Auto-Patcher For Windows 98se (English)

[eidenk]

Thanks for your kind words Eck. I don't think I deserve them actually as besides hanging around and insult someone from time to time I haven't done that much if anything at all really.

I think you forgot to mention three very important contributors, Petr, erpdude and the_guy, who are all in the top ten IMO.

A big round of applause to everyone.

[pixturesk]

Thanks again Soporific. Just a suggestion from this non techie, not of the computer generation. After installing AutoPatcher for Win98SE + the September/07 update + cleaning up my computer files (defrag, scanning for viruses, cleaning up the registry), to make sure that I maintain my entire Win98SE in tact, I made an ISO image of my"C" drive (took 9 cd) with Norton Ghost 2002, so if I have to format my "C" drive for any reason, I can just copy my Win98SE ISO back to my "C" drive, without having to re-install anything, just carry on as if nothing went wrong. Now I think I can relax + wait for your further updates Soporific. As with the others, I congratulate your efforts. Thanks again, Ken.

[briton]

I set Grub to hide one partition, unhide and activate the other ...

Thanks for the explanation. I avoided that - for some reason (maybe going way back to mainframes lol) I like to keep OS types separated as early as possible. Therefore, I use XOSL to control everything. You might find it useful and it is so easy to reinstall with previous settings and then update with a couple or three files you can keep on a thumb drive. The trick I found was to keep whichever bootloader a Linux distro prefers (usually GRUB or LILO) with that distro so that it will automatically update to point at the latest kernel. But to GET that distro booted, I have to point at the bootloader from XOSL. That way, despite many OSs having their own boot managers (whether Windows or Linux), there is a master boot manager in front of them which I can restore if they remove it and which can find the partition to point to without difficulty.

If I move, remove, add, change location on disk etc of any partition or partitions, I simply need to stop at XOSL and tell it where they are if it doesn't know already (not bad for freeware ). Of course, I am controlling the moves/resizes etc manually using a combination of Ranish Partition Manager (my primary partition control as it really is manual!) and a DOS bootable thumbdrive with GParted on it (don't ask - it just works out faster that way) so there is never a time that some boot management or partition software will do something I didn't intend it to - again not bad for freeware.

As many other users, I do NOT consider that Windows installations are there to stay - I regularly wipe the partitions and reinstall Windows and Linux versions from scratch. Naturally, that is a good time to reconsider partition sizes, positions etc. The same applies to Linux distros - I manually create the partition table before installing them and I put GRUB or LILO wherever I want it but not as the primary boot manager.

Now how all that applies to AutoPatcher is simple. Whenever I am going to run Autopatcher, I first reboot into XOSL and set the default boot to the Win98 partition being patched. That way, if Autopatcher reboots (and more especially if it does so more than once), it can do so unattended.

And how it applies to your situation as guru should be obvious. If you have some kind of Master boot manager at the front of the line and point it at any other bootloaders such as Grub which you need to have there, you can be all things to all men AND use beta versions of patchers etc. It would also mean that your Grub would be where a more restricted user (say a user with only one OS and that being a Linux distro) would have it. I am not sure Autopatcher will affect your MBR anyway even if you were worried that a beta version might, you could have GRUB (or another bootloader/manager) pointing at a GRUB NOT on the Win98 partition. That would isolate the "real" GRUB you need to protect from the partition you would be using beta updaters on.

Just a thought. Sorry - a little off-topic but my first response was because I understood your previous post to suggest that Autopatcher was changing things on partitions other than the Win98 one it was working on.

[RetroOS]

Once again, soporific, you have released a superlative update pack!

Some nice core updates.

The install since August 2007 release went mostly without a hitch...

I did however have two issues.

1. 98KRNLUP update looped - It ran okay when I manually ran the update after Auto-Patcher.

2. MSPAINT update had errors:

This update spawns it's own DOS session that does not benefit from your enviroment 'out of space' fix...

After Auto-Patcher, I ran msconfig to reduce startup environment variables, and ran MSPaint update without errors.

However...

It appears that this update has actually back-dated MS Paint and some of my filters...

MSPAINT.EXE - 5.00.1740.1 -> 5.00.1523.1

BMPMP32.FLT - 2000.10.02.0 -> 99120800

PCDIMP32.FLT - 2003.1100.5510 -> 98110900

PCXIMP32.FLT - 2000.10.02.0 -> 99120800

TGAIMP32.FLT - 2000.10.02.0 -> 96091600

TIFFIM32.FLT - 2000.10.25.0 -> 98112600

Aside from MSPAINT.EXE, the *.FLT files' dates mostly matched their versions.

I will probably restore these files from backup soon...

[Eck]

Yes, the Paint update hit me with an error as well, about some files not being able to be replaced. I only had it install it because I remember I used to install that update all the time. Perhaps users of stuff like OfficeXP already get some of those file formats? Maybe some older versions are in the Paint update and aren't exactly intelligent. If they can overwrite they do, and where some Office, Microsofty type of thing prevents it, they error.

Don't know. Try a bunch of files in Paint and see if they'll open, edit, save to different formats. I hardly ever used Paint except for a simple change of something from bmp to jpeg or backwards.

Thanks for the details, briton. I guess I bought the wrong boot manager when I was just starting out with Linux and wanted to try something like you're talking about. I bought BootIT NG, which a bunch of folks seemed to be praising at the time, and saw XOSL as an alternative but BootIT appeared to be more feature filled so I went with that.

It worked fine for my 98SE and XP mix, but when I started trying to install Linux (OpenSUSE 10.2 at the time, when it was new), I just couldn't get it to use the partitions I had made for it, or have it create partitions (on a second hard drive or included on the first with the other OS's) and preserve the shared data partition I wanted to keep. It always wanted to format that. It was just a hassle that I couldn't get working.

For me, who enjoys operating systems but generally likes only one version of such type (98SE and XP aren't that different except for a few things that were broken for me on XP and so is still nice to have), I saw Grub as an easy one stop shop for only one Linux distro and a couple of Windows versions. It's performed nicely for me once I figured out what configuration works for mixing Linux and Microsoft. I had just Vista and either OpenSUSE or Debian Lenny for a while (now using Debian Lenny with 98SE and XP) but Vista churned my hard drive incessantly and not just when doing its indexing. I'd install a program or move some files around and the computer would be nearly impossible to use as Vista would be usurping the hard drive to write all the changes to its Previous Versions crap. Just about the worst part of using the old GoBack and Vista included it without the ability to go back to the XP style of only making Restore Points for its operating system files once in a while. Couldn't stand it and went back to XP and added back 98SE to the mix.

I just didn't see that the hassle, which it was during my BootIT NG experience, of messing with a boot loader was necessary for 2 or 3 operating systems. But the advantage of the boot loaders I lose it the ability to easily format any Windows and install fresh. Reinstalling Windows boot sectors and/or Grub SOMETIMES works okay but often times things get messed up. So you see that I'd like not to have to mess with Windows all that much. Changing Linux distro's is easy. Just install one and it'll replace Grub with its own version of the same. Just make sure the Windows things are mounted properly and tinker a bit with the automatically included Windows sections in Grub and I'm back up and going. The auto settings distro's use work fine for one Windows and one Linux but need to be adjusted for other combinations.

You'd thing I'd be pretty much settled in now, but just a few days ago I replaced a very impressive new OpenSUSE 10.3 with a return to Debian Lenny. I just felt in the mood for messing with Debian, with all the talk of the new release of Ubuntu. Heh, I feel no lure at all to install Ubuntu even though I burn it to a cdr to take a look at it Live. What do I need that for when I can have the real thing (Debian)? If I used the boot loader method like you, I could just shrink, stick its Grub in its own partition and keep everything. But then, there I go again not liking mostly the same software needing attention on both systems. Too much to bother with.

Hmm. I wonder what I'm going to do when I receive the boxed set of OpenSUSE 10.3 I ordered in a fit of thankfulness for a job well done on the distro? Unless I'm peeved at something in Debian I'll likely store it away for a rainy day.

Ha! Eidenk, I know even we had our encounters here. But that takes nothing away from when I've seen something written by you that applied to something on my system as well, when I've lurked around reading various threads. Don't sell yourself short, but yeah, you can be pesky at times. But that's great because you add color to the picture of the forum. Without characters of many kinds life gets boring.

Plus I was ROFL when reading some of your, shall we say, stronger exchanges with some other posters. I'm always grateful for a funny.

[pixturesk]

Soporific. I just installed the Revolution Pack 7 from the Manual Install folder in AutoPatcher, just like re-inventing 98SE, but can't seem to locate the install folder for RP7, just where is it? Also, even after clicking "Show System Components" in A/R, I still cannot seem to locate the listing for RP7, where is it, just in case I have to uninstall RP7 for some reason. Thanks, Ken.

[soporific]

re: Paint error stuff: sorry, that's most likely my fault ... i put it together pretty quickly and its really something i should leave to MDGx. i will post him what i have and ask him very nicely to fix up my mess.

re: Revolutions Pack 7 in the manual installs folder: its a silent install package that cleans up the installation files after its all done. IF you need access to them, just extract the contents of the package as opposed to running the installer. You may need to install WinRAR to be able to extract the files.

[pixturesk]

Thanks Soporific. I was able to extract the main RP7 file with 7Zip, but none of the files say uninstall on them so how can I , as a non techie, perform an uninstall, if necessary. Ken.

[LL028]

Tried the September Final Release, works great!

Whereabouts is the link for the September FINAL release please ?

I tried to use the September UPGRADE on top of the September BETA and ran into many Out of Memory errors

Lorraine

[soporific]

Whereabouts is the link for the September FINAL release please ?

I tried to use the September UPGRADE on top of the September BETA and ran into many Out of Memory errors

Lorraine

There is no FULL September 2007 FINAL out and i don't think i'll be doing one. I'm getting October 2007 together so that will be the next FULL release. But if you installed the FINAL September UPGRADE then this is virtually the same as if you had installed the FULL final version anyway (which no-one except me has)

Re: your "out of Memory" errors, you will need to apply the "Environment Space Fix" --- have you already tried to apply this? It is available from the full main menu -- the option letter is "F" (for Friedrich Engels).

Edited October 26, 2007 by soporific

[RetroOS]

...

Re: your "out of Memory" errors, you will need to apply the "Environment Space Fix" --- have you already tried to apply this? It is available from the full main menu -- the option letter is "F" (for Friedrich Engels).

The "Out of memory" errors only happened with the MSPAINT update. Your in-script environment fix works fine for everything else...

Just not MSPAINT. I think this update needs a complete overhaul and update of some of the 'updated' files.

I did not want to make the CONFIG.SYS environment changes just for the MSPAINT update...

27 October Update: The MSPAINT update also puts a copy of MSPAINT.EXE in the root of C: with the name "Accessories" like the folder it's in...

Edited October 26, 2007 by RetroOS

[soporific]

Thanks Soporific. I was able to extract the main RP7 file with 7Zip, but none of the files say uninstall on them so how can I , as a non techie, perform an uninstall, if necessary. Ken.

Um .... ooops. For some unknown reason, when i compiled the install package i left all the switches as they were listed in the readme.htm file and this means i used the /nobackup switch to install Revolutions Pack. This is NOT good. Anyone that has used the install package in Auto-Patcher can't uninstall it! Well, actually, there is a way, but it doesn't excuse my mistake. Profuse apologies to any who are in this position. If you would like help to fix this problem, just PM me.

[charly]

Having a problem with the site TOYOTA.COM and Flash Player, after installing Auto Patcher

when going to that site, it ask for adobe flash player and directs you to the Adobe site for a install which I did, but it still asked for the player every time you try to enter the site. Have removed and installed adobe flash player now several time and can not accessed the site still. I think its something with version it sees as the OS. HELP--Charlie

[RetroOS]

Having a problem with the site TOYOTA.COM and Flash Player, after installing Auto Patcher...

I've just tried the same site and get the same message and redirect.

I had already installed the latest (9.0.47.0) Flash Player from Adobe before I installed the update of Auto-Patcher that has 9.0.47.0 of Flash Player.

charly, Could you get into the site before installing Auto-Patcher?

[pixturesk]

I just went to the Toyota.com site with Firefox 2.0.0.8 + the same Flash Player, you guys are using, no problem, perfect connection, although I had the same problem on Paltalk but just with an opening advertisement which is fine because the advertising intrusion is bothersome.