" issue) without letting the builds' inherent idiosyncrasies and shortcomings get in the way. Imagine if we had to work with Whistler or Longhorn builds?

VMware Workstation 16 will take longer due to a lack of functions for the VMX driver, although later versions of 11 and 12 should run with the GetVersionEx spoofer.

[burd]

6 hours ago, winvispixp said:

i don't think that ie10 is more secure than ie9 on vista given the server 2008 updates

Ofcourse its not? i said its a slight upgrade since IE9 doesnt load much nowadays. Maybe we could even use the w8.0 updates on it and try, provided both actually work to begin with.