XPtsp GUI v3.0.0.26 - February 27, 2012

[dougiefresh]

qwesta: I've been trying to figure out why Task Manager appears to be corrupted. In my tests, even the backup is getting corrupted.... I'm at a loss to explain what is happening....

I'm still looking into this issue....

Mr_Smartepants: If you integrating the resources into a source folder, then you may want to check for WIN51IC in the root of the source folder.... If that file exists, it would make the GUI believe that it is a copy of XP Home, hence what you're seeing.

[dougiefresh]

What's Changed in v3.0.0.10:

- Added a line to Installation Page to show detected OS type within the window.

- Reverted TASKMGR.EXE hex-editing code back to v3.0.0.2.

- Fixed the code so that all options aren't incorrectly disabled.

- Fixed the code to duplicate Home resources for Win2k/2k3 so that Pro doesn't also get them.

I made a change to the code earlier in order to make it easier for me to add support for Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 in the event that the files aren't present in the theme package. Guess what... I also forgot that Pro doesn't have it's own folder, but is the basis for all editions. A Pro folder was being created and the Home edition stuff was being copying or linked to it.... :shy: So, I fixed the code so that doesn't happen now.... I'm really sorry about that!

EDIT: Before you ask what "linking" is, I try to create a NTFS hardlink to the Home Edition folder. If that fails, then I copy the Home Edition folder to the specified folder. Doing it this way saves some seconds that (i believe) could be better spent elsewhere....

[Mr_Smartepants]

Thanks. I'll give this a shot.

Also, I just noticed that a bunch of files are getting dumped to the root of %systemdrive% during integration. I'm not sure how long they've been there or what version started doing it.

I've already deleted them but I should have taken a screen shot first. I'll see if 3.0.10 solves it first though.

*Edit

Here's what I'm talking about (3.0.0.10 used, Win7 x64 host).

Edited July 20, 2010 by Mr_Smartepants

[dougiefresh]

Those are the failure logs that should have been put in a subfolder in the temp folder. I searched through the code and found that the variable containing the location of temp folder was changed.... I fixed it...

[qwesta]

there is still a problem with the task manager, when one clicks on performance...error!

but thank you for the update

[Mr_Smartepants]

there is still a problem with the task manager, when one clicks on performance...error!

but thank you for the update

Confirmed! Also the "Applications" tab is present but the content is missing.

[dougiefresh]

Okay, here's what is happening at the moment.

(1) I couldn't duplicate the Task Manager problem right of the bat. It literally almost drove me insane until I realized that the CAD 2009 program was installed and it uses a debugger hook in order to capture the call to Task Manager. That realization led me to examine that add-on, which I found to have a corrupted intermediate program. That intermediate program was responsible for resizing the background image and then launching the actual CAD 2009 program. Recompiling the intermediate program fixed my issue of the Task Manager being reported as not a Win32 executable. Unfortuanately, this means another upload of the Extra's package.......

(2) Fixit and I rewrote the Task Manager hex-editing code in order to replace only the intended hex strings in the program. It took a while, but it works now. That was the cause of the problems that qwesta and Mr_Smartepants reported and Fixit confirmed.

(3) I spent some more time modifying on the resource translation code. At this point, the only res file that it fails on is the TIMEDATE.CPL file (responsible for setting the time and date). And I'm almost to the point where that file translates correctly, as well.

(4) There are some resources that are corrupted, most obvious being the Screen Saver tab on the Display control panel applet. I have to locate those resources and fix them. Unfortuanately, this means another upload of each theme package, because the issue is of CRITICAL importance.......

(5) Fixit reported yesterday that several components of the XPtsp uninstaller and control panel are broken. I think I've fixed the uninstaller, however, more testing needs to be done.

EDIT: I was asked in a PM about what the "Error compiling RC file using RC!" message meant. Since I can't respond to that message (conversation is closed), I will answer it here. I means that there is a problem with how the GUI transfers the non-English strings to the resource code. Please note that this DOESN'T happen on source files that are English, as no translation is necessary for those files. This next update should take care of most, if not all, of these messages.

[dougiefresh]

Okay, here's what is happening at the moment.

(1 & 2) Extra's packages have been uploaded, thereby fixing half of the problem with Task Manager. The other half, which is Task Manager itself, has been confirmed working properly.

(3) All resources are translated correctly.

(4) I am continuing to examine the resources once translated onto the Dutch OS in order to tweak the appearance so that the Dutch OS is readable to those users. Once corrected, hopefully the spacing will be appropriate for all users. No, I haven't uploaded them yet.

(5) Uninstaller has been fixed. Repatcher has been disabled during my testing because it has been telling me 300+ files need to be repatched and asks to reboot. Once rebooted, all modifications have been removed, which is not the object of the program. That's the uninstaller's job, not the repatcher utility's...

[Mr_Smartepants]

I just tried 3.0.0.10 again with the new original extras file. Same problem with the task manager. Am I doing something wrong? Or do we need to be patient and wait for a GUI code update?

I'm also still getting the dump of .log files at the root of C:\

[dougiefresh]

What's Changed in v3.0.0.11:

- Theme Selection page now recognizes local modified versions of the theme package.

- Shortened waiting for window to close period from 60 seconds to 10 (WUAUCPL.MUI).

- Patching no longer occurs on a file when the res file is 0 bytes in size.

- Fixed the uninstaller so that backup files replace the modified files.

- Fixed the uninstaller so program folder isn't removed before reboot.

- Removed UXTHEME.DLL option in Component Selection for Windows 2000.

- Repatcher has been disabled from starting at Windows startup.

- /BOOTLOGO and /NOGUIBOOT switches removed from BOOT.INI while installing new kernel switch.

Hex-Editing support:

- Rewrote hex-editing function for UXTHEME.DLL, adding support for XP Gold and SP1.

- Rewrote hex-editing function for SFC_OS.DLL, adding support for XP Gold and SP1.

- Added hex-editing function for SFC.DLL for Windows 2000.

- Rewrote hex-editing function for TASKMGR.EXE to remove crashing problem.

- Removed hex-editing function for REGEDIT.EXE.

- Added messages to display if unsupported version is detected in hex-editing routines.

Additional Options page:

- Removed option to disable if resource translation should occur on English OSes.

- Removed option to deal with non-English XPSP?RES.DLL files in Live Install mode.

- Removed option to disable correcting PE Checksum during resource integration.

Translation Support:

- Corrected file locations for IE support on non-English OSes.

- Fixed the translation code so that all files are translated and installed correctly.

- Translation mappings changed in XPtsp.ini.

Updated Green Theme package:

- Modifications made to dialog boxes in several resource files.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr_Smartepants: This should take care of the problems mentioned earlier.

[qwesta]

just tested the 3.0.0.11 and the problem with the task manager is still not solved

[rr650]

Here is what I've found w/ Task Manager issues.

I only use 3 resourcesin my iso's- neon, green, or black.

I use xp-sp3 source + UH update pack 134 and let patcher download resources and extras. I use v30011 patcher.

1) neon works fine in all areas.

2) black Application tab is not patched and no apps appear in the tab. Also there is no networking tab at all.

3) green patches all tabs. No apps appear in application tab. When I select Performance tab OS locks up and requires reboot. Prior to latest updates only difference I noticed was that when Performance tab was selected task manager simply closed, whereas now the OS locks up.

I hope the feedback helps, and I really appreciate your hard work...

thanks,RR

[Mr_Smartepants]

I used the Green theme (fresh download) with 3.0.0.11, and I can confirm rr650's post that the task manager issue #3 still exists. I did NOT try any other theme (my personal choice).

BUT, the logon/logoff screen bug is now gone! :thumbsup_anim:

*Edit

Currently testing the Green theme with the Neon extras. I'll report back when done.

Incidentally, in testing on my MCE source, leaving all GUI settings at defaults, the process will freeze during integration at SPxx416xxx.dll (can't remember the name of the file.)

Disabling the translating options works fine.

*Edit 2

testing the Green theme with the Neon extras also fails the task manager portion.

Edited July 26, 2010 by Mr_Smartepants

[rr650]

Check post #517 dated 7/25/10 It says 'extras were uploaded'.

The date still says 7/21/10 on dougiefresh's site, yet the hash is correct for the extras file.

It could be that with all the work to fix the files, that the new extras were not uploaded yesterday.

I could be completely wrong here; It just seems odd that the hash would be updated for the new extras yet the date wasn't.

Please ignore the feedback if my suggestion is in error.

regards, RR

[dougiefresh]

qwesta, rr650, and Mr_Smartepants: Thanks for the feedback, guys! I really appreciate it!

I've been puzzled by the lack of success with Task Manager. So I started investigating again.... Fixit found that there was some overlap where it concerns the string replacement, so we rewrote the Task Manager hex-editing code again. Like before, seperate testing on the hex-edit code works correctly, but the visual errors continued to present themselves in the same manner that you described. So, I started looking at the res files responsible for Task Manager modding. It turns out that the TaskMgr.exe resource files were somehow corrupted. So I have had to copy the original resources from the batch version and will have to upload a new Green theme package....

Mr_Smartepants: Thank God that the logon/logoff screen bug is solved! Just so you know, changing the extra's packages has nothing to do with the Task Manager problem, as all of the resources are in the theme packages. Can you send me a copy of the original SPxx416xxx.dll file via PM so that maybe I can figure out what is going wrong? It would be greatly appreciated!

rr650: I can confirm and reproduce your findings. Corrupt res files are definitely responsible for the problems found, although I'm suprised that the NeonBlue theme package works fine....

Regarding the website, the extra's file were uploaded that day. But the website has a particular bug that doesn't update the MD5 and timestamp within the information file when new files are updated. In order to get the website to correctly update, I have to manually remove information from a particular file. I guess I goofed when I did my editing.... It's a bug that I haven't taken care of yet... I apologize about any confusion this caused you. I will update the website soon. Thanks for the feedback!

[Mr_Smartepants]

I'll do another integration just to make sure I didn't do something stupid. I'll send you the file it's choking on.

OK, now it's choking on a different file. :confused02: It's been hung for about 10 min on that one file.

SPRC041D.dll

All GUI settings at defaults this time.

You got PM.

Edited July 29, 2010 by Mr_Smartepants

[dougiefresh]

I'll do another integration just to make sure I didn't do something stupid. I'll send you the file it's choking on.

OK, now it's choking on a different file. :confused02: It's been hung for about 10 min on that one file.

SPRC041D.dll

All GUI settings at defaults this time.

You got PM.

Okay, I downloaded the file you sent me. It is exactly the same as an identically named file in my copy of Windows XP. I have no problems integrating the resources into my copy of Windows XP, so I am at a loss to explain why the patcher would lock up on that file.....

[Mr_Smartepants]

Because it happened to a different file, I'm suspicious of my symantec a/v interfering.

Once the new green.theme resources are complete, I'll try the integration again with sav disabled.

[dougiefresh]

:sweatingbullets: Work is trying to kill me with way too many hours in this fricken Tennessee heat.... I probably won't be able to do much of anything until next weekend.... :thumbsdown_anim: Sorry about the inconvenience, but I gotta pay my bills, too.... :shy:

[Mr_Smartepants]

Of course! Real life always takes priority! We'll be waiting patiently. Thanks for all your hard work!

[Mr_Smartepants]

How's the development coming along? Has any progress been made? I know summer is the worst time for coding because everyone wants to go outside and do stuff.

[dougiefresh]

How's the development coming along? Has any progress been made? I know summer is the worst time for coding because everyone wants to go outside and do stuff.

"Go outside and do stuff"? People actually do that? Huh, it's everything I can do to stay out of the heat....

It hasn't.... I've been working 10 to 11 hours a day, 5 days a week out in 100 degree F (38 deg C) heat for the last two weeks, not mention trying to fix some computers that decided that they wanted to break down during a very busy time of the year.... This weekend, I worked on computers Saturday and rested Sunday. I literally did nothing on the computer....

I may get around to working on the patcher this week, but my workplace is doing a new model year hold on the 2011 vehicles. They may come off hold this week. If they do, then I won't be able to work on it for quite a while as I'll probably be working long days, 7 days a week.....

[wolfsoul]

Ok I just pikced up playing with this again and NIS 2010 blocks a file, it says ICWONN2.exe is a trojan

Any ideas?

Edited August 17, 2010 by wolfsoul

[wolfsoul]

Might not even be a XPTSP issue when I looked it up on sites seems that file has issues already

[wolfsoul]

Well I always end up using the batch versions..