MSFN Forums > 98SE2ME = Killer Replacements: ME -> 98 SE

Scramjet

Sep 20 2005, 07:02 AM

O.K I've fixed the "Dialog Box" problem (No actually YOU did). The problem WAS with Commdlg.dll, like you said. I'm not sure why it didn't work when I replaced it before, maybe because I only replaced the dll in \System folder and not in \Sysbckup folder. Anyway, it's fixed now. Thank you.

MDGx

Sep 23 2005, 04:06 PM

QUOTE (Scramjet @ Sep 20 2005, 07:02 AM)

O.K I've fixed the "Dialog Box" problem (No actually YOU did). The problem WAS with Commdlg.dll, like you said. I'm not sure why it didn't work when I replaced it before, maybe because I only replaced the dll in \System folder and not in \Sysbckup folder. Anyway, it's fixed now. Thank you.

You're welcome.
Glad you found the fix.

hammer55

Sep 25 2005, 09:55 AM

Hey MDGx, I'm back.

That computer I put 98SE2ME on was having some problems, I have a strong feeling its with the ME explorer and the rest of option 3. However, I cannot restore my old files. I've tried to remove option 3 both ways and nothing happened. Then I booted into dos, ran the restore to restore all of my old 98SE files it said it moved 98SEOLD back into C:\Windows and moved my 98SE2ME to 98SENEW. When I boot back up, I still have everything (option 3 included) installed. How can I fix this?

PsycoUnc

Sep 26 2005, 12:28 AM

-sounds like u must have performed 98se2me's Backup option twice, overwriting the orig 98se backup with the current "ME"-mod... if so, then you'll have to rely on any backups you have made yourself... (-you DID follow healthy puter practices by having your own 98se backups, before trying 98se2me, right?

lol... hope so!)
>;]
(ps: same thing for option 3; previous versions of 98se2me would overwrite the orig 98se files, if u ran option #3 more than once... killing your chance to undo #3...)
gl

hammer55

Sep 26 2005, 08:39 PM

I was certain I did not overwrite my original save files, as I realized in option 3 that backing up would overwrite my original files. And I am 110% certain I didn't do option 3 twice, so therefore even if my original backups had been overwritten, I'd still have the 98SE2ME without option 3 installed right? So I think something is messed up here, but thanks for bringing that point up.

PsycoUnc

Sep 26 2005, 10:28 PM

-ah, ok... sry if I sounded insulting, wasn't sure of your tech expertise... so much "dummy-proofing" is required for the teeming masses (even I mistakenly assumed that re-installing option 3 would not overwrite the previous backup; I thought the procedure was sufficiently "dummy-proofed" (generational backups), and ended up unpleasantly surprised

... it was my over-assumption which prodded MDGx to better "dummy-proof" his Option 3 in recent versions...)
...
...... Hmmmm..... more thought on this matter is required, yet after 6 beers in the past 90 mins (on an empty stomach), I find my cognitive concentration even flakier than usual

... will think about it further when I "come-to" in the morning, if I even remember this post... >;]

WebMatze

Sep 27 2005, 11:33 AM

Hello MDGx,

i'd like to contnue translating the 98se2me pack but i have a little problem, i'can't find a french version of the sysdm.cpl file version 4.90.3000, i tried to translate it myself, as i did it for the windows 98 version but it didn't work.
Do you were i could find that file?
Thanks for your answer.

MAtze

MDGx

Sep 29 2005, 01:20 AM

QUOTE (hammer55 @ Sep 25 2005, 09:55 AM)

Hey MDGx, I'm back.

That computer I put 98SE2ME on was having some problems, I have a strong feeling its with the ME explorer and the rest of option 3. However, I cannot restore my old files. I've tried to remove option 3 both ways and nothing happened. Then I booted into dos, ran the restore to restore all of my old 98SE files it said it moved 98SEOLD back into C:\Windows and moved my 98SE2ME to 98SENEW. When I boot back up, I still have everything (option 3 included) installed. How can I fix this?

If the ME files [after you installed option 1 or 2] exist in C:\W98SEOLD , that means you installed 98SE2ME [option 1 or 2] more than 1 time, and you also selected to create a backup of your original 98SE every time, which has overwritten the original 98SE files in C:\W98SEOLD with ME files.
The backup in C:\W98SEOLD has nothing to do with option 3.
The backup in C:\W98SEOLD can be used to restore your entire original 98SE OS only if you installed option 1 or 2.
All other options [from 3 up to 7] have their own [separate] backup + restore procedures.
All this is fully documented in READ1ST.TXT [100 KB] under the "98SE2ME.PIF COMPLETE GUIDE" chapter:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/READ1ST.TXT
Option 3 does not backup any files in C:\W98SEOLD, but in %windir% and %windir%\SYSTEM, and the backup procedure for option 3 is completely different from options 1 and 2.
All files necessary to restore files replaced by option 3 are stored in %windir%\INF :
RSTR3F.BAT
RSTR3F.INF
ATTRIB.COM
FIND.COM
MEM.EXE
GETVER.EXE

All files replaced by option 3 are backed up as:
%windir%\*.98A
%windir%\SYSTEM\*.98A

If all files installed by option 3 are found [from a previous option 3 installation], option 3 is not installed over, but if even 1 file is missing, option 3 is installed over, even if u already installed option 3 at least once before.
Original 98SE files replaced by option 3 can be restored 2 ways:
1. Open Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> select "98SE2ME Option 3:
Restore Win98 SE Explorer, Shell32 + UI" -> click Add/Remove button -> reboot.
2. Or run [%windir% = usually C:\WINDOWS]:
%windir%\INF\RSTR3F.BAT
and then reboot.

Hope this helps.

MDGx

Sep 29 2005, 01:23 AM

QUOTE (WebMatze @ Sep 27 2005, 11:33 AM)

i'd like to contnue translating the 98se2me pack but i have a little problem, i'can't find a french version of the sysdm.cpl file version 4.90.3000, i tried to translate it myself, as i did it for the windows 98 version but it didn't work.
Do you were i could find that file?

Sorry, I don't have the French sysdm.cpl, and I don't know where to get it from.

hammer55

Oct 2 2005, 11:50 PM

QUOTE (MDGx @ Sep 29 2005, 01:20 AM)

Original 98SE files replaced by option 3 can be restored 2 ways:
1. Open Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> select "98SE2ME Option 3:
Restore Win98 SE Explorer, Shell32 + UI" -> click Add/Remove button -> reboot.
2. Or run [%windir% = usually C:\WINDOWS]:
%windir%\INF\RSTR3F.BAT
and then reboot.

Hope this helps.

No go MGDx, but I think I'll just reformat.

Nice id*** proofing in the update.

randiroo76073

Oct 16 2005, 10:27 PM

First time user of option 3 & I find myself locked out of Control Panel with message: "This operation has been canceled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator" What have I done wrong? This is a single user machine, never setup anything but 1 user, so, what now? TIAFAI

PS: am using 10-13-05 ver 98se2ME

aschlutter

Oct 17 2005, 03:45 PM

QUOTE (WebMatze @ Sep 27 2005, 11:33 AM)

i'd like to contnue translating the 98se2me pack but i have a little problem, i'can't find a french version of the sysdm.cpl file version 4.90.3000, i tried to translate it myself, as i did it for the windows 98 version but it didn't work.
Do you were i could find that file?

Don't know nothing about the French version, but in the German version you'll find it in win_9.cab in the directory win9x of the original installation CD. I guess it must be on the french CD, too.

MDGx

Oct 17 2005, 05:14 PM

QUOTE (aschlutter @ Oct 17 2005, 02:45 PM)

QUOTE (WebMatze @ Sep 27 2005, 11:33 AM)

i'd like to contnue translating the 98se2me pack but i have a little problem, i'can't find a french version of the sysdm.cpl file version 4.90.3000, i tried to translate it myself, as i did it for the windows 98 version but it didn't work.
Do you were i could find that file?

Don't know nothing about the French version, but in the German version you'll find it in win_9.cab in the directory win9x of the original installation CD. I guess it must be on the french CD, too.

I believe WebMatze meant the updated sysdm.cpl build 4.90.3001 from MS hotfix Q272620:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=272620
found here [English only

]:
http://www.mdgx.com/web.htm#WME

Hope this helps.

MDGx

Oct 17 2005, 05:26 PM

QUOTE (randiroo76073 @ Oct 16 2005, 09:27 PM)

First time user of option 3 & I find myself locked out of Control Panel with message: "This operation has been canceled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator" What have I done wrong? This is a single user machine, never setup anything but 1 user, so, what now? TIAFAI

PS: am using 10-13-05 ver 98se2ME

I installed option 3 [10-13-2005 98SE2ME edition] on my 98SE setup [heavily tweaked, running 98SE2ME option 2] and also on a new, from scratch install of 98SE.
In both cases I could access Control Panel and all its applets ok 3 ways:
- from Start button Settings menu
- from Control Panel folder tweak:
http://www.mdgx.com/last3.htm#SYSFOL
- by running CONTROL.EXE.

Sorry, can't reproduce the bug you experienced.
Maybe there is some other software/update/pack/hotfix/driver/tool/tweak/game/etc on your computer that generates that error?
Maybe your OS has some system restrictions in place to prevent running certain system applets/tools/features/etc?
More info on system restrictions:
http://www.mdgx.com/newtip9.htm#RESTRICT

Hope this helps.

randiroo76073

Oct 17 2005, 07:31 PM

Thanks for reply MDGx, your link http://www.mdgx.com/newtip9.htm#RESTRICT set me on track to fix. Here is what I did[for posterity] Opened regedit in my puter & wifes puter[for comparision, hers only has USP 2.2]

My puter
Went to HKLM/Software/Microsoft/windows/Current Version/Policies, found 4 keys there: NonEnum, Network, Ratings, WinOldApp[NonEnum not on wifes] exported NonEnum to desktop & deleted key from Reg. On hunch next went to HKU/Default/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Policies, 3 keys: comdlg32, Explorer, WinOldApp. Opened Explorer, found Dword: NoControlPanel = hex value, exported & deleted entry. Now have working Control Panel

Thanks for all your hard work on 98SE2ME, it's a great prgm & now that I've finally tried it I'll be using opt 3 too.

MDGx

Oct 18 2005, 10:47 PM

QUOTE (randiroo76073 @ Oct 17 2005, 06:31 PM)

Thanks for reply MDGx, your link http://www.mdgx.com/newtip9.htm#RESTRICT set me on track to fix. Here is what I did[for posterity] Opened regedit in my puter & wifes puter[for comparision, hers only has USP 2.2]

My puter
Went to HKLM/Software/Microsoft/windows/Current Version/Policies, found 4 keys there: NonEnum, Network, Ratings, WinOldApp[NonEnum not on wifes] exported NonEnum to desktop & deleted key from Reg. On hunch next went to HKU/Default/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Policies, 3 keys: comdlg32, Explorer, WinOldApp. Opened Explorer, found Dword: NoControlPanel = hex value, exported & deleted entry. Now have working Control Panel

Thanks for all your hard work on 98SE2ME, it's a great prgm & now that I've finally tried it I'll be using opt 3 too.

Very glad you found the fix.

Enjoy 98SE2ME.

crashnburn

Oct 23 2005, 03:09 PM

QUOTE (MDGx @ Sep 4 2005, 01:12 AM)

QUOTE (crashnburn @ Sep 2 2005, 05:41 PM)

sincerely appreciate the hospitable response......... without getting into the software(s) can you possibly give me an example of a greyed out button shortcut, albeit in the registry or system folder??? i can probably take it from there and pillage my way through, living up to my name.........

thanx again............

Any shortcut to a file [not necessarily system or folder shortcut] that does not find its target file is disabled, and displays a generic icon, to let you know that you need to repair it or delete it.
For example, create a new shortcut on your desktop to winfile.exe, found in %windir% [usually C:\WINDOWS]. Then move winfile.exe to any other directory.
You will notice that after u restart Windows, or after you refresh/delete/recreate %windir%\ShellIconCache, or after you press F5 on the desktop, the winfile icon will show as a generic icon, represented by whichever shell32.dll icon is set on your computer for generic/non-existant/disabled/invalid file/folder shortcuts.
Then if u move winfile.exe back to %windir%, the icon should "fix" itself upon next restart, F5, shelliconcache repair/recreation.

Hope this helps.

welllllllll i knew if it annoyed me enuf and i poked around enuf i would come up with 'ungreying' my logitech scanner icon. dug into symantec's tech d-base and came up with some added lines in the win'ini............ :
Manually add the printer settings to the Win.ini

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type msconfig and then click OK.
3. Click the Win.ini tab.
4. Double-click the [Devices] entry.
5. Click New, and then add these two lines of text:

WinFax=WINFAX,FaxModem:
WinFax (Photo Quality)=WINFAXHQ,FaxModem:
6. Double-click the [PrinterPorts] entry.
7. Click New, and then add these two lines of text:

WinFax=WINFAX,FaxModem:,15,45
WinFax (Photo Quality)=WINFAXHQ,FaxModem:,15,45
8. Click OK, and then click Yes when prompted to restart the computer.

done........ i'm my own hero......

MDGx

Oct 25 2005, 09:23 PM

QUOTE (crashnburn @ Oct 23 2005, 03:09 PM)

welllllllll i knew if it annoyed me enuf and i poked around enuf i would come up with 'ungreying' my logitech scanner icon. dug into symantec's tech d-base and came up with some added lines in the win'ini............ :
Manually add the printer settings to the Win.ini

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type msconfig and then click OK.
3. Click the Win.ini tab.
4. Double-click the [Devices] entry.
5. Click New, and then add these two lines of text:

WinFax=WINFAX,FaxModem:
WinFax (Photo Quality)=WINFAXHQ,FaxModem:
6. Double-click the [PrinterPorts] entry.
7. Click New, and then add these two lines of text:

WinFax=WINFAX,FaxModem:,15,45
WinFax (Photo Quality)=WINFAXHQ,FaxModem:,15,45
8. Click OK, and then click Yes when prompted to restart the computer.

done........ i'm my own hero......

Good for you, you have solved the problem yourself, and should be proud of it too.

:

plop

Oct 28 2005, 02:00 AM

First a big thank you to MGDx and Gape for all the WIN98SE upgrades. My old intel 82443BX with 100FSB and 1.2 Celeron on a slot adapter positively hums and is stable.
The video card is a Radeon 9200SE. Recently I tried replacing it with an ASUS V9520X (nvidia) card but this calls for EMM386 to be installed. I get a message to this effect at boot up. The boot process continues and installs EMM386 but then I get problems with some programs and the overall stability is affected. Can someone please help and tell me what is going on? Should I use a memory manager such as UMBPCI, or can I just 'clean' the Config.sys file and revert to a normal WIN98SE un-upgraded version, or what should I enter in the config.sys file?
My thanks again to Gape and MGDx.

MDGx

Oct 28 2005, 02:04 PM

QUOTE (plop @ Oct 28 2005, 01:00 AM)

First a big thank you to MGDx and Gape for all the WIN98SE upgrades. My old intel 82443BX with 100FSB and 1.2 Celeron on a slot adapter positively hums and is stable.
The video card is a Radeon 9200SE. Recently I tried replacing it with an ASUS V9520X (nvidia) card but this calls for EMM386 to be installed. I get a message to this effect at boot up. The boot process continues and installs EMM386 but then I get problems with some programs and the overall stability is affected. Can someone please help and tell me what is going on? Should I use a memory manager such as UMBPCI, or can I just 'clean' the Config.sys file and revert to a normal WIN98SE un-upgraded version, or what should I enter in the config.sys file?
My thanks again to Gape and MGDx.

The ASUS [NVidia based] card shouldn't need any memory manager [EMM386 or UMBPCI or any other 3rd party] in order to work.
But when you installed the vid card software, some utility [TSR] loaded itself from within config.sys or autoexec.bat, and that particular utility seems to require EMM386 [in other words requires expanded memory to either load or for its own memory needs].
I don't think that utility is necessary for proper operation in Windows, it's probably just a compatibility tool for DOS based video modes [?], and you can safely disable it:
REMark it by using ; in config.sys or :: in autoexec.bat in front of it followed by a space, and then reboot.
If that tool provides VESA VBE compatibility modes, you can use instead Scitech Display Doctor UNIVBE.EXE tool [freeware]:
http://www.mdgx.com/speed.htm#VGA
which if I recall correctly, doesn't require an expanded memory manager, just upper memory in order to save conventional ["low"] memory when it loads.
If your vid card already has VESA/VBE support built into its BIOS, then you don't need any such tools.

BTW:
UMBPCI.SYS does not provide/enable expanded [EMS] or extended [XMS] memory, only upper memory blocks [UMBs]:
http://www.mdgx.com/umb.htm

DOS based video tools may interfere with Windows video APIs [GDI] operation, which may result in errors and/or lockups.
Also, NVidia Forceware [universal] video drivers in current releases:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/win9x_archive.html
usually provide most video modes support to Windows apps/games, and even for DOS games played from within Windows [DOS box].
It's best [if you can help it] to avoid using such tools, unless you plan on using native/true/pure MS-DOS mode to play DOS games, for example.

Hope this helps.

The_Frag_Man

Nov 18 2005, 01:33 PM

Hello MDGx,

could you please tell me a little bit more about option 3? It's not clear why the files are seperate, or what the differences are with the new versions, or what some of the problems are that could be encountered.

In short all I really wanna know is if I will see an improvement if I install option 3

MDGx

Nov 24 2005, 12:21 AM

QUOTE (The_Frag_Man @ Nov 18 2005, 12:33 PM)

Hello MDGx,

could you please tell me a little bit more about option 3? It's not clear why the files are seperate, or what the differences are with the new versions, or what some of the problems are that could be encountered.

In short all I really wanna know is if I will see an improvement if I install option 3

Please see READ1ST.TXT [100 KB]:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/READ1ST.TXT
respectively the * Option 3: section under the "98SE2ME.PIF COMPLETE GUIDE" chapter.

If you want more installation details, please open these files with Notepad:
- C:\9!M\RSTR3F.INF = look under the [3M] section.
- C:\9!M\98SE2ME.BAT = look under the :X3 section.
Also, you may want to open IMGVIEW.HTT in Notepad, and look at the differences between this file and the original one from the WinME setup CD.

Hope this helps.

PsycoUnc

Dec 1 2005, 01:11 AM

-puter wouldn't boot, after installing latest 98se2me... ???

---UPD: -ok, I fixed it... I removed the file u added, WINBOOT.INI... I did not have that file before, and it appears that was the culprit...

MDGx

Dec 1 2005, 11:23 PM

QUOTE (PsycoUnc @ Dec 1 2005, 12:11 AM)

I installed your latest 11-30-05 98se2me, just running the .PIF w/out actually selecting any of the numbered options (like u said at top of this thread), just to install your "EVERYBODY MUST HAVE" tweaks/fixes, and guess what: I must be more of a "no-body" than I'd previously thought: upon reboot, NO BOOT... win tries to boot, runs the autoexec.bat, chokes on the audio dos driver install with "ERROR#3: WINBOOTDIR environment variable missing. Driver not loaded" and then I have to ctrl-c to "exit batch program?", whereas I'm dumped to a dos prompt... I REMarked that driver line out of autoexec.bat, rebooted, and just got dumped to dos prompt as if I chose to boot only to a dos prompt. Tried typing "win", and then windows tried to continue booting (the boot logo came up), but it just froze... would not boot... tried removing your mod to msdos.sys, no-go, tried scanreg /restore of backup of few hrs ago, same thing...

Sorry about that, keep forgetting not everybody has winbot.ini in C:\ root [besides msdos.sys], like I do.

But there no reason to panic, your Windows installation is fine, nothing was damaged.

What happened is that BSRESTOR.INF [11-30-2005 edition] was creating a new WINBOOT.INI file in C:\ root [only if you didn't have it] with these 2 lines:

[Options]
SystemReg=0

and after rebooting, if winboot.ini is found in C:\ root, Win9x/ME boots from it instead booting from msdos.sys. But because [in your case] the newly created winboot.ini does not contain a [Paths] section or the 3 lines below it that should point to WinDir, WinBootDir + HostWinBootDrv locations, Windows gets confused, and pops up those error messages.
On Win9x/ME computers with winboot.ini present in C:\ root, this error doesn't occur.

If you wish to know more about winboot.ini:
http://www.mdgx.com/newtip16.htm#WBINI

I have removed the winboot.ini fix, please try the 12-1-2005 edition of 98SE2ME:
http://www.msfn.org/board/?showtopic=46349

Hope this helps.

PsycoUnc

Dec 2 2005, 09:51 PM

-thx for the help, sry I was a bit cranky, in a lot of pain lately with both carpal tunnel AND tendonitis (just got my 1st wrist splint brace today, sure hope it helps!), plus neck pinch, bad elbow, bad knee, bad feet, ulcerative colitis, ....... and I'm only 37!... (sigh...lol) -So when puter wouldn't even boot, I was a bit put off...
-as always, you and Gape do a great job helping all of us get/keep our good-ol' win98se in top shape, and we all greatly appreciate it

...

MDGx

Dec 2 2005, 10:27 PM

QUOTE (PsycoUnc @ Dec 2 2005, 08:51 PM)

-thx for the help, sry I was a bit cranky, in a lot of pain lately with both carpal tunnel AND tendonitis (just got my 1st wrist splint brace today, sure hope it helps!), plus neck pinch, bad elbow, bad knee, bad feet, ulcerative colitis, ....... and I'm only 37!... (sigh...lol) -So when puter wouldn't even boot, I was a bit put off...
-as always, you and Gape do a great job helping all of us get/keep our good-ol' win98se in top shape, and we all greatly appreciate it

I'm sincerely sorry about your troubles, and I hope you get better fast.
Please accept my best wishes.

btw:
Merry holidays + all the best for 2006.

randiroo76073

Dec 3 2005, 06:15 PM

MDGx thanks for explaination, I ran into same prob & was gonna post, but saw PsycoUnc's and decided to see answer. As usual, you had one! Can I borrow your brain, mine seems to be sadly lacking most times[LOL!]

PsycoUnc, I feel for you, my wife has similar probs so I know the grouchy part, painful it is!

Merry Christmas & happy New Year to all

celtish

Dec 5 2005, 05:51 AM

This isn't much good without a WinME installation disc!

MDGx

Dec 5 2005, 03:24 PM

QUOTE (plonkeroo @ Dec 5 2005, 04:51 AM)

This isn't much good without a WinME installation disc!

And I thought every1 already knew that, ever since I started this project almost 1 year ago [Jan 20 2005]...

Please read the 1st post in this forum for requirements, which include a WinME setup CD or full set of *.CABs [English]:
http://www.msfn.org/board/?showtopic=46349

And I believe it is safe to assume you already know this is because both I and MSFN forums do NOT promote/support/allow piracy.
Otherwise, I'd just post a full ISO on warez sites.

BTW:
WinME setup CDs are a dime a dozen on ebay, if u need 1.
Or u can "borrow" a friend's/coworker's/family member's CD.

Hope this helps.

Molecule

Dec 6 2005, 04:14 PM

MDGx ... I was getting ready to try your No.1 option (err...no.2 option, just basics) and I was wondering if I need to retain directory structure of the ME cabs, or can I just dump them all into one flat dir ...
(quote display drops tabs ... so use code ... )

CODE

Directory of: MEupgrade>Z:\*.cab
Z:\add-ons\Tsclient\icaclnt\ica32
    _sys1.cab
    _user1.cab
    data1.cab
    data2.cab
    4 files; 2,324,413 bytes
Z:\drivers\Modem\IBM\Disk1
    manager.cab
    win.cab
    winsys.cab
    winsys32.cab
    4 files; 633,547 bytes
Z:\drivers\Modem\IBM\Disk2
    modem.cab
    1 file; 1,143,570 bytes
Z:\win9x
    BASE2.CAB
    CATALOG.CAB
    DRIVER5.CAB
    DRIVER6.CAB
    DRIVER7.CAB
    mini.cab
    NET3.CAB
    NET4.CAB
    PRECOPY1.CAB
    WIN_10.CAB
    WIN_11.CAB
    WIN_12.CAB
    WIN_13.CAB
    WIN_14.CAB
    WIN_15.CAB
    WIN_16.CAB
    WIN_17.CAB
    WIN_18.CAB
    WIN_19.CAB
    WIN_20.CAB
    WIN_21.CAB
    WIN_22.CAB
    WIN_8.CAB
    WIN_9.CAB
    WIN_OL.CAB
    25 files; 147,135,456 bytes
Total: 4 directories;  34 files;  151,236,992 bytes

thanks,

PsycoUnc

Dec 7 2005, 05:51 AM

-only the /win9x files are needed...

MDGx

Dec 7 2005, 04:09 PM

PsycoUnc:

Correct, only the CABs in \WIN9X are needed [all others are probably OEM/vendor custom CABs with drivers + tools from the company where the PC was purchased from], and they can be anywhere on any of your drives, but they should all be in the same directory/folder.
Otherwise the script + tool I'm using to detect them will either (1) fail, or (2) will take waaay to long to extract files from CABs.

Personally I haven't tried to put them in more than 1 directory/drive, but 1 could do that just for the sake of experimenting.

Hope this helps.

ProCon1

Dec 28 2005, 03:40 PM

I have created a "Compressed HTML Help file" (*.CHM) to "supplement" MDGx's existing READ1ST.TXT file. The following are the primary reasons I decided to produce a *.CHM file:

The content and size of the READ1ST.TXT (112 KB) has grown beyond the manageability of a simple text file and capability of Microsoft Notepad.
The formatting of the READ1ST.TXT, due to Notepad's format restrictions, does not allow you to quickly and easily find desired information, thus making it difficult to use it as a convenient reference or learning source.
Some interested and less experienced users may shy away from trying 98SE2ME due to the "seemingly" overwhelming amount of information of the READ1ST.TXT.
I think that MDGx has produced a highly practical and quality program deserving representation of a help/reference document consistent with its "great value" to the end-user. It is also my way of saying thanks to MDGx for the hard work put into this project and ongoing effort to keep it up-to-date...

MDGx you're best my friend!

Download CHM file here [152 KB]:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/982MECHM.EXE

Download source here [258 KB]:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/982MECHM.ZIP

NOTE: This is the initial distribution of the file with information effective as of MDGx's last update, 12/14/05. Some content is subject to change based on MDGx's review and feedback.

Good Luck 'n Good Computing!

MDGx

Dec 31 2005, 07:43 AM

ProCon1:

Million thanks for your hard work on the HTML Help file.

I have posted the CHM file here [152 KB]:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/982MECHM.EXE
I mentioned it in READ1ST.TXT:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/READ1ST.TXT
here:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/
and here:
http://www.msfn.org/board/?showtopic=46349

Best wishes

ProCon1

Dec 31 2005, 11:55 PM

QUOTE (MDGx @ Dec 31 2005, 08:43 AM)

ProCon1:

Million thanks for your hard work on the HTML Help file.

I have posted the CHM file here [152 KB]:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/982MECHM.EXE
I mentioned it in READ1ST.TXT:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/READ1ST.TXT
here:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/
and here:
http://www.msfn.org/board/?showtopic=46349

Best wishes

MDGx, you're very welcome!

Please let me know of any significant updates via email so I can update the help file accordingly.

Happy New Year and all the best!

-=ProCon1=-
^

MDGx

Jan 3 2006, 09:43 AM

ProCon1:

I sure will.

Thanks again for your work.

HNY 2 u 2.

PsycoUnc

Jan 9 2006, 07:06 PM

?
-does 98se2me option #1 or 2 overwrite NEWER versions of files, as well as the older ones?
-I had newer xpsp2 version of CABINET.DLL, ran 1/9 98se2me #2 today, and it replaced it with older ME version... ???... that's not supposed to happen, is it? If yes, that's NOT good, would mean anytime we run an updated 98se2me, we have to also re-run all other "newer" tweaks/updates afterwards... ???

MDGx

Jan 9 2006, 07:43 PM

QUOTE (PsycoUnc @ Jan 9 2006, 06:06 PM)

-does 98se2me option #1 or 2 overwrite NEWER versions of files, as well as the older ones?
-I had newer xpsp2 version of CABINET.DLL, ran 1/9 98se2me #2 today, and it replaced it with older ME version... ???... that's not supposed to happen, is it? If yes, that's NOT good, would mean anytime we run an updated 98se2me, we have to also re-run all other "newer" tweaks/updates afterwards... ???

Thanks for noticing.
I have removed WinME CABINET.DLL from 98SE2ME.
Please download the updated file:
http://www.mdgx.com/4

Details:
http://www.msfn.org/board/?showtopic=46349

Hope this helps.

PsycoUnc

Jan 10 2006, 03:23 AM

"thx for noticing"... lol...
-thx for correcting that one mistake, but... that doesn't correct the overall 98se2me flaw... I hate to yell at ya, since you've done so much to help all of us, BUT... ya realllllly need to make sure this flaw doesn't happen w/other files, by making sure every (I know, this hurtz) file replaced by 98se2me first checks version numbers... if not, then we can't trust 98se2me in the future, which would be VERY unfortunate...
-perhaps a loop call with a data file, would make it much easier than coding every single file call... -have u thought about doing 98se2me with other than just batch files? -perhaps a very simple virtBasic/etc prog?

crashnburn

Jan 10 2006, 03:21 PM

with all the positives that the 98SE2ME has done for my particular unit, a 1.4ghz.......... would it be possible to install a DVD-RW that stated for an XP/2000 OS???

MDGx

Jan 11 2006, 09:40 AM

QUOTE (PsycoUnc @ Jan 10 2006, 02:23 AM)

"thx for noticing"... lol...
-thx for correcting that one mistake, but... that doesn't correct the overall 98se2me flaw... I hate to yell at ya, since you've done so much to help all of us, BUT... ya realllllly need to make sure this flaw doesn't happen w/other files, by making sure every (I know, this hurtz) file replaced by 98se2me first checks version numbers... if not, then we can't trust 98se2me in the future, which would be VERY unfortunate...
-perhaps a loop call with a data file, would make it much easier than coding every single file call... -have u thought about doing 98se2me with other than just batch files? -perhaps a very simple virtBasic/etc prog?

I thought of using INF and/or VBS scripts [I have no programming knowledge, any help from you guys is always appreciated], but that would require a major rewrite, and unfortunately I don't have as much time as I need to do this. Maybe 1 day...

BTW:
Yelling never helps.
But feedback does.

I have checked option 2 files list against XP SP2 files list:
http://www.mdgx.com/98-5.htm#XP
and cabinet.dll is the only 1 that needed to be removed from option 2, because the 1 installed by XP SP2 is newer.
EXTRAC32.EXE 5.2.3790.0 installed by 98SE2ME [all options] is newer than XP SP2, because it is from 2003 Server setup CD.

As you well know, I've spent 1 year [since 1-20-2005 when I started this] creating + improving 98SE2ME, but like everybody else, I'm not perfect, therefore 98SE2ME cannot be [especially because of the nature of this particular project] perfect, there will always be some kind of flaw, error, bug etc...
And that's why I opened up this forum, to get feedback from as many as possible testers [thank you guys!].
IMHO that's the only way this project can be improved.
Therefore please keep sending your feedback, it is always welcome and valuable, because this way I can correct whatever errors/bugs/flaws/etc I fail to catch on my own.

Hope this helps.
____________________________________

QUOTE (crashnburn @ Jan 10 2006, 02:21 PM)

with all the positives that the 98SE2ME has done for my particular unit, a 1.4ghz.......... would it be possible to install a DVD-RW that stated for an XP/2000 OS???

I'm afraid you need to post more details about what exactly you want 98SE2ME to do.

In case this is what you want...
please see the "FAQ" chapter from READ1ST.TXT:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/READ1ST.TXT
Here's a fragment:

QUOTE

* Including all these > 700 WinME system files into a custom built [eventually
unattended, MSBATCH.INF based]Win98 SE Setup CD/DVD requires tedious work and
lengthy research, because we're talking about modding an entire OS here, in
order to abide by MS standards, which include among other things:
- making sure checksum detection [mostly INF code] corresponds with
altered/replaced files code;
- keeping original CAB structure, which means repack ALL Setup CABs after
replacing files inside: MS Setup CABs are interlinked, which means certain
files are split among multiple CABs.
Unfortunately I don't have [some of] that information, nor time to investigate
or create necessary scripts.
If anybody wishes to pursue such projects, please post your detailed
results/scripts here:
http://www.msfn.org/board/?showforum=91
so we can all benefit.
More info + needed tools:
http://www.mdgx.com/add.htm#DEV
To add 98SE2ME scripts + Windows ME Setup CD CABs to your unattended Windows
98 SE Setup CD/DVD:
- Copy ALL *.CAB files from \WIN9X [Windows ME Setup CD] to your CD/DVD.
- Open with Notepad or similar plain text editor/viewer ALL *.BAT + *.INF
files from C:\9!M and replace ALL C:\9!M text strings with X:\9!M where X is
your CD/DVD drive letter.
- Copy ENTIRE C:\9!M folder + ALL its files modified as detailed above
[installed by 98SE2ME.EXE] to your CD/DVD.
- Add these lines to your CD/DVD MSBATCH.INF (example = modify if necessary):

-----Begin cut & paste here-----
[Install]
RunPostSetupCommands=98SE2ME
[98SE2ME]
"X:\9!M\E0!X.BAT"
------End cut & paste here------

where X is your CD/DVD drive letter.
E0!X.BAT is responsible for installing all ~ 700 WinME system files completely
unattended: 98SE2ME option 2.

Hope this helps.

Marius '95

Jan 12 2006, 05:16 PM

Hi!
I am a new user of 98SE2ME and I found a compatibility problem with 98lite. Maybe someone already reported it but I don't have time to read all these topics and posts. Sorry.

The problem:
I used 98lite to replace Windows 98 Explorer interface with Windows 95 version. 98SE2ME installation failed.
I tried to put back Win98 Explorer, install 98SE2ME and then switch to Win95 Explorer. Installation was OK but 98lite made a complete mess when I tried to switch to Win95 Explorer.

I found a solution to the problem. Install in the following order:
0) Backup all files mentioned below.
1) Install 98lite and switch to Win95 Explorer
2) Copy EXPLORER.EXE and SHELL32.DLL to a new directory. I will name it "Explorer95".
3) Run 98lite and switch to Win98 Explorer
4) Install 98SE2ME
5) Restart to MS-DOS mode
5) Rename SHELL32.DLL to SHELL31.DLL
6) Edit COMDLG32.DLL using a hex editor and replace "SHELL32.DLL" with "SHELL31.DLL". (SHELL32.DLL appears in 2 places)
7) Delete EXPLORER.EXE
8) Copy EXPLORER.EXE and SHELL32.DLL from Explorer95 directory to their original locations.
Done!

Note1: I didn't test this on another computer!
Note2: SHELL32.DLL will be the old version, from Windows 95. Some programs don't run.

MDGx

Jan 16 2006, 01:30 PM

QUOTE (Marius @ Jan 12 2006, 04:16 PM)

Hi!
I am a new user of 98SE2ME and I found a compatibility problem with 98lite. Maybe someone already reported it but I don't have time to read all these topics and posts. Sorry.

The problem:
I used 98lite to replace Windows 98 Explorer interface with Windows 95 version. 98SE2ME installation failed.
I tried to put back Win98 Explorer, install 98SE2ME and then switch to Win95 Explorer. Installation was OK but 98lite made a complete mess when I tried to switch to Win95 Explorer.

I found a solution to the problem. Install in the following order:
0) Backup all files mentioned below.
1) Install 98lite and switch to Win95 Explorer
2) Copy EXPLORER.EXE and SHELL32.DLL to a new directory. I will name it "Explorer95".
3) Run 98lite and switch to Win98 Explorer
4) Install 98SE2ME
5) Restart to MS-DOS mode
5) Rename SHELL32.DLL to SHELL31.DLL
6) Edit COMDLG32.DLL using a hex editor and replace "SHELL32.DLL" with "SHELL31.DLL". (SHELL32.DLL appears in 2 places)
7) Delete EXPLORER.EXE
8) Copy EXPLORER.EXE and SHELL32.DLL from Explorer95 directory to their original locations.
Done!

Note1: I didn't test this on another computer!
Note2: SHELL32.DLL will be the old version, from Windows 95. Some programs don't run.

Many thanks for your fix.
I have added it under the "KNOWN BUGS + FIXES" chapter in READ1ST.TXT:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/READ1ST.TXT

Multumesc si mult noroc.

jimmsta

Jan 17 2006, 11:06 AM

I think I made the mistake of using option 2 on a 2GHz machine... Now it takes ~ 3 minutes to boot, the usb wifi adapter wifi manager application crashes after 5 minutes... and the system performace is slow, overall. This is on a 2GHz celeron w/640MB RAM, and a fully tested hard drive/ram... My testbed for these sorts of things.

Seeing the newly released 1-16-06 release, I'll have to test it out and see if any issues are due to some of the new files (however, I doubt it, and it's probably related to ndis.vxd). Also, msgsvr32 crashes at random... but I have always had that crash on ALL WinMe systems I have ever used... even in vmware.

RainyShadow

Jan 17 2006, 03:40 PM

QUOTE (jimmsta @ Jan 17 2006, 07:06 PM)

Also, msgsvr32 crashes at random... but I have always had that crash on ALL WinMe systems I have ever used... even in vmware.

About msgsvr32 crashes... is there any driver which you always install, even in vmware? might be a driver for a virtual device too, like a software midi synth,daemon tools,etc.
Does it crash before installing all needed drivers and applications? If not, try to find which driver/app causes this crash and switch it with another version.

Hope this helps

MDGx

Jan 17 2006, 03:59 PM

QUOTE (jimmsta @ Jan 17 2006, 10:06 AM)

I think I made the mistake of using option 2 on a 2GHz machine... Now it takes ~ 3 minutes to boot, the usb wifi adapter wifi manager application crashes after 5 minutes... and the system performace is slow, overall. This is on a 2GHz celeron w/640MB RAM, and a fully tested hard drive/ram... My testbed for these sorts of things.

Seeing the newly released 1-16-06 release, I'll have to test it out and see if any issues are due to some of the new files (however, I doubt it, and it's probably related to ndis.vxd). Also, msgsvr32 crashes at random... but I have always had that crash on ALL WinMe systems I have ever used... even in vmware.

Unfortunately I can't reproduce your hardware/software settings to see where the problem is.
If you have time, please compare the files installed by 98SE2ME option 2 into %windir%\SYSTEM with the ones you had from before. That is if you selected to create the backup into C:\W98SEOLD .
Then you could restore old files back to original locations 1 at a time [or small groups of related files], using only the ones you suspect caused the slowdown, of course.
If you come up with something, please post your findings here.
Many thanks for your time + concern.

About MSGSVR32 crashes, I googled some articles which may be of use:
http://www.google.com/search?q=msgsvr32+crash
Here are a few:
http://www.generation.net/~hleboeuf/ermsgs32.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=262998
http://forums.thatcomputerguy.us/?showtopi...indpost&p=80197
http://www.glencove.com/95nworkhware.html#g10
http://forums.techguy.org/windows-95-98-me...-shut-down.html
http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/archiv...php/t-1527.html
http://www.pcguide.com/vb/printthread.php?t=1949
http://www.uni-giessen.de/faq/archiv/ms-wi...7/msg00007.html
http://uk.europe.creative.com/support/foru...d.asp?thre=8582
Hope this helps.

PS:
How did you install 640 MB of RAM, do you have 3 [or more] RAM banks that support RAM sticks of different amounts?
Maybe [just a thought] your crashes and/or slowdowns are caused by RAM sticks with different specs [CAS, RAS, frequency etc].
It is usually advised to install all RAM sticks of the same kind, and if possible [optional] of same RAM amount.
This depends mostly on what kind of mobo you have.

el.sagitario

Jan 18 2006, 04:52 PM

so what is the best thing to do ?
what should be the best order of installations available here?
why not fussion all these artwork into one big transplant?
any way until this happens what do i replace first? suggestion?

jimmsta

Jan 18 2006, 10:25 PM

I'm going to try again with a new install. for now, I really don't think it has anything to do with 98se2me. It's probably something to do with my way of installing things...

On a completley different topic, I was wondering if you've tried getting the Windows Me program "tuneup.exe" working on a 98se machine? The dependencies are listed if you try running the executable in WinXP. It seems that tuneup.exe contains a few reg entries, and a script file that runs scandisk, disk cleanup, compression agent, and disk defragmentor. The file itself is tagged as being copyright 1998, but has the WinMe name. as far as I can tell, the program itself was kept hidden, and unused... or at least, I've never seen it run...

MDGx

Jan 19 2006, 12:36 PM

QUOTE (el.sagitario @ Jan 18 2006, 03:52 PM)

so what is the best thing to do ?
what should be the best order of installations available here?
why not fussion all these artwork into one big transplant?
any way until this happens what do i replace first? suggestion?

Most of these questions [and many others] are already answered in detail in READ1ST.TXT:
http://www.mdgx.com/9s2m/READ1ST.TXT
under the FAQ section.

If you meant by "fussion all these artwork into one big transplant" that Gape's SP2, 98SE2ME, NUSB and eventually Tihiy's RP should merge in 1 happy package, that's not possible, because of the completely different purposes of each of these packages, and even if this could be done, there will be lots of conflicting files and tweaks/settings/etc, that would render your OS totally unusable.

But there are [still available, I believe] 2 huge packages that bundle all of the above [you can install separately or setup your OS to install unattended and then install them sequentially from dedicated scripts], and much more [but these are not supported by Gape, Tihiy, myself or any other separate package developers, for obvious reasons = see above]:
the_guy: Windows 98/98 SE/ME Option Pack (OP) Full [100 MB] + Lite [33.5 MB]:
http://www.msfn.org/board/?showtopic=52318
jimmsta: Windows 98 PowerPack [344 MB ISO]:
http://www.msfn.org/board/?showtopic=57352

Hope this helps.
________________________________________________

QUOTE (jimmsta @ Jan 18 2006, 09:25 PM)

On a completley different topic, I was wondering if you've tried getting the Windows Me program "tuneup.exe" working on a 98se machine? The dependencies are listed if you try running the executable in WinXP. It seems that tuneup.exe contains a few reg entries, and a script file that runs scandisk, disk cleanup, compression agent, and disk defragmentor. The file itself is tagged as being copyright 1998, but has the WinMe name. as far as I can tell, the program itself was kept hidden, and unused... or at least, I've never seen it run...

Great idea.
I never tried WinME tuneup.exe under 98 SE.
I will, and will post my findings here.

Thanks for the tip.

suta

Jan 21 2006, 12:41 AM

hello Mdgx, why don't you include the msn gaming zone? its nice.. convinient and so much better to find opponent online..