Here are some lightweight tools made by me which you may have seen before, or may not.

It's mostly abadon-ware (no further developed), but all stable and useful.
They should work on 98/Me.

Network activity indicator

Nice applet blinking like 2000/XP does. Shows simple network stats and open ports.
Link: http://tihiy.ahanix.org/IpTest.zip
Install: extract dll&exe into \windows\system, run install.reg and re-login.
Uninstall: run uninstall.reg, delete dll&exe from \windows\system.

Task manager

Simple process manager which hooks Ctrl-Shift-Esc (not resident).
Link: http://tihiy.ahanix.org/Taskmgr.exe
Install: copy exe into windows\system, run taskmgr /install
Remove: run taskmgr /remove, delete exe

Add/Remove program alternative

I think it's clear what it does.
Link: http://tihiy.ahanix.org/programs.zip

Shut down dialog alternative

XP-alike shutdown dialog. Accepts command line flags [-f] [-r|-s|-l] ([force] reboot/shutdown/logoff).
Link: http://tihiy.ahanix.org/shutdown.exe

alive tools

GDI+ thumbnails

Nicer, faster thumbnails for image and video files. ME shell preffered.
New version. Now works as proper COM extension and doesn't break Office picture preview.
Requires GDI+ runtime.
Link: http://tihiy.ahanix.org/gdipthms.zip
Install: copy dlls&exe into \windows\system. Run regsvr32 gdipthms.dll.
Remove: Run regsvr32 /u gdipthms.dll. Run regsvr32 /i browseui.dll. Delete gdipthms.dll&gdipsrv.exe from \windows\system.

How to enable Thumnails view for every folder in Windows 98 (not Me) shell

Copy into .reg file, import it. Don't forget empty line at the end!

Thanks for all these goodies! Would you consider to include them in RP9 as optional components?

I've discovered long ago that, strangely enough, GDI+ works on Windows 95. Does this mean that there is a possibility for your COM extension to work with the Windows 95 shell?

No, although i consider to provide integration for them in RP9.
If 95 shell had those interfaces, then sure... But you can install 98/Me shell on Windows 95.

Hi Tihiy.
Just trying out your tools, and I've run into a slight problem with a couple of them.

The Task Manager window is cut off at the bottom, and I can only see the top half of the "Description" field, the rest is lost. There seems to be no way of resizing the window or dragging its edges to reveal the missing information.

Similarly, the Add/Remove Programs replacement (which is amazing BTW!) has part of its detail cut off on the right hand side. Although you can drag the edges of this window, it doesn't reveal the missing information.

I am using large (120dpi) fonts.
Is that the problem and is there any way to fix it?
Thanks, Dave.

Yes.
No.

Thanks.
I was afraid that you were going to say that!

Me again Tihiy!

Just another query, this time agout your GDI+ thumbnails.
They seem to work fine, and I'm very impressed with the thumbnails from movie files!

I have a lot of Quicktime movies on my system, and some produce thumbnails and others don't, even though the movies use the same codec, which is slightly puzzling.

Anyway, my main qestion is actually about the size and aspect ratio of the preview thumbnails that appear in Windows Explorer when you select a file.
My system used to produce these for image files, as designed, and they were always the correct shape.
Now they seem to be a fixed size (set by the parameters in folder.htt) and are always that size, height and width, resulting in many image file previews being very distorted.
Is there anything that can be done about that?

Sorry to be a pain.

When making program interfaces, accouting for different font DPI settings is a headache/nightmare. An achemare if you will. =/

Honestly, accounting for any non-default window settings is very tough; any software I've made in the past decade's titlebar got shot to hell by Vista's titlebar changes. The wide buttons give far less space for the window's title text at the very least.

Queue

Any feedback on this Tihiy?

Well, M$ is never clear in documentation. Fixed, re-download.

Thank you Tihiy!

Works fine now.
Now that's what I call service, you're a star!
(As well as a genius of course.......)

Sorry to advise that I tried all the tools but none of them worked on my Chinese Win98. Are they not compatible with DBCS Windows?

Small issue to note with the Network status monitor...

Object: Network Status Monitor
Issue: Error message every connection update
Cause: Occurs when there are no connections to pull up from the TcpTables

Updated: added registry trick which allows to turn on thumbnails in all 98 shell folders.
Added shutdown.exe, rare post-RP7 recollected version.

The Network applet is very nice and useful.

It works on my Chinese Win98SE now. Thank you

Tihiy, just another query about your thumbnail viewer, now I've used it for a few weeks.
I have a system monitor in my system tray called "Cool Beans System Information".
I believe that it is no longer in development, but I've used it for years mainly to keep an eye on CPU usage.

Since I've had your thumbnail viewer, the usage indication keeps on going to 100% if I browse through files using Windows Explorer, and this is without actually having thumbnail view enabled. All your program is doing is generating preview stills from image and video files on the left of the right-hand pane in Explorer.

Once it's gone to 100% CPU usage, it never drops down from that again until I reboot.
System performance doesn't seem to be impaired though.
The strange thing is, if I look at the CPU usage in Process Explorer, it isn't shown as 100%!
"System Idle Process" is shown as using most of the CPU, which I believe is normal, and the actual CPU usage is shown as being around 4-5%.

This may well have absolutely nothing to do with your thumbnails program of course, but I'm pretty sure that it only started doing it when I installed it. As I said, the CPU usage reading on Cool Beans only goes to 100% after I've been browsing with Windows Explorer and generating preview frames from images and video files.

Not a big deal, but any ideas why this might be happening, and why Cool Beans (which I've always found to be very reliable) has suddenly started showing what may well be spurious 100% CPU usage readings?

Uninstall and compare. I do believe it's a mistake.

Dave, you might use Windows own SYSMON.EXE to break the tie and decide which app is wrong... my own bet goes to the Cool Beans, as sysinternals utilities are pretty reliable.

Well, I looked at the CPU usage in Windows System Monitor, and that says 100% too!
So it's only Process Explorer which is saying that it's only 4-5%.
Cool Beans System Info and Sysmon both say 100%.
Maybe PE uses different criteria to measure it?
Incidentally, WinTop also says that "Idle" is using nearly all of the CPU, as does Process Explorer.

This "problem" (if it really is one) does disappear if I uninstall Tihiy's thumbnail viewer.
I didn't actually delete any files, just unregistered gdipthms.dll, and ran "regsvr32 /i browseui.dll".
Obviously I lost the video thumbnails and preview frames, but the image file thumbnails and preview frames reverted to the Windows default, and the 100% CPU indication went away.

I'm pretty sure that it's the generation of thumbnails and preview frames from video files that's mainly causing the problem.
The results with video files seem to vary a lot too.
Some do nothing when highlighted, some produce a "Generating Preview..." message which then goes away but no preview frame appears, some produce a preview frame after a delay, some produce one instantly.

This is all from QuickTime movie files, and I can't see why some are being treated differently to others.
They vary a huge amount in file size, but are mainly all the same codec, Sorensen 3.
The results on other video formats seem to be similar, but the majority of my video archive is QuickTime files.
Hope this helps to investigate things.
Cheers, Dave.

That's just normal I think. For as far as I can remember I have always seen that on my Windows ME system. All tools that indicate global CPU usage say 100% and when I look with TaskInfo 98 or Process Explorer the idle process uses 97-99% usually.

Funny that there is not a single tool that substract the idle value from 100 and presents it as the cpu usage though.

Man ...just had to speak up ...

Tihiy....these little power toys are the greatest thing since cornflakes....Thanks for sharing ,,

I often wonder what else you got stashed away there that i haven't seen yet....being a relative newbie here...


Jake

Fair enough, but I never got permanent 100% CPU usage indications anywhere until the thumbnail viewer was installed.

Neither do I. BTW, my patched SYSMON may interest you, although it'll not solve your issue. Note that the Win ME version works OK on 98SE, and that's the one I'm presently using.

Thanks den.
I've downloaded and installed it.
Is there any reason to use the ME version instead of the 98SE version?

To have the most up-to-date code-base available. I think it's worth it, but that's just my opinion.

I've installed the ME version now, and as you say it seems to be absolutely fine.
Thanks.

Now I hope Tihiy can find some reason for the apparent 100% CPU usage when his thumbnail program is operating!

Any update on the apparent CPU usage problem with the thumbnail viewer Tihiy?

You haven't provided any proof there is a problem. I can't trust sysmon which is often starts giving high CPU usage. If you say problem is apparent, then prove me how do you notice high CPU load - is there sluggishness or problems with multi-tasking or sound playing or what?

Also:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/227131

Tihiy, I've never noticed the issues decribed in Q227131 with the Win ME SYSMON, which I use on a daily basis for year already, and which is the one Dave-H is presently using.

This has nothing to do with sysmon version, really. It's a bug in performance measurement in 9x. Every application which uses registry CPU usage data can suffer from this.

Hi Tihiy,
No, there is no proof that there is an actual problem.
As I said before, the responsiveness of the system seems to be unaffected, which is why I think it likely that the 100% CPU usage indication is an error in the monitoring programs.
However, it never happened until I installed the thumbnail viewer, and it returns to normal if the viewer is disabled, which is why I thought it worth bringing it to your attention for investigation.
Thanks for the pointer to the MS KB article.
Cheers, Dave.

Can you add the button "Pause process" ?

No, i can't since those programs are not developed anymore. But when could it be useful?

Hello tihiy,i would like to use your network activity indicator.but i dont want two Network indicators on the taskbar.so what i need to know is how do i get rid of the default dailup network indicator? i am running windows 98SE. my desktop screenshot...

As far as Im aware there is no default 'Network' icon, only a Dail-Up/modem icon

However If you have 2 network cards it may be annoying to have 2 icons at the bottom, so yeah, can you add the option to hide the icon from systray but have it in..., how about Network Settings.

Another feature I think would be good for it wpuld be to either dissapear or give indication when a network is unplugged/unavailable. Sometimes my network is offline or I unplugg the cable yet the icon stays. Then when its replugged can it have the same balloon tip as your VPN (and modem possibly) icon in RP7 - of which would be another thing to add to RP9... I like it...

Trev

sorry,i ment the dailup modem icon edited post

Hi! I've Hi! I've just installed GDI+ thumbnails and I realized that when I change the view to "Thumbnails" I can't see the windows like "an web page". Is there a solution to this? I have the Spanish version of 98SE.

I attach the images of what I mean.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Thank you!!

It should be like that.

Windows 98, 95, NT etc don't treat ethernet-type connections as 'connections', like Windows 2000 and upwards do. There is a 'network' icon I believe in the control panel which is where you configure the ethernet 'connection'. It's a complete pain in the proverbial to setup and when you're used to the simplicity of how Windows 2000 and up deals with 'connections' it can create quite a headache.

i want the pause button

I only need a hot key for renaming file/dir

Alt-R would be nice

you just need to press F2

I think that System Monitor actually mesures free CPU, then substract the value from 100% and displays it. This CPU usage value includes ring 0 programs (kernel, drivers), while WinTop and other tools measure CPU usage of programs, ring 0 not included.

how to run. I do click in file regsvr32 and put me a message .. No DLL specified .. but i dont know specified the dll *gdipthms.dll*

howi do to run this file ????


-- Install: copy dlls&exe into \windows\system. Run regsvr32 gdipthms.dll.
Remove: Run regsvr32 /u gdipthms.dll. Run regsvr32 /i browseui.dll. Delete gdipthms.dll&gdipsrv.exe from \windows\system.--

If you have put the gdiplus.dll file into your windows\system folder, all you should need to do it type "regsvr32 gdipthms.dll" (without the quote marks) into the "run" box and hit "OK".
It that what you're doing?

no works, no happend nothing. i do that run regsvr32 gdipthms.dll and open the message said the dll succeeded... but no see change in my pics ... like thumnails.

Too put the code regedi4 and nothing

sorry for my bad english

Have you changed folder properties to enable thumbnail?