[allesok]

miko, on Aug 21 2005, 02:36 AM, said:

MDGx, on Aug 20 2005, 05:40 PM, said:

miko, on Aug 20 2005, 05:35 PM, said:

no, only i'm the guard, NOW GET BACK IN LINE !  

You must...
feel the power...
of the Dark Side... [insert James Earl Jones' voice here]
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

must.......buy.......XP.......NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How about the compromise of using Win 2000 Pro? Works well for me. Especially with the dual-boot installation 98SE plus 2000. I have it on my Internet computer but stay with 98SE on my desktop (not connected to the Internet). Or Linux? I'll try it and it is definitely the 1st choice instead of Longhorn... A friend is a FreeBSE freak and says that that one is the best.

Allesok

[PsycoUnc]

-hmm, I have no personal experience w/win2000, but I've heard it described as "winxp minus some bloat and the eye candy crap", so it may have potential...
...
-wait, tell me a few things:
#1: how big is your \windows ("\winnt"? "\win2k"?) directory, and
#2: how long does it take to COMPLETELY cold boot, boot from hibernate, and shutdown? ("completely" means waiting for ALL things to load up in SysTray, and no more hourglasses)... include your CPU speed for reference...
>;]

[allesok]

PsycoUnc, on Aug 21 2005, 11:02 AM, said:

-hmm, I have no personal experience w/win2000, but I've heard it described as "winxp minus some bloat and the eye candy crap", so it may have potential...
...
-wait, tell me a few things:
#1:  how big is your \windows ("\winnt"? "\win2k"?) directory, and
#2:  how long does it take to COMPLETELY cold boot, boot from hibernate, and shutdown? ("completely" means waiting for ALL things to load up in SysTray, and no more hourglasses)... include your CPU speed for reference...
>;]
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The WinNT folder is 1.33 GB after all possible updates and hotfixes and with a lot of applications installed. The start-up does take a while longer than with Win98SE but is tolerable to me. I use, however, FAT32, since then my Win98SE on the same harddisk can communicate directly also with Win2k files. When I one day reinstall, I will instead use an application "Mount everything" (aquired in the meantime), which enables Win98SE to fully communicate both ways with NTFS.
Regards
allesok

[allesok]

allesok, on Aug 22 2005, 08:08 AM, said:

PsycoUnc, on Aug 21 2005, 11:02 AM, said:

-hmm, I have no personal experience w/win2000, but I've heard it described as "winxp minus some bloat and the eye candy crap", so it may have potential...
...
-wait, tell me a few things:
#1:  how big is your \windows ("\winnt"? "\win2k"?) directory, and
#2:  how long does it take to COMPLETELY cold boot, boot from hibernate, and shutdown? ("completely" means waiting for ALL things to load up in SysTray, and no more hourglasses)... include your CPU speed for reference...
>;]
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The WinNT folder is 1.33 GB after all possible updates and hotfixes and with a lot of applications installed. The start-up does take a while longer than with Win98SE but is tolerable to me. I use, however, FAT32, since then my Win98SE on the same harddisk can communicate directly also with Win2k files. When I one day reinstall, I will instead use an application "Mount everything" (aquired in the meantime), which enables Win98SE to fully communicate both ways with NTFS.


Regards
allesok
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I should add the much of the longer startup time has to do with the antivirus program that I don't need for my desktop (not connected to the Internet).
allesok

[barev]

I have tested the latest realease of 98SE2ME.exe on a 98lite chubby install + 98se unofficial service pack by gape and everything works absolutely fine. Great thanks to MDGx for this and his awesome site for windows OS. I have one remark regarding all users that would like to use the automated install made by MDGx and are at the same time using 4dos as a replacement for the default command interpreter. It seems that in order for the cripts made by MDGx to work without any problems the system should temporarily be reverted to using the default microsoft command interpreter. After the installation is complete the 4dos may again be used as a replacement for the command.com.

[hammer55]

Hello All
I just installed everything (option 3 included) and so far everything seems to be working well. I thank MGDx for his great work.

I do have a question though... With all this tweaking on 98SE, how much 98SE are we and how close to ME are we? Would it be easier to tweak ME to get the 98SE2ME? I know ME hides real mode DOS etc but you can tweak to unhide it... Just curious guys...

And can I get a patch that puts Windows 98 Second Edition on the ME Start Menu? I don't like something popping up saying I have ME If not, I can live with it.

Edit: I also seem to have lost my shutdown screen. Any suggestions? I forget the name of the shutdown logo.

This post has been edited by hammer55: 27 August 2005 - 01:53 PM

[MDGx]

hammer55, on Aug 26 2005, 11:41 PM, said:

Hello All
I just installed everything (option 3 included) and so far everything seems to be working well. I thank MGDx for his great work.

I do have a question though... With all this tweaking on 98SE, how much 98SE are we and how close to ME are we? Would it be easier to tweak ME to get the 98SE2ME? I know ME hides real mode DOS etc but you can tweak to unhide it... Just curious guys...

And can I get a patch that puts Windows 98 Second Edition on the ME Start Menu? I don't like something popping up saying I have ME  If not, I can live with it.

Edit: I also seem to have lost my shutdown screen. Any suggestions? I forget the name of the shutdown logo.

You're welcome, glad it works, and appreciate your kind comments.

Tweaking ME compared to upgrading 98SE with ME files is a very different thing, because of so many different file functions/interdependencies/etc.
IMHO: I prefer a tweaked 98SE OS over a tweaked ME OS anytime.
In my experience an upgraded/tweaked 98SE OS works better/faster/more stable than a tweaked ME OS, but I'm biased, because I don't like ME very much.
If u prefer to tweak your ME OS, please see these tips:
http://www.mdgx.com/wme.htm

The Start Menu vertical banner that displays "Windows ME" is embedded inside ME explorer.exe, which is installed only by 98SE2ME option 3.
U can get the 98SE explorer.exe back from: Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> "98SE2ME Option 3: Restore Win98 SE Explorer, Shell32 + UI".
Or u can use Resource Hacker [ http://www.users.on....resourcehacker/ ] to replace the BMP with your own or with the 98SE one.
Or u can use TClock (freeware):
http://homepage1.nif...kazubon/tclock/

About shut down logo and how to restore yours:
Original files (if any) are backed up as C:\LOGO.W98 , %windir%\LOGOW.W98 + %windir%\LOGOS.W98 .
How to restore your original files (if any):
Delete C:\LOGO.SYS and then rename C:\LOGO.W98 back to LOGO.SYS .
Delete %windir%\LOGOW.SYS + %windir%\LOGOS.SYS and then rename %windir%\LOGOW.W98 + %windir%\LOGOS.W98 back to LOGOW.SYS + LOGOS.SYS repectively.
More info in READ1ST.TXT:
READ1ST.TXT

Hope this helps.

[MDGx]

barev, on Aug 25 2005, 05:02 AM, said:

I have tested the latest realease of 98SE2ME.exe on a 98lite chubby install + 98se unofficial service pack by gape and everything works absolutely fine. Great thanks to MDGx for this and his awesome site for windows OS. I have one remark regarding all users that would like to use the automated install made by MDGx and are at the same time using 4dos as a replacement for the default command interpreter. It seems that in order for the cripts made by MDGx to work without any problems the system should temporarily be reverted to using the default microsoft command interpreter. After the installation is complete the 4dos may again be used as a replacement for the command.com.

Thanks a lot for your kind comments.

I have added your tip about using command.com for 4DOS users to READ1ST.TXT ["EXTREMELY IMPORTANT" chapter]:
READ1ST.TXT

Many thanks.

[hammer55]

MDGx, on Aug 27 2005, 08:40 PM, said:

About shut down logo and how to restore yours:
Original files (if any) are backed up as C:\LOGO.W98 , %windir%\LOGOW.W98 + %windir%\LOGOS.W98 .
How to restore your original files (if any):
Delete C:\LOGO.SYS and then rename C:\LOGO.W98 back to LOGO.SYS .
Delete %windir%\LOGOW.SYS + %windir%\LOGOS.SYS and then rename %windir%\LOGOW.W98 + %windir%\LOGOS.W98 back to LOGOW.SYS + LOGOS.SYS repectively.
More info in READ1ST.TXT:
READ1ST.TXT

Hope this helps.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the help MGDx, but I get an empty black screen while it shuts down. I like the included screens ahead of the originals but I'm talking zero graphics while shutting down, which is no big deal but a minor annoyance. I even tried replacing them with XP screens and I still get the 98SE2ME startup and no shutdown...

[Scramjet]

I noticed the following issue with 98SE2ME. When I try to update the driver for a device from Device Manager, by specifying the location of the new drivers, the "Find file" dialog box that appears shows only 8.3 file names.

First time I noticed it I had already installed SP2, IE6 SP1, 98SE2ME, DirectX9, and Rev Pack, so I didn't know what was causing it. I reinstalled Win98SE and then I installed the following in order:
98SE SP 2.0.1, nForce2 drivers for A7N8X-X Mobo, ATI Catalyst 4.3 for Radeon 8500, IE6 SP1, 98SE2ME (Options 6 & 2 only).
And this I time I tried to reproduce the bug after installing each update. It only happened after installing 98SE2ME.

Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but I have customized a few folders to show different icon and a tooltip, and those directories don't show up in this dialog box. Which files do I need to restore to get the old dialog box?

Here's the screenshot
 DialogBx2.jpg (31.78K)
Number of downloads: 85

[MDGx]

Scramjet, on Aug 28 2005, 04:54 AM, said:

I noticed the following issue with 98SE2ME. When I try to update the driver for a device from Device Manager, by specifying the location of the new drivers, the "Find file" dialog box that appears shows only 8.3 file names.

First time I noticed it I had already installed SP2, IE6 SP1, 98SE2ME, DirectX9, and Rev Pack, so I didn't know what was causing it. I reinstalled Win98SE and then I installed the following in order:
98SE SP 2.0.1, nForce2 drivers for A7N8X-X Mobo, ATI Catalyst 4.3 for Radeon 8500, IE6 SP1, 98SE2ME (Options 6 & 2 only).
And this I time I tried to reproduce the bug after installing each update. It only happened after installing 98SE2ME.

Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but I have customized a few folders to show different icon and a tooltip, and those directories don't show up in this dialog box. Which files do I need to restore to get the old dialog box?

I'll look into it, and if I can reproduce this on my PC and [eventually] find a fix, I'll post it here.

[MDGx]

hammer55, on Aug 28 2005, 12:00 AM, said:

MDGx, on Aug 27 2005, 08:40 PM, said:

About shut down logo and how to restore yours:
Original files (if any) are backed up as C:\LOGO.W98 , %windir%\LOGOW.W98 + %windir%\LOGOS.W98 .
How to restore your original files (if any):
Delete C:\LOGO.SYS and then rename C:\LOGO.W98 back to LOGO.SYS .
Delete %windir%\LOGOW.SYS + %windir%\LOGOS.SYS and then rename %windir%\LOGOW.W98 + %windir%\LOGOS.W98 back to LOGOW.SYS + LOGOS.SYS repectively.
More info in READ1ST.TXT:
READ1ST.TXT

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the help MGDx, but I get an empty black screen while it shuts down. I like the included screens ahead of the originals but I'm talking zero graphics while shutting down, which is no big deal but a minor annoyance. I even tried replacing them with XP screens and I still get the 98SE2ME startup and no shutdown...

If u don't have any LOGOS.SYS or LOGOW.SYS in your %windir% [usually C:\WINDOWS] directory, you will get a black screen upon shut down.
If u have LOGOW.SYS + LOGOS.SYS in %windir%, and still get a black screen, it might be your video controller [which may not support EGA video mode] or you may have a laptop/portable [some LCD screens may not support EGA video mode properly].
If u don't have a portable, you may have a TSR [Terminate and Stay Resident] program/device/driver that loads from your autoexec.bat or config.sys or win.ini or Startup folder or from the registry [HKLM or HKCU Run key] that is not 100% compatible with the logo EGA video mode [640x400].

Try to place a static [as opposite to animated] logo [in any colors except black] called LOGOS.SYS in %windir% and then shut down Windows, see what happens.
Then try the same with LOGOW.SYS file [just rename logos.sys to logow.sys].

Hope this helps.

[crashnburn]

one more time for me.... both my machines are identical with all the 98se/me upgrades running nicely...... one machine is a 300mhz gateway the other a 1.4ghz gateway........both with identical symantec systemworks and internet security software as well as their winfax 10.0....... and both machines have the Logitech Pagescan colorscan 3.0 imageware software originally a win95OS product. i noticed after all the 98se/me upgrades that the 300mhz puter's Logitech control center's fax icon was greyed out and said it could not detect a fax program. i went as far as clearing ALL traces of symantec and logitech, incl. the registry and system files and 'clean installing' the softwares. same thing. it can 'scan and send' but the icon is forever greyed. the 1.4ghz is fine. i know i'm overlooking something. can i impose on your hospitality once more????

[MDGx]

Scramjet, on Aug 28 2005, 04:54 AM, said:

I noticed the following issue with 98SE2ME. When I try to update the driver for a device from Device Manager, by specifying the location of the new drivers, the "Find file" dialog box that appears shows only 8.3 file names.

First time I noticed it I had already installed SP2, IE6 SP1, 98SE2ME, DirectX9, and Rev Pack, so I didn't know what was causing it. I reinstalled Win98SE and then I installed the following in order:
98SE SP 2.0.1, nForce2 drivers for A7N8X-X Mobo, ATI Catalyst 4.3 for Radeon 8500, IE6 SP1, 98SE2ME (Options 6 & 2 only).
And this I time I tried to reproduce the bug after installing each update. It only happened after installing 98SE2ME.

Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but I have customized a few folders to show different icon and a tooltip, and those directories don't show up in this dialog box. Which files do I need to restore to get the old dialog box?

MDGx, on Aug 30 2005, 04:49 AM, said:

I'll look into it, and if I can reproduce this on my PC and [eventually] find a fix, I'll post it here.

I have installed 98SE2ME on my "tweaked-way-too-much" 98SE PC.
Then I have installed 98SE from "scratch" [on a different HD partition] and installed 98SE2ME again.
Then I asked a friend of mine to install 98SE2ME on his PC.
In all 3 cases that dialog [and all other similar ones] display(s) LFNs correctly.

Sorry, can't reproduce the issue you have experienced.
Also, I don't believe this is related to 98SE2ME in any way.

A wild guess:
your comdlg32.dll and/or commdlg.dll might be corrupted. [?]

To make sure they are not corrupted, reinstall the original ones from your 98SE setup CD CABs [example]:

EXTRACT/Y PRECOPY1.CAB /L %TEMP% COMMDLG.DLL

Repeat same with COMDLG32.DLL [found inside WIN98_27.CAB from your 98SE CD].

Then reboot/exit to native/true MS-DOS mode [or reboot from a 98SE boot floppy] and copy this file to %windir%\SYSTEM [example]:

COPY/Y %TEMP%\COMMDLG.DLL %winbootdir%\SYSTEM
COPY/Y %TEMP%\COMMDLG.DLL %winbootdir%\SYSBCKUP

from native MS-DOS, outside Windows.
If COPY/Y doesn't work, make sure these files' attributes are not set to (H)idden, ®ead-only or (S)ystem:

ATTRIB -H -R -S %winbootdir%\SYSTEM\COM*.DLL
ATTRIB -H -R -S %winbootdir%\SYSBCKUP\COM*.DLL

Then run the 2 COPY/Y lines above one more time.

Then reboot normal or type WIN and hit Enter.

Or to get WinME COMMDLG.DLL, reinstall 98SE2ME, but make sure your WinME setup CD CABs are intact, eventually copy them over from your CD onto your HD one more time.

98SE2ME options 1 + 2 do not replace COMDLG32.DLL. This file must be from 98SE CABs if u have not installed 98SE2ME option 3.
If u have installed 98SE2ME option 3, u must use COMDLG32.DLL from WinME CABs [which 98SE2ME does anyway whenever u install option 3].

If you believe those files were corrupted, run your anti-virus tool [with up to date virus signatures] to make sure you're not infected with a virus.

Hope this helps.

[MDGx]

crashnburn, on Aug 31 2005, 08:34 PM, said:

one more time for me.... both my machines are identical with all the 98se/me upgrades running nicely...... one machine is a 300mhz gateway the other a 1.4ghz gateway........both with identical symantec systemworks and internet security software as well as their winfax 10.0....... and both machines have the Logitech Pagescan colorscan 3.0 imageware software originally a win95OS product. i noticed after all the 98se/me upgrades that the 300mhz puter's Logitech control center's fax icon was greyed out and said it could not detect a fax program. i went as far as clearing ALL traces of symantec and logitech, incl. the registry and system files and 'clean installing' the softwares. same thing. it can 'scan and send' but the icon is forever greyed. the 1.4ghz is fine. i know i'm overlooking something. can i impose on your hospitality once more????

Sorry, I'm not familiar with Logitech Pagescan nor winfax software.

Usually a greyed out [shortcut] icon means that the respective program the shortcut was pointing to does not exist anymore, for whatever reason.

Have u tried to reinstall your scanner and/or fax software to see if that icon shows up again?
Or if that doesn't work, try to recreate/repair that shortcut manually if respective program is somewhere [else] on your hard drive(s)/partitions.

I don't think 98SE2ME is in any way responsible for deleting that icon.

Hope this helps.

[Scramjet]

[QUOTE][quote name='MDGx' date='Sep 1 2005, 11:02 AM']
[quote name='Scramjet' date='Aug 28 2005, 04:54 AM']
A wild guess:
your comdlg32.dll and/or commdlg.dll might be corrupted. [?]

To make sure they are not corrupted, reinstall the original ones from your 98SE setup CD CABs [example]:

[right]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/right]
[/QUOTE]

Replacing commdlg.dll didn't fix the problem. Comdlg32.dll in the System folder is the same as the one in the Win98SE CD. So I suppose it's not a problem with either of those files.

[crashnburn]

sincerely appreciate the hospitable response......... without getting into the software(s) can you possibly give me an example of a greyed out button shortcut, albeit in the registry or system folder??? i can probably take it from there and pillage my way through, living up to my name.........

thanx again............

[MDGx]

Scramjet, on Sep 2 2005, 04:35 AM, said:

Quote

MDGx, on Sep 1 2005, 11:02 AM, said:

A wild guess:
your comdlg32.dll and/or commdlg.dll might be corrupted. [?]

To make sure they are not corrupted, reinstall the original ones from your 98SE setup CD CABs [example]:

Replacing commdlg.dll didn't fix the problem. Comdlg32.dll in the System folder is the same as the one in the Win98SE CD. So I suppose it's not a problem with either of those files.

Bummer.

I guess you need to determine what other programs/updates/whatever messed up your LFNs, and eventually which file(s)/registry entries you need to restore.

All that comes to mind:
- These 2 registry entries which must be listed exactly like this:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem]
"Win31FileSystem"=hex:00
"PreserveLongNames"=hex:ff,ff,ff,ff

- This scandskw switch which u should *never* use:

scandskw /o

and here's why:
http://www.mdgx.com/newtip18.htm#SHS

Hope this helps.

[MDGx]

crashnburn, on Sep 2 2005, 05:41 PM, said:

sincerely appreciate the hospitable response......... without getting into the software(s) can you possibly give me an example of a greyed out button shortcut, albeit in the registry or system folder??? i can probably take it from there and pillage my way through, living up to my name.........

thanx again............

Any shortcut to a file [not necessarily system or folder shortcut] that does not find its target file is disabled, and displays a generic icon, to let you know that you need to repair it or delete it.
For example, create a new shortcut on your desktop to winfile.exe, found in %windir% [usually C:\WINDOWS]. Then move winfile.exe to any other directory.
You will notice that after u restart Windows, or after you refresh/delete/recreate %windir%\ShellIconCache, or after you press F5 on the desktop, the winfile icon will show as a generic icon, represented by whichever shell32.dll icon is set on your computer for generic/non-existant/disabled/invalid file/folder shortcuts.
Then if u move winfile.exe back to %windir%, the icon should "fix" itself upon next restart, F5, shelliconcache repair/recreation.

Hope this helps.

[Scramjet]

These 2 registry entries which must be listed exactly like this:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem]
"Win31FileSystem"=hex:00
"PreserveLongNames"=hex:ff,ff,ff,ff

The first String(Win31FileSystem) was O.K.
The second entry didn't exist. So I created a reg file containing the code and tried to merge it. But the registry wasn't being updated. I had to manually create the second entry and set its value.
Something definitely is funky. I'm gonna start over again in a couple of days and this time I'm going to check everything thoroughly before and after every tweak/update.