New IE Removal Fileset

[Oleg_II]

Squeeto

Absolutely! I recommend you to craft one INF with tweaks you want to implement and place it into SVCPK. HFSLIP will deal with it

[Squeeto]

I tried the new fileset and got this message during install:

The file mru_kill.exe was not copied correctly.

The file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid

Windows 2000 system image. If you are installing from a CD,

there may be a problem with the Windows 2000 CD.

I get the options retry, skip and quit

Yet it still ends up in StartupCommon; anything to worry about?

[Oleg_II]

Squeeto

Read my post on previous page. It will correct the installation.

[fdv]

hi guys, sorry, redownload the test set (url on previous page i think) it should fix this file not found bug. also i put 'show desktop' in the quicklaunch. if it works i might as well take the blue "e" out... anyway, still want to optionalize the defragger and html subsystems.

thanks squeeto and oleg for checking this test set out. i know its taking forever but glad everyone's been patient

[Oleg_II]

FDV

'Show desktop' works Let this blue "e" goes!

But I had to change from

mru_kill.exe = 1,,,,,,,,3,3;new

to

mru_kill.exe = 1,,,,,,,2,0,0

Edited December 17, 2005 by Oleg_II

[Squeeto]

Yep, had a problem with MRU_kill

The drive or network connection that the shortcut 'MRU Eraser.lnk'

refers to is unavailable. Make sure that the disk is properly inserted

or the network resource is available, and then try again.

thanks ... for checking this test set out. i know its taking forever but glad everyone's been

No Trouble. Thanks for all the hard work so that we can play

[dirtwarrior]

I wonder when this will have a GUI

[fdv]

dirtwarrior, I don't really understand your post. My fileset is drag and drop into i386 and you're done.

anyway, the last test set is now the sp5 set. i will update documentation later in it, but if you grabbed the last test set you have the latest ver. my thanks to all who contributed in this thread. as always, the goal is to make windows 2000 less foolish looking and less of a resource hog while taking out IE. the goal is not necessarily to add tweaks (there are other ways to accomplish that) nor is the goal to shrink windows down to 1 megabyte (because removing too much would make it useless -- the fileset has a HUGE international audience, and it has to be useful to ALL of these folks from lots of countries).

changes / fixes in this fileset, listed no matter how minor:

- APCOMPAT.INF removed. No longer used at all.

- ACCESSOR.INF removed. No longer used at all.

- Help files removed

- wordpad and converters removed

- POSIX subsystem removed

- OS/2 is gone by default now. I have not created an OS/2 INF installer.

- Added my own SHELL.INF to replace all of that garbage MS put in the start menu.

- Reference to hticons commented out of HIVECLS.INF

- DFRG.INF has been rewritten to install the Defragger separately (not installed by TXTSETUP any more) so it's easy to remove

- MSHTML.INF has been rewritten to install MS HTML and Help system

- AU.INF has been rewritten to install auto update, but you have to install MSHTML.INF

- Add/remove windows components, IExpress, and RASPhone have all been added to Start menu.

- A new util that deletes the contents of two data storage reg keys, MRU_KILL.EXE, is added to the startup group*.

- QuickLaunch has been restored, and so has "Show Desktop."

- Paint and Calc and Sound volume are all installed by default, with no user choice (this was the popular consensus for

these.) Wallpaper bitmaps, mouse pointers, clipboard, packager and other such things are not installed anymore.

- DTC and COM are removed. Use ADD_COM.BAT to add them back.

- The dummy IEXPLORE.EXE is copied into Program Files\Internet Explorer. A shortcut to it is now created in the Quick Launch

directory. This program will launch the browser of your choice. To reset the browser path for this dummy program, find and

delete the value in the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\datafreak\dummy\path

IEXPLORE.EXE dummy file is Copyright Johnathan Howell of datafreak.org.

* mru_kill.exe is simply an INF that deletes registry keys that store a bunch of data on you.

See more info on this at http://www.velasco.com.br/explorer_spy.txt

Edited December 18, 2005 by fdv

[Squeeto]

I know this is picky but I am here to help sort the bugs out

There are two Open Withs on the right click of defrag.

So far everything else seems to glide.

ExploreXP - Explorer alternative. Useful because it isn't tied into hundreds of other system DLLs.

This is from FDV's site. If we remove explorer could we not then remove mru_kill?

[fdv]

the kernel fills those keys, not explorer.

in any case, explorexp is not an explorer replacement. you'd have to use an entirely new shell. which is pretty severe IMHO just to delete the windows tracking data and not even guaranteed

these data collection keys are not really widely publicized and i don't think anyone has tried a new shell and reported / posted the results on the internet of what happens to the data collection regkeys.

mru_kill is a kludge definately. if anyone know C++ or some way to make an EXE to just delete these keys, that would be a lot better -- mru_kill is 62kb, way too much for what it does! a targeted EXE would probably be about 1kb. i'll see if john howell of datafreak is interested, he created the fake IEXPLORE for us.

as for two open withs -- odd because my system does not have two (i assume you mean the INF file?) or do you mean the defrag MSC file? (i can't check, i am at work and i use perfect disk here and uninstalled the windows default defragger, which i was always hesitant to do but finally convinced after everyone in this forum pretty much convinced me that the default windows defrag program really is not very good.

[WWWebb]

The tech writer who is currently underemployed as our admin was having home computer problems. XP refused to let her update Norton Anti-Virus, and she was getting spurious "Messages from Windows Registry" which strongly hinted that there was some spyware/trojan activity going on.

I burned her a CD with three freeware anti-spyware products (said "use all three") and three free firewalls (said "pick one").

Gave her this on Friday.

Today she tells us the following:

After three attempts to re-install OS, reboot cable modem, etc, she gives up in frustration and decides to go and do some work on the wiring in her spare bedroom.

She slips, blows the main fuse in the house and is without power for twenty minutes.

When she manages to get power restored, everything comes up and is fine.

First time I've ever heard of somebody fixing Windows by rebooting their HOUSE.

WWWebb

[Tomcat76]

And you thought Windows Media Connect was just the beginning.... Oy....

[Oleg_II]

FDV

Have you updated the fileset on your site? I'd like to reinstall my system this week and only wainting for releaze

Or I can use the last beta? You want change anything? I reported an error with copying MRU_KILL.EXE (had to change entries in TXTSETUP.SIF), is it only my problem?

[Squeeto]

as for two open withs -- odd because my system does not have two (i assume you mean the INF file?) or do you mean the defrag MSC file?

Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter-

Open

Author

Run As

Open With

Open With

...

uninstalled the windows default defragger

Do you just remove the file and link to do this, it doesn't show in myuninst.exe.

[fdv]

Microsoft's attitude on fixing IE in Windows 2000

Ahhh, Microsoft. always looking forward to new customers and never looking backward to assuaging angry users. they post an entry in the ie blog that they're going to use firefox's rss icon. whoopadeedoo! i asked them to fix PNG transparency in 6. some id*** tells me they've promised that (they haven't). Why not head over to the ie blog now and then and ask them to "Fix Six!" you'll be marked offtopic, but maybe enough yelling will snap them out of their "Wow! We Picked A NEW ICON!!! OMG !!1!!11ELEVEN" attitude.

Oleg_II - http://www.vorck.com/data/sp5files.zip the last beta became the new set

Squeeto - only one open with, sorry man... don't know...

Defrag - don't know what you mean by 'link to this,' but the files for defrag can be removed by commenting out dfrg.inf under the [infs.Always] section in SYSSETUP.IN_. to clarify what i did was move all of the files from TXTSETUP into the dfrg.inf file so that it no longer installs automatically. before, if you commented it out, it would still install. now, if it's commented out, it won't.

Ohhhh yeah. WWWeb, you guys employ a tech writer as an admin? isn't that asking for trouble when this person has to reboot her HOUSE to fix a problem!?

Edited December 20, 2005 by fdv