55 replies to this topic

[Jan Erik]

It would be nice to have a final Autopatcher for Windows 2000 SP4 in English - once an for all ...
But it is there only in Italian.
Maybe someone could do this as a last contribution for that OS? Now and never again ...
There are, after all, quite a few Win2k's in operation.

[_def_x_]

I agree with you Jan Erik, it would be nice to have a full set of Windows 2K SP4 updates ready to go in a release. I offered help when a poster asked a similar question here - post #31 / #32.

You don't want be get annoyed but - once again, the OP never followed up with a Windows 2K SP4 list or an explanation for the sudden disinterest, at least I never read a follow up post on the issue.

This list needs to be compiled using authentic Microsoft links, get the files downloaded (while the links are good) so they are guaranteed safe. I'm sure there will be compilations on the net for Windows 2000, calling it 'The Unofficial 2K SP5' or something but I wont trust it.

The best idea in my opinion is to get all the available updates and slipstream them into a new install disc. I'm sure a forum like MSFN will likely have a user who has taken the time and created something, this might be a safe bet if the creator were a long standing forum member.

[Jan Erik]

Well, I believe I have all updates for Win2k since the last Autopacher for it, dated August 2009.
Would it help if I send you a list of them?
The final Autopatcher for Win2k would, of course, be useful for many and for me, too, if I reinstall Win2k, rather than installing each and every update since August 2009 manually, one after the other.

Edited by Jan Erik, 18 August 2010 - 09:29 AM.

[Cristiano]

well, several users have showed interest on keep win2k enu, even one local user from UFMG, that had several other guys to help him offered some help, but after even have called to my cell phone showing interest on it, he have vanished like the wind. from my perspective, 2 things are required: an list of required updates and patience. you don't do an script overnight, it takes time and extensive testing, but it could be done, since there's one working script to act as template. since the last bulletin that had an update for 2k is from June 2010, with a few updates every day, the script himself could be done in a short time, without any worries

[]s

Edited by Cristiano, 18 August 2010 - 09:28 PM.

[Jan Erik]

Here is a list of update files I have collected and I hope that it is complete.
If not, I would appreciate being informed about any missing file.

Windows 2000 updates from August 2009 on
----------------------------------------
August 2009
-----------
The following files seem to not be included in Autopatcher for August 2009!
Apparently only 961371 Windows2000-V2-x86-ENU.EXE is...
958470 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
958471 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
960859 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
969883 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
971032 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
971557 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
973354 OE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
973507 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
973540 Windows2000-WindowsMedia9-x86-ENU.exe
973869 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE

September 2009
--------------
956844 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
968816 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-x86-ENU.exe
971961 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE

ALERT: LATEST SHELL32.DLL FIXES [KB921398 & Higher] MAY BREAK INTERNET EXPLORER, ADAPTEC/ROXIO DIRECTCD & OTHER APPS IN WINDOWS 2000! [Updated October 9, 2009]
If you are using Windows 2000 and have installed the newly released KB967715 Autorun SHELL32.DLL update, the SHELL32.DLL security update from MS06-045 (921398) or have applied the original version of SHELL32.DLL security fix from MS06-015 (908531), you may find that Internet Explorer may no longer work as expected.
This update may also prevent MS Office, HP Share-To-Web software, Kerio Personal Firewall and the nVidia video driver shell extensions from functioning properly.
These are the problems that were mentioned in MS support article 918165:
* You cannot access special folders such as "My Documents" or "My Pictures."
* Microsoft Office applications stop responding when you try to save or to open Office files in the My Documents folder.
* When you type an address in the Address box in Microsoft Internet Explorer and then press ENTER or click Go, nothing happens.
* When you right-click a file and then click Send To, nothing happens.
* When you expand a folder in Windows Explorer, nothing happens.
* Some third-party applications stop responding when you open or save data in the “My Documents” folder.
Install the revised KB908531 Shell32.dll & Verclsid.exe patch for Win2000 SP4 first. After that apply the registry fixes for Win2k noted from Claydawg's web site: http://claydawg.help.../reg-fix-2k.zip
Then re-install either the KB921398 shell32.dll security update or the newly released KB967715 Autorun shell32.dll update for Windows 2000.
Also, if you are using an nVidia graphics card, install the drivers that are compatible with your nVidia video card BUT were revised/released in spring 2006 or later so that they work correctly with the latest SHELL32.DLL fixes for Windows 2000.
Note that the problems mentioned here ONLY occur on some Windows 2000 machines without the KB908531 V2 update installed.

October 2009
------------
954155 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-x86-ENU.exe
958869 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
969059 Windows2000--x86-ENU.EXE
969878 WindowsMedia9-x86-ENU.exe
971486 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
973525 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
(Cumulative Security Update for ActiveX Killbits for Windows 2000)
974112 WindowsMedia64-x86-ENU[Win2k].exe
974455 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
(Cumulative Security Update)
974571 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
975025 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-x86-ENU.exe
975254 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE

November 2009
-------------
969947 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
973037 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
974783 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
975025 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-v2-x86-ENU.exe
975542 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
976749 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
rootsupd[09-11].exe

December 2009
-------------
951748 Windows2000-V2-x86-ENU.EXE
973904 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
974318 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
974392 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
976325 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe

January 2010
------------
972270 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
976126 NDP35SP1-v2-x86.exe
978207 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe

February 2010
-------------
971468 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
975560 Windows2000-DirectX9--x86-ENU.exe
975560 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
975713 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
977290 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
977914 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
978037 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
978251 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
978262 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
978706 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
DirectX 8.1b Redist Package.EXE
dxwebsetup.exe
(web installer claimed to be valid also for Windows 2000)
directx_feb2010_redist.exe
(here Win 2000 is not mentioned …)
directx[9c]_jun2008_redist[9.23.1350].exe
(DirectX 9.23.1350 supports Windows 2000 and others.)

March 2010
----------
980182 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe

April 2010
----------
976323 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
977816 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-x86-ENU.exe
978601 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
979309 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
979402 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-x86-ENU.exe
979683 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
980232 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
980858 WindowsMedia41-v2-x86-ENU.exe
981349 Windows2000-x86[VBScript5.7]-ENU.EXE
981350 Windows2000-x86[VBScript5.6]-ENU.EXE
(updates VBScript from 5.1 to 5.6)

Don’t include 980858 WindowsMedia41-x86-ENU.exe which is replaced by V2 above

May 2010
--------
978542 OE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe

June 2010
---------
975562 Windows2000-DirectX9-x86-ENU.exe
978695 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-x86-ENU.exe
979332 WindowsMedia9-x86-ENU.exe
979482 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
979559 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
979904 NDP1.0sp3-X86-Ocm-Enu.exe
979906 NDP1.1sp1-X86.exe
979909 NDP20SP2-x86.exe
980195 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
980218 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
982381 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe

[tiresias]

I agree that it would be great to have a compete set of W2K updates via Autopatcher or a slipstream install CD.

I'm already overworked at the moment with no sign of any let up, so unfortunately I can't contribute to whatever needs to be updated in autopatcher to get it to fetch all of the more recent updates.

I guess the danger is that eventually Microsoft will remove all of the W2K update files from theit site before we can fix autopatcher (if they haven't been removed already).

[Cristiano]

i'm not so sure if ms will remove the updates, because so far they didn't that even with win95, that don't have any update in many years, but the user still can download the updates that was released until the end of support

but i'm curious about how ms will deal with the activation process to xp and beyond when those systems reach their end of support date. surely, someone will still keep those systems running, also some people still keep ancient systems still working, despite lack of support

last night, i was thinking about an software to help the process of building the script. i'm sure that i can do some sort of it even with ms word macros, but i have no idea how take md5 with that. but one idea:

when starts, the program should ask for the script file;
with that script opened, then the program should ask for the download location for the update and ask if the update is critical/non critical/addon, etc. knowing those data, the software should be able to download the update or at least read an already downloaded file to take the necessary data, like md5 and size. also the software already has asked for the download location, if the update is critical, etc, then the basic data for this is already done:
Item=WindowsXP-KB978542-x86-ENU.exe

DetectFile=autopatcher:\modules\Critical\WindowsXP-KB978542-x86-ENU.apm_files\WindowsXP-KB978542-x86-ENU.exe
DetectHash=05A238B29EA8BA6C76EB560DD536895D
DownloadFrom=http://download.microsoft.com/download/B/2/A/B2A0FCE8-9DDD-4162-B46F-EF8155B5F8A0/WindowsXP-KB978542-x86-ENU.exe
DownloadTo=autopatcher:\modules\Critical\WindowsXP-KB978542-x86-ENU.apm_files\WindowsXP-KB978542-x86-ENU.exe
ExpectedSize=1338232
ExpectedHash=05A238B29EA8BA6C76EB560DD536895D

as yours may notice, i'm naming folders with the name of the update himself to avoid mistakes. the same idea could be interesting for an software like this

with those data in hand, the software could help do the .apm file, that it's nothing more than an .txt file renamed and fill the blanks. as yours may realize, most of the descriptions are the same since long ago, so the software could take an default, but offer an option to take another one and ask for release date, the target language and prereqs, then save that file. with that file saved, then the software has the required data to add the md5 for the download of the module himself.

also, the software could ask if something has to be removed and, if the user fill the name of the file, then the software could look into the script for that update, remove it and add an removal for it into the script

this could make a lot easier the process of build an script, that currently has to be fully made by hand, opening an huge door for mistakes

but of course, it's an idea only, that i don't have time, nor the skills required in order to do

[]s

[_def_x_]

Cristiano said:

i'm curious about how ms will deal with the activation process to xp and beyond when those systems reach their end of support date

I've thought about this as well, and don't find too many good options.

If you can no longer activate an OS, you have few options: try to find a corporate version - illegal, find a crack (patch) - illegal, hope Microsoft will release a fix to bypass activation for truly dead OSes - unlikely, go open source - (linux), buy the newest OS from Microsoft - Bingo! - this is what they want. This, or the OS will be integrated into hardware - maybe the motherboard or CPU, 'major' harware and software will combine and form a coalition which will prevent piracy to some extent.

I don't know off hand, does Mac have the same type of activation process (or similar, make a call etc) as Windows?

[_def_x_]

@Jan Erik

To update the list properly you need to consider the removals as well.

As an example, the last update I did was July 2009, if you look at the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for August 2009... specifically MS09-037 - Critical...

This bulletin replaces - MS05-013, MS07-047, and MS08-048. These updates need removing if present in the release. Now, if someone has a raw Windows 2000 SP4 install, and can go to Microsoft and have WU/MU offer a comprehensive list of needed updates for an unpatched 2KSP4, with version numbers etc, this may work to build a raw script or provide a basis to start fresh, but to simply add a bunch of updates not knowing if they conflict with existing updates can create an unreliable package.

Also, why not take the time to provide links to the updates, and maybe even the bulletins, a list of 40 or more updates, forcing someone else to scavenge for links is really not helpful, not from my perspective. I know the guys at MSFN (HFSlip) eventually said no more to posters who simply dropped a long list of updates and say "here ya go".

[Cristiano]

> Bingo! - this is what they want
sure. but still, isn't a rent with a termination date on it. so, if you own an license, it's your right keep it until the end of days (or, in certain cases, until the end of your hardware days). in here, i'm pretty sure that sue them to have the right of activate an ancient software will be a dead end, but US is know to have an for more open justice system to such questions and if there's an thing that i'm pretty sure that ms doesn't wish is to be sued (in US, at least)

> I don't know off hand, does Mac have the same type of activation process (or similar, make a call etc) as Windows?
no idea. i never tried any mac

[]s

[Jan Erik]

@ gUiTaR_mIkE
Well, this is the collection I have and what I have updated with all along as the files came out, saving each and every file.
Removals, or not - it worked.
So an Autopatcher with all these files should work too, I think...
If I find the time I may also seek the download URL's for you.
Would that help?

[_def_x_]

@Jan Erik

Any offers of help have always been appreciated around here, links to files save time so yes, updated links to relevant files is good but...

When it comes to Windows 2KSP4 and XPSP2 x64 I quit relying on others long ago. Many AutoPatcher users asked for and offered help with these 2 OSes but never produced anything of any value in terms of getting either OS updated. I finally decided to collect on my own all the needed updates and slipstream them into my original install discs, which is what I did. My 2KSP4 install disc is updated to June 2010 so don't do anything for me but for others who may need your list, sure, it might help.

I had to decide on what versions of a few components I wanted to update to, others may have different needs. When I was satisfied, I collected the needed updates for my particular version of 2K, I decided on - IE6sp1, MDAC 2.8, DirectX 9c, Windows Script 5.7, WMP9, no MU/WU files (it never worked for me properly on dialup) and so on. This will not suffice for others so they need to create their own list, which is what I recommend, collect the updates and slipstream a brand new install disc and be done with it.

[Jan Erik]

Windows 2000 updates from August 2009 on

August 2009
The following files seem to not be included in Autopatcher for August 2009!
958470 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
960859 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
969883 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
971032 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
971557 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
973354 OE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
973507 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
973540 Windows2000-WindowsMedia9-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
973869 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en

September 2009
956844 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
968816 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
971961 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en

October 2009
954155 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
958869 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
969059 Windows2000--x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
969878 WindowsMedia9-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
971486 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
973525 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
(Cumulative Security Update for ActiveX Killbits for Windows 2000)
974112 WindowsMedia64-x86-ENU[Win2k].exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
974455 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
(Cumulative Security Update)
974571 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
975025 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
975254 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en

November 2009
969947 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
973037 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
974783 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
975025 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-v2-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
975542 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
976749 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
rootsupd[09-11].exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en (validation required)
or for May 2010, probably also applicable for Windows 2000 (stated to be only for Windows XP)
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en (validation required) or directly from
http://download.wind...en/rootsupd.exe

December 2009
951748 Windows2000-V2-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
973904 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
974318 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
974392 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
976325 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en

January 2010
972270 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
976126 NDP35SP1-v2-x86.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
978207 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en

February 2010
971468 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
975560 Windows2000-DirectX9--x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
975560 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
975713 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
977290 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
977914 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
978037 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
978251 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
978262 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
(Cumulative Security Update for ActiveX Killbits)
978706 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
DirectX 8.1b Redist Package.EXE (old from 2001)
dxwebsetup.exe version 9.29.1962
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
(web installer claimed to be valid also for Windows 2000)
directx_feb2010_redist.exe
http://www.microsoft...91-50ceb6d8fa8d
(here Win 2000 is not mentioned …)
directx[9c]_jun2008_redist[9.23.1350].exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
(DirectX 9.23.1350 supports Windows 2000 and others.)

March 2010
980182 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en

April 2010
976323 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
977816 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
978601 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
979309 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
979402 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
979683 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
980232 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
980858 WindowsMedia41-v2-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
981349 Windows2000-x86[VBScript5.7]-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
981350 Windows2000-x86[VBScript5.6]-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
(updates VBScript from 5.1 to 5.6)

Don’t include 980858 WindowsMedia41-x86-ENU.exe which is replaced by V2 above

May 2010
978542 OE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en

June 2010
975562 Windows2000-DirectX9-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
978695 Windows2000-WindowsMedia-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
979332 WindowsMedia9-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
979482 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
979559 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
979904 NDP1.0sp3-X86-Ocm-Enu.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
979906 NDP1.1sp1-X86.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
979909 NDP20SP2-x86.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
980195 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
(Cumulative Security Update for ActiveX Killbits)
980218 Windows2000-x86-ENU.EXE
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en
982381 IE6.0sp1-Windows2000-x86-ENU.exe
http://www.microsoft...&displaylang=en

[Cristiano]

> seem to not be included in Autopatcher for August 2009
true. but there's no one holding this script right now...

[]s

[_def_x_]

@Jan Erik

I am willing to help you with this (according to my available time) but, this is an important butt , read the Spoiler for my take.

Spoiler

You must be willing to provide feedback in the form of testing the release and maybe provide screenshots for confirmation when asked for. I can't find my 2K disc and until I do I will rely on your (and others who may grab the beta release) feedback. I will stop the minute everyone disappears and I'm left to do this myself, like I said, I have updated my 2K disc so this will be for other users benefit.

Btw, there are a few items that don't fit, a few of those updates are Server only (don't remember the kb#) and there is redundancy, the 'killbits' for example - you have October 2009, Feb 2010, and June 2010 listed, did you simply cull this list from the internet? I will try to get 2 months done (including removals) so this will take time before 2K is up-to-date. Also, rootcert may get commented out for now. Anyway, I just started a class Monday so I will be busy but I will try to begin work on my last known good script (I think July 2009) and see how it goes.

I guess we will need to use Mediafire for hosting so expect a 'readme' on where to extract the .7z files and then run the script locally. I don't have access to the ftp here and it may be easier to simply create a Custom 2K - a new folder layout - within '\modules', then you simply extract the .apm files to this new folder and extract the .rti file to Custom 2K root. Using this method means - This Is A Final Custom 2K Release - Don't Add It To Your Existing Releases - Keep It Separate - this is for those who may want to slipstream a final 2K install disk - point being, once done it will be removed after a given amount of time.

It may work that the .zip or .7z files can be uploaded to the ftp and downloaded to a Custom 2K subfolder (maybe \project files) for extraction rather than using Mediafire, I just don't want to co mingle this 2K with the other releases.

To summarize:
...This will be a 'from scratch' release, don't try to update your existing 2K, you can copy files over to Custom 2K.
...You need to download from autopatcher.com only the initial apupxxx.zip and extract, run apup.exe to get 'AutoPatcher Updater' and 'AutoPatcher Engine' ONLY!
...All the added scripts will be downloaded from Mediafire, run locally, custom_2k_final_aug2010.script, others rewritten to work in the custom release, this is to maintain the cohesive look.
...Basic steps are - 1. Download latest script package.7z and extract contents, 2. Run the .script locally and download updates, 3. Extract .apm .7z to folder, 4. Extract .rti .7z to root folder.

If you (by you I mean who ever is reading this post) feel comfortable creating a shortcut and editing a few parameters, extracting a .7z to the correct folder, maybe creating a new folder, naming it exactly as needed, and copying a file from an existing release over to Custom 2K, this will be easy once done a few times. Remember, we are creating a customized release.

I will try and provide a mock up of what the folder structure will look like, and I know it sounds complicated to do it this way but it should be easy once done a few times Maybe we can do a few dry runs with a simple script so the process becomes familiar, the mock up might work for this.

The ultimate goal is - to get a release together of all the needed / wanted updates - have a layout (look) we like - then fine tune any problem detections so the updates install and detect properly.

If we decide to move forward possibly a new thread should be started - Windows 2K Custom Final: A final 2K release run locally for the avid 2K fan.

I will use this post as a reference if need be.

Any objections or comments?

[Jan Erik]

I will be glad to participate in testing betas and the like but can communicate only via e-mail.

[_def_x_]

@Jan Erik

e-mail is fine, we also have PM on the forums. Screenshots can be hosted at places like KwikPics, I like them, free, and few adds. ImageShack has become too add heavy for my slow connection, images take forever to load for me on dialup. Also, images can be attached to forum posts.

I will finish the test run package that will get a 2KCustom release started, remember it will be built partially by hand. It is so much easier to do it but it will seem complicated reading my notes.

I think the package zip file will be small enough we may get by with it as an attachment with each post update.

Note: This is a custom built 2K, for experienced users, not to be mixed with ongoing AutoPatcher releases, and not officially supported by AutoPatcher. Those of us wanting this will have to communicate with each other, it cant interfere with the regular work at AutoPatcher. It will work the same as any AutoPatcher release but to make it easy to create (the partially by hand part) the updates will be in the same folder - windows 2000 sp4, and the updates will list in order of release date.

I may change this feature but for now, nothing is selected automatically, See attached image.

I think this is simple enough, logical, easy to understand - notice the 'readme' in the image.

User be on notice - you are using this software freely and hold no one, that's no one accountable for it's misuse. You use the 2KCustom release at your own risk - know how the product operates and functions before you use it, and know what you are doing with it.

[Jan Erik]

OK, I suppose that you have access to my e-mail address from the board.
Please send me a "test mail".
If I don't get one within 2-3 days, I suppose that, maybe, the address recorded is old ...
The old and no more valid one I may write here, by the way: sigdell@siol.net.
As you will understand I don't want to write valid e-mail addresses openly here.

[_def_x_]

Jan Erik said:

As you will understand I don't want to write valid e-mail addresses openly here.

I understand.

To send private messages on the forums use PM. Click your name at the top right, click Messenger, click Compose New, under Recipient's Name - this is who you will send it to, you will need a Message Subject name, write the message, and click Send Message.

An easier way is to click the user's profile name to go to their profile page. There you will click "Send me a message", the rest is pretty self explanatory - give it a shot

[_def_x_]

OK, I think there may be a snag that will prevent this from going forward, at least as it stands now.

I forgot how the new version of APUP functions when scripts are run locally, essentially apup.exe and curl.exe work in the background, APUP never appears, you have no idea whats going on until the script completes. I prefer to see whats going on, instead you wait for APUP to appear when the script finishes, of course a log is created if logging is set (it should be especially when run locally).

I know other tools when run this way offer a command screen that shows some details, file in progress, the percent of the total download, files complete etc, I wish APUP at least offered this when a script is run locally. It may, I just don't know how to trigger this feature.

I'm not sure if I want to deal with the numerous questions and the many errors that running apup silently like this might create for some users.

The only option I can see is to use an older version of apup.exe, but this requires more explaining, writing instructions, copying and renaming files. I copied v1006 over to the test folder, ran the test script locally, works great, starts up when the script begins and you an see what files are downloading, you can exit if need be.

I'm not sure if v1006 has issues with Vista and 7, this could be a problem, not sure how to proceed, if at all?