[Xeno86]

KernelEx v 4.5.2

KernelEx is an Open Source compatibility layer with an aim to allow running Windows 2000/XP-only applications on Microsoft Windows 98 and Microsoft Windows Millennium operating systems.

KernelEx v 4.0 series is a complete rewrite of old KernelEx architecture (which ended with v0.3.6).

Highlights:

• large speed improvements
  
• compatibility improvements
  
• minimal resource overhead
  
• possibility to completely disable KernelEx extensions for selected applications
  
• upgrades with single reboot
  
• easy configuration through compatibility tab
  
• minimal file patching no file patching
  
• user-friendly installer
  
• doesn't load in safe mode
  
• language neutral
  
• multi-language ready

Requirements:

Windows 98 or Windows Millennium in any language
Microsoft Layer for Unicode (MSLU)

Project page and downloads:

http://kernelex.sourceforge.net/

[Xeno86]

Reporting problems:

When reporting problems make sure that you include the following information:

• Operating system version – is it Windows 98 Gold (aka First Edition), Windows 98 Second Edition or Windows Millennium?
  
• KernelEx version - as displayed at the bottom of the Compatibility tab or in Add/Remove Programs tab
  
• Program vendor, program name and program version.
  
• Description of the problem.
  
• Exact steps required to reproduce the problem - what to click and what to press after the program starts
  
• Did the program work prior to installing KernelEx? Does disabling KernelEx in compatibility tab fix the problem? - important to classify the category of the bug.

Please do not include crash logs unless requested.
These don't add anything into discussion and in most cases don't help to solve the problem, but only clutter the thread.
Instead provide steps required to reproduce the crash. If it crashes for you it will crash for me too.
I will ignore all problem reports that don't follow the above guidelines.


Known problems:

Problem:
Despite changing Windows version in compatibility tab some programs complain about wrong system version. Example: Adobe Flash Player 10.0.

Solution:
Create "xp.reg" file in notepad with following contents:

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion]
"CurrentVersion"="5.1"

Double click on "xp.reg" file.
Install the program.
Create "unxp.reg" file in notepad with following contents:

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion]
"CurrentVersion"=-

Double click on "unxp.reg" file.


Problem:
Dependency Walker shows unresolved imports even if program works correctly.

Solution:
This behaviour is expected by design. Don't depend on Dependency Walker.


Release notes:

KernelEx v4.5.2 by Xeno86
2011-11-14

What's new:
----------------------------------
* Added KernelEx Virtual Device (VKrnlEx.vxd) project which makes modification of kernel32.dll file on disk unnecessary by patching the image directly in memory from kernel space before the shell starts
* Implemented a fix for a crash occuring when accessing a locked file through file mapping object
* Some programs shouldn't complain about not having admin privileges anymore
* Various bugfixes

Apps fixed / now working:
-------------------------
* Now working: Mozilla Firefox 8.0

#################################################

KernelEx v4.5.1 by Xeno86
2011-05-06

What's new:
----------------------------------
* New KernelEx API Hook infrastructure for developers
* Various bugfixes

Apps fixed / now working:
-------------------------
* New Opera 11 non-MSI installer now works
* Fixed download numbers in Opera 11 not being displayed properly
* Fixed missing checkboxes in GTK applications - Pidgin and GIMP among others
* Fixed Google Earth installation on non-english systems

#################################################

KernelEx v4.5 Final by Xeno86
2010-12-30

What's new:
----------------------------------
* Reworked installer (should be more compatible with kernel32 updates)
* New welcome screen
* Fixed stability of extended TLS code
* Fixed hang issues with printers
* Added Windows Installer compatibility database for MSI files patching

Apps fixed / now working:
-------------------------
* Fixed: Foxit Reader 3.1 drag-and-drop crash
* Fixed: Qt 4.6+ hotkey issues
* Fixed: Opera 11 'about:' pages
* Fixed: Firefox displaying file save dialog twice
* Fixed: caret not showing on some configurations (Opera)
* Now working: Google Earth 5.2 (6.0 beta experimentally)

#################################################

KernelEx v4.5 RC 5 by Xeno86
2010-11-02

What's new:
----------------------------------
* KernelEx should now work better with Windows 95 shell
* Fixed stability issues with GDI anti-leaking code

Apps fixed / now working:
-------------------------
* Fixed: OpenOffice.org often crashed on closing
* Fixed: VLC 1.1.x crashed on DVD playback on windows 98 shell
* Fixed: MAME insufficient memory error
* Fixed: Inkscape 0.47 invisible save dialog problem
* Fixed: Foxit Reader 3 resource leaks and random scrolling crashes
* Fixed: Opera crashed in 'Windows 2000' mode when trying to save file
* Fixed: Qt4 apps not showing interface fonts
* Fixed: AkelPad had broken national input
* Fixed: Easy Assembler Shell installer crash
* Now working: Media Player Classic Home Cinema rev 2374+
* Now working: MS Office 2003 Word/Excel + Viewers (experimental)
* Now working: MS Office 2007 converters [docx only] (experimental)

#################################################

KernelEx v4.5 RC 4 by Xeno86
2010-09-21

What's new:
-----------
* Implemented SysLink common control class
* KernelEx auxiliary libraries weren't loaded when full path to system file was passed in call to LoadLibary

Apps fixed / now working:
-------------------------
* Fixed: missing background colors and images in Mozilla Firefox 3.6.9/3.6.10
* Fixed: MSIMG32 warning and menu icon transparency issues in Opera 10.62
* Fixed: Google Picasa options dialog (empty tabs)
* Fixed: Adobe Flash Player crashes (reported by mailcat via sf.net forum)
* Fixed: Adobe Flash Player 10.1 volume control
* Fixed: Wizard101 game crash (bug #3041092)
* Fixed: Maxthon browser (freezing)
* Now working: Maxthon 1.6.7
* Now working: VLC 1.1.2 (without RP9)

#################################################

KernelEx v4.5 RC 1 by Xeno86
2010-07-30

What's new:
----------------------------------
* Reworked 'Compatibility' tab to allow resetting compatibility settings to default values
* Resources with high ID are disallowed when KernelEx is disabled
* Platform check is now re-enabled when KernelEx is disabled
* Fixed settings not applied for applications with international characters in path
* Implemented get-post I/O completion ports functionality

Apps fixed / now working:
-------------------------
* Fixed: MSYS (broken)
* Fixed: Microsoft Access XP (crashing)
* Fixed: Rally Championship '99 (crashing)
* Fixed: GTA San Andreas (crashing)
* Fixed: VLC 1.0+ (UI)
* Fixed: Firefox 3.6.4+ (high cpu usage)
* Now working: Adobe Flash 10.1 plugin
* Now working: Mozilla Firefox 4.0 Beta 2
* Now working: Artweaver 1.0
* Now working: MPC-HC (newer builds, svn build 1391+)

#################################################

KernelEx v4.5 Beta 2 by Xeno86
2010-02-14

What's new:
----------------------------------
* Implemented Uniscribe font caching (improves Firefox 3 performance).
* New thread pool implementation (fixes IE6 problems).
* Fixed rare font related Firefox 3 crash.
* Implemented timer queue APIs.
* Implemented SHParseDisplayName and restricted to XP+ configs to fix Firefox mailto issues.
* Fixed premature kexCOM unloading crashing Photoshop 5 and other buggy apps.
* Updated jemalloc to version from FF3.6.
* Fixed jemalloc sensitiveness to invalid pointers. Fixes vmwareuser, cvtaplog crashing.
* Implemented EnumPrintersW (Foxit 3.1 Unicode printing support).
* Fixed Opera 10.50 Beta Acid3 crash.
* Other small fixes / stubs.

#################################################

KernelEx v4.5 Beta 1 by Xeno86
2010-01-18

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

#################################################

KernelEx v4.0 Final 2 by Xeno86
2009-08-20

Major changes:
--------------
* system won't try to load auxiliary libraries (PSAPI, MSIMG32, PDH, UXTHEME, WTSAPI32) when extensions are disabled

Fixed regressions:
------------------
* fixed ZoneAlarm not working properly
* Firefox 3 couldn't be uninstalled if KernelEx was installed with extensions disabled
* Foobar2000 v0.9.6.x installer was crashing

#################################################

KernelEx v4.0 Final by Xeno86
2009-07-23

Now working on Windows 98/Me:
-----------------------------
* Flash 10 in Internet Explorer

Major changes:
--------------
* added option to installer to select between enabling KernelEx extensions for all applications and disabling them
* added installation verifier
* printer driver software no longer running in NT mode
* file select dialogs in Flash applets and certain applications should work correctly now
* improved RP9 compatibility
* loading MSLU altered floating point unit flags and caused certain programs to crash
* MSLU (Unicows.dll) is no longer loaded right on startup and should be seen referenced less often in system
* Dependency Walker is no longer slow when profiling
* startup speed improvements
* stability improvements
* tons of minor changes

#################################################

KernelEx v4.0 RC 2 by Xeno86
2009-03-21

Now working on Windows 98/Me:
-----------------------------
* The Chronicles of Riddick EFBB Demo
* QEmu 0.9

Fixed regressions:
------------------
* fixed Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 not working with RC 1
* .Net framework was broken in RC 1 now should work correctly
* input issue in Firefox 3 affecting special characters
* eMule couldn't complete downloads in RC 1, now fixed
* transparency issue in Firefox 3
* incompatibility with Norton Utilities

#################################################

KernelEx v4.0 RC 1 by Xeno86
2009-03-10

Now working on Windows 98/Me:
-----------------------------
* Firefox 3.6 alpha
* JDK 6 / JRE 6 works fine with the exception of Java applets which don't work (reason: missing proper named-pipe support in the system)
* PDF-XChange Viewer now works

Fixed regressions:
------------------
* Sysinternals TCPView display fix

This post has been edited by Xeno86: 14 November 2011 - 03:47 PM

[Xeno86]

Additional information:

Compatiblitity tab has been added to ease configuration – no more editing configuration files manually. Also the installer is now more familiar and supports installing new version on top of previous installation.

KernelEx won't be loaded if system is booted into safe mode so the user can safely diagnose and fix potential problems.

User has now the ability to completely disable KernelEx extensions for incompatible applications.

KernelEx has been completely redesigned and rewritten from scratch with low overhead and improved compatibility features being the most important goals.

Large speed improvements should be visible especially in unicode support and version checking procedures.

KernelEx installer performs minimal patching of single system file to make system KernelEx-ready. These modifications don't increase the size of the module nor do they alter the internal structure of the file in any way. KernelEx should now be compatible with all resource editing utilities. It changes the following: disables subsystem version checking of loaded module, enables usage of external resolve engine.

The main part of new KernelEx is KernelEx Core™ - a custom symbol resolve engine for Windows 98 and Windows Millennium operating systems which extends base system API with custom API libraries.

KernelEx has now a sane and highly automated build environment. Debugging capabilites have been improved as well.

This post has been edited by Xeno86: 11 March 2009 - 03:52 PM

[gkar]

Thanks for keeping the project alive!

[NoNameNeeded]

It's not possible to install Adobe Reader 9.1
After setting compatibility mode to Win2000 SP4 the installation seems to start and then ends at 100% and the window closes but nothing seems to be installed, no "Adobe" folder in the "program files" directory, no nothing....

The registry solution didn't fix this either.


Google Earth 5 won't install either. When not in compatibility mode it says that at least Win2000 SP4 is needed, when compatibility mode is set to Win2000 SP4 (or anything higher) setup doesn'T start. When I doublecklick the installation file nothing happens.

P:S. Windows 98 SE (german version)

This post has been edited by NoNameNeeded: 11 March 2009 - 06:09 PM

[starcraftmaster]

its installed fine
and i tried some windows xp only programs and it didit work
and it uninstalled fine to!! lol

but i dont know how to use it
i cant find no kever.ini and theres no read me so i got no clue how to use it i thought you just run programs and it does it all by it self Lol

[Joseph_sw]

after uninstalling the old kernelex, then re-installing this new KernelEx 4.0 RC 1
i trid to re-install directx_nov2008_redist (i know this won't work, but i tried anyway), in dxerror.log i found new entries that haven't show up with previous kernelex:

--------------------
[03/11/09 12:04:33] module: dsetup32(Oct 27 2008), file: inline.h, line: 106, function: IsDotNETFrameworkInstalled

	Failed API:		LoadLibrary()
	Error:		(1114) - A dynamic link library (DLL) initialization routine failed.


	Unable to load mscoree.dll.

such error-log entries, will not appear if i disable the KernelEx extension for dxsetup.exe

driven with curiousity i remove the microsoft.NET, and try to reinstall it again with Kex in effect.

first, i install extract all files from dotnetfx.exe (version 1.1.4322.573), without any meddling in compatibily the installation process won't ever finished, i must forcefuly terminate the installation process.

if i try to disable kernelex extension for install.exe (extracted from dotnetfx.exe), this time .net installation went normally.

Quote

i cant find no kever.ini and theres no read me so i got no clue how to use it i thought you just run programs and it does it all by it self Lol

you could try check the property of (exe/dll) files, you will find a new "Compatibilty Tab"

kever.ini is now replaced with entry in registry look for:
HKLM\Software\KernelEx\AppSettings\Configs
HKLM\Software\KernelEx\AppSettings\Flags

[starcraftmaster]

Operating system version – Windows Millennium
KernelEx version - kernelex core v4.0.11
Program vendor, swat 4 program version unkwown
Description of the problem.
game does not install on windows me so i thought it try this program
did it with all os's in the compadbile tab and only 98 se worked but when it started the installer it said you dont have admin rights lol

and star was empire at war dectects that you have win 9x but i will try the reg fix now

how much does this program modify my system

[Drugwash]

Few minor issues encountered along the way:

• The (fixed?) osdn mirror for the tar source package reports 'page not found'; may be a temporary glitch. Changing the path to point to switch instead of osdn fixes the issue.

• May be a good idea to mention 'src' or 'source' in archive's name; initially I thought it's just the usual non-installer alternative for the compiled application.

• Speaking of non-installer... I'd pretty much like to have a zip/7z alternative of the application, for analysis/translation/etc purposes; the NSIS installer doesn't easily allow manual extraction of the content and not everybody has a development environment at hand to build everything up from the sources.

That being said, the new KernelEx is welcome and hopefully will bring much happiness for us die-hard 9x-ers. Thank you Xeno86 and Tihiy for your efforts!

[starcraftmaster]

yea like the new way you done it much easyer then it uesd to be
once all errors fixed and most programs working this will be the best program
you can make millions lol

[De@n]

Very nice work, thanks Xeno86 & Tihiy

[eidenk]

Seems to be working great

[specialbao1]

Works fine. Keep up the good work

[Drugwash]

Heh... no problems so far with regular 9x applications. I've tried however to run the Unicode version of Miranda IM 0.8 alpha #28 self-built (that's my test bed for KernelEx ) and am constantly getting crashes in UNICOWS.DLL:

7F2DAF19 (UNICOWS 7F2D0000): (filename not available) (0): gwcslen
7F2D5645 (UNICOWS 7F2D0000): (filename not available) (0): GodotToCpgCchOnHeap
7F2D866E (UNICOWS 7F2D0000): (filename not available) (0): GodotTransmitMessage
7F2E8A71 (UNICOWS 7F2D0000): (filename not available) (0): GodotDefWindowProcW
0043988E (MIRANDA32 00400000): D:\miranda\trunk\miranda\src\modules\utils\hyperlink.cpp (200): HyperlinkWndProc
BFF7363B (KERNEL32 BFF70000): (filename not available) (0): Ordinal121
BFF9443B (KERNEL32 BFF70000): (filename not available) (0): UTUnRegister

At some point it was mentioned KEXBASEN.DLL.
7D002CB4 (KEXBASEN 7D000000): (filename not available) (0): (function-name not available)

The crash occurs when selecting Options or Accounts in Miranda's main menu. Other dialogs such as Profile Manager, View/Change My Details or Find/Add Contacts display question marks in certain places.

I tried to build the debug version of KernelEx with the debug symbols, hoping it would offer more details, but it wouldn't recognize the pdb. Also, KEXBASES.DLL wouldn't compile with VC6 under 98SE. And the debug symbols for UNICOWS.DLL (unicows.pdb) wouldn't be recognized either, although it's in the same folder with unicows.dll (both in System and in Miranda's folder, just to make sure).

Operating system: Win98SE
KernelEx core: 4.0.11
Application: Miranda IM 0.8 built from SVN with VC6-SP6

If other information is required, please ask.

[starcraftmaster]

hey does the newest adobe reader work?
and if it does is it any faster then version 6? or is it slower lol
because fire fox 3 is much slower then firefox 2
and what about flash 10 is it needed? or just stay with 9 ?

[Xeno86]

NoNameNeeded, on Mar 11 2009, 01:33 AM, said:

It's not possible to install Adobe Reader 9.1
Google Earth 5 won't install either.

starcraftmaster, on Mar 11 2009, 06:44 AM, said:

i tried some windows xp only programs and it didit work

I never said that after you install KernelEx you will be able to run ALL Windows XP applications ever created.
Full XP compatibility will never be possible.

In fact I as an author decide which applications I want to see running on 9x and add enhancements to system accordingly. I am perfectly aware that the apps you listed won't work and I can even give you a thousand more examples... but what's the point?!

If you want to see them running - ACTIVELY CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROJECT OR BURN IN HELL.
Currently there are only two people in the team: me and Tihiy.
Taking this into consideration - you should feel very lucky that you can run SO MANY applications.

Small list of what you can run with KernelEx:

* Mozilla Firefox 3
* Adobe Flash 10
* OpenOffice.org 3.0
* Java Developer Kit 6
* Java Runtime Environment 6
* Google Picasa 3
* PDF-XChange Viewer
* Doom 3
* Quake 4
* Prey
* Need for Speed: Most Wanted
* and many other programs - see old KernelEx thread for reference.

Instead of moaning about what doesn't work share with the list of programs that DO WORK for you after installing KernelEx.

If you want full XP compatibility install XP. EOT.

starcraftmaster, on Mar 11 2009, 06:44 AM, said:

but i dont know how to use it
i cant find no kever.ini and theres no read me so i got no clue how to use it i thought you just run programs and it does it all by it self Lol

Right click on application (exe or shortcut), select properties, select compatibility tab.
There are predefined settings for some well known programs like Firefox 3.

Joseph_sw, on Mar 11 2009, 07:11 AM, said:

after uninstalling the old kernelex, then re-installing this new KernelEx 4.0 RC 1
i trid to re-install directx_nov2008_redist (i know this won't work, but i tried anyway), such error-log entries, will not appear if i disable the KernelEx extension for dxsetup.exe

driven with curiousity i remove the microsoft.NET, and try to reinstall it again with Kex in effect.

first, i install extract all files from dotnetfx.exe (version 1.1.4322.573), without any meddling in compatibily the installation process won't ever finished, i must forcefuly terminate the installation process.

if i try to disable kernelex extension for install.exe (extracted from dotnetfx.exe), this time .net installation went normally.

Installing core system components while forcing different system version is gently speaking unwise.
DirectX is definitely a core system component.
I will block the possibility to install it with different version set in compatibility tab in the next release.
If something isn't working with new KernelEx (but used to) - use compatibility tab to disable KernelEx for that program - this is why this option was designed...

starcraftmaster, on Mar 11 2009, 09:58 AM, said:

swat 4
installer said you dont have admin rights lol

I will look into this issue.

starcraftmaster, on Mar 11 2009, 09:58 AM, said:

how much does this program modify my system

The installer changes 80 bytes in kernel32.dll to make system ready for new symbol resolve engine (KernelEx Core) and to disable platform checks of executables.
No other system files are modified.

Drugwash, on Mar 11 2009, 01:34 PM, said:

Few minor issues encountered along the way:

• The (fixed?) osdn mirror for the tar source package reports 'page not found'; may be a temporary glitch. Changing the path to point to switch instead of osdn fixes the issue.

I can't control that. It's an issue at Sourceforge.

Drugwash, on Mar 11 2009, 01:34 PM, said:

• May be a good idea to mention 'src' or 'source' in archive's name; initially I thought it's just the usual non-installer alternative for the compiled application.

Already fixed.

Drugwash, on Mar 11 2009, 01:34 PM, said:

• Speaking of non-installer... I'd pretty much like to have a zip/7z alternative of the application, for analysis/translation/etc purposes; the NSIS installer doesn't easily allow manual extraction of the content and not everybody has a development environment at hand to build everything up from the sources.

Raw archive is not an option. You can extract all files from NSIS installer with 7zip File Manager.

Drugwash, on Mar 12 2009, 03:39 PM, said:

Heh... no problems so far with regular 9x applications. I've tried however to run the Unicode version of Miranda IM 0.8 alpha #28 self-built (that's my test bed for KernelEx ) and am constantly getting crashes in UNICOWS.DLL

These indicate bugs in MSLU... nothing new. Btw. under what program did you get unicows symbols displayed?

Drugwash, on Mar 12 2009, 03:39 PM, said:

I tried to build the debug version of KernelEx with the debug symbols, hoping it would offer more details, but it wouldn't recognize the pdb. Also, KEXBASES.DLL wouldn't compile with VC6 under 98SE. And the debug symbols for UNICOWS.DLL (unicows.pdb) wouldn't be recognized either, although it's in the same folder with unicows.dll (both in System and in Miranda's folder, just to make sure).

Hmm? Wouldn't compile? I compile with VC6 under 98SE myself! The error you are getting is most likely caused because you didn't build KEXCRT first. (I should include build instructions).

[thydreamwalker]

Thanks ,All KexKernels keeps 98SE ALIVE and Surviving!!!

[starcraftmaster]

ok PhotoImpact 12 se works fine so one program you can add to the list
and Audiosurf but not much people have or want that but you can add to the list if you want

[Drugwash]

Xeno86, on Mar 13 2009, 03:13 PM, said:

I can't control that. It's an issue at Sourceforge.

I see; let's hope it's been fixed.
Thank you for fixing the source archive name.

Xeno86, on Mar 13 2009, 03:13 PM, said:

Raw archive is not an option. You can extract all files from NSIS installer with 7zip File Manager.

Too bad. I'm using Total Commander with plug-ins for all archive operations, but none of those can correctly handle NSIS extraction. Oh well...

Xeno86, on Mar 13 2009, 03:13 PM, said:

Btw. under what program did you get unicows symbols displayed?

It's just function names, not the code lines. I don't think the debug symbols are being (correctly) loaded. Anyway, it's Miranda's plug-in called Crash Dumper that creates the report and it offers more details, like currently loaded modules (Miranda-wise and system-wise). I do have the MSLU package from MS, that includes unicows.pdb.

Xeno86, on Mar 13 2009, 03:13 PM, said:

Drugwash, on Mar 12 2009, 03:39 PM, said:

I tried to build the debug version of KernelEx with the debug symbols, hoping it would offer more details, but it wouldn't recognize the pdb. Also, KEXBASES.DLL wouldn't compile with VC6 under 98SE. And the debug symbols for UNICOWS.DLL (unicows.pdb) wouldn't be recognized either, although it's in the same folder with unicows.dll (both in System and in Miranda's folder, just to make sure).

Hmm? Wouldn't compile? I compile with VC6 under 98SE myself! The error you are getting is most likely caused because you didn't build KEXCRT first. (I should include build instructions).

I figured out about kexcrt and built it beforehand, but kexbases.dll still won't compile; I suspect some conflict with PSDK. Here's the full log of compilation attempt:

--------------------Configuration: KernelEx Base Shared - Win32 Release--------------------
Performing Custom Build Step on .\kexbases.def
   Creating library .\Release\kernel32ord.lib and object .\Release\kernel32ord.exp
Compiling resources...
Compiling...
_kernel32_apilist.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
_kernel32_stubs.c
CopyFileEx.c
CreateFileA_fix.c
CreateThread_fix.c
DeleteCriticalSection.c
GetFileSizeEx.c
GlobalMemoryStatusEx.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
HeapLocks.c
InitializeCriticalSectionAndSpinCount.c
Jobs.c
KEXVersion.c
LockFileEx.c
MapViewOfFile.c
MoveFileExA.c
MoveFileWithProgressA.c
OpenThread.c
SetFilePointerEx.c
ThreadPool.c
TryEnterCriticalSection.c
uilang.c
unikernel32.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
version.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
VirtualAllocEx.c
_user32_apilist.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
D:\free\KernelEx\apilibs\kexbases\User32\_user32_apilist.c(64) : error C2440: 'type cast' : cannot convert from '' to 'unsigned long'
		Context does not allow for disambiguation of overloaded function
_user32_stubs.c
CallWindowProcA_fix.c
DisableProcessWindowsGhosting.c
EnableWindow.c
ForegroundWindow.c
GetAncestor.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
GetMouseMovePointsEx.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
IsHungAppWindow.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
LockWorkStation.c
MapVirtualKey_fix.c
SendMessage_fix.c
UberUSER.c
uniuser32.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
UpdateLayeredWindow.c
_gdi32_apilist.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
_gdi32_stubs.c
FontResourceExA.c
GetGlyphOutlineA_fix.c
TextOut.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
unigdi32.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
_advapi32_apilist.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
_advapi32_stubs.c
RegDisablePredefinedCache.c
RegOpenCurrentUser.c
security.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
D:\free\KernelEx\apilibs\kexbases\Advapi32\security.c(457) : warning C4018: '<' : signed/unsigned mismatch
D:\free\KernelEx\apilibs\kexbases\Advapi32\security.c(1056) : warning C4244: '=' : conversion from 'unsigned long' to 'unsigned char', possible loss of data
D:\free\KernelEx\apilibs\kexbases\Advapi32\security.c(1057) : warning C4244: '=' : conversion from 'unsigned long' to 'unsigned short', possible loss of data
D:\free\KernelEx\apilibs\kexbases\Advapi32\security.c(1277) : warning C4018: '>' : signed/unsigned mismatch
D:\free\KernelEx\apilibs\kexbases\Advapi32\security.c(1281) : warning C4018: '>' : signed/unsigned mismatch
TraceMessage.c
uniadvapi32.c
_comdlg32_apilist.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
PrintDlgEx.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
_version_apilist.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
universion.c
_shell32_apilist.c
.\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		.\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
_shell32_stubs.c
CommandLineToArgvW.c
IsUserAnAdmin.c
common.c
main.c
D:\free\KernelEx\apilibs\kexbases\auxdecl.h(134) : error C2733: second C linkage of overloaded function 'GetAltTabInfoA' not allowed
		D:\free\KernelEx\apilibs\kexbases\auxdecl.h(134) : see declaration of 'GetAltTabInfoA'
Error executing cl.exe.</P> <P>kexbases.dll - 20 error(s), 5 warning(s)

This post has been edited by Drugwash: 13 March 2009 - 08:57 AM

[NoNameNeeded]

Xeno86, on Mar 13 2009, 02:13 PM, said:

NoNameNeeded, on Mar 11 2009, 01:33 AM, said:

It's not possible to install Adobe Reader 9.1
Google Earth 5 won't install either.

starcraftmaster, on Mar 11 2009, 06:44 AM, said:

i tried some windows xp only programs and it didit work

I never said that after you install KernelEx you will be able to run ALL Windows XP applications ever created.
Full XP compatibility will never be possible.

I'm aware of that.

Quote

In fact I as an author decide which applications I want to see running on 9x and add enhancements to system accordingly. I am perfectly aware that the apps you listed won't work and I can even give you a thousand more examples... but what's the point?!

You wanted problem reports, and I reported problems, that's about it...

How am I to know which programs are supposed to work with kernelEx or not?
Or how am I to know which programs you are planning to get running in the future?

I only named two programs that apparently don't work,

Maybe someone should make a complete list of all the programs that are supposed to work with KernelEx so that everyone can try out these specific programs.