eXPerience-XP Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 What are msgina.dll and shell32.dll and what is the benefit of having the hacked version of these files? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyakite Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 msgina.dll is what controls the appearance of the Shut Down dialogue. You can modify it to contain different images, to be a different size, whatever you want.shell32.dll is the file that controls almost every system icon on your computer. If you right click a folder (not a system folder like My Documents) and choose Properties, then Customize, then Change Icon at the bottom, the dialogue that comes up by default shows all of the icons shell32.dll controls. Many people create custom dlls that have replaced all the normal icons with a special set like the Apple OSX icons, or the Snow E 2 icons. Unless you use a custom shutdown dialogue or shell32 file then there is no point with messing with those files. If you try to edit msgina.dll and it somehow becomes corrupted in the process but you are unaware, and you replace your normal msgina.dll, you are going to have some serious problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XtremeMaC Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 so how about the modified msgina.dll's found on the net? will they cause us trouble? I didn't search for any by the way but i'm sure there are many modified versions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eXPerience-XP Posted October 20, 2003 Author Share Posted October 20, 2003 ya most of em coem with themes but no they wont cause u trouble... i dotn think... im not sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyakite Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 Basically, the problem that happens when modifying files lies withing ResHacker. Every now and then, when you are modifying a file and saving it a lot as you modify, it will become corrupt without you knowing it. I used to modify all of my main system files (shell32, msgina, explorer, cmd, wmp, calc, etc) with icons from OSX, and I replaced my msgina file with my modified version and I couldn't login because it was screwed up. I fixed it by having a backup and just booting into command prompt and copying the correct one back over.The way I knew it was corrupt for sure was to open it up with ResHacker, and in the folder pane expand a few sections and click on their resources. When it was corrupt the String Table resources when clicked on would display an error dialogue and would not display the strings. So basically, if you want to be on the safe side, open msgina.dll in ResHacker and click on some different resources, and make sure no error dialoges come up.As a side note, just to let anyone know, modifying files is very time consuming. I was checking my old files I have saved that I tweaked a long time ago, and I ended up modifying 15 default control panel files, 7 3rd party control panel files, 38 .dll files, and 10 .exe files.For those interested in modifying your shell32.dll file, I hope you have a LOT of time on your hands. It contains 238 seperate icon groups (contains the seperate sizes and color formats for one individual icon). Also, be aware that IF ResHacker happens to corrupt your file, there is no way to fix it, you have to start over, so I recommend everynow and then save, close reshacker, open the file back up and make sure everything is ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numinous Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 use this reg key to use a modified msgina.dll and leave the original in place.. it contains login security that'll stop xp starting up when modified.. this regkey will bypass the problem[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]"GinaDll"="Cbfield.dll"rename your modified msgina.dll to whatever and change the cbfield.dll part to the name you chose.. only worth hacking msgina.dll if you use classic login and shutdownedit :: im wrong contains xp style shutdown too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyakite Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 Not quite. I've replaced msgina.dll at least 20+ times through safemode w/ command prompt and have not had problems. Here is a picture of what the logoff dialog looks like with the hacked msgina.dll I was using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numinous Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 your right flyakite.. you only need to go the reg key route if your using ntfs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyakite Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 LOL, again, not quite. All I use is NTFS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numinous Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 did you download yours or hack it yourself.. i did mine myself i mustv done something wrong windows wouldnt boot without the reg methodmine looks a mess anyways lol need a new oneheres where i got my info http://www.virtualplastic.net/html/logo_scr.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyakite Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 Really? Hmm... that's odd. I used my own and hacked it with ResHacker. Double check and make sure your msgina.dll file didn't somehow get corrupted in the process of modifying it.To replace my files correctly, what I do is create a folder in C:\WINDOWS called boot, and place a backup msgina.dll file and my hacked msgina file in the folder. Then I boot Windows into "Safe Mode with Command Prompt" and change the directory to C:\Windows\boot. Then "copy msgina.dll \windows\system32\dllcache". From there, start up Windows, end the process "explorer.exe" and go to File -> New Task. Navigate to C:\Windows\Boot, right click your msgina.dll, copy, then browse to C:\Windows\System32. rename the msgina.dll there to msgina.bak, then copy your file into there. If Windows Copy Protection comes up just click cancel. Restart XP and everything should be fine.That's a lot of work for one file, but generally I have many more .dll files, so I just copy *.dll and so it makes the process worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numinous Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 thanks flyakite i forgot all about dllcache ..oops no wonder might be worth trying the reg method though ..put your modified msgina.dll in $OEM$\$$\System32 not forgetting to give it a different name.. add the reg to your regtweaks.. soon as xps finished setting up you've got your modified dialogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMERZEN Posted December 11, 2005 Share Posted December 11, 2005 (edited) tnxdoesnt need it anymore Edited December 11, 2005 by OMERZEN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostware2004 Posted December 11, 2005 Share Posted December 11, 2005 k, 1st thing to do when modding the msgina.dll & shell32.dll is if your gonna use them in your unantended XP then u need to modifype them then makecab them.. if your just wanting to use them in your own xp, then best thing to do is save them to C:\ & boot with boot disk & then replace them.. for me ive never had eny probs doing either way..Ghosty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muiz Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 I made an sfx with my modified msgina.dll , and extract that at end of my runonce.after reboot ik have my own..I made an sfx with my modified msgina.dll , and extract that at end of my runonce.after reboot ik have my own..you can also put your modified dll's in your i386 folder ( dont forget to recab them ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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