[Multibooter]

Windows 98 Resource Kit under Windows XP

The Windows 98 Resource Kit Sampler is one of the pieces of software which canNOT be immediately installed under Windows XP SP2, at least from the CD. When I double-clicked under WinXP on V:\tools\reskit\setup.exe on the Win98SE CD, I got the attached error message.

The same error message comes up under WinXP when trying to install from the mounted iso created from the FTP site ftp://ftp.microsoft....s/win98/Reskit/ , when trying to install the full Windows 98 Resource Kit.

When setup.exe is run under WinXP from a copy on the HDD, after the properties of setup.exe were changed to Compatibility mode "Windows 98 / Windows Me", the window License Agreement comes up, instead of this error message.

Did anybody in the forum try to install the Win98 Resource Kit under Windows XP? What happened?

Attached File(s)

•  RKWin98_Requires_Win98_msg.jpg (5.84K)
  Number of downloads: 1

This post has been edited by Multibooter: 02 June 2012 - 10:20 PM

[submix8c]

(sigh...)
MSDCTX86.EXE <-a carryover from Win95 (used to be on MS Website)
I have yet to find the MS Speech Suite 3.0 (as a package) <-a carryover from Win95 (used to be on MS Website)
I have found the "missing" Program
I gave a Link to the "more than likely" Original CD Source (at least the photo).
The "setup" program is just a variation of the CD-version.
edit - I did find Speech Suite 4.0 (these are SDK's, BTW)
edit - MS Agent 2.0 http://www.microsoft...s.aspx?id=21167
edit - v5.1 SDK http://www.microsoft...s.aspx?id=10121

Get (if you can) the Speech Software portions free (links inside) -
http://discuss.pcmag.../220581002.aspx
I have also found them in a ZIP (speechsystem.zip).
It's widely known that MS "charged" for the Book/CD while simultaneously "giving away" (most) of it anyway.
I'm betting that the XP "add-in" Text-To-Speech will work on 98SE (if not, probably with KEX).
edit - See above... v5.1 is compatible w/Win98

http://research.microsoft.com/stg/
The above link is... HISTORY!!!!
However,
http://web.archive.o...rosoft.com/stg/

Why is this so important to you? All this proves is that you have the Purchased CD and Book, which includes 1 additional Program and 2 additional Apps (which were STILL freely available). It has no bearing on the (still) availability of what's on the FTP for those that DID NOT purchase/acquire the CD.

This post has been edited by submix8c: 02 June 2012 - 05:10 PM

[Multibooter]

submix8c, on 02 June 2012 - 04:10 PM, said:

I gave a Link to the "more than likely" Original CD Source (at least the photo).

Your link http://www.betaarchi...998_Disc_15.jpg in posting #118 is really a great find.

The stuff on the FTP site, however, canNOT come from this MSDN CD "0698 Part No. X03-70866", with the printed date June 1998 (see image in link), because the modification date of \SETUP\RESKIT.STF is 18-Feb-1999.

I would still bet that the content of the FTP site came from the TechNet CD "Microsoft Plus! 98, Windows® 98 Resource Kit" (Part No. X05-34597, January 2000, Disc 6) "http://web.shinmin.tc.edu.tw/administrative/cc/data/msdn/cdtable(012000).htm", indicated in my posting #92, especially since the FTP site is in a TechNet subdirectory ftp://ftp.microsoft....s/win98/Reskit/

So here a summary of sources of the MS Windows 98 Resource Kit identified up to now:
- Book CD
- TechNet CD
- MSDN CD

The creation date of the Book CD (April 29 or 30, 1998) and the server modification dates of the FTP version (April 29, 2010) may be coincidence. If I remember right, there was a very rare special edition CD for Windows ME.

Quote

(sigh...) .. Why is this so important to you?

Eventually some old computer stuff may turn into collectibles. Old silver CDs, readable and in pristine condition, may eventually be in demand. Most people can't keep from sighing when they hear the nonsense which stamp collectors, for example, are uttering about microscopic details on their stamps and covers http://www.ebay.com/...=item5892b86da5

This post has been edited by Multibooter: 05 June 2012 - 01:16 PM

[submix8c]

(sigh again...)

I have located everything that you have except the "altered" ROOT Setup program to allow for the two extra folders/files. I have found the additional 38 files (less two README.TXT files in the two "missing" folders). The STF is undoubtedly identical to yours.

This doesn't make my "set" valuable. Only that I am able to nearly "replicate" the contents of your CD.

Does this count as "forensic"? Again, I don't see the point unless you actually HAVE the said CD's you keep referring to. This is kind of turning the Topic into an FYI of a different nature rather than "Get this while you can - it's better than the Stock Reskit on the 98SE CD" (of which what we have been "beating up", i.e. the FTP version, which appears to be for 98FE, but nearly identical to SE).

The Server Date of 2010 is not "coincidental"... take a look at the ROOT of the Server... MS at one time (undoubtedly that date) transferred from ServerA to ServerB by copying (maybe RoboCopy) - that DID happen... It's not "mystical"...

[Multibooter]

submix8c, on 03 June 2012 - 12:32 PM, said:

"Get this while you can - it's better than the Stock Reskit on the 98SE CD"

Yes.

Versions
The version of the Win98 Resource Kit Sampler [= small extract] is indicated on the Windows 98 installation CD in \tools\reskit\setup\reskit.stf, at the top.
The Win98 FE OEM, v8.01 (11-May-1998) and v8.02 (24-Nov-1998) contain " Windows 98 Resource Kit Tools Sampler" v98.0.1.013
The Win98 SE OEM (23-Apr-1999) contains v98.0.1.014, the main difference being that in newer v98.0.1.014 TweakUI v1.25.0.0 was removed.

RK98BOOK.CHM on the FE and SE installation CDs are identical, except for the file modification dates (11-May-1998/24-Nov-1998 on FE CDs, 23-Apr-1999 on SE CD).
This means that no Resource Kit was prepared for Win98SE, and that the Resource Kit is for Win98FE. I don't know of a Resource Kit for Windows ME either.

Off topic: the main difference between the 2 versions of the Win98FE installation CDs is probably that on the later version of 24-Nov-1998 the Microsoft Java VM Installation was removed http://en.wikipedia....crosoft_Java_VM , perhaps because of the lawsuit by Sun Microsystems. The version of 24-Nov-1998 is not mentioned in the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Windows_98 The US OEM version of 11-May-1998 comes on CD "0398 Part No. X03-36182", the US OEM version of 24-Nov-1998 comes on CD "1298 Part No. X04-04214". Installing first the initial OEM Win98 FE (11-May-1998, silver front side) and then the Retail Windows 98 Second Edition Updates (CD "0499 Part No. X04-12707", greyish-blue front side) may give perhaps a more interesting flavor of Win98SE than just installing Win98SE, but I haven't tried yet.

The version of the Win98 Resource Kit [= full set of utilities] is indicated on the Book CD and on an iso made from the FTP site in \reskit\setup\reskit.stf, at the top.
The Book CD contains "Windows 98 Resource Kit" v98.0.1.118, the FTP site v98.0.1.119, i.e. the FTP site contains a newer version.
The main differences between the Book CD version and the FTP site are:
- the version at the FTP site does not contain the applet FILEWISE.EXE anymore, which is one of the Resource Kit utilities still useful in 2012
- the version at the FTP site contains already the patched WIN98TMC.DLL (is v1.0.0.1 on Book CD, v1.1.0.2 at the FTP site)
(see MS Security Bulletin MS99-007 http://technet.micro...lletin/ms99-007 ; this patch can update the installation from the Book CD)

I would speculate that the MSDN CD "0698 [=June98] Part No. X03-70866" (see posting #123) contains the same "Windows 98 Resource Kit" v98.0.1.118 as the Book CD (earlier CD creation date 29-Apr-1998); the next higher v119 (of the FTP version) contains the updated WIN98TMC.DLL of 14-Jan-1999.

The version number of the installed Resource Kit is indicated in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\MS Setup (ACME)\Table Files

The apps in the install-tos of the Book CD and of the FTP version are identical except for the missing FILEWISE.EXE and the updated Resource Kit Console (TMC). The file time (and some file names) of the apps on the installation source (Book CD, FTP site) differ from those in the respective install-to.

I have attached a screen shot displaying that the Resource Kit installer (both v118 and v119) detects somehow a downloaded instance of the FTP version, stored in a separate location, as an older version, which may be phoney. Detection may have been also based on junk in the registry, left over from a previous installation. The uninstall of the Windows 98 Resource Kit is not clean, it leaves quite a bit of junk in the registry. The installation of the Resource Kit may have slowed down Firefox a little bit under Win98, but I am not certain about this. In any case I will NOT install the Windows 98 Resource Kit on my clean Win98 system. The apps contained in the Resource Kit, if needed, can be run as standalone. The book (best from the MSDN version) is a must-have on a Win98 system. The apps, however, are only nice-to-have (in the archive, in case a need arises), FILEWISE.EXE may be an exception.

I experimented with FILEWISE.EXE (only on the Book CD). It is v4.1 (file version 4.98.4.1500) and possibly useful to analyse/document stuff on the HDD or on a CD/DVD. For example, the information about all files (e.g. size, CRC, file version, Language, code page, etc) in the \Windows\ folder, or several folders on a CD/DVD etc, can be easily displayed and sorted and then be exported, via a tab-delimited file, into Excel 2000. This seems to be quite useful for documenting the location of various file versions, or to find weird stuff on the computer (e.g. DLLs with Chinese language on a US system, DLLs with strange code pages, and what not else that has accumulated over the years).

Another applet, BOOTEDIT.EXE, seems to be interesting, it supposedly modifies MSDOS.SYS for various boot settings, but when I ran it, I just got the error message "Could not set attributes on file. See help for information". Any ideas?

Quote

The Server Date of 2010 is not "coincidental"... take a look at the ROOT of the Server... MS at one time (undoubtedly that date) transferred from ServerA to ServerB by copying (maybe RoboCopy) - that DID happen... It's not "mystical"...

Interesting. Does somebody in the forum have an old download with earlier server/folder dates?

Attached File(s)

•  RKWin98_older_version_msg.gif (10.44K)
  Number of downloads: 10

This post has been edited by Multibooter: 05 June 2012 - 01:49 PM

[os2fan2]

This is a run of the IBM EWS crc utility, over the two directories.

The [BASE] and [TGT] are directory prompts, not parts of commands. You need to be in that directory.

You run first [BASE:] CRC -l -s * > c:\crc.txt

The file contains crcs in the form as follows, for all files in the tree below BASE:
1268 0x7FC9C8FA "SLOADER.LST"
2404 0x25AF02D1 "TMC/ACCESS.HTM"


You then run [TGT:] CRCCHK c:\crc.txt. It produces messages for missing and changed files, as below.

To completely compare two directories, you have to go both ways, since it won't tell you that the file is present in the target directory. For the cdrom, BASE is the root directory of the disk, ie O:\

The cdrom has additional files in TMC and the file FILEWISE are missing from the download, but the bulk of the other files are identical in both releases. See table below.

Using WIN98 sampler as base, and the reskit as TGT, the only error message is cannot access file 'RESKIT.INF'.

BASE = ftp site download  TGT = cdrom

crcchk: length mismatch for file: TMC/WIN98TMC.DLL
crcchk: length mismatch for file: SETUP/RESKIT.INF
crcchk: length mismatch for file: SETUP/RESKIT.STF
crcchk: length mismatch for file: HELP/WIN98RK.CHM

BASE = 98 reskit cdrom; TGT = ftp site download

crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/ACCESS.HTM'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/CONFIG.HTM'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/CONSOLE.GIF'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/DEPLOY.HTM'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/DESKTOP.HTM'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/DOCUMENT.GIF'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/DXTSHOOT.HTM'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/FILETOOL.HTM'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/GUI.GIF'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/HELP.GIF'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/HELPBOOK.GIF'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/HTML.GIF'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/NETADMIN.HTM'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/NTDISK.GIF'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/NTTILE.GIF'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/PC32.GIF'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/PERFORM.HTM'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/POWERTOY.HTM'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/REGTOOL.HTM'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/SCRIPTOL.HTM'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/SERVICE.GIF'.
crcchk: Cannot access file 'TMC/TMCTKPAD.DLL'.
crcchk: length mismatch for file: TMC/WIN98TMC.DLL
crcchk: length mismatch for file: SETUP/RESKIT.INF
crcchk: length mismatch for file: SETUP/RESKIT.STF
crcchk: length mismatch for file: HELP/WIN98RK.CHM
crcchk: Cannot access file 'DIAGNOSE/FILEWISE.EXE'.
 

This post has been edited by os2fan2: 06 June 2012 - 02:58 AM

[loblo]

Multibooter, on 30 May 2012 - 12:13 PM, said:

Your FTP client came back stoned with 7 entries for \reskit\, but if your FTP client got already stoned by just looking at all these goodies at MS, can you be sure that the files it brought back are good? We generally agree that \reskit\ contains 2382 files in 91 folders, but can one trust what a stoned FTP client brings back, i.e. is your downloaded stuff really good?

Don't you understand that all those directories are one and the same and that there is no problem on server's side? Client just displays whatever case I use for connecting and there I just made successive connections with different cases to get that. If I refresh the tree I am just left with one entry which is cased as it is on the server.

This post has been edited by loblo: 06 June 2012 - 10:11 AM

[rloew]

I downloaded the entire set twice on my Amiga. The results were exactly the same, byte for byte. Other than the three retries I see no issues with the Server.

[Multibooter]

rloew, on 06 June 2012 - 01:43 PM, said:

I downloaded the entire set twice on my Amiga. The results were exactly the same, byte for byte. Other than the three retries I see no issues with the Server.

Multibooter, on 31 May 2012 - 12:06 PM, said:

I have just repeated an attempt to download the stuff from ftp://ftp.microsoft....s/win98/Reskit/ with Beyond Compare ... connected ... to an ancient Linksys Router BEFSR41.... The transfer of 39 files was terminated by Beyond Compare with the following messages:
- Data channel timed out; or:
- The semaphore timeout period has expired; or:
- Connection closed.

What these messages tell me, is that something didn't work ...More information about such an error message ["The semaphore timeout period has expired"] is here: http://social.techne...3d-b7bb8f893f78 ... Any suggestions?

(posting #100)

Hi rloew,
Here is the solution to the puzzle: I have been using an old spare router Linksys Router BEFSR41 v4.1 (firmware v1.04.06 of about 2005/2006), because my previous wireless router had died 6 weeks ago. The spare router has apparently worked fine, but no wireless, a lot of long Ethernet cables to trip over, so I finally got a replacement 2 days ago, an Asus RT-N66U.

I have repeated the download from ftp://ftp.microsoft....s/win98/Reskit/ with Beyond Compare v2.5.3, under Win98 and WinXP, with the new Asus router - and low and behold, no problems whatsoever. So the problem with the FTP transfer of files was resolved with a new router. Maybe this FTP site is a good site for testing old routers. The old Linksys router had worked fine, no apparent problems with HTTP or the eMule.

Here an OT question: The new, top-of-the-line Asus RT-N66U works fine, but I am at the point of returning it, its configuration program does not accept any entries into the port forwarding table, google displays other people having the same problem. eMule gets a high ID (=works Ok) by selecting "Use UPnP to Setup Ports" in the eMule Connection menu, but this port forwarding issue bothers me. Any suggestions, or experience with DD-WRT, for the Asus router?

This post has been edited by Multibooter: 06 June 2012 - 08:05 PM

[Drugwash]

The correct path regarding capitalization of folders appears to be:
ftp://ftp.microsoft....s/Win98/Reskit/

I had previously downloaded the whole bunch of files and they all got mixed up, some main folders were not created (has been previously reported). There appears to be a healthy crop of FPT paths, all with slightly different casing, such as services -> Services or technet -> TechNet.
All this could be a deterring attempt (with my paranoia hat on) or simply a clash of paths between multiple servers in different locations that have not (yet) been synchronized.

I'm still in the process of downloading but so far the folder structure seems to be preserved, using FlashGet 1.9.6.1073 under XP. Since there's been quite a talk on FlashGet earlier, I should say I've been using it ever since version 0.96a back in 2001, mainly because of its browser hook which offered the 'Download all with FlashGet' option in the page context menu.
What I wanted to add is that the security concern that came up earlier may be based on the fact that after 1.7x they built ed2k/Kad and t0rr3nt capabilities into FlashGet, which require multiple port usage (both TCP ad UDP). Anyhow, I personally had/have no fear in using it.

It still has some bugs though, which may well depend on the current version. The one I'm using chokes at some random file and needs manual stop and restart that file to resume correct operation. Other times it just freezes for a few seconds, when download speed is too high and/or too many streams are running, but that may also depend on settings (including OS TCP/IP settings, TTL timings, etc)

As it just finished downloading, Total Commander reports 2375 files in 91 folders for a total of 169,970,943 bytes. According to the numbers throughout the topic, it seems FG missed a few files but comparing to submix8c's index list would take too long and I just noticed the sun is up already and I haven't slept.

Bottom line is, there may be more paths to different (incomplete?) versions of the Reskit folder or there may be bugs in the software that performs the path aliasing. Or whatever. What was this Reskit good for, actually...?

EDIT:
Interestingly enough, I quick-posted in one thread and suddenly find myself in another one. Aliens?!

This post has been edited by Drugwash: 06 June 2012 - 11:26 PM

[loblo]

Drugwash, on 06 June 2012 - 11:02 PM, said:

Interestingly enough, I quick-posted in one thread and suddenly find myself in another one. Aliens?!

Yeah, and most probably of the Pebkac species, there seems to be a few of them who have abducted this thread.

[submix8c]

@Multibooter - I've found that sometimes a Firmware Update helps routers - There's a newer version for yours here (I have an older model of the same router). Click Downloads then select your Version.

@Drugwash - Like I said, use Karen's Directory Printer (what I used) and Save the List in the same format/options (you must be referring to Post#57). Global Edit this

Z:\WINwork\win98\Reskit_CDRom\

to conform to YOUR Root Name and do a Line Compare with whatever Tool suits your fancy. Any FileHash differences need re-downloaded and any MISSING need downloaded.

[Multibooter]

Drugwash, on 06 June 2012 - 11:02 PM, said:

I had previously downloaded the whole bunch of files and they all got mixed up, some main folders were not created... Total Commander reports 2375 files in 91 folders for a total of 169,970,943 bytes. According to the numbers throughout the topic, it seems FG missed a few files

I remember having gotten a similar value. Maybe old routers use old FTP specifications http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5797 or the MS FTP server doesn't get along with old routers.

Quote

What was this Reskit good for, actually...?

It would be interesting to have a list of those Reskit98 applets still useful in 2012, with their unique features. I liked FILEWISE.EXE because it has a 5 minute learning curve. FILEWISE.EXE didn't crash when I opened a folder with 10,000+ files, although I haven't tried to open with it my largest folder (450,000+ files/130GB/FAT32). BOOTEDIT.EXE did not work in my initial test, but I haven't checked why.

This post has been edited by Multibooter: 07 June 2012 - 09:41 AM

[submix8c]

@Multibooter - you've installed the ResKit?

Quote

Files Required - BOOTEDIT.EXE / BOOTEDIT.HLP
If your Boot Drive is FAT32, you can't enable MultiBoot or set to boot to previous version of DOS

[Multibooter]

submix8c, on 07 June 2012 - 09:14 AM, said:

@Multibooter - I've found that sometimes a Firmware Update helps routers - There's a newer version for yours here (I have an older model of the same router).

Thanks submix8c. Perhaps the last firmware update Ver.1.04.09 of 09/13/2006 could help, but I suspect that the firmware update is not current enough for any new specifications, if that was the cause. I am first fiddling around with the port forwarding issue my new Asus RT-N66U router.

[Drugwash]

loblo, on 07 June 2012 - 01:50 AM, said:

Drugwash, on 06 June 2012 - 11:02 PM, said:

Interestingly enough, I quick-posted in one thread and suddenly find myself in another one. Aliens?!

Yeah, and most probably of the Pebkac species, there seems to be a few of them who have abducted this thread.

Since I'm in a (relatively) good mood, let's just blame it on the state of exhaustion I was in, at the time of posting. Maybe I forgot to turn the page.
I usually recognize that "alien species" you're talking about when I see them.

submix8c said:

Like I said, use Karen's Directory Printer (what I used) and Save the List in the same format/options[...]

I'm used to a slightly different approach: there's a packer plug-in for Total Commander that allows one to create and browse files of type .lst, which are exact replicas of the folder tree used as source when creating them. With the only difference that any .lst file neested within such .lst will appear in the form of a folder, allowing to browse its contents.
If you have the means to browse .lst files you'll see what I got.

download  98RK_lst.7z (17.26K)
Number of downloads: 1

EDIT:
This topic goes much faster than my Internet connection.

Quote

I remember having gotten a similar value. Maybe old routers use old FTP specifications

I don't have a (working) router in my house, connection goes through a GPRS modem (ZTE MF-190 or something). No clue on the hardware used by my ISP along the way.

This post has been edited by Drugwash: 07 June 2012 - 10:15 AM

[submix8c]

@Multibooter - BE FOREWARNED! Connect the Router to PC ONLY! Disconnect from the Modem (WAN) Side! Read CAREFULLY any instructions. You will HOSE the Router and play HECK getting the Firmware corrected (there ARE methods sometimes).

@Drugwash - the POINT of my post is to save you some hassle - MY LIST IS ACCURATE! By REPLICATING the List on YOUR downloads and LINE COMPARING, you have what you need to "correct" your download. I do NOT have TC, and DirPrt is... FREE!!! (Not sure about TC but you DO get the point, don't you?).

WHY should ANYONE "browse a list" when the Method I indicated will yield ONLY NECESSARY "FIXES"? After all I didn't suggest "browsing" ANYTHING! I could easily use my method for Comparison against ANY "version" of the ResKit (Much like BeyondCompare)! BTW, I also have DirPrudence for Directory/File comparisons and CompareIt for contents comparisons (hence "Tool of your choice").

edit

Quote

Total Commander, Version 8.0, is a Shareware file manager for Windows® 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista/7, and Windows® 3.1.

And below that something about "orders". NOT "Free"! Or am I missing something here?

This post has been edited by submix8c: 07 June 2012 - 10:13 AM

[rloew]

Multibooter, on 07 June 2012 - 09:39 AM, said:

Drugwash, on 06 June 2012 - 11:02 PM, said:

I had previously downloaded the whole bunch of files and they all got mixed up, some main folders were not created... Total Commander reports 2375 files in 91 folders for a total of 169,970,943 bytes. According to the numbers throughout the topic, it seems FG missed a few files

I remember having gotten a similar value. Maybe old routers use old FTP specifications http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5797 or the MS FTP server doesn't get along with old routers.

My Amiga Software is more than 15 years old, so I doubt that their server needs newer protocols.

[Multibooter]

submix8c, on 07 June 2012 - 09:56 AM, said:

@Multibooter - you've installed the ResKit?

Quote

Files Required - BOOTEDIT.EXE / BOOTEDIT.HLP
If your Boot Drive is FAT32, you can't enable MultiBoot or set to boot to previous version of DOS

My boot drive is FAT16 and the properties hidden and read-only of MSDOS.SYS were de-selected. I got the error message "Windows Boot Editor. Could not set attributes on file. See help for more information". I am also using System Commander v9.04, maybe BOOTEDIT.EXE tries to modify other stuff besides my MSDOS.SYS, which was modified with notepad to 1698 bytes. Reskit98 tools are test-installed on one of my Win98 systems, which is currently busy with a big download under WinXP, but if I remember right, I got the same error message under Win98SE when running BOOTEDIT.EXE with the Tools Management Console. Does BOOTEDIT.EXE work on your system?

This post has been edited by Multibooter: 07 June 2012 - 10:26 AM

[submix8c]

On a VPC Win98SE, I cleared (in MSDOS prompt) Attributes (standard is System/Hidden/Readonly). It sticks when displayed back. I then manually ran BOOTEDIT from a Folder (a short-named path, mind you) with the HLP file with it. Works fine and RESETS Attributes back to SHR... Did it WITHOUT Clearing as well. Even did it with just "Archive" bit set - same result... Filesystem=FAT16...

Hmmm. maybe something to do with C-Drive and marked Active(? normally required). More than likely using System Commander is causing problems. BOOTEDIT does NOT alter any other file (there's even a tab to display the contents).

edit - side note - it appears that this one was a "clean" install with IE6SP1, the MSInstaller, a Firewall, and a Printer added (maybe some other minor items). Still, shouldn't matter unless it has to do with some "unofficial" updates?

This post has been edited by submix8c: 07 June 2012 - 10:57 AM