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98SE2ME = Killer Replacements: ME -> 98 SE


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On a sidenote, I found that AVG reported a handful of "corrupted" Win98SE system files, most of them are from 98SSE2ME (Millenium). They are not infected, of course. But AVG recognised that these are not original Win98SE files so put them in quarantine :(

This issue only happens with AVG 10 (aka AVG 2011), AFAIK, which, of course, doesn't run on Win 9x/ME. However, for those of us who multiboot, it's possible to scan the Win 9x/ME boot partition with AVG 2011 when we're running Win XP (or any other NT-family OS), and then AVG 2011 will pop the now familiar message:

"D:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\filename.ext"; "Corrupted executable file"; "Potentially dangerous object"

and send the file packing to the Virus Vault. :wacko:

In my case, there were the 10 files it didn't like: BATMETER.DLL; CALC.EXE; HID.DLL; HIDSERV.EXE; POWRPROF.DLL; QCUT.DLL; REGEDIT.EXE; ROUTE.EXE; TWAIN_32.DLL; TWUNK_32.EXE. I was furious, at first, because there is no way to whitelist things AVG considers a "Corrupted executable file"; "Potentially dangerous object", as oposed to "Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs), for which AVG has a whitelist. Moreover, Jolaes is right, all those files are from 98SE2ME, but except for REGEDIT.EXE, they're plain vanilla Win ME files, straight from the Win ME installation CD, and signed by MS, so how come AVG 2011 insists they're corrupt? :angry:

But the fact is AVG 2011 *is right*... well, sort of: it all depends on what one considers to be a corrupt file, and the NT-family OSes do have stricter requirements about PE headers than Win 9x/ME! For more details read this. Furthermore, if one tries to run that CALC.EXE in Win XP, it refuses to run and throws the

"<Drive>:\<Path>\<File> is not a valid Win32 application."

error message! :huh: So, here we have a set of files that really are corrupt when seen by Win XP, but which are OK in Win 9x/ME! :whistle:

Well, one solution to this issue is to downgrade these files back to their Win 98SE conterparts, which aren't detected as corrupt in any OS...

But this is not an acceptable solution in my book. So I decided to find a way to keep the updated files...

... and here is it: download PE Explorer Free 30-Day Trial version from this page, install it (I did it on XP, but they say it also runs on 9x/ME...), load each one of the problem files, one at a time, and let PE Explorer create corrected versions of them. It'll fail to correct only one file, this being the special REGEDIT.EXE, modified by Tihiy (about which more later). Once you're satisfied that all other files are correct versions working as usual, you may uninstal PE Explorer, as it won't be needed anymore, and substitute the problem files by those files corrected by PE Explorer. Please notice that MDGx offers updated versions of TWAIN_32.DLL and TWUNK_32.EXE, so those two files might just be updated to their newer versions (which aren't detected as corrupt files).

Now, the only remaining problem file is the special REGEDIT.EXE, which PE Explorer isn't able to correct. This one I've corrected by hand, and included here as a patch pattern. In order to use the enclosed patch pattern you need to grab the original REGEDIT.EXE v. 4.90.0.3000 from inside WIN_17.CAB from Win ME's original distribution CD, and rename it REGEDIT.ME. Then download the freeware command-line utils.zip, from KanastaCorp, grab inside it just PATCH.EXE and drop it into the \%windir%\command\ folder. Then download the attached file containing REGEDIT.PAT. Now create a temporary folder, say, C:\TEMP\PATCH and put REGEDIT.ME and REGEDIT.PAT in it. Then open a DOS box, go to C:\TEMP\PATCH and, from there run the following command:

PATCH -p REGEDIT.ME REGEDIT.PAT REGEDIT.EXE

A new REGEDIT.EXE will be created, and it will be v. 4.90.0.3001. This file is a modified version of Tihiy's hybrid REGEDIT.EXE, which isn't detected as a corrupt file.

After you're satisfied it's working OK, it's time to substitute the version from 98SE2ME by this one PATCH.EXE has just created. HTH.

BTW, the corrected CALC.EXE now runs OK under Win XP, in case you want to test it.

regedit_patch_pattern.7z

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  • 1 month later...

UPDATED - 7-27-2011

Please see the 1st post for most recent 98SE2ME update.

___________________________________

Updates:

___________________________________

I have not tested recent 98SE2ME changes + updates because I don't have Windows 98 SE installed.

Please test at your convenience to make sure everything works properly.

Thanks. ;)

___________________________________

P.S.:

Maybe one of these days [who knows, I may find time ;-)] I'll fix the shortcuts issue.

HTH

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Hello MDGx! Any ways to use your pack with different language? Is it possible translate it?
To answer your Q...

quoted from READ1ST.TXT (last section called "THE SOURCE"), found here:

THE SOURCE

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

See INNOFILE.TXT (included):

- Start button -> Programs -> 98SE2ME -> "Source Scripts + Translation Guide"

shortcut.

OR:

- (Double-)click on C:\9!M\INNOFILE.TXT

for details about 98SE2ME + Inno Setup source scripts + logos and to learn how

to translate + recompile 98SE2ME.EXE into languages other than English.

Also available online:

http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/INNOFILE.ZIP

There are already a French + an Italian pack available here:

http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/

also listed here:

http://www.mdgx.com/web.htm#92M

and here:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=46349

HTH

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Hello.

I installed the latest (Jul 27) version today, with 'all' options selected.

After what appeared to be a successful reboot, and update in DOS mode, I get an error message upon the desktop loading.

Cannot find path 'C:\Program'

... or something like that. I also noticed that all of the start menu items are missing their icons, and only display text.

EDIT;

After I rebooting yet again, the menu icons returned to normal. My first guess was that a script error had truncated the full path to "C:\Program Files\" to the above mentioned path, and this led me to inspect the autoexec.bat. What I found was the following being run each time I had restarted since.

@IF EXIST C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI32.DLL COPY/Y/Z C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI32.DLL C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI32.W98
@IF EXIST C:\9!M\GDI32.DLL COPY/Y/Z C:\9!M\GDI32.DLL C:\9S2M\SYSTEM
@IF EXIST C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI.EXE COPY/Y/Z C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI.EXE C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\GDI.W98
@IF EXIST C:\9!M\GDI.EXE COPY/Y/Z C:\9!M\GDI.EXE C:\9S2M\SYSTEM
@IF EXIST C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\USER32.DLL COPY/Y/Z C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\USER32.DLL C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\USER32.W98
@IF EXIST C:\9!M\USER32.DLL COPY/Y/Z C:\9!M\USER32.DLL C:\9S2M\SYSTEM
@IF EXIST C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\USER.EXE COPY/Y/Z C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\USER.EXE C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\USER.W98
@IF EXIST C:\9!M\USER.EXE COPY/Y/Z C:\9!M\USER.EXE C:\9S2M\SYSTEM
@IF EXIST C:\9!M\O2DOS.BAT CALL C:\9!M\O2DOS.BAT

Obviously, something interrupted the install progress, and it remained incomplete. I'm guessing it was a batch path error, or possibly a hardware issue on my part.

Since I had installed the older 982ME on my original 98 PC without issue a couple years back, I didn't bother to use the backup option. I suppose I'll have to reinstall Windows yet again. :wacko:

Edited by HardDriv'n
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I installed the latest (Jul 27) version today, with 'all' options selected.

After what appeared to be a successful reboot, and update in DOS mode, I get an error message upon the desktop loading.

Cannot find path 'C:\Program'

... or something like that. I also noticed that all of the start menu items are missing their icons, and only display text.

I also have this error message.

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That C:\Program error is the one that effects the installation of the msn games and pinball. The files aren't installed for them and so the links in the start menu, when getting updated on reboot after installing 98SE2ME, cause that error message since the links can't complete with the files not being found.

The error where the autoexec.bat isn't changed back is one that was fixed long ago. In way older 98SE2ME versions I used to have to delete those lines calling for those file replacements from the Windows ME cd during startup. But it's been a long time. I'm surprised to see it reoccur. I don't think it's related to the msn game pinball C:\Program error. And it didn't happen on my machines with recent versions of 98SE2ME. Those file replacements occurred perfectly and the autoexec.bat was restored to not containing the commands perfectly.

The only bug on my machine using Option 2 was the msn games, pinball C:\Program glitch.

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Please, those of you who had the "C:\Program" error on setup, would you be so kind and provide a little bit of information to help in fixing this error?

If so, open the registry editor (Start > Run > type REGEDIT > Press OK or Enter), then navigate to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\VarLDID

Then please post the exact values for the subkeys 28700, 28701, 28702.

If the path and/or respective subkeys do not exist on your machine, please post all the same so we acknowledge it.

The language of your Windows OS might be useful too, in case it's not English.

Thank you.

@MDGx: I'm not at all familiar with VB scripts, but when trying to run the script that finds the "Program Files" environment variable in registry (created by O2.BAT), I get the error stating "This program cannot be run in DOS mode". Since the users have not reported this error, I suppose I'm just doing something wrong; however, running the script manually under Windows does pop up a MessageBox stating SET PF=C:\PROGRA~1, which is the DOS (short 8+3) name of "Program Files". Since the error reported by users is "cannot find C:\Program", I believe they might have the Windows (long) name in that registry location and the space in the Windows name confuses the script, because it is not "escaped" in the O2.BAT script. All it needs is to "escape" the Program Files name so it would yield SET PF="C:\Program Files" in case that's what the 28700 registry subkey holds. The change I suggest for the corresponding line in O2.BAT is the following:

@ECHO WScript.ECHO "SET PF=""" %AN% sh.RegRead("%LM%\%VL%") %AN% """">>%TEMP%\$PF$.VBS

(note the added quotes after SET PF= and the %AN% """" before >> ; I would've made them red but the colors panel won't show up, for some reason)

My values for the aforementioned keys are:

- 28700 > C:\PROGRA~1

- 28701 > C:\Program Files

- 28702 > C:\PROGRA~1

[EDIT]

I just noticed the same technique of finding the registry value of Program Files is used in O3.BAT for Movie Maker and in O6.BAT for Pinball (again) and GameZone bunch of files (I presume the MSN games mentioned prevoously in the topic). Therefore the fix I posted above should be applied to these two batch launchers as well.

The only thing I'm not sure of is whether the DOS interpretor will correctly parse the quoted PF variable when it contains the correct short form of C:\PROGRA~1.

Edited by Drugwash
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  • 2 weeks later...

Here are the values:

28700 "C:\PROGRA~1"

28701 "C:\Program Files"

28702 "C:\PROGRA~1"

The latest 98SE2ME does also include the old problem of the autoexec.bat inserted lines accessing the WInME cdrom remaining. I checked that and was surprised to see them there after this problem had disappeared long ago. I just deleted the lines and of course that's fine, but I wonder why they stayed in the first place.

In a totally unrelated direction:

Has anyone else noticed that even using only the official Microsoft Security Updates CD and Window Update, neither of which I use of course but I did it recently just for a test, all the nice tutorials in the Discovering Windows, Welcome To Windows program break? They break with any set of unofficial updaters (Gape, Soporific, Maximus-Decim, etc) as well, which was the reason for my testing the official methods.

The Mouse and Windows Desktop lessons all get javascript errors, and none of the "ShowMe" videos in the What's New section, as well as in a seperately installed similar Microsoft tutorial cd (Start's Here or something, can't remember right now) play. They'll play on a fresh install or if only IE 6SP1 is installed, but when one goes through the updates something in all that stuff breaks the things.

Interestingly no other javascript related things, whether web pages or software videos, break. Only those Microsoft tutorials.

I apologize in advance for the unrelated info, but this appears to be the thread most of the super dudes still read first if at all. You guys will know I already tried Windows Scripting 5.6, 5.7, reinstalling and updating both Microsoft Java and Sun (to 6 update 7), the MDAC, msxml stuff, Windows Help updates, IE Cumulatives, etc. Flash is 9.47, Shockwave 10.0.0.23 and all working if that may be in some weird way related.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

UPDATED · 12-14-2011

Please see the 1st post for most recent 98SE2ME update.

___________________________________

Updates:

  • Options 1, 2, 3 + 6: fixed VBScript code in O2.BAT, O3.BAT + O6.BAT.
    Replaced this:
    ECHO WScript.ECHO "SET PF=" %AN% sh.RegRead("%LM%\%VL%")>>%TEMP%\$PF$.VBS
    with this code:
    ECHO WScript.ECHO "SET PF=""" %AN% sh.RegRead("%LM%\%VL%") %AN% """">>%TEMP%\$PF$.VBS
    Hopefully "C:\Program Files" will be now properly recognized. ;-/
    [thank you Drugwash]

___________________________________

I have not tested recent 98SE2ME changes + updates because I don't have Windows 98 SE installed.

Please test at your convenience to make sure everything works properly.

Thanks. ;)

___________________________________

HTH

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