Windows Jackhammer: The last update you'll need for Win98.

[DeadDude]

I took maaaad screenshots of my latest installation of Jackhammer...

I'm going to try to post a few here, now... (not sure how to, bear with me)

Boot screen:

Login

Freshly booted (after video drivers installed and 256 color direct draw error is now gone)

A glance at the new start menu

A glance at the new shutdown menu

A whole bunch of stuff open, trying to show the tweaks I could see easily... notice MP9... don't know, but something is special about it...

Why are some of FireFox's menus in ??german?? (I don't know what language it is, sorry if I offend)

The brand spanking new System Properties window

I don't know why that information is wrong about this computer... it may be a VMWare issue, but the cpu is 2Ghz Duo... but the ram size is correct as the VM setting for this machine...

Edited January 18, 2007 by DeadDude

[NL-Stitch]

hahaha.. the hardware..

erhm..

Jackhammer was build on a 500mhz AMD K6 500mhz pc.

Maybe VMWARE has a slight bug when it comes to cpu's and it automaticly changed the cpu back to its orginal setting.

I will take a look at a jackhammer duron 1800 pc and if its cpu is incorect.

Anyway, This is an issue that will be resolved in the end-user version.

Greetings,

NL-Stitch

Edited September 23, 2007 by NL-Stitch

[Tihiy]

Oh.

This should be what RPLite memorized.

Delete [HKLM\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\System\CentralProcessor] before packaging Windows JH.

Edited January 18, 2007 by Tihiy

[NL-Stitch]

nice, thank you!!

[NL-Stitch]

It has bin a month since the release of the Open-Developement beta.

We are going to leave the beta behind me soon and begin.. on the END-USER product.

Are there still any ideas or content that you want to see in Jackhammer? Then this is your last chance!

All current things and suggestions where carefully read, and most are added to the project. I would like mention MDGx and DeadDude apart; thank you for your support.

I do not know when we will finish.. But the more time we spend on it, the more professional it will be and function.

More technical details will come along the way.

Greetings,

Edited September 23, 2007 by NL-Stitch

[MDGx]

NL-Stitch:

I have moved your topic to this sub-forum, as requested.

But in order to make it sticky [at least in my opinion], some of us need to see some kind of finished product, even if it says "alpha" or "pre-beta".

As I said in my post [last paragraph]:

http://www.msfn.org/board/?s=&showtopi...st&p=613589

some sort of scripts, batches, snipets etc would be nice if you can upload.

After all, open source software is improved/de-bugged/fixed/etc mainly by being tested by as many users as possible.

If anybody else has any other opinions about this subject, please post here.

HTH

[NL-Stitch]

Sourcecode of my programmed programs can be found at the SourceForge download page:

HERE

Those are coded in the Multi Media Builder language.

There is also documentation about it how jackhammer is build. I will re-release this document tomorow in a .doc file tomorow.

In this document, developers can find how Jackhammer was build, which pack of software, tweaks and etc. where included and how jackhammer installer can be build from scratch on a computer.

As this topic has already stated, there is a Open Developement beta free for download.HERE

This release comes with Installation guide.

Tomorow at 12:00 CET (GMT +1) I will have these resources all available.

I wil give a msg when its done.

Greetings,

Edited January 21, 2007 by NL-Stitch

[BenoitRen]

I will re-release this document tomorow in a .doc file tomorow.

That's against the spirit of open-source, as Word documents are a proprietary format. Release either in the OpenDocument format, a plain text file, or a HTML file, or something else that everyone can easily read.

[soporific]

just wanted to say I can't wait to try this project out .... excellent work, regardless...

[DeadDude]

I have a suggestion...

Why not include Open Office? The full blown version... isn't is under the correct type of license? if not, I apologize...

also, why no virtual ram by default? I see the benefits, but AbiWord has no issues I can see with it enabled versus not enabled...

Anyone care to assist in making a spiffy new desktop theme or wallpaper?? or logo.sys perhaps? I can't figure out how to do the animations.....

anyone got the sci-tech video wrapper thingy? I cant find it anywhere...

I think that's about it... at least for now...

oh yeah, I can't get it to read 1500 megs of ram in VMWare... I would normally think this is linked to hardware issues, but in a VM, that shouldn't be an issue... I got 2 gigs of ram, and VM cuts me off at 1768 or something for a VM...

[NL-Stitch]

Project Documentation is HTML format.

I think I've got all the things MDGx requested. Can this topic be marked sticky please?

The enduser version gives the user the choice to choose his own office pack (abiword,gnumeric, foxit), or openoffice...

Greetings,

NL-Stitch

Edited September 23, 2007 by NL-Stitch

[Drugwash]

DeadDude, here's a hint on animated Win9x logos: XrX Animated Logo Utility.

Check this out for SciTech driver and other stuff.

[DeadDude]

Drugwash, thank you **VERY** much for those two links.

Thanks to you, we should get a new boot logo created in no time...

And the sci-tech link may not be what I was looking for, but that link DEFINATELY has enough information to get me started on my little side project...

Don't get any hopes up, cuz I think many others tried... but I hope to get some of that 'basic functionality' in 98 on some newer cards... not sure what this entails, but that link you sent will help me sort it out...

I *really* wish I could locate the guide on modding an XP driver to Linux... and a friend elsewhere claims to have seen the guide on modding a Linux driver to 98...

may be a shot in the dark, but I gotta take that shot...

just something I was thinking about... and nothing more than a hobby-job (dont ask for info on development, cuz I ain't developing anything yet.)

I also was thinking of creating a VGA to COMPOSITE adapter... all the ones I find for sale are very expensive for just 640x480 support... (want to jack my X51V pda into a portable DVD player's screen) ideas??

[soporific]

OK, i'm surprised no-one's given explicit feedback on how testing Jackhammer out went ... here's mine:

1) I like the boot screen --- everyone's familiar with the Windows XP style, so its good to see some familiarity.

2) why am I locked out of the 'administrator' profile? What is the password? Is this normal? How is the user supposed to be happy installing Jackhammer if they are locked out?

3) not having an ATI or NVIDIA video card: ---- it seems that this is a REQUIREMENT not just recommended. I have a video card that is normally recognised by Windows 98 se setup, but under Jackhammer I have to install the correct video driver myself after some hassle. Is this normal? Why would this be so ... ??

4) with regard to creating a floppy boot disk to install Jackhammer: --- surely there's a way to only use the CD-drive. I was wondering why this approach was used, and my first thought was that this method would be good for all computers that can't boot with a CD, but what about people who have ditched floppy drives? I would have kept those people happy as opposed to keeping people with systems that can't boot from a CD happy. I'm happy to help make this improvement if you agree ...

5) system.ini settings assume that the hardware is pretty recent (ConservativeSwapFileUsage=1) --- may cause grief for those with hardly any RAM --- Fair enough the system recommendation is at least 256mb but the reasoning why this is imposed upon the user is absent from the documentation. Why restrict this project in this way?? Quite a few people would look towards a Win98 OS for their older computers, and if their hardware is good enough, then they (or should I say I) would go with WinXP --- so if anything, the project should go out of its way to accomodate lesser hardware systems.

6) in terms of a fully patched and updated computer, my auto-patcher project has a function that searches for any updates missing from the system. I ran the report and to be honest, I wasn't expecting to find so many missing updates. Unfortunately my report function has had very little feedback from others on this forum (i think only 3 people posted the reports from their system) so it could be wrong, but then again as my project ONLY installs updates if the system needs it, the months and months I spent on the code getting this right should be taken seriously. There are some updates I'm SURE jackhammer has included (ie both the latest unofficial & official cumulative updates for IE 6 sp1 are missing) so this could be very useful in improving the code in auto-patcher. Here's my list:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 This report log for Auto-Patcher for Windows 98se
  was generated on Wednesday, 24 January 2007
  - the time is now: 15:19:30

 The following list of updates were not found on this computer:

 15:19:30 -- AutoPatcher has started compiling the report.
 - dun14-se: Dial-Up Networking 1.4 for Windows 98se
 - 98Updsys: Unofficial CPU Microcode Update
 - StopLogo: the Disable Boot Logo tweak
 - EnabMenu: the Enable Boot Menu tweak
 - Perform: High Performance Tweaks for Fast Computers
 - kb837001: Hotfix for Vulnerability in the Jet Database Engine
 - kb916528: Unofficial MDAC 2.8 sp1 update with sqlsrv32.dll
 - kb918144: Unofficial Hotfix for various issues in the Jet 4.0 data engine
 - q322656: Msinfo32.exe causes an Access Denied error in Internet Explorer
 - kb816362: Hotfix for Bug in Mshta.exe With Multiple Modal Dialog Boxes
 - kb824220: Hotfix for Images Not Appearing in some Web Pages in IE 6 sp1
 - kb886677: Unofficial Hotfix for DBCS Corruption in MLANG.DLL
 - kb893627: Hotfix for Bug with Group Policies Not Applied in IE6sp1
 - kb896156: Hotfix for bug when removing an HTML element from a Web page
 - kb891781: Hotfix for DHTML ActiveX Control Vulnerability
 - kb905495: Hotfix for Vulnerability in the Windows FTP Client
 - kb908519: Hotfix for vulnerability in Embedded Web Fonts
 - kb913433: Hotfix for Vulnerabilities in Flash Player
 - kb916281: Official Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer 6 sp1
 - kb918439: Hotfix for Vulnerability in ART Image Rendering
 - kb923694: Unofficial Cumulative Update for Outlook Express 6 sp1
 - DXMedia6: Unofficial DirectX Media Update for IE 6 sp1
 - HHUPD141: Unofficial HTML Help 1.41 Update
 - RunHelp: Unofficial HTML Help Expired Security Certificate Update
 - kb925454: Unofficial Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer 6 sp1
 - kb929969: Hotfix for Vulnerability in Vector Markup Language
 - WMEncode: Windows Media Encoder 7.1
 - W98MP10: MDGx's WMP Replacements from WinME & WinXP
 - kb817885: Hotfix for bug in the WMP9 OCX Control with Netscape Browsers
 - kb891122: Unofficial Update for Windows Media DRM-enabled players
 - kb911564: Hotfix for Vulnerability in WMP Plug-in in Non-M$ Web Browsers
 - kb917734: Hotfix for Yet Another Vulnerability in Windows Media Player
 - LC3codec: Unofficial MP3 codec for WMP9 & WMP7 from WinXP WMP10
 - kb920670: Unofficial Hyperlink Object Security Vulnerability Fix
 - kb923689: Hotfix for Vulnerability in Windows Media Format
 - DirectX9: DirectX 9.0c (October 2006)
 - kb904706: Hotfix for Vulnerability in DirectShow
 - q258765: Hotfix for Remote Update Option Vulnerability
 - q269388: Hotfix for Spoofed Route Pointer Vulnerability
 - q274113: Hotfix for WebTV Vulnerability
 - q314941: Hotfix for Vulnerability in Universal Plug 'n' Play
 - q329048: Hotfix for File Decompression Function Vulnerability
 - U891711: Unofficial Hotfix for Cursor and Icon Format Handling Vulnerability
 - kb918547: Unofficial Hotfix for Vulnerability in Graphics Rendering Engine
 - kb917344: Hotfix for Vulnerability in Microsoft JScript
 - kb926247: Unofficial Hotfix for Vulnerability in SNMP Service
 - TTFext: OpenType Font Shell Extension
 - q301540: Unofficial fix for bug in Installable File System Manager
 - RootCUp: Root Certificate Update
 - q323455: Directory Services Client Update for Windows 98
 - OleUp240: OLE Automation Libraries 2.40.4522 update
 - 98TShoot: Unofficial Windows 98se HTML Help Troubleshooting Fix
 - ScanFrag: Unoffical update of Defrag & Scandisk to Windows ME versions
 - UCopy2GB: Unofficial Fix for Bug When Copying Files Over 2gb in Explorer
 - UVS6SP6: Unofficial Visual Studio 6.0 SP6 Components Update
 - NPUpdW98: Unofficial Update for Windows Notepad
 - FdskFrmt: Unofficial Fix for Windows 98 SE Display Errors with FORMAT & FDISK
 - 48BITLB2: Unofficial Update for Drives over 137gb (for IBM portables)
 - kb925672: MSXML 4.0 SP2 Update
 - kb929120: Unofficial 2007 Updates to Time Zone Daylight Saving Time Settings
 - SERVIC9X: Unofficial Windows 98se SERVICES Update
 - ADDREMOV: Unofficial Add/Remove Programs Utility Update
 - 2-4-date: the 2-to-4 Digit Date Conversion Tool
 - q236926: Hotfix for TCP/IP May Retransmit Packets Prematurely bug
 - q237493: System Date Reflects Changes While Date-Time Tool Is Open
 - q239696: Hotfix for bug with High Disk Activity or Low Memory
 - q241052: Hotfix for bug with Password Synchronization
 - q241084: Hotfix for bug in ACPI S4 Mode with USB Device Connected
 - q242193: Hotfix for Bug in Microsoft Client for NetWare Networks	
 - q245065: Hotfix for bug with Automatic Repeat and USB Keyboards
 - q249146: Hotfix for bug in PlaySound API with USB devices present
 - q249635: Hotfix for Size Report bug in USB Driver
 - q249824: Hotfix for VOLTRACK Is Erroneously Unloaded bug
 - q250514: Hotfix for bug with Print Jobs on the Same Printer
 - q250876: Hotfix for Print Queues May Appear Offline bug
 - q253711: Hotfix for ACPI Computer May Not Shut Down Properly Bug
 - q257360: Hotfix for ACPI Compliant Computer May Hang bug
 - q257821: Hotfix for Windows Sockets Function Adds 500ms Time-Out Bug
 - q258680: Hotfix for Bug in Screen Saver Activation While Suspended
 - q262232: Hotfix for Bug Using Floppy Disks with LS-120 Drives
 - q271701: Hotfix for Dial-Up Networking with an ATM adapter Bug
 - q272137: Hotfix for bug with Long Filenames and Novell NetWare Server
 - q272621: Hotfix for bug in Reported Size in Virtual Memory Tab
 - q274370: Hotfix for Blue Screen Of Death Using Digital CD Audio
 - q275873: Hotfix for Sleep and Power Buttons Are the Same bug
 - q277628: Hotfix for Last Access and Creation Time Access Denied bug
 - q278033: Fix for Bug in MS Video For Windows Apps with USB Digital Cameras
 - q278368: Hotfix for Memory Leak in Atmuni.sys
 - q283032: Windows 98 Cannot List Users in Windows 2000-Based Domain
 - q288550: Hotfix for Bug in Plug and Play Printer May Not Resume (VCOMM.VXD)
 - q290831: Hotfix for SCSI Miniports Shutdown bug
 - q293197: Windows Explorer Hangs When Inserting PC Card During Resume
 - q295629: Enumeration Problems in Texas Instruments CardBus Controllers
 - q307004: Hotfix for Group Policy Bug in Groups with Long Names
 - q308349: Hotfix for Bug when Turning Off Computer with USB Modem Present
 - q309081: Hotfix for Infrared Devices Data Features bug
 - q311561: Hotfix for bug in MS-DOS Processing Hard Disk Errors
 - q319571: Hotfix for bug in Detection of Non-US Enhanced Keyboards
 - q321467: Hotfix for bug in SWENUM.SYS with PortCls devices
 - q323708: Hotfix for Computer Hangs Bug During Infrared Communication
 - NetwTool: Windows Networking Tool (the Windows XP version)
 - MMC12: Microsoft Management Console 1.2
 - NetFrame: Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0
 - NetMeet3: Microsoft NetMeeting 3.01
 - ChgOwner: Username & Organisation Name Change Tool
 - TTFPAK: MDGx's True Type Fonts Pack (44 fonts)
 - VBRUN100: Visual Basic 1.0 Runtimes
 - VBRUN200: Visual Basic 2.0 Runtimes
 - VBRUN300: Visual Basic 3.0 Runtimes
 - VBRUN400: Visual Basic 4.0 Runtimes (16 & 32 bit)
 - VBRUN6C: Visual Basic 6.0 Common Controls Update (kb896559)
 - 7-ZIP: 7-Zip 4.42 (file archiver)
 15:23:10 -- AutoPatcher has finished compiling the report.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Why so many missing updates?

EDIT: it seems some of them are due to WinME files but this can't account for all the above ...?

EDIT 2: the tile of this post contains the phrase: "The last update you'll need for Win98" ---- at the moment, this claim is completely and utterly ridiculous. Please prove me wrong ...

APART FROM ALL MY CRITICISM ABOVE, THIS PROJECT IS STILL AWESOME .... just needs a little (or a lot of) tweaking

EDIT 3: well, if I could get at least high color video on my test system I would be happy. Its been 30 minutes since I started to try to get my video card to work, the settings just won't save - it always reverts back to 16 colors - NOT GOOD!! This is a card that works fine with a normal install of Windows 98. So in this case, installing JackHammer is a step BACKWARDS from simply using the normal install CD. It looks like I'll be sticking with my unattended boot CD for sometime yet. Don't take my criticism the wrong way --- I would theoretically like to use Jackhammer... still.

EDIT 4: these edits just keep on coming on ... why does it say "The driver software you have chosen to install may not have been tested by Microsoft to verify that it works properly with Windows MILLENIUM edition" (my capitals) --- can we keep that crap OS out of the equation?? There is a very good reason I've done all this work on 98se and NOT Me --- looks like this project could lose the schizophrenia --- which OS does it think it is?

EDIT 5: lets see how many edits I can get in before the first post after this one.... one really really annoying thing is not being able to automatically reboot and restart a program ... ie my auto-patcher ... I keep having to click thru the password stage of bootup ... I can probably turn it off, but anyone else not a computer-head is going to be really frustrated...

EDIT 6: I have fixed the video card problem by installing a driver from 1995, and then letting the system find the normal driver from 1999 ... it seems I had to first entirely replace the existing driver before the system would accept my normal driver and video settings ---- now why would that be?

Edited January 24, 2007 by soporific

[MDGx]

I would have to quote soporific on this one:

THIS PROJECT... just needs a little (or a lot of) tweaking.

Until then, please [when you have enough time] improve the project, and please post a "usable" form, for example an iexpress installation executable, BATch file/executable, ZIPped archive, etc.

Something you should consider:

Most of us, here at MSFN, are familiar with the English language, but very few are familiar with Dutch = your HTML guide is in Dutch. Maybe you would like to translate it into English so we can all read it?

I've also looked [only briefly] at your ZIP download.

My conclusion is that this project looks like an excellent idea, but so far only in theory.

IMHO:

It looks like you put those files and the html guide together in a rush, mainly to persuade me to make your topic a "sticky".

It also looks like you are doing this for the purpose of showing off and/or get a good grade in your computer/whatever class/school.

What I think:

if you want to have a project everybody can use [and that you can be proud of], you need to work hard and take enough time for putting it all together.

Another issue you need to know about:

I'm actually debating which / how many projects to make "sticky" in this forum, because it is very hard to choose.

We already have a bunch of great ones, like: WinME SP1, Win98 FE SP2, KernelXP [seems to be abandoned though ;(], Copy2GB, IDE driver > 137 GB HD, Auto-Patcher, Power Pack, Complete List of Updates, MDCU, MDCUPL, MDIE6CU etc, etc..., and if you ask me, they all deserve to be "stickified".

Back to your project:

You just started it, it is still in an "embrionic" stage, and it looks like it will be time consuming and hard-work-demanding project.

And the main problem is that it is not ready for "prime time".

Please keep working on it [take your time, don't rush], and when your project is in a "working" stage, I'll consider it as a "sticky".

A "to do" list = your project needs to...

1. work from a single executable/batch/installer/etc.

2. be thoroughly tested by as many users as possible to fix as many bugs as possible "in the wild" [test it on as many computers as possible].

3. have clear, easy to understand [eventually step by step] guide in easy to read format: text or html, in a language we all understand: English.

Such guide should be [preferably] included with the installer, so a user can download everything in 1 file [if possible, and if file size is not too large].

4. have good understanding of GNU/GPL/GPL2/creative commons or whatever other kind of free open source license you want your project to abide by.

5. and if you need help, always ask, we are eager to help, here at MSFN forums.

FYI:

When you add a link to an HTML web page [your guide] into a MSFN forum post, you don't need to make it an attachment, because html files are meant to be read, not downloaded.

And if any1 wants to download it, I'm sure most of us know how to save a web page using our web browsers or whatever other dedicated tools.

I hope you agree with my assesment.

Good luck + Best wishes.