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KernelEx 4.5.2


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Hey guys,

just to let you all know on my findings.

I DID complain that my Simplified Chinese IME on my USA Windows 98SE machine was not working properly (Some dialogs do not appear, only the "click" error sound is heard from the PC speaker).

I found that by disabling KernelEX extensions for firefox.exe, I solved my problem. I use the last version of Firefox (2.0.20 I believe, but I know that it's the last version officially released), but I am not sure what is it's actual version number as I did not boot into Windows 98SE.

I complained about this error last year, posted as the 2nd last post of the old KernelEx 0.36a thread.

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Zone Alarm 2.6 doesn't work with KernelEx extensions activated.
Hi glocK_94,

FWIW last version of ZA working with Win 98Se is 6.1.744.001 (even without KernelEx).

I'm using version 5.5.062.004 (working without and with KernelEx),

because I've found it has more features than the above,

and because it is a 'non-phoning home' version :D .

Yes, I know, but I have the Pro version of v2.6. My bad, I didn't mention it...

Merci pour l'info sur la version 6. I didn't know it was calling home...

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Chris,

did you disable the "next generation plugin" in control pannel/java/securityadvanced/plugin ?

It's explained in more details somewhere in this thread or in the other KEX Thread, didn't find it back now !

Roger

I don't have Java in the control panel. Do I need to have it for this to work?

Chris

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Hi,

This seems like a very interesting project. I just think it lacks substantial amount of documentation on its inner working and how to build. Xeno86, could you please expand the README in sourceforge's SVN regarding the proper way to build it? I tried with MSVC2008 and got some dreaded /OPT:WIN98 is no longer supported or some such. I believe there are more people willing to contribute to the project if we have at least a simple guide explaining how to delve into the source code.

Would it be possible with the current architecture to add these?:

1. IPV6 support.

2. A replacement for GetProcessTimes which actually returns meaningful information.

If it's possible and I find my way around the source code I'll try to implement them.

By the way what's the "proper" support channel, is it this forum thread?

Ramiro Polla

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I just downloaded and installed Kernel EX on my W98SE machine. Following a reboot, Firefox 3.57 installed and is running flawlessly.

Thanks you so much for the time and effort you put into developing this wonderful tool.

John

Edited by craftech
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I still can't get Firefox to run with Flash 10. Firefox 3.5.7 installs and runs fine without flash. I've tried compatibility mode for XP SP2 and Win2k SP4. My latest attemp was by downloading Flash 10 from Adobe, marking the installer to run in XP compatibility mode and then installing it. It's fine until I hit a flash site like youtube and then it crashes with no crash report. I have a slightly older version of the unofficial 98 SE Service Pack. Could that or something else be causing problems? What about Avast antivirus for Win98? I just don't know why it doesn't work. Any other ideas? Oh, I also can't get flash 10 to work with IE6. Should it?

Chris

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I got flash 10 to install no problem using the method set out by xeno and others.

This topic however I would suggest is becoming an issue and should be moved to a new thread so this thread can be left for other problems.

Trev

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OK,

I am now having the Printing Problems others have described with Firefox 3.57 to which there is apparently no solution. It worked at first, but now it can't find the presence of a printer and is followed by a crash.

John

Follow-up: Uninstalled Firefox 3.57 and reinstalled Firefox 2.0.

Printing problems gone and browser is much faster than even a heavily tweaked 3.0 + version. But the main reason was the printing problem. Completely unusable because of that. But Opera 10.10 works great. Thanks again for developing Kernel EX for all of us. Truly appreciated.

Edited by craftech
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I'm pleased to report that all programs which I had a problem with, are working great with latest beta version!

Even more: newest revision (3200) of clsid ffdshow doesn't require an old (2322) revision for configuration panel anymore.

I''ll check more applications soon.

Xeno, Tihiy, big thanks for a beautiful piece of work! :thumbup

Btw, Xeno, you have a volunteer (Ramiro Polla).

IMHO, having more brains in your small team isn't a bad idea.

Edited by rainyd
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KernelEx v4.5 Beta 1

Release announcement

What's new:

  • Noticeably improved speed of applications which make extensive use of memory.
    This was made possible by introducing new memory allocator originating from FreeBSD - jemalloc.
    It improves heap memory allocation/free speed and reduces virtual memory fragmentation.
  • Improved compatibility with Unicode applications by implementing new windowing layer
    which provides NT-consistent way to work with Unicode window procedures.
  • Extended TLS slot limitation from 80 to 1000+, for some heavy apps.
  • Lifted PE loader named resource limitation, allowing named resource-heavy libraries to load.
  • Changed kernel obfuscator to produce positive object (process, thread) IDs in order to improve compatibility.
  • Introduced kexCOM - new library to take care of missing COM interfaces. Fixes creating shell shortcuts in newer installers.
  • GDI object destroying rules adjusted in order to fix certain resource leaks or unstability with Flash and other apps.
  • Implemented certain userenv, unicode winspool, thread pool functions.
  • Lot of API fixes and stubs.
  • Improved Compatibility tab.
  • Various architecture improvements.
  • Fixed uninstall kernel32.bak not restoring reliably issue.

Apps now working / fixed:

  • .NET Framework 2 (fixed install/uninstall and apps)
  • AbiWord 2.8 (usable, minor problems)
  • Adobe Flash 10.1 beta
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 (very unstable)
  • Adobe ImageReady CS2 (no Photoshop yet)
  • Arora (WebKit Internet Browser)
  • FastStone Image Viewer (fixed plugin crash)
  • Foxit Reader 3.1
  • ICQ 6.5 / ICQLite
  • GIMP 2.6 (usable, fixed brush trace)
  • Half-Life 2 Episode One/Two (SteamEmu)
  • Miranda IM 0.8.x Unicode
  • Mozilla Thunderbird 3 (fixed out of space errors)
  • Nero DiscSpeed 4
  • QtCreator 1.2.1
  • SoftMaker Office 2008 (fixed input bugs)
  • WinAmp 5.5x (fixed ML crash, charset problems)
  • X-Moto

Notes:

  • This release is beta quality in order to test several major changes in KernelEx.
    Please test the apps which were working before. Compare the performance and memory usage of any heavy apps you use.
    Pay attention to possible national language input problems.
  • If you want to downgrade to Final 2, you have to uninstall this beta first.
  • Enjoy this great release.

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Hi,

This seems like a very interesting project. I just think it lacks substantial amount of documentation on its inner working and how to build. Xeno86, could you please expand the README in sourceforge's SVN regarding the proper way to build it? I tried with MSVC2008 and got some dreaded /OPT:WIN98 is no longer supported or some such. I believe there are more people willing to contribute to the project if we have at least a simple guide explaining how to delve into the source code.

Would it be possible with the current architecture to add these?:

1. IPV6 support.

2. A replacement for GetProcessTimes which actually returns meaningful information.

If it's possible and I find my way around the source code I'll try to implement them.

By the way what's the "proper" support channel, is it this forum thread?

Ramiro Polla

Hi!

I agree that the lack of documentation is a big issue, this is mainly due to lack of time and when we have some free time we prefer to focus on implementation and hunting bugs :)

Officially only MSVC6 SP6 + PSDK2003 are supported and all builds are created using this configuration. Making KernelEx compile on MSVC2008 might or might not be a hard task.

While preparing a build on other compiler you have to keep in mind few things:

* KernelEx Core and KernelEx Base Shared API Library have to be build as shared DLLs - meaning their base addresses are >2GB and sections marked as shared

* Because DLLs have to be shared, you cannot directly link to MSVCRT or compiler provided C library as they don't work correctly in shared DLL environment - this is why KEXCRT was created, so you have to sort out all compiler generated references

* MSVC2008 generated binaries need post-compile modification using third party tools in order to make them runnable on Win 9x (change platform version).

* You can safely ignore /OPT:NOWIN98 flag as it is only used for disabling padding in MSVC6.

This project focuses on and is specifically designed for working with user-land API - Win32 API (think of it as of WINE project).

If I'm not mistaken, IPv6 would require quite a different approach - kernel-mode support so I doubt it will help you.

Implementing GetProcessTimes would likely require supporting drivers and changes to kernel code, while again we are specializing in user-land.

This forum is the official support channel.

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If you're intending to do serious 9x/ME programing, caldo de cana, I'd say you'd save yourself a lot of grief by using MSVS6, instead of VS2008. Xeno86 is right, it probably can be done with VS2008 too, of course, but you'll have to walk an extra mile, every time.

@Xeno86: Thanks for the new version! Glad to see you around! Have a great year in 2010!

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...

  • This release is beta quality in order to test several major changes in KernelEx.
    Please test the apps which were working before. Compare the performance and memory usage of any heavy apps you use.
    Pay attention to possible national language input problems.
  • If you want to downgrade to Final 2, you have to uninstall this beta first.
  • Enjoy this great release.

Install an Windows 98 / Czech language => not problem! :thumbup

last Flock OK.

After install new KernelEx autodisable DMA (?) harddisk.

With "old" Final2 Firefox 3 (3.5.5) run without Flash 10 OK, with flash any problem (unstable, crashing browser,...)

With new KernelEx new problem - this features attack graphics card - black icon, problem with transparency (UberSkin). First run Firefox 3 very slow... (GF 5200 FX 128 MB with last "MSFN" driver) :blink:

Edited by Philco
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