Seeking information about some lost Windows Millennium updates

[iMic]

I'm currently compiling an archive of the updates and hotfixes that Microsoft officially released for Windows Millennium Edition during its short life. I'm sure several people will ask "Why?", given that there's already community efforts to integrate these fixes along with a bunch of other community-produced unofficial patches into Cumulative Updates and Unofficial Service Packs.

In addition to tinkering with old Windows and dabbling in retro-computing, I do a lot of work toward software preservation with different groups. And I've committed to the task of cataloguing and preserving these files for Windows Millennium Edition specifically, since it's one of the more overlooked versions of Windows, compared to a lot of preservation and documenting efforts that surround Windows 98, 2000, XP and so on. Of course, once this is done, I'm happy to make my archives open to the public and the Internet Archive for everyone to benefit from.

I've managed to account for over 100 updates and hotfixes - probably closer to 150 by now - but there's a couple that I haven't been able to track down information about, find their files, or even their purpose. So I'm turning to the community to shed any light on these select few in the hopes that someone, somewhere out there might know something - or even have a file kicking around on an old CD or hard drive somewhere.

(And yes, I've extensively searched the web and even these forums.)

 

The Mysterious VMOUSE Update

I know there isn't anything particularly mysterious about it - it's just a Microsoft hotfix that was released without a title, a known purpose, or any kind of documentation. Included as part of the IntelliPoint 4.1 and 4.12 software suites, and known by many names:

• 98VMOUSE.EXE (Windows 98). Contains VMOUSE.VXD 4.10.0.2225.
• 98FMOUSE.EXE (Windows 98). VMOUSE.VXD contained within differs from 98VMOUSE by only one byte - a switch from 08 to 0A at offset 0x3525. I'm no expert in x86 assembly, but according to W32Dasm, it seems like it's a compare between two operands, and the 08 / 0A is one of the comparison values (08 being 8 and 0A being 10, respectively).
• 98JMOUSE.EXE (Windows 98). Japanese version?
• MEVMOUSE.EXE (Windows Me). Contains VMOUSE.VXD 4.90.0.3003.
• MEFMOUSE.EXE (Windows Me). VMOUSE.VXD contained within differs from MEVMOUSE by only one byte - a switch from 08 to 0A at offset 0x2519. See information for 98FMOUSE above.
• MEJMOUSE.EXE (Windows Me.) Japanese version?
• Q318307.EXE and ME318307.EXE on MDGx' Website. Identical to 98VMOUSE.EXE and MEVMOUSE.EXE, respectively.
• "VMouseForWin98" and "VMouseForWinMe" inside the IntelliPoint MSI installation bundle that calls them.

According to the INF files inside each, 318307 appears to be the QFE / KB number. It doesn't correspond to any public-facing knowledge base article however, available on the modern web or via the Wayback Machine.

Strangely the update also creates a registry entry:

;Enable Q318307 
HKLM,"System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\VMD","Enable Q318307",0x00000001,01

Which I can confirm is referenced from inside VMOUSE.VXD, so it must do something. I thought for a while it may have something to do with smoother cursor motion, polling or refresh, etc... but nothing conclusive.

If anyone can provide any information on what this fix does, or if it may have ever been linked with an article number, that would be appreciated.

 

"Cannot Wake Computer from Standby with USB" (264386)

(Internet Archive Link.) This one may have only ever existed in the Japanese market, as it seems to mainly affect Fujitsu and NEC branded computers. It contains USBD.SYS 4.90.3001.1 and USBHUB.SYS 4.90.3001.1 in the Japanese version; the US release probably contained 3001 versions as well.

"264386JPNM.EXE" was the Japanese filename, and the only known location for it online now is inside a password-protected archive at this link:

http://radioc.web.fc2.com/column/w98lib/mefix/wme_hidden_fix.htm

The password hint is "PASS is the name of the person who said "It's nice weather today" on page 26 of the Windows Me Quick Start Guide". This doesn't appear however in the English version of the Quick Start Guide, so I assume it's limited to the Japanese one, which I don't have and haven't been able to find.

Anyway, if anyone has the Japanese version of this file, knows more about it, or can surprise me with an English / USAM, etc version of this update, that would be fantastic.

 

"Computer Suspends After Resuming with Keyboard Power Key" (281921)

(MS FTP Mirror Link.) Contains CONFIGMG.VXD 4.90.3002 and VPOWERD.VXD 4.90.3004. The Japanese version filename is known - "281921JPNM.EXE" - but the English version is nowhere to be found.

Unlike 264386 above, I know an English version must have existed at some point, as I've found the CONFIGMG.VXD 4.90.3002 standalone file that would have been contained in it, but not the update itself.

Although VPOWERD.VXD was replaced by several newer Windows Millennium Edition updates, this is the only one I'm aware of that contained a newer CONFIGMG.VXD file. Although I have this file, I'd like to eventually find the package it was contained in, as presumably it also contained a Security Catalog file needed to pass Windows' System File Protection on a standard install.

 

"WMI Scripts Generate "Permission Denied" Error Message" (282949)

(Internet Archive Link.) Contained a newer version of WMEMPROX.DLL. The Knowledge Base article confirms that it was released for Windows 95, 98 and Millennium Edition. I have been able to locate the Windows 98 version of this update, titled "q282949_win98.exe" from the source I located it from, but I'm unsure if that was its original title. Unfortunately that same source did not have the update for Windows Millennium Edition, and the 98 version does not install on Windows Me.

 

"Windows Me Help and Support Update, November, 2000" (278497)

This update contained an issue that would cause the computer to hang while installing it, and so it was pulled and replaced by Microsoft soon after with update 299014 "Help and Support Update Hangs During Reboot". It contains HELPCTR.EXE 4.90.3002 and HCUPDATE.EXE 4.90.3002. The filename is currently unknown, however the 299014 update that replaced it has the filename "Q299014.EXE".

Q299014 almost completely replaced it, but Q278497 would have contained a Setup INF file that created a registry entry in Active Setup with a unique GUID. As this GUID is currently unknown, it continues to appear in Windows Update v3 (via sites like Windows Update Restored), as these sites check for a specific registry key containing this GUID. So I would like to find it, so I can integrate this GUID into a global "ignore list" for Windows Update.

For reference, 299014's GUID is "{ce3a4089-cd35-4358-b5c7-36625717011b}". It'll look something like that, but a different combination of alphanumeric characters separated by dashes.

I have also tried the inverse - presumably Windows Update Restored may have the necessary files somewhere that contain this GUID, but it's not included in whatever files are downloaded from the server. Attempting to download the update through there also fails - it appears to be one of the missing ones on the server end, so although it appears in the updates list, it fails every time.

EDIT: It looks like this update in Windows Update v3 might be referring to Q299014 after all, but it's missing an additional file - wuwmupd1.cab - which is downloaded and installed alongside it.

 

Cheers,

iMic.

Edited March 16 by iMic
Added Note to 278497, Updated 281921.

[WULover]

Hello! Regarding the updates you're looking for, you can get in touch with us on our Discord server or MSFN thread. We might have them, as our database is quite big now xD

 

Cheers,

WULover, founder of Windows Update Restored