[erpdude8]

Petr, on Jun 29 2005, 11:11 AM, said:

It's not hardware problem, you can use 137GB+ disks with any IDE controller since its's invention more than 10 years ago. It's really just software problem, please read my post in 137GB limit - ESDI_506.PDR and other limits thread. BIOS is also software :-)

Award BIOS on my GA-6OXE-1 motherboard with i815EP chipset supports 137GB+ and it was produced in the first half of 2001.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

BIOS is BOTH hardware & software. Realize that there are BIOS chips that CANT be upgraded via a flash software, especially in computers made before 1995. Only way to "update" the BIOS in non-flash BIOS chips is to replace the BIOS chip.

Yes, the ESDI_506.PDR patch is needed by itself if using PCs made in 2001 and later. BUT what about PCs made in 2000 and earlier? HA! that's what I'm driving at! You just cant use those 137Gb drives under very old PCs because both the BIOS & IDE controllers in pre-2001 era can't properly handle very large hard drives. see it IS both a hardware & software problem.

ok enough of that. Try asking for the Q230791, Q254087, Q265528 & Q329128 hotfixes sometime in July, Petr. if they're not available then, try again in August or September. And if MS tells you they are not available by the end of 2005 then there's a chance they're likely gone.

[erpdude8]

The only hotfixes I'll be requesting from this point on will be WinME hotfixes since I mostly use WinME.

btw, Petr, can you include Q242941 serenum.vxd fix in your 98 standard ed. SP?
believe it or not it has serenum.vxd 4.10.2222 dated 4/23/1999, the same file included in 98 SE.

[Petr]

erpdude8, on Jun 30 2005, 06:13 AM, said:

btw, Petr, can you include Q242941 serenum.vxd fix in your 98 standard ed. SP?
believe it or not it has serenum.vxd 4.10.2222 dated 4/23/1999, the same file included in 98 SE.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is the file from http://ftp.mdgx.com/files/Q242941.EXE .

Do you have any other?

Petr

[Petr]

erpdude8, on Jun 30 2005, 06:05 AM, said:

BIOS is BOTH hardware & software.  Realize that there are BIOS chips that CANT be upgraded via a flash software, especially in computers made before 1995.  Only way to "update" the BIOS in non-flash BIOS chips is to replace the BIOS chip.

From my point of view, BIOS a piece of software put into the flash chip or EPROM or ROM chip. I think we understand each other.

Quote

Yes, the ESDI_506.PDR patch is needed by itself if using PCs made in 2001 and later.  BUT what about PCs made in 2000 and earlier?  HA! that's what I'm driving at!  You just cant use those 137Gb drives under very old PCs because both the BIOS & IDE controllers in pre-2001 era can't properly handle very large hard drives.  see it IS both a hardware & software problem.

There are other possibilities how to use the disk and even boot from it. I took 200GB HDD, put it as a secondary disk into 10 years old PC and it was correctly detected by ESD_506.PDR. It is always software - BIOS on the motherboard, BIOS on an add-on card, software BIOS, dynamic disk overlay, dos drivers, windows drivers, etc.

Quote

ok enough of that.  Try asking for the Q230791, Q254087, Q265528 & Q329128 hotfixes sometime in July, Petr.  if they're not available then, try again in August or September.  And if MS tells you they are not available by the end of 2005 then there's a chance they're likely gone.

Yes, but I suppose they are gone already.

Petr

[erpdude8]

Petr, on Jun 30 2005, 12:04 AM, said:

erpdude8, on Jun 30 2005, 06:13 AM, said:

btw, Petr, can you include Q242941 serenum.vxd fix in your 98 standard ed. SP?
believe it or not it has serenum.vxd 4.10.2222 dated 4/23/1999, the same file included in 98 SE.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is the file from http://ftp.mdgx.com/files/Q242941.EXE .

Do you have any other?

Petr
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

nope. I'm not going to try to ask MS for the Win98 version of Q242941. sybesma and I were "led in circles" by MS support earlier this year when getting Q242941 but it was for Win95 systems and not for Win98. weird that MS article Q242941 mentions v4.10.2222 of serenum.vxd fix for ALL Win95/98 systems (the date mentioned there is 9/08/1999 which is wrong). Actual patch has date of 4/23/1999.

Petr said:

Yes, but I suppose they are gone already.

not really, I said if in my previous post. you could try asking again. I might try asking MS as well later in the year.

[erpdude8]

erpdude8, on Jul 1 2005, 08:11 PM, said:

Petr said:

Yes, but I suppose they are gone already.

not really, I said if in my previous post. you could try asking again. I might try asking MS as well later in the year.

yeah, I take it back. when certain Win98/ME hotfixes are not available, MS means they are not available anymore. So you can crosss hotfixes Q254087, Q265528 and Q329128 off your list as these hotfixes have been tossed into the abyss. if you try to ask for these hotfixes now, MS will either give you a cryptic response or tell you they're not available. you could try calling MS tech support by phone, then give you email address to them & request those three hotfixes; though it's a major longshot now.

I have bookmarked this Microsoft support page on a list of hotfixes for "desktop" operating systems:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...ic_Existing.asp

this page takes a while to load using dialup because the list is very long.

[erpdude8]

check this out guys. I came across this page from a search site that talks about the ASN.1 Vulnerability under Windows 98:

http://www.webserver...4-2-128285.html

On that page somebody there received an email containing a link to obtain the Win98 KB828028 ASN.1 MS04-007 security hotfix. It's NO joke! If you read Microsoft security bulletin MS04-007:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/...n/MS04-007.mspx

the bulletin does NOT even mention Windows 98. nor Windows ME. So you CAN request a non-critical security hotfix for Windows 98/ME from Microsoft support either by email or by phone. wonderful!

[bristols]

Excellent stuff erpdude8.

Your investigations prompted me to do some searching too. Maybe you've seen or know this already, but there's something interesting about KB828028 (and about requesting hotfixes from M$ generally) in this thread.

According to the poster (who is lamenting M$'s support for 9x):

Quote

I have been told by a "Premier customer" [they got this info via a paid contract and thus it's not NDA]that the reason they got why the info is not in the bulletin nor on Windows Update is that on the 98/ME platform it is not "wormable".

So, just to get this straight, if someone were to request a patch (like this one) in such a way, would it be unlawful to redistribute it in patchers such as Gape's SE SP2? Does anyone know?

[erpdude8]

bristols, on Nov 5 2005, 03:35 PM, said:

Excellent stuff erpdude8.

Your investigations prompted me to do some searching too. Maybe you've seen or know this already, but there's something interesting about KB828028 (and about requesting hotfixes from M$ generally) in this thread.

According to the poster (who is lamenting M$'s support for 9x):

Quote

I have been told by a "Premier customer" [they got this info via a paid contract and thus it's not NDA] that the reason they got why the info is not in the bulletin nor on Windows Update is that on the 98/ME platform it is not "wormable".

So, just to get this straight, if someone were to request a patch (like this one) in such a way, would it be unlawful to redistribute it in patchers such as Gape's SE SP2? Does anyone know?

Boy it has been a year since sybesma started this whole topic on requesting hotfixes by email. kudos bigtime for that guy. without him, guys like me and some others wouldnt be asking for these fixes.

puting only the updated files from the 98se hotfixes in gape's SP, ok. posting the actual 98/me hotfixes (aka. the exe patches that are named for example: 237493usa8.exe, the Q237493 patch) may not be legal unless you have gotten actual permission by MS. I know with certain 98se hotfixes like the Q242937 WDM Audio patch, some sound card makers/vendors had to get permission from microsoft to redistribute Q242937 along with the sound card drivers. other words, yes and no.

MS04-007/KB828028 is superseded by MS04-011/KB835732. The KB835732 security patches have newer msasn1.dll files than KB828028 plus some updated Windows specific system files into KB835732.

This post has been edited by erpdude8: 09 November 2005 - 04:40 AM

[maninabox]

Here a Microsoft reply about my request of hotfix.


-----------------
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Online Customer Service.

Microsoft offers no-charge support for issues relating to hotfix. In order to create a support case and provide you with the requested hotfix, I request you to provide the following information:
- Your full name:
- Phone number (optional):
- Location/country:
- Any latest updates installed: (like Service Pack 2)

Once I have this information, I will be able to create a support case for you and provide you with the requested information.

We appreciate your patience and look forward to your reply with the above information.

Thank you for using Microsoft products and services.

Ajay
Microsoft Online Customer Service Representative
-----------------


I send request to support@microsoft.com for hotfix in italian language.
What does it mean?
I must send Microsoft all my private date!?!
Isn' t license number enough?
Can I send request to another email address with best outcome?

[LLXX]

Petr, on Jun 29 2005, 11:11 AM, said:

erpdude8, on Jun 29 2005, 05:36 PM, said:

The problem with Win9xME systems not supporting very large HDs beyond 137Gb is both a SOFTWARE AND A HARDWARE PROBLEM!  In order for the 400Gb HD to work on a PC, you'll need a PC made in 2004 or later, and a BIOS from 2004 or later and most likely a more recent version of Windows.  So just patching the HD problem with a hotfix is just isn't good enough.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's not hardware problem, you can use 137GB+ disks with any IDE controller since its's invention more than 10 years ago. It's really just software problem, please read my post in 137GB limit - ESDI_506.PDR and other limits thread. BIOS is also software :-)

Award BIOS on my GA-6OXE-1 motherboard with i815EP chipset supports 137GB+ and it was produced in the first half of 2001.

ESDI_506.PDR patch is all you need for your box made in 2001+ to let Windows 98 SE fully support 137GB+ disks - but just in case you don't have specific IDE controller drivers like Intel Application Accelerator for your board, in that case you need nothing. There will be some cosmetic errors with some tools, and partition size limited to 136GB if you want to use DEFRAG and Windows SCANDISK (It's memory allocation problem). But you can use any other tools e.g. from Symantec.

Petr

I am currently working on an ESDI_506.PDR which will enable 48-bit LBA support for drives up to 2048 gigabytes, as I recently acquired a 160Gb HDD with which to test. Expect it to be done sometime in 2006.

Strangely enough, if you disable 32-bit disk access and use Compatibility Mode instead, Windows uses the BIOS to access the disk and the limit is whatever the BIOS supports or 2 Tera, whichever is less. It is such a similar fashion to the fact that MS-DOS 7.10 will use the BIOS and however much it supports.

[erpdude8]

LLXX, on Dec 12 2005, 12:19 AM, said:

I am currently working on an ESDI_506.PDR which will enable 48-bit LBA support for drives up to 2048 gigabytes, as I recently acquired a 160Gb HDD with which to test. Expect it to be done sometime in 2006.

Strangely enough, if you disable 32-bit disk access and use Compatibility Mode instead, Windows uses the BIOS to access the disk and the limit is whatever the BIOS supports or 2 Tera, whichever is less. It is such a similar fashion to the fact that MS-DOS 7.10 will use the BIOS and however much it supports.

um, this might not be the right place to make your post, LLXX. look for the main topic about 48-bit LBA support in this forum, then make your post there instead of here.

back to the original topic on obtaining MS hotfixes. one can try requesting a hotfix for multiple versions of
Windows by using the subject Request for Qnnnnnn hotfix for <specify Windows versions here>

[ex. subject: Request for Q237493 hotfix for Windows 95 and Windows 98]
MS lists Q237493 fixes for both Win95 & 98 in MS article 237493

[erpdude8]

erpdude8, on Nov 4 2005, 04:13 PM, said:

check this out guys. I came across this page from a search site that talks about the ASN.1 Vulnerability under Windows 98:

http://www.webserver...4-2-128285.html

On that page somebody there received an email containing a link to obtain the Win98 KB828028 ASN.1 MS04-007 security hotfix. It's NO joke! If you read Microsoft security bulletin MS04-007:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/...n/MS04-007.mspx

the bulletin does NOT even mention Windows 98. nor Windows ME. So you CAN request a non-critical security hotfix for Windows 98/ME from Microsoft support either by email or by phone. wonderful!

Follow up on KB828028 for Win98: this security hotfix is available but not through Windows Update. One would have to phone Microsoft at 1-866-PCSAFETY {1-866-727-2338} and request hotfix 828028 for Win98. Dont bother emailing MS support because I've tried that several times but with no success. it seems like most MS support reps dont even know that a Win98 kb828028 hotfix exists or were never told the secret location to get the patch. so this patch seems to be only obtainable by calling MS support (with that specific 866 number) for it and few Win98 users were able to get the kb828028 hotfix.

Here's another forum site that talks about the ASN.1 vulnerability and the Win98 patch for ASN.1:
http://www.otwa.com/...ead.php?t=10612

This post has been edited by erpdude8: 02 January 2006 - 05:53 AM

[erpdude8]

here's the eWeek.com article that mentions the ASN.1 Vulnerability:
http://www.eweek.com...,1533215,00.asp
it also mentions win98/me

Petr had just told me he received the kb828028 win98 security hotfix by sending an email request. what great luck for him!!! maybe it was the way he sent his kb828028 win98 hotfix request that someone was able to provide him with the patch. the reps that responded to my kb828028 win98 hotfix request were either dumb or didn't know the win98 kb828028 patch exists.

let's see if he can request the kb828028 security hotfix for winme.

This post has been edited by erpdude8: 04 January 2006 - 06:55 PM

[erpdude8]

sybesma, on Feb 25 2005, 09:03 AM, said:

USE THIS INFORMATION VERY, VERY JUDICIOUSLY AND ONLY WHEN YOU ARE HAVING GREAT DIFFICULTY OBTAINING A HOTFIX.

DON'T USE PERSONAL E-MAIL ADDRESSES ON THE FIRST COUPLE FAILED ATTEMPTS. PLEASE USE ONLY AFTER YOU'VE BEEN DENIED THREE TIMES.

Cool Microsoft people that send the hotfixes:
Bala (manager is Lahar Tahbildar)
Corey coreysq@microsoft.com (manager is ???)
Erik erikwi@microsoft.com (manager is Randy)
Kathy a-kathye@microsoft.com (manager is Shawn Brewer)
Ranjana (manager is Hemanth Kumar)
Selva (manager is Hemanth Kumar)

E-mail address for managers is: managers@microsoft.com

Other e-mail addresses used by Microsoft to send fixes:
comprule@microsoft.com
support@microsoft.com
wrhelp@microsoft

Microsoft people that don't send the hotfixes and give you a line of bull:
Abhiranjan *** (THIS GUY WILL WASTE YOUR TIME) *** (manager is Dennis Mathen)
Ajay (manager is Anurag Yadav)
Sandeep (manager is Prabhu Narayanan)
Subramonian (manager is Ranjith Chakkambadh)
Uday (manager is Prabhu Narayanan)

The Personal MS Email addresses sybesma mentioned (such as Corey's, Kathy's and Erik's email address) are no longer working anymore. I either get no response from them at all or get my message bounced right back to me with a failure notice. So do NOT use them anymore as they may no longer be around.

[erpdude8]

From now on just use the following email address to request hotfixes for any currently supported Microsoft software:

comprule@microsoft.com
[do NOT use compmail@microsoft.com if you do not have a case number with you as any message w/out a case number will be rejected]
support@microsoft.com
wrhelp@microsoft.com

[erpdude8]

I give kudos to Petr and the Czech MS support reps for providing the 828028 patches for Win98/ME.

The MS support people I've been emailing just does NOT even know the 828028 hotfixes for Win98 and WinME exist. here's a part of the email I received from MS support a few weeks ago:

---------------------
Hello E,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Online Customer Service.

I understand that you wish to obtain the Hotfix as per KB article 828028. I realize the importance of your concern.

The Hotfix mentioned in KB article 828028 does not apply to Windows 98 SE. For Microsoft to deliver the highest quality of support possible, it is necessary to expire support for discontinued products and apply those resources to support the latest developments and technologies from Microsoft. Warranty support is no longer available for Windows 98 SE.

You may call a Microsoft Support Professional at (800) 936 5700. Their normal business hours are Monday - Friday 5:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M. Pacific time and Saturday - Sunday 6:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. Pacific time.

If you would like more information about the retirement of warranty support for our retail products, please visit our Product Support Lifecycle list located at the following Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...en-us;lifecycle

E, if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reply to this e-mail.

Thank you for using Microsoft products and services.

########
Microsoft Online Customer Service Representative
----------------------

I sent my 828028 hotfix requests several times in late December 2005 and all I get are messages saying the 828028 hotfix is "Not applicable" to Windows 98 or ME. That built up my frustration to almost a boiling point.

Now you see why I was unable to get the 828028 Win98/ME hotfixes from them and Petr got the 828028 hotfixes from the local MS support reps from his area with no trouble.

ps - I'm not going to mention the name of the MS support representative(s) who responded to my 828028 hotfix requests. many of them just dont have a clue about the 828028 patches or where to get them.

This post has been edited by erpdude8: 13 February 2006 - 05:50 PM

[erpdude8]

erpdude8, on Jan 27 2006, 11:52 AM, said:

From now on just use the following email address to request hotfixes for any currently supported Microsoft software:

comprule@microsoft.com
[do NOT use compmail@microsoft.com if you do not have a case number with you as any message w/out a case number will be rejected]
support@microsoft.com
wrhelp@microsoft.com

Tested the "comprule" MS email address. Does not work anymore. Compmail will still work but only with a case number beginning with SRX.

maybe this one might still work:

msupport@microsoft.com

I remember using that one back in early summer 2001 to report a bug with an old IE 5.5 SP1 security update.

This post has been edited by erpdude8: 11 March 2006 - 10:36 AM

[erpdude8]

Petr has sent me Win95 hotfixes Q175629, Q229670 & Q242934. Q229670 and Q242934 may not be needed if MS Active Accessibility 1.3 is installed under Win95 which updates the gdi.exe, gdi32.dll, user.exe & user32.dll files to version 4.01.971.

it is now past the July 11, 2006 date and it looks like MS is no longer offering anymore hotfixes for Win98 & ME.

This post has been edited by erpdude8: 25 July 2006 - 12:50 PM

[erpdude8]

my list of win95 hotfixes is shrinking. there are about less than ten win95 hotfixes I have left on my list. I'm waiting for Petr to send me (and maybe MDGx) some more Win95 hotfixes.

This post has been edited by erpdude8: 14 August 2006 - 04:23 PM