soporific :

Actually, I have always wondered why you utilized "START" as opposed to "CALL", as this is the exact reason for "skipping" from one DOS screen to the next. The bad news is you would probably have to revamp a huge amount of code, i.e. restructuring as follows (an simplified example only) :

- Initialize first-time/default variables
- Overlay with Saved variables/selections
- Display selections screen
- Read-in selections
- Test selections (against Force?) and Set Selections / Reinitalize Screen
- Install Selected (ONLY!)
- All done (throw up the report)

Sorry if this seems simplified but (this is NOT a slam!) more than likely you have modded the original AP from the "first draft" that was never envisioned to go this far! If you had originally had the time you would more than likely followed "old school" methodology of "How do I structure this" (Structured Programming 101, flowcharts and all) and wrote AP accordingly.

This has always been the bane of a good programmer's existence; a user says "Quick! I need something to do such-and-such", you whip it together post-haste, then other peeps see it and go "Wow! Do this, too!" and you do. Finally you wind up with "Oh, man this is cludgy! Should I completely rewrite it so it makes more sense?".

Don't feel like you're the only one. I've wound up completely revamping several entire (mainframe) subsystems just so it worked more efficiently AND was easier to maintain/enhance. I had found many instances of "clone" code that I had to rip out and place into common "called" subroutines, even changed the programming language. I even coded in my sleep!

Take heart, bud; there IS light at the end of the tunnel (not the train)! Once you have THIS version bug-free, THEN breathe easy, take a step back, rethink, and (maybe) rewrite "silently" (v2.0 that is easier to patch-up/enhance?). It may be worth your while to check into "CALL" vs "START" and using more modularization of those pariticular modules (the Process Selections ones).

Thanks for your comments, don't worry i have already taken a little break, i haven't touched the code for a full day ... towards the end there i was going totally stir crazy -- my 'builds' were getting progressively worse ... i've actually worked out where and when all the problems started ... i was using %COMSPEC% /C in all places and only recently changed some of them to %COMSPEC% /K but Mazabuka and yourself have correctly pointed out i should have been using CALL instead. I will return to this tomorrow and hopefully a version soon ... thanks again for the words of encouragement.

EDIT: i meant to say 'changed to %COMSPEC% /K' in the post above (i have made the change)

NEWS: hoh boy, the new version rocks. No more DOS windows dancing around the screen!! I've never been able to compare the two methods before and i must say i like the screen staying where it is the entire time. It doesn't move once! I've finally got some semblance of control over my pet bat files, naughty little buggers they are. Run-Mod.bat has been fired and shown the door. Totally surplus to requirements. And Fullup.bat, always the odd one out in the modules folder (its not a modules file), has been moved up a directory level where it always should have been, and renamed ModMenu.bat

The other improvement is the report function now reports more missing updates. It wasn't counting the ones that you couldn't install because other things were missing. It is usually only a few updates so its easy to miss. It will mean some of your figures of what is actually missing compared to what the report says, will now make sense. Hopefully.

So thanks for all the most recent posts, the new version is much better as a result. It will be out soon ...

soporific :

I just knew you could get it squared away! Congratulations .

But, dang it now I have to wait...

Oh well; never rush the cook, eh? ("Earned" my star and am now a Junior! have a decent signature now and will scan the JusTus back-drop and add it soon...)

Yes, yes you do. You may find this funny ... a bug i just fixed then: I have a function called NiceTime that converts a 6 digit time into something less specific .. ie a nice time. Anyway, it rounds the seconds either up or down depending if its under or over 30. And i left it at that. So just then i started a report at 1:59:46 and this gave me the very normal looking time of 1:60pm ... the chance of that happening is 1 in 120 if my math serves me correctly. Has now been fixed.

These progress reports are excellent news! Roll on v.2.0 !

I'm glad you like reading them, because i like writing them, especially the good news ...

NEWS: OK, up until now the environment space (ES) problems were still coming up. I am using a version of Jack's (Nathanson1947) autoexec.bat file as a test, but i've made the PATH statements even longer so i can try to fix this problem in all scenarios. My first task of the last couple of days was to get the bat files under control (ie be totally clear on what they are doing). This is now done. So the next thing i did was create a better debug system that shows me what the system is doing at each stage, with reference to variables. I outputted the complete SET (pun intended) of variables to check they were all needed all of the time. ...... ..... ..... my goodness. Talk about making life hard for myself. I was able to reduce the number by about a third !! Needless to say, i'm having less ES problems (i have to increase the PATH statement in AUTOEXEC.BAT to create an error). That's good news i think!


EDIT: Far ............. out ............. you know, you can stare at code for long enough to not be able to see the forest for the trees. So the program is running fine, except it keeps exiting out at the DirectX module ... and when i REM out all the PATH statements in AUTOEXEC.BAT it works perfectly. So you would assume it's an ES problem wouldn't you? Nooooo ... i still had a COMMAND /E:2048 instead of %COMSPEC% /E:2048 at the end of the file and for some reason this would NOT work under low ES conditions and works fine with lots of space. ??? Grrr.....

EDIT2: sorry about the last edit, it looked really negative and suggested things weren't going well. They are it's just that in some circumstances (ie those with jam packed AUTOEXEC.BAT files), the ES problem returns. I've been experimenting with various fixes and the one that is the best is to give the user's system a higher default environment space for each session of the command line interpreter (ie each DOS box session). It just wipes out all the problems with one simple addition to the user's CONFIG.SYS - then, you can have the longest PATH statement in the world and AP won't even blink. In fact AP will be sooo happy with all the extra space to play in, i don't expect a peep out of the little feller for any reason other than total meltdown.

So, all i'm doing now is devising a stand-alone CONFIG.SYS fixer and then its release time.

What's coming is the update to fix the problems associated with the upgrade to 1.96.50 --- but all those who were still trying to survive on 1.95 PR2 (because 1.96.50 didn't work) should upgrade immediately. For all those who never had any problems, you may as well stick with 1.96.50. The new upcoming full version release already has the fixes written (they were tested on the new version first actually) and is coming very soon ...

OK, the new release is just about ready, so it will be added to this post within the hour. Please install it ASAP and test it. If everyone says its good, we go to the next release immediately. It looong overdue. You will need to have 1.95 PR2 & the 1.96.50 upgrade already installed. Which most of you have. If you have any of the dud fixes (1.96.51-1.96.55) just install this over it. Coming soon ...

EDIT1: just for those curious, this is the AUTOEXEC.BAT file i was testing the new version out on. Check out the length of the PATH statement. Don't forget to notice that there is another string tacked on (the line with DiskeeperLite), the resulting PATH statement is 279 characters long (it was breaking at 137). And add that to the other SET statements, the resulting use is 383 characters. And it runs no sweat. This is not the limit, it's just what definitely works. I'm sure i could squeeze more space, but who know's what system the user has so this will do. So, ..... I NOW DEFY ANYONE TO BREAK THE LIMIT! Go on, install as many programs as you wish that all just have to install their path into the global PATH statement, AP will take it all and not even blink. Coming soon ...




EDIT2 I split the PATH statement into 3 because it was screwing up the thread. And there's a little hiccup that's proving not easy to fix. Sorry... hoping to crack it... will report back soon ...

EDIT3: OK it was a false alarm, i'm still releasing before i hit the sack. I soo want to get it out i was horrified when i saw hung DOS windows ... all fixed now.

EDIT4: i nearly forgot to add the ES fix as an menu option just in case you pass the ES test but still have problems later on. Everyone, if you even had ONE problem with an 'Out of environment space' problem of some sort, please visit the full main menu and visit the fix option. You will definitely spot it. trust me. Coming soon!

EDIT5: i may as well add instructions now ... OK this is the way i've gone with. People who have a reasonably long PATH statement (but not too long or ridiculous) will fail the Environment Space (ES) test on purpose. This is because they are likely to have problems if they don't install the fix and i want to trap them at the start. SO be prepared for this and don't freak out when you fail. Install the fix, reboot, restart AP and you should be fine to go and do what you want with it. If you still see errors, please report as soon as possible. If you want to be sure, you can visit the main menu and install the fix even if you don't fail the test. More information is available from the option. If you need more help, just ask.

EDIT6:
v1.96.57 is out get it here:
upgrade 1.96.50 to 1.96.57
297kb

Please read EDIT5 for the instructions. Please report bugs ASAP. This release is safe to install, just please read all instructions.

EDIT7: - if you've just joined the discussion... it must be a bit confusing to say the least ... only recently, as the program has been getting bigger, some people have been reporting problems with their environment space. And the program starts to behave erratically. So the newest version should finally fix all these problems. If you've just joined us and want to install everything, this is what you need:

Auto-Patcher v1.95 Preview Release 2: (use the first link please, only use the others if the first doesn't work)
http://soporific.files-upload.com/135464/A..._insta.exe.html
download.com
softpedia
http://soporific.dsleague.com/downloads/Au...2_installer.exe
- file size: 241 MB

Auto-Patcher v1.96.50 Upgrade:
upgrade 1.95 PR2 to 1.96.50
- requires v1.95 PR2 already installed
- file size: 17 MB

Auto-Patcher v1.96.57:
upgrade 1.96.50 to 1.96.57
- requires v1.96.50 already installed
- file size: 297 KB

Also, please read the first post for more info about the project. Cheers! And don't be afraid to say something. OK, i think i'm going to retire for the night. Cheerio.

OK, there's a little thing i should comment on so you aren't concerned. If you try to exit the program with CTRL-C (like the screen says at the end), AND you have rebooted at least once during the patch session, when you exit you get another DOS windows with a message saying "Batch file missing". This file is supposed to be missing, you just aren't supposed to see that message. This isn't worth releasing another version over, but i will definitely fix for the next version.

Okay, done it. No Win98SE programme upgrades (early days?). What it seems to have done is tacked another line i.e.into CONFIG.SYS in C:\ , didn't touch the CONFIG.SYS in C:\WINDOWS\ (which I don't think should be there in WINDOWS anyway). Slight EXPLORER error message whilst installing.
A file called CONFIG.SYZ seems to have appeared in C:\ ... anything to do with AutoPatcher98? I've never heard of SYZ files before.
Keep up the good work!

1) if you have CONFIG.SYS in C:\ it is in the right spot. If you have one in C:\Windows you don't need it.
2) CONFIG.SYS gets backed up to CONFIG.SYZ when you install the fix. I choose that ending because i wanted it to be unique. Other programs use CONFIG.BAK so i didn't. It isn't an error message, its just telling you what its doing.
3) Does it all seem to work?

EDIT: - i've noticed a hung DOS windows while testing out 1.96.57, it happens after the first run thru the VB runtimes module, it hangs when trying to reboot --- this shouldn't actually be a code bug, the problem is actually the last update in the module. This is a known bug and has already been fixed in the upcoming version.

EDIT2: -- um, er, there is a big code bug in 1.96.57 that may or may not trigger. It doesn't seem to be a problem, but it seems i'll be releasing 1.96.58 after all. Stay tuned ... the bug refers to the menus at the start of the program so its nothing important, but a very common label has somehow been repeated twice and its only because the proper one is above the wrong one that nothing appears different. But for forms sake, and to also fix the wrong report of a missing batch file, here's an updated version:
v1.96.58

Latest News:
v1.96.58 is out get it here:
upgrade 1.96.50 to 1.96.58
file size: 297kb

changes from 1.96.57 to 1.96.58:

1) there is a big code bug in 1.96.57 that may or may not trigger. It doesn't seem to be a problem in normal program operation - the bug is in the code for the menus at the start of the program so its nothing important, but a very common label has somehow been repeated twice and its only because the proper one is above the wrong one that nothing appears different.
2) If you try to exit the program with CTRL-C (like the screen says at the end), AND you have rebooted at least once during the patch session, when you exit you get another DOS window with a message saying "Batch file missing". This file is supposed to be missing, you just aren't supposed to see that message.

EDIT: the suspense is killing me ... is this version any good? The new May 2007 is all ready to go but i want at least one word of feedback on the new code before releasing! So i hereby announce a competition: the first person who replies with some feedback about 1.96.57 or 1.96.58 will be awarded: 10 points, a commendation from the God of Feedback, good luck for a week, a gold star, a plaque commemorating this achievement, a purple flower stamp, and some Che Guevara Lip Balm. Ok so i'm lying about the plaque and the lip balm, but the rest is all waiting to be won ... OK, wait for it .... Ready ..... Steady .................. GO!

EDIT2: - Yes!! my dastardly plan seems to be working perfectly!! ... you see, the reason no-one has given any feedback is because the code was written in such a way as to make all those who install it and use it, completely disappear! Yes, that's right, Auto-Patcher is actually a disintegrator in disguise, and i actually work for Microsoft who want me to bump off everyone still using Windows 98. It's working!! If you think i'm joking, why not try installing it yourself... you could always come back and tell me i'm wrong ... and while you're here you may as well say something about the program itself .....

edit3: and the winner is .... LL028!! ... now about that gold star and purple flower ... just give me a sec ...

Soporific. Sorry to spoil your day, but "We have a problem Houston"!

With respect to AP 1.96.58 =>

1. The debug report option does not work when selected from the Start Menu
2. AP hangs if one selects the Custom option to edit Config.sys to change the amount of ES allocated when SE boots up (Ctrl C cannot be used to terminate the console window)
3. AP outputs the following error message when the option to report all the missing patches is selected

This program has performed an illegal operation and will be terminated.
Quit all programs, and then restart your computer.

If the program consistently encounters problems, click the Start button,
then select Help, Troubleshooting, and 'If you have trouble running
MS-DOS programs'.

The program encountered a general protection exception.

Fault location: FFFF:10000

Interrupts in service: None

I wasn't able to fully research the third problem last night, but this is what I have established thus far =>

1. The "general protection exception" (GPE) occurs in MainCode.bat which is launched by this section of code in HFsecure.bat


At the time the GPE occurs, Report.txt contains the following with respect to the Critical Security Hotfixes module:

*** Critical Security Hotfixes module:
36. q245729: Hotfix for File Access URL Vulnerability
37. q258765: Hotfix for Remote Update Option Vulnerability
38. q269239: Hotfix for NetBIOS Vulnerability May Cause Duplicate Name
39. q269388: Hotfix for Spoofed Route Pointer Vulnerability
40. q273991: Share Level Password Update
41. q273727: Hotfix for Malformed IPX NMPI Packet Vulnerability
42. q274113: Hotfix for WebTV Vulnerability
43. q314941: Hotfix for Vulnerability in Universal Plug 'n' Play
44. q323172: Hotfix for Certificate Enrollment Control Vulnerability
45. q323255: Hotfix for Windows Help Facility Vulnerability
46. q329048: Hotfix for File Decompression Function Vulnerability
47. OLEDBUp: OLE DB Provider for Internet Publishing Update
48. TelnetUp: Hotfix for Buffer overrun in Telnet Vulnerability
49. kb811630: Hotfix for HTML Help Security Vulnerability
50. kb823559: Hotfix for Buffer Overrun In HTML Converter Vulnerability
51. kb873374: Hotfix for Vulnerability in JPEG Processing
52. kb891711: Unofficial Hotfix for Cursor and Icon Format Handling Vulnerability
53. kb917344: Hotfix for Vulnerability in Microsoft JScript
54. kb918547: Unofficial Hotfix for Vulnerability in Graphics Rendering Engine
55. UCrypt9x: Unofficial 128-bit SSL Encryption Security Fixes
56. kb926247: Unofficial Hotfix for Vulnerability in SNMP Service

2. If I change the aforementioned code in HFsecure.bat to read as follows:


then the GPE still occurs, but in (I think) a different section of AP's code.

When the GPE occurs this time, Report.txt contains the following with respect to the Critical Security Hotfixes module:

*** Critical Security Hotfixes module:
36. q245729: Hotfix for File Access URL Vulnerability
37. q258765: Hotfix for Remote Update Option Vulnerability
38. q269239: Hotfix for NetBIOS Vulnerability May Cause Duplicate Name
39. q269388: Hotfix for Spoofed Route Pointer Vulnerability
40. q273991: Share Level Password Update
41. q273727: Hotfix for Malformed IPX NMPI Packet Vulnerability
42. q274113: Hotfix for WebTV Vulnerability
43. q314941: Hotfix for Vulnerability in Universal Plug 'n' Play
44. q323172: Hotfix for Certificate Enrollment Control Vulnerability
45. q323255: Hotfix for Windows Help Facility Vulnerability
46. q329048: Hotfix for File Decompression Function Vulnerability
47. OLEDBUp: OLE DB Provider for Internet Publishing Update
48. TelnetUp: Hotfix for Buffer overrun in Telnet Vulnerability
49. kb811630: Hotfix for HTML Help Security Vulnerability
50. kb823559: Hotfix for Buffer Overrun In HTML Converter Vulnerability
51. kb873374: Hotfix for Vulnerability in JPEG Processing
52. kb891711: Unofficial Hotfix for Cursor and Icon Format Handling Vulnerability
53. kb917344: Hotfix for Vulnerability in Microsoft JScript
54. kb918547: Unofficial Hotfix for Vulnerability in Graphics Rendering Engine
55. UCrypt9x: Unofficial 128-bit SSL Encryption Security Fixes
56. kb926247: Unofficial Hotfix for Vulnerability in SNMP Service
*** Critical & Recommended System Updates Module:

With the exception of the last line of this report, the output of Report.txt here is identical to that of Report.txt before I changed the code.

I haven't had time to investigate further, but with the coding change I made I suspect the GPE now occurs in HFSysOth.bat instead of MainCode.bat?

OK, this is getting a bit serious ...

1) AP works perfectly fine on a newly installed OS.
2) AP works perfectly fine on systems with large PATH statements
3) AP gives general protection faults on your machine.

That tells me that there is something particular to your system that is causing all these problems ... it may or may not be something in the code and that is what i want to determine. It is also possible that your system is a bit screwed and is giving you these messages as a result. ie this problem is either something to do with AP or something to do with your system.

can you please tell me more about the system you are trying to use AP on ... things i want to know:

1) how old is your OS installation? ie how long ago did you install the operating system and do you re-install the OS regularly?
2) please post the contents of your configuration files (PM me) - use SYSEDIT to bring them up and just copy and paste into a text file. the files i want are: CONFIG.SYS AUTOEXEC.BAT SYSTEM.INI WIN.INI

Please try the following:
1) manually add the following line to your CONFIG.SYS file:

SHELL=COMMAND.COM /E:4096 /P

and then try the program again. If you get a message saying the system can't find COMMAND.COM then add this to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
SET PATH=%PATH%;%windir%
(why the above is needed is beyond me)

2) consider learning how to use a virtual machine program (MS Virtual PC 2007 is decent enough) and try the program out on a test system. You should be able to see AP working perfectly well on a new system.


See how you go with all that.

This is all just from the first post:

Latest News:
Wed June 6, 2007
there is a possible problem with the May 2007 release and so a service pack is being prepared. Yes, that's right i've completely bought into the MS 'service pack' terminology. The problem is with the Environment Space fix (see this post for more info. I've worked out a way to avoid all the problems (even though i don't know what is causing them) and so please upgrade ASAP. The other change is that when you exit the program using CTRL-C the program doesn't exit out. This is now fixed. Grab it here:
upgrade May 2007 to May 2007 sp1
file size 277 kb - MD5: EEBCBE32542D307BAE67192431B19506
you will need May 2007 already installed.

the May 2007 release is finally out! Grab it from here:
May 2007 (v2.0)
file size: 259 MB - MD5: 1B14F7B790627C17522A64C88E3FD074
Notes:
* the installer is much improved:
- If you choose to install the new version over the old one, all old registry uninstall information is now deleted (it wasn't before meaning you had the program listed twice in the Add/Remove programs list
- when you uninstall the program, the shortcut folder is now deleted, and so are the desktop icons (they weren't before)
- option available to delete entire install folder when uninstalling which deletes any module save files and other logs and reports.
* an update from 1.95 PR2 to May 2007 will be available soon ...

Try manually setting DEBUG=Y inside START_ME.BAT ... the only difference between START_ME.Bat and START_DEBUG.bat is that.

That could only be because the system can't find NOTEPAD.EXE in any of the locations set by the PATH statement. Have you done something with notepad?

The reason i asked that is because Windows 98se is notorious for needing re-building, especially for systems that have seen lots of installing and uninstalling. When i see a system like that, that gives errors and such when trying to run stuff normally, i dont't waste one second trying to solve the problem, the first thing i do is prepare the computer for re-building. The only choice i make is whether to try to simply re-install the OS (for systems that don't seem too bad or old) or do a clean freash re-install (for systems that crash regularly). Now, the reason i do this is because THIS FIXES THE PROBLEMS! The time it takes to do either of the above is sometimes a lot quicker than trying to solve these problems.

No, its going to help track down what is wrong. What you could do: set up a VM and install Win98 on it. Then install all the programs you have on your current machine, on the test system and try to set it up exactly the same. You will then be able to see if you can replicate the problems on both systems. This project simply WOULD NOT EXIST if i didn't have access to VM software.


Please try the following:
* please set AP to only search through individual modules, one at a time. ie set AP to search thru the Stability hotfixes module only, and then set it to search thru the tweaks module, etc. Please report what happens. You say that the program is crashing when it gets to HPSecure (the critical security hotfixes module), so unless there is more information for me, AP should get thru the individual modules and report what it finds?

Why do you think the code gets executed in a different sequence? Some things may not execute, but it is ALWAYS in the same order. Please explain how it can be otherwise ...

The fact that DOS 7.1 doesn't have things like FOR loops is actually one of its strengths, the command set is tiny. In my experience, the only thing that can go 'Out of bounds' is the environment space which gives a very similar message to array errors ('Out of environment space').


When each module is invoked, the following variables are passed to it:
%WINDRIVE%
%WINDODIR%
%LOC8%
%MARKER% (this is actually %TRACK% from ModMenu.bat)

Soporific - some more feedback =>


I'm not sure if the following is by design or an error in AP? =>

When one requests AP to report all missing patches for all modules, AP does not report on the patches contained in the "Obscure" module.

Some suggestions:

1. If you think creating a batch file to launch Start_ME.bat is a good idea, then the following line of code in Start_ME.bat =>


can be changed to =>


because the required ES space will already have been allocated by the batch file that launches Start_ME.bat

2. With the functionality built into "Strings.com", as I recall, it is possible to read data from a flat text file?

Assuming my recollection is correct, this functionality could be used to remove all the hard coding of patch details one finds in AP. Doing so would greatly simplify the maintenance of AP when new patches are brought out or existing ones superseded by newer ones (I guess it may not be worth the effort though, because new patches hardly ever appear for SE these days?)

Taking the Stability Module as an example, one would create a flat file similar to the following =>

q239887
N
q239887
Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Supplement
q239887.exe
%windir%\system\Vpowerd.vxd
4.10.0.2223
FILC

q240075
D
q240075
USB Devices May Not Work in Windows 98 Second Edition
q240075.exe
%windir%\system32\drivers\UHCD.SYS
4.10.0.2223
FILC

etc

In HFStable.bat one would then use Strings.com to process the flat file, line by line inserting the values read from the flat file into the Environment Variables that AP requires. Once the required values for a patch have been read and inserted into the Environment Variables that AP requires, the patch is then processed using the command =>


The process is then repeated for the each subsequent patch until all the patches in HFStable.bat have been processed.

I always like feedback, even if its buried within mountains of unnecessary text. I'll repeat, even if its buried within mountains of unnecessary text. Me thinks you still haven't got a hang of trimming your posts... ask if you are unsure or need help


I agree. I'll add something else.

1) OK, i've got a valid reason why we need to increase the user's ES if they haven't got much. Using someone's actual AUTOEXEC.BAT file, i was able to determine that even trying to assign just one letter to one variable created environment space (ES) problems. This means ANY process that uses COMMAND.COM and also has to assign a variable isn't going to be able to. I have one hotfix that is in this category and simply won't run on the test system i was using without giving more space overall. So if a user fails my ES test (which isn't very stringent) then they are likely to get into trouble, AP aside even. The fix is as i've gone with for this reason.

2) I have 2 fixes actually. The first one assigns the variable CLASSPATH to Nul if it exists. On my test system, this solved the problem without having to resort to the CONFIG.SYS fix. I did however make it a little bit harder to pass the test just to ensure that people with little space (as opposed to hardly any space) would also be trapped and informed about their low ES.


Ah ha !!! We have some answers at last ... if i can just give my experience with Norton AV ... i used it from about 1997 to 2000 and stopped because it was starting to consume so much of a computer's system resources. Any computer that was 'old' would take forever loading up and the whole business of 'maintaining' the product was a chore, with so many compatibility issues to sort thru. Norton AV is probably the reason why there are messages asking you to ensure you don't have your anti-virus 'protection' turned on while you install a particular program. I mean, why this unwanted and time-consuming obstacle? "Can't they design an anti-virus product that DOESN'T require the user to, unbelievably, TURN OFF the so-called protection, just so you can legitimately install a program?" was my thinking about 7 years ago. They probably have fixed this by now but then again here we are talking about how we need to turn off AV protection just to even USE a program! Way to go, Symantec.

Now i have another test system to create, one with Norton AV on it ... oh well such is the life of a [insert something suitable]


No, if you have that selected in the modules menu, then any missing hotfixes should be reported. Maybe you are talking about the report generated when you choose the option from the MAIN menu (not the module menu) ... anyway, please select the Rare and Obscure hotfixes in the modules menu and run the report again to see if the report still misses them out. It seems fine from my testing.


Well, you see, the only reason that START_ME.bat exists is to give Autopach.bat enough space to run. So it defeats the purpose using another file to give the space to START_ME.bat --- my thinking is that if the user can't even run a simple DOS windows without getting into trouble, we need to FIX the cause of the trouble rather than trying to tunnel around it.


This is an interesting idea. I could even design it to be reasonably automatic, so all you would have to do is drop a new 'config' text file into the right folder. I'll look into this, thanks heaps for the idea ...

Good news:

- i've fixed the "CTRL-C doesn't exit the DOS screen automatically" problem --- if you want to fix your version without downloading anything, look inside MainCode.bat and find the following line:

and add this line directly BEFORE it:


otherwise it will be fixed in the next release. Oh, and there will be a freeware CD-Burner (InfraRecorder) added to Optional Components.

I decided to try the part of the Autopatcher that searches for any missing updates. The following two were listed:

1. kb918144: Unofficial Hotfix for various issues in the Jet 4.0 data engine
2. TOOLS9X: Unofficial Improved Replacement Tools

What has been happening is that when I run the Autopatcher, it seems to loop through these very same updates. So the question arises;

Have these updates actually been installed, but the Autopatcher can't detect them and keeps trying to re-install them?

OR

Is something in my system preventing the Autopatcher from successfully installing these updates, and they are still not installed?

I've looked at your log file -- very useful as it goes back quite a few versions, do you have any older ones by any chance? Has it always said it was looping thru for those 2 updates? Did any version of AP work properly ie without looping thru?

the most likely scenario is you don't have those updates ... what's happening is AP says it's installing the update, but in the background there's some sort of error message we aren't seeing because all the updates are run silently. This is actually happened to 3 or 4 other hotfixes and i know how to fix the problems. It looks like a service pack 2 is coming soon. Stay tuned ...

1. kb918144: Unofficial Hotfix for various issues in the Jet 4.0 data engine

This particular update has ALWAYS looped through right from the beginning.

The other update was not included in the Autopatcher until very recently, so it wasn't there to loop through until very recently.

DO us a favour can you and do a search of the program folder for the following file:

kb918144.exe

and run it. If everything is OK you can back out of the installation, but my guess is you will get to see what the error message is telling you. Please let me know what happens!

I ran kb918144.exe, and got the following error message:



I then ran the update mentioned in the error message, followed by kb918144.exe .

I was then instructed to restart the computer, which I did.

On restarting, I received the following error message from the Windows System:



According to the attached report, the update is installed, but the error message seems to contradict this.

IF you don't have msjetoledb40.dll, you will get a message like that. Please do the following:

1) do a search for msjetoledb40.dll to see if it is actually on your system. If it is, please note down the file size, and also see if you can determine the file version (look in its properties)

Notes: This file seems to be installed when the OS is first installed, so it should always be there. If your system can't find it or doesn't recognize it, this is a problem. I have tried to find the original file in the OS installation files, but i can't find it as such, but it is already installed on a fresh system. If anyone else has more info, please say something ...

In all their MDAC/MS Jet 4.0 INFs, M$ renames this file, because its name is LFN, and because INF installers [probably] do not support copy files function for LFN files [?].
Files copied from within INFs must be SFN (Short File Names).

This file is found in all updates/patches as msjetol1.dll and is renamed as msjetoledb40.dll aftwer being copied to %windir%\system .

HTH

Thanks for that info MDGx! ... Jack, how'd you go with that file?

News: the June 2007 release will be available soon. I have to start getting a system together for releasing Full editions and Update editions -- i'm sure you don't want to download 260 MB each month and i don't want to upload that each month. So, i'll get on this ... in other news, the code has been changed to re-check each module even if there is no reboot. This means some updates that are going to 'loop' will actually loop instead of installing the once (but not installing) and then you only realize if you run AP again. You'll see what i mean when you see the new version. So coming soon:

* The full June 2007 release
* Update any May 2007 version to June 2007. ie Update May 2007 or May 2007 sp1 to June 2007
* Update 1.95 PR2 to June 2007 (long overdue!)

Stay tuned ...

Oh yeah, remember how i was saying i was going to build a test system with Norton Anti-Virus ??? Well i did and the test system lasted a day before i overwrote it in a fit of utter frustration. PLEASE, OH PLEASE do not use NORTON SYSTEMWORKS or NORTON ANTI-VIRUS and wonder why your computer is so slow, buggy, unstable, and generally much the worse off. I may even go as far as code a warning into AP ...

I managed to find the file.Strangely enough, it only existed on Drive D.





When I received my brother's old computer in 2005, the hard drive on it was only 6GB. In December 2006, I had a 29 GB hard drive put in, with all the contents of the 6 GB drive ghosted onto the 29 GB one. The 6 GB drive remained in the computer as Drive D, while the 29 GB one became Drive C. When I did a search, the file was nowhere to be found on Drive C, which is the one the computer uses now. However, it was on drive D.

I copied the file and put the copy in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM. Hopefully, this will solve the problem.

C & P frm the first post:

Latest News:

Oops: um, there's a couple of reasons i have to release June 2007 sp1 - it won't be big. sorry! Its nothing major, 2 updates aren't the very latest but you should install the upgrade just in case. Available soon ...

Sat June 16, 2007
There are 4 new releases:
* June 2007 Full - 263 MB
* June 2007 Upgrade from 1.95 PR2 (or later) - 64 MB
* June 2007 sp1 Upgrade from May 2007 (or later) - 7 MB
* June 2007 sp1 Upgrade from June 2007 - 1 MB

What's new in June 2007?
* code cleanup and some minor bug fixes
* a freeware CD burner app added to the 3rd Party module.
* Notepad has been added to the \bin directory so the user doesn't have to have this on their machine.
* all recent unofficial update releases by MDGx have been updated. None are new titles though.

Notes on the 1.95 PR2 Upgrade release:
* This will upgrade any version of Auto-Patcher for Windows 98se v1.95 PR2 or later
* the installer has been improved from the ones released previously. It is now highly recommended to let the installers do their job as opposed to moving the program directory around manually.

Question - Why does the "Microsoft Windows Pop-Up Program Support" keep poping up durning the running of Auto Patch, have to keep shutting down the pop-up windows so the reboot does not hang?
Also some of us don't have Outlook on our machine and have to go back and delete all the stuff that gets install my Auto patch - should be an option or check if its on your system. Good Work - Charlie
THANKS FOR ALL THIS DOES

Has this always happened? Does this always happen? Does this happen if you don't change the color scheme? I think it's a bug in the new color scheme option -- i'll look into it ...

EDIT -- do you load ANSI in your system startup? Look in Config.sys and Autoexec.bat and see if there is any reference to ANSI and report back please.

That's a good point, others have made it as well, i'll add this to my to do list ... so can i confirm, in your case you have totally removed Outlook Express so the file named MSIMN.EXE is nowhere to be found on your computer?

and Jack (nathanson1947), you may want to look into performing a re-install --- it sounds like it might need one in your situation. But then again if your system is working fine then apply the 'if it aint broke don't fix it' rule.

Question - Why does the "Microsoft Windows Pop-Up Program Support" keep poping up durning the running of Auto Patch, have to keep shutting down the pop-up windows so the reboot does not hang?Has this always happened? Does this always happen? Does this happen if you don't change the color scheme? I think it's a bug in the new color scheme option -- i'll look into it ...

1. Yes - this always happened - lots on first install - only one on last install.
2. Did change color, but it happen on first install too.

do you load ANSI in your system startup? Look in Config.sys and Autoexec.bat and see if there is any reference to ANSI and report back please.

3. No - and not in Config.sys or Autoexec.bat

Also some of us don't have Outlook on our machine and have to go back and delete all the stuff that gets install my Auto patch - should be an option or check if its on your system.[/quote] That's a good point, others have made it as well, i'll add this to my to do list ... so can i confirm, in your case you have totally removed Outlook Express so the file named MSIMN.EXE is nowhere to be found on your computer?

4. Yes - and do not have this file on my system.

Soporific

I used the May 2007 full release of AP to install all the patches from the following modules (with Norton AV auto-protection disabled):

Internet Explorer
Windows Media Player
DirectX 9
Critical Security Hotfixes
Critical & Recommended System Updates
Other Recommended System Hotfixes
Visual Basic Runtimes

The modules were installed one by one by repeatedly running AP after each module had been installed.

1. On the Windows Media Player (WMP) module, AP's test to determine whether or not WMP 9 is installed does not function correctly.

On my SE system, AP failed to detect that WMP 9 was not installed and thus attempted to install all the patches for WMP 9, notifying that it has installed the patches. After SE reboots, however, AP then notifies that the patches are not installed which of course is correct if WMP 9 is not installed.

2. On the Critical Security Hotfixes module, an "out of environment space" warning occurred after SE rebooted. This warning occurred after AP confirmed that patch q323172 had been installed and before confirming that patch q323255 had been installed. When the "out of environment space" warning occurred AP went went through the usual error checking looping code =>


as well as


Despite the "out of environment space warning, both patches q323172 and q323255 had been installed correctly.

3. On the Visual Basic Runtimes module after SE rebooted, AP did not run through the post processing that normally occurs after each reboot, with the result that the "I_Result.log report for the Visual Basic Runtimes was not displayed. The last line of text in this report was =>


4. The Rich Text documentation of May 2007 full release of AP needs to be updated to reflect changes that have occurred since the AP 1.95 PR2 release =>

i) Patch kb837009 is is not referenced in the Internet Explorer module documentation, but is installed by this module of AP

ii) Patches q313829 and kb816093 are referenced in both the Internet Explorer and the Critical Security Hotfixes module documentation. The patches are, however, only installed by the Internet Explorer module of AP.

iii) Patches q307004, q308349, q309081, and q310695 are not referenced in the Other Recommended Systems Hotfixes documentation, but are installed by this module of AP.

This is all good info. There's a few jobs i have to do for the next release and so i will work on trying to fix all these issues. Thanks for persevering with this, you are definitely greatly helping to improve this project. Good on you ... and you have also mastered the art of posting on MSFN. Now, if only some other people could get a hang of it ...

changelog:

* fixed all documentation errors (thanks Mazabuka)
* the color scheme function has been removed until i can fix the dos window hang problem
* a new option has been added to the Internet Explorer module: you can choose to only install IE6 sp1 and skip installing the updates.
* If you don't have Outlook express on your machine, then the two updates for it won;t be installed. Please note: installing IE 6 sp1 installs Outlook Express and it cannot then be uninstalled from the Components dialog, you must manually delete the files.
* a new routine has been added to ManiCode.bat which reduces the needed environment space for certain hotfixes including q314941 and q323172.

soporific :

No "real work" today, so testing AP May 2007 (no SP's). Rationale of running this vs AP-PR2: for some reason, after installing AVG-Free and ZoneAlarm-Free (last Win9x version still available), I was unable to "pull up" my Auto-Hidden Taskbar until I minimized everything (under/after AP PR2).

No problem with "Select All/Install" (basic Win98se+MS-Installer+VM-Addons) until (read on)...

For some reason, the Taskbar setting for not having "View as Web Page" temporarily reverts to Set (after q323708?) until the next Auto-Reboot at which time it reverts back. Odd, but obviously not a problem.

If you mean in "Add/Remove Programs" then "IE6SP1 Add Components" it can be Uninstalled, then yes delete, however when I tried to do this subsequent to AP May 2007 FULL Install, IE6SP1 Setup informed me that "Last Setup was not complete, so Reboot". I did (after exiting the Install Log), and Lo! I could use IE6SP1 Setup to Remove OE. Hot Doggies! One more Reboot!

Which leads to IE6SP1 question/suggestion: would it be possible to alter Setup to install only essentials (undoubtedly so) and (as you had once planned) copy IE6SP1 Setup files to e.g. "C:\IE6SP1" folder instead of AP's folder making it "permanent" and bypassing it during AP Uninstall? Otherwise, those that utilize other language stuff (etc.) would have to search for a non-exixtent IE6 Install folder...

Info/comment: I have thus far not actually seen any value to DotNet v1.0/1.1/2.0 except to use MSN-Messenger/get-an-account-for-MS-Evaluation-Software. But still good to have (how about the MSN Messenger to go in conjunction with this?).

Will soon be testing for the "Taskbar not accessible after AVG/Zonealarm" quirk shortly...

Peace, Bro! (will get latest version/s soon; this one is goodie SO FAR)

edit:
Silly me... also wondered if there is any reason to/not-to include Sun's Java (approx 16mb) to the Install?
Sidebar: also AVG/ZoneAlarm/Viewers(Word/Excel/PowerPoint/some kinda PDF)/Ad-Aware/Spybot... some of which are very valuable.
Yep, u be right to not include too much if that seems best (ref. UBCD as a vehicle).
And... 7-Zip is now at v4.47 (AAAARG!).

edit2:
I just knew I had seen something about the Win982ME change you had made (removal) and the new (inserted) EXPLOR98! That must have been the problem with the "Taskbar not accessible" thingy, 'cause it's ok now! Could you give some details about why this change (or point me to the post; I can't find it now)?
P.S.: As with any AV/FW software, it slows the 'puter down to the speed of "ol' Duke my favorite hound dawg" during start-up...
WOOHOO! I think this one is good for the first "bye bye, freebee PC"!!! After that, I'm gonna work on the UBCD, by golly!

If a Dummy KeyBoardJockey can put some input here. Soporific and crew or massive amount of assistances, what you are doing for those of us that are stuck in Win98SE Limbo is FANTASTIC, I for one would like to THANK YOU for each and everyone.

'submix8c,'

I have used ZoneAlarm, Ad-Aware, Agnitum OutPost, Symantec Norton FireWall, AVG FREE, and because I am on Win98SE2ME, thanks to MDGx, my system only has 184MegRAM/w Clock@400Meg any of those slow my system too much. Have run IEextractor on my system so that is gone bye-bye, have reinstalled it like any other browser and it still will not work for me. I do like Mozilla FireFox v2.0.4 very much and will stay here in the future. As for 7-Zip there are some thingys it will not undo for me so I have kept BigSpeedZipper on her, cannot remember the exact name I usually rename different programs to mine own names so I know what is what. You mentioned about the TaskBar being hidden and not coming back for you, I have a little program that I use just for that and you can Hide it from the SysTray, as well as Program manager, it is called Watch Cat from a website called Last of the FREE Versions (lfv) and you can hide all icons on DeskTop, TaskBar, any running program and if it is your e-mail client it will still check your mail in automatic mode while hidden by WCat. Using FF I have PasswordMaker on here as well and I can Hide the PasswordMaker window, instead of closing it, and still use it for my password as needed. If you do not have nor know where to find any of this just ask and I will attempt to pass on the correct info or confuse you as much as myself in attempting to clear thingys up.

One last point, if I may? I use the window from MDGx's Win98SE2ME closing down of windows for my desktop and then HIDE desktop icons and Task
Bar so when someone comes into my junky computer room they think my system is shutting down.

Thank you for reading my rambling post toasties,

Soporific,

I am attempting to negotiate a deal with a friend that has a much HyerSped Innet connection than my dialup to download that AutoTerrificPatcher program of yours, 230Meg+64Meg+7Meg is getting to be a bit much for my dialup that runs at 45333Bits/Sec and the downloads are acutally only 5k or less, mostly less than 4k.

One question (?) will the latest updates to this little progy be posted at the start of this Topic (Auto-Patcher For Windows 98se (English)) or will it be posted in one of your messages? I hope to find it at that very first page where you have some info now.

Thank you for reading my Posty toaster,

Soporific,
After installing Autopatch my hotplug icon in the status bar (system tray) does not work. Clicking on it does not bring up a window to kill my USB conn. So when I close down my GPS or camera, I get the warning window that I should have use the system icon to close before unplugging device. Removing and installing drivers did not help, even merging a registry backup does not fix it. Backup with registry and files does still work(without Autopatch). So with the right drivers and right registry over Autopatch, it does not work, but with the old files and no Autopatch installed, it does work. This seems to be the standard hotplug icon in the system tray for disconn. storage devices - any ideals on a solution?
Thanks, Charlie

NativeTexan :

Per you download speeds... Get a Download Manager. There are many free available. I use FlashGet and the download on Cable is awesome! One of these proggies should allow multiple connections to the files in question, which vastly decreases download time (no matter what ISP or connection type).

Per the Taskbar... don't want any extras (recipients of "freebee PC's" are 'puter illiterate). Besides, problem appeared to go away with AP May-2007 vs PR2...

Per PC "slow on startups"... nature of any Active A-V and/or Firewall. Just gotta live with it or don't do stoopid things on the internet. Need these, tho, since "freebee PC's for the not-so-wise-maybe-pr0n-hunters". Have a dopey friend like that... brotha, his PC was loaded with spyware/adware/trojans! Played hexx cleaning it up!

Rambling forgiven (I do it sometimes)... a bit tired-toastie were you?