Auto-Patcher For Windows 98se (English)

[soporific]

BitTorrent is up and away !!!! I got 40 kbps going up ... my emule customers will be a bit miffed ...

Drugwash, you use shareaza do you? IF not, tell me so I can give someone else my friend slot ...

Edited January 27, 2007 by soporific

[Drugwash]

Nope, no Shareaza. As I said before, it's eMule - the official one, latest version.

Anyway, my connection's been more and more sh!tty this month, with frequent disconnections and ever lower bandwidth. So it will tak some time, with ot without friend slot. Thanks anyway for the good intention.

[Eck]

Yep! As soon as that 1 seed showed up the download started and has been going strong, albeit comparatively slow, for the last several hours and reports about 45 minutes left.

Not critisizing the speed at all since I don't know exactly how it works either. I'm just happy about it doing its thing and getting the file. Normally it is many times faster but who know what kinds of servers I'm used to. Plus, generally I've not come in right at the beginning and several seeders were already available. That also makes things faster. Right now it looks like 10(14) (which it is, I don't know but there's always a number in a parenthesis there) folks are downloading. Hopefully most of us will leave our torrent software running and the file in the download folder so the speeds will be faster for others.

If there are many others. Although there are probably a lot more 98SE users than one would think, there are even less of those who know about this project and of those, are interested in using it. Hopefully that will change.

I'll be leaving it up until I finish reading the Novell manuals. That's pretty tortuous work. It's not that there's so much to read but it would be nice if I could retain at least a bit of it in my head before wiping the computer and not having them available until I get Acrobat Reader installed into Linux. I've got a lot of other stuff I've printed out but there's no way I'm printing out hundreds of pages of manual. I'm pretty sure I know enough to get the thing installed. Plus, most wouldn't have bothered to do the research I have anyway and would probably do okay. I just hate operating blind. It's always been RTFM for me.

Annoys the heck out of my sister! I read the manual for can openers before I plug them in for the first time. Only problem these days is I don't retain much in one sitting. Used to.

Anyway, 98SE will go in first. So I'm glad this update is available for it. I'm not one who likes running software again over itself unless there's a problem or the kind of thing that needs updating like Firefox or something. That's why I haven't been too helpful in the request to run auto-patcher again to see what it detects as being installed. If it works I don't like to mess with it.

[Eck]

Alright! It's safely tucked away to a cdr.

It looks like a few folks are downloading this. For a while after I was done several seeders showed up, but today only 1 seeder (with an 8 in parentheses whatever that means) is seeding.

This is weird, as I would think it would list soporific AND at least me since I'm still seeding. At any rate, and if I'm understanding the uTorrent program correctly, is appears that folks downloaded the thing then shutdown uTorrent and didn't bother seeding.

That's not nice torrent ettiquette.

Thanks soporific! Your patcher is awesome. (As long as this new version still works and doesn't muck things up, eh?)

I just read through the Revolution Pack thread. It hadn't interested me much in the past, but using WindowsX's Vista Visual Styles Pack 6 on XP got me used to the Vista style stuff and I became interested in possibly seeing a similar look in 98SE.

Wow! I saw your exchange of love their with Tihiy. Bombs bursting in air, eh? Well, everyone got along perfect with everybody else I guess the world would be boring.

Perhaps I'll try the Pack when I set things up. Seems to me it should be getting pretty much stable as Tihiy's been working on it for years now. Something like that I generally don't experiment with much until after everyone else has already had the problems and most have gotten fixed. Sort of how I approached MDGx's implementation of XP/WMP10 files onto 98SE. I didn't quite trust that thing for a long time. Now it is pretty much finished and stable so I use it.

It was different with the auto-patcher as the changes it makes are just what the clearly defined updates that it installs do. Well, I would install mostly all of those anyway so better your program does it than me!

That's why I think it's kind of funny that so many around here seem to be ignoring your program and using the old, old, and a bit intrusive into the system as far as changing some key driver install methods and other things, Unofficial 98SE Service Pack instead of your up-to-date patcher. And yet they go nuts with these programs such as 98SE2ME and the Revolution Pack right as soon as the first Alpha, Alpha, REALLY Alpha versions are put up.

The exception regarding 98SE2ME is that MDGx had already been experimenting with the files transferred from ME to 98SE on his own system for years before he put it all together into an installable program. So that was pretty much safe right from the get go.

With yours, what you labeled as Alpha was really right from the start a better way to update than the Unofficial Service Pack. Heck, it was just a few scripts that installed more of what we needed and included a much more up to date set of updates. Now, it's just more refined as to choices, includes even more neat stuff, and is more polished as to installing and uninstalling.

As far as folks complaining about the size, my goodness these folks would need to download and install all of these things seperately anyway. I'd much prefer having nearly everything I need all packaged up so I can simply click on the program and presto my system is all updated. That's far superior to figuring out what to install and in what order and who's package is best and all the other decisions and time consuming run on sentences, etc, etc.

So, once again thank you, thank you, thank you.

I hope you start getting some nicer recognition for this. It kind of annoys me when I still see folks recommending the Unnofficial Service Pack and not giving this pack any mention. I don't think folks outside of these forums even know it exists. Well, now there's a preview release. Gosh man, with the exception of some of those environment error work arounds I needed to take, every version has seemed to me to be as good a final as any of the other packs that are out.

Maybe time to take this thing to MajorGeeks, CNET Download.com, etc? Too early? Well, if it works (and perhaps when you get it to install its stuff to its own folder either in Program Files or the root - whichever works better), then it's time for folks to use it. And, be able to find it and download it easily. A lot of folks won't be installing EMule or uTorrent stuff. They'll need to be able to see it on common sites and click a button to get it. I don't mean the forum members here, rather the general public who still think Windows Update is an option. At this time they generally only know about either Windows Update or the Unofficial Service Pack.

[Drugwash]

Nice speech.

However, the main idea behind this package is not to perform redundant work, meaning not to install again what is already installed, in terms of (un)official updates and not only. This is the forte of the package and this is what should be recognized and appreciated in first place.

You are right about not many people out there knowing about it, nor these forums. But even those that may have stumbled upon MSFN might have gotten scared by the huge wealth of knowledge here and considered themselves not up to it, so they chickened out.

However, regarding auto-patcher, I'm pretty sure that when it gets to the stable stage, it will find its way to Softpedia, MajorGeeks and many other similar "launching pads". It does deserve to.

If I may add a bit of constructive criticism here - solely from my point of view, but applicable to others as well - maybe the DOS routine at the start, with selecting options and all that, could be replaced at some point with a simple GUI, with radio buttons, checkboxes, maybe an edit box for the temporary (or any other) path...

I'm saying this because Win98 is a GUI OS and whoever is using it now must have used it for quite a long time and got used to GUI controls in favor of DOS batch/command-line navigation. My personal opinion is that a few mouse clicks on a screen full of more visible options could avoid the disorientation of a user presented with a black screen and a couple of text lines, where he doesn't immediately understand what to choose/type.

All this said, I still have to complete the download so I can test this build. [insert some "nice" words here] to leechers that downloaded it on eD2k and removed the package from share or closed the client, as well as to my ISP that cut my download bandwidth down to an 8 kBytes/s at most.

[Eck]

GUI's are nice, yes. But without being all prettied up the white on black MS-DOS window the auto-patcher provides does have pretty much all the choices presented to a user. A few nice GUI boxes could do the same. I do think though, that most folks who would get this will be able to read what's there now and press the correct keys to toggle stuff on and off and continue.

The masses won't be using anything 9x anyway. Most of those that are will just go to Windows Update and hope for the best. Those in the know will decide for themselves which update package they prefer. Of those, I don't think reading text in a dos box is too much of a hastle. Certainly less so than needing to install all this stuff myself.

But of course, by all means if it can look nicer I'd be all for that too! I think it's unnecessary, but yeah GUI's are nicer looking. Whatever soperific decides on that is fine as long as the choices aren't removed. I like being able to toggle things on or off.

Ouch! That's a long wait time at that speed. I hope downloads will get faster when some folks who actually understand what the word sharing means (ya gotta share back) begin to find this.

Edited January 28, 2007 by Eck

[Drugwash]

The idea is a GUI with a wise choice of fonts may bring together more options at once, thus offering a beter overview of everything available and making it easier to choose the desired options.

Obviously, none of the current options should be removed - only rearranged a little.

As for download speed, maybe I should change ISP, but I don't quite like the terms of the contract provided by the other available ISP. Gotta think about it and also have a serious talk with my current ISP. Uploaders' speed is just another variable in this equation.

[soporific]

The idea is a GUI with a wise choice of fonts may bring together more options at once, thus offering a beter overview of everything available and making it easier to choose the desired options.

Obviously, none of the current options should be removed - only rearranged a little.

Let me state for the record that i would easily prefer a GUI interface than what we put up with at present --- when you try to use Auto-Patcher on a system that hasn't got the proper graphics card driver installed, you can barely read the DOS box text even if you maximize it. And even when the display is all good, its still a bit hard to read. The only problem is I don't know how to write the code to make such a thing at present, and I have way too much on my plate to consider dropping everything to learn how. I might a bit down the track, but right now its just not possible. This is actually why I was fishing for partners for this project. My idea was that the other person would be responsible for packaging the project into a GUI format.

Any takers?

[soporific]

Out of curiosity, I ran a report on my current system, which only has a few official updates and some manual upgrades installed. The list of *not found* updates is impressive, however I found some of the items that I do have installed are still reported as uninstalled. Grrrrr... So here we go:

• dun14-se: Dial-Up Networking 1.4 for Windows 98se (official package installed)

• DirectX9: DirectX 9.0c (October 2006) (August 2006 installed; does it know it's August and not October?)

• q323455: Directory Services Client Update for Windows 98 (official package installed)

• UCopy2GB: Unofficial Fix for Bug When Copying Files Over 2gb in Explorer (manually installed)

• 48BITLBA: Unofficial Update for Drives over 137gb (not for IBM portables) (manually installed)

• 7-ZIP: 7-Zip 4.42 (file archiver) (already installed 4.43 beta - don't ask where from, it was out there)

I want to get to the bottom of your list, please respond to the following questions:

323455: -- the code checks for the file version of negotiat.dll (5.0.2195.4784) --- if you don't have this file, or you have an earlier version, then the report will say you don't have it installed. Since this is causing problems, I am considering changing the file that is checked to dscsetup.dll (5.0.2195.5201) --- so can you please check for the existence of both these files and report back what file version you have

I am currently checking the other things you listed, i will adjust this post as I go ...

[soporific]

I hope you start getting some nicer recognition for this. It kind of annoys me when I still see folks recommending the Unnofficial Service Pack and not giving this pack any mention. I don't think folks outside of these forums even know it exists. Well, now there's a preview release. Gosh man, with the exception of some of those environment error work arounds I needed to take, every version has seemed to me to be as good a final as any of the other packs that are out.

I just wanted to say thanks for your post --- the question of why Auto-Patcher isn't so well regarded by some of the more regulars on forums like MSFN i can only attribute to the fact I'm obviously not a full-on developer, or coder (as my exchange with Tihiy exposed) and/or that Auto-Patcher is obviously a DOS based program. It's a shame really because my project isn't about writing super-duper code --- all it is, is a TIME-SAVER !!! I read on the Neowin forums (which I haven't visited since the crap about using the word "AutoPatcher") that one of the reasons why an AutoPatcher for Window s98 would be so hard (and not worth doing) was the inability to stack up all the installs without having to reboot. ie an AutoPatcher for Windows 98 will SAVE MORE TIME FOR THE USER that an Autopatcher for any other later OS would be. it was why I started the project in the first place -- to save on the hours it usually took to bring a Windows 98 OS up to speed.

So all I can say is it is THEIR LOSS. If they want to spend more than a few minutes it takes me to set up the modules I want to install, then they can waste all the time in the world. I would just like to know why people DON'T use Auto-Patcher... as someone has already pointed out, its just an automatic hotfix installer that eliminates the need to wait around while Window s98 reboots. It really beggars belief actually ...

PS - I have posted a CD to someone who has kindly offered to host the file. I should have a URL within the week. I have totally given up on free file hosting --- unless someone recommends a particular site, I am just not going to bother wasting my time, and bandwidth.

Edited January 29, 2007 by soporific

[Drugwash]

I'm so p!$$ed off right now, that I really consider dropping my Internet connection unless a better alternative comes up - chances for that happening being very slim. My ISP simply sucks big time lately.

Now to the point, while I'm still around:

- negotiat.dll 5.00.2195.1 (Win2000)

- dscsetup.dll does not exist on my system However, in my Add/Remove panel I can clearly see "DS Client For Windows 98". Maybe it's an older version?

About the 2GB and 137GB patches, I manually installed the corresponding files, without using any installer, but now, looking at the files, there's a complete mess: esdi_506.pdr is back to the original version (4.10.2222, dated 1999) and the kernel shows the field "Fixed by: LittyX" but it's 4.10.2222 (as it originally was), not the 4.10.2225 that's packed with MDGx' installer. Dunno what's going on...

Forgot to say: I still couldn't complete the auto-patcher download and there was no complete source anymore, last time I checked. eMule is dead right now.

Edited January 29, 2007 by Drugwash

[DeadDude]

All I read so far is problems with seeders.... I'll see if I can get my 15megbit connection sharing some of these files... will report back later if I need more info or assistance....

BTW~ Just ask, I can share whatever you want.... (within reason)...

I use Azeurus (spelling?), and no sharezza stuff.... or emule/edonkey....

See ya, will join the seeders when I finish DLing....

[Randy_Rivers]

its now posted at softpedia.Autopatcher98se

[DeadDude]

you guys comlpaining about speed... if yer on XP SP2, u need to patch the outgoing connections back to a higher number...

If you haven't **manually** patched this, it ISN'T patched....

XP used to limit the outgoing connections to 65,536... SP limits that to EIGHT! Tht's right, 8. as in, less than 9, more than 7...

Patching this makes BT **much** ***MUCH*** faster.

[Drugwash]

Took me about 10 minutes to download it in FlashGet from Softpedia's romanian mirror. It's now shared in eMule, together with previous 1.5, 1.6 update, 1.7 update, 1.7 full versions.

512kB/s national traffic vs. 8kB/s international... talkin' about freedom. Freedom to walk inside our cage, maybe.

Here's the report for 1.8 PR. Nothing's changed regarding the previously reported modules, however after reconsidering, the report may be accurate with the exception of DUN 1.4, 7-Zip and Directory Services (maybe), as the other reportedly broken updates are older versions.

Please post the names of the files/folders you're checking in the above packages, so I can check their existance/versions and report back.

[EDIT]

I forgot to mention a critical piece of information: winoldap is crashing constantly when msvcr80.dll is already loaded in memory by some application. I have one plug-in of Miranda IM's dynamically linked to msvcr80 and the application was running when I ran the report. If I say I clicked on the "Close" button in more than 200 subsequent error boxes, it's not at all an exaggeration.

However, this is not a direct issue of auto-patcher's, but more a MS incompatibility between Win9x's DOS and the Visual C 2005 runtime libraries. I get the very same behaviour when opening a DOS prompt or trying to run any DOS-based application under Windows (such as ping a.s.o.) while msvcr80.dll is loaded in memory.

Here's the crash dump as reported in the error box:

WINOLDAP caused an invalid page fault in
module MSVCR80.DLL at 0187:78131637.
Registers:
EAX=928f2000 CS=0187 EIP=78131637 EFLGS=00010286
EBX=00000001 SS=018f ESP=928f8738 EBP=928f063c
ECX=928f05b8 DS=018f ESI=00000000 FS=7aef
EDX=819657c8 ES=018f EDI=000088ae GS=0000
Bytes at CS:EIP:
85 00 eb e9 cc cc cc cc cc 51 8d 4c 24 08 2b c8 
Stack dump:
78130000 78131d73 928f8778 781321f8 40f16eac 00000000 78130000 81965804 0000000a 00000004 928f8748 928f8550 928f8940 78138ad1 aa65a28c fffffffe

DeadDude, we're in a Win9x subforum. What makes you think anybody here would use XP?

Edited January 29, 2007 by Drugwash