Welcome to the club "Windows XP Spotter", a club which aims to collect pictures of running Windows XP (or XP based, like WES, WePOS, POSReady2009 and Server 2003) machines during these days. I'm gonna start:

London Victoria Station, Ground Floor, McDonald's uses Windows PosReady (XP-based) tills, but I didn't manage to get a pic of them (yet).

In the meantime, I got a supermarket (running XP):

And a friend of mine living in Italy, Ivo, sent me this:

Ok people, go out and conquer the world shoot pictures of running XP (or XP-based) machines.

For security reasons I will probably proceed to block the downloadable executable files (exe, msi ....) with I.E.8 by changing the Registry Key 1803.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\3]
"1803"=dword:00000003

Or I will enable the following rule in my OSArmor software:

Will you make any changes?

(Not exactly XP related, but I think this subforum fits best, somehow?)

In the last few days Cloudflare's anti-DDoS pre-page stopped being compatible with older browsers like Opera 12 and older Firefox (it fails with "t.eharCundefineddeAt is not a function").

I really dislike how the whims of external companies, unrelated to the actual sites you visit, can force the web's hand. Last year it was Google's reCaptcha that stopped being compatible. Now it's Cloudflare, which arguably is used in even more places.

Doing the "validation" on a new browser then copying the cookie __cfduid seems to work, for now.

A brief introduction

Hi everybody, I'm writing this thread because I would like to share with you an experiment I made as a result of two years of using an old, single core system (an overclocked Pentium III-S Tualatin 1.4GHz) with the modern web. As you all know, the most versatile and useful web browser to use for old machines, especially XP ones, is Mozilla Firefox, thanks to its customizability, the numerous forks that it spawned and the built in certificates manager that makes things easier if we want to connect old computers to the internet.

This thread focuses specifically on Roytam1's browsers for XP, such as New Moon 27 SSE and Firefox 45 ESR SSE, because they are the ones I use on my Pentium III system and the ones I used as a base to develop my "patch". We know that old computers, especially if single core or SSE only systems, can struggle a bit with the stock versions of these browsers, because they are quite resource intensive, and so the experience is quite limited unless you have an hardware that is capable enough to run the browser comfortably.

So, a year ago, back when my Tualatin was still a 800Mhz Coppermine system, I started delving into the about:config of Pale Moon first, and New Moon later, in order to reduce as much CPU and RAM consumption as possible. Had to do several trials and errors, but in the end, I finally managed to get improvements in responsiveness and overall speed on the browser and so, after six revisions, I officially want to release the UOC Patch, my personal attempt, inspired by the community and by my experience of using an old computer as a daily driver, at making web browsing with Firefox and derivatives a much more enjoyable experience.

Ok ok, good. So what's the UOC Patch?

The UOC Patch (shortened form of Ultra One Core) is a custom prefs.js file available for any Mozilla based browser that uses the codebase of Firefox 38 ESR (such as Pale Moon and Roytam1's New Moon) or Firefox 45 ESR (i.e. Firefox 45 ESR SSE always by Roytam1), that is aimed at optimizing the browser to run on old machines and to consume less resources. Bear in mind that I developed the UOC Patch for my machine, which used to be a 800Mhz Coppermine and now is an overclocked 1.4GHz Tualatin, so it might perform differently on yours, but it should bring some improvement in terms of speed.

The requirements? Surely it has them.

Well, yeah. The UOC Patch requires at least a DirectX 9 capable graphics card. Even though it will work on a DirectX 8 card, I don't have one I can use to test it so it's pretty much untested. I tested the patch with a Geforce FX5500, an FX5600, a 6800GT and an ATI Radeon HD3850 and my current graphics card, an X1950 Pro, and the patch speeds up the browser as it should. Then, ideally, the CPU. A 800MHz CPU and higher can give you a better experience, again, I don't know how it does perform on a slower CPU. RAM wise, any system that can run New Moon 27 and derivatives or Firefox 45 ESR SSE will support the UOC Patch without issues. So, to recap, you need:

• A DirectX 9 capable graphics card with at least a 128 bit buss
• A 800MHz CPU or faster for better performance
• Enough RAM to support New Moon 27/Firefox 45 ESR SSE and other Roytam1's Mozilla based browsers

That's all.

Ok now that we know the specs, how to install it?

Installing the UOC Patch is a very easy process. First, you must make sure that the hidden folders are visible (if not, you must go in the Control Panel, then choose Folder Options, and tick the box that says "Show Hidden Folders"), then navigate to your Firefox/New Moon/Mozilla browser profile folder (i.e. C:\Documents and Settings\{Your Username}\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Your Profile Folder}), you will find a file called "prefs.js". Rename it to "prefs.bak" to back it up. Then extract the prefs.js you find in the ZIP archive you downloaded and put it into your profile folder and start your browser.

Enough with the words! I want to download it!

Okay, okay. There you go. These are the download links for the UOC Patch. Remember, you must not absolutely use the UOC Patch for a particular codebase with a browser that used a different one. You might experience issues. These two versions are conceived for the Firefox 38 ESR and 45 ESR codebases, so any fork of Firefox that uses those codebases, will work with their respective version of the patch. Choose carefully.

For Firefox 38 ESR based browsers (i.e. New Moon 27): Click Here

For Firefox 45 ESR SSE and 45 ESR based browsers: Click Here

A Final Note

Please, by all means, test the patch on as many systems as possible! The more the configurations, the better will be. Due to space constraints and lack of money, I don't have access to different systems I can test the patch with, and my Tualatin is the computer I used as a testbed for its development and so, I made it focusing with the hardware I had and I have. The UOC Patch is not strictly limited to single core systems, but it can be used on any old and slow computer that runs Roytam1's Mozilla forks, it would be interesting to see if it can bring some benefits even on faster systems. The UOC Patch has not been tested on K-Meleon and SeaMonkey, but mostly because I'm still experimenting with those and so if you want to try it on those browsers, it's entirely up to you.

There are some extensions I heartedly recommend to use alongside the UOC Patch to make the experience much better. These are:

• NoScript (I recommend v2.90.14 for performance reasons, at least for Pentium 3 systems)
• Decentraleyes 1.4.2
• Bluhell Firewall 2.5.3
• UAControl 0.1.3.1.1
• uBlock Origin 1.16.4.10
• Vacuum Places Improved 1.2.1

And this one is optional, Youtube 2 Player, a nifty plugin that turns Youtube links into redirects to VLC, so whenever you click on a Youtube link, the video will be loaded automatically in VLC, thus saving resources and CPU cycles.

Okay, that's all folks. Now if you want to throw rocks or tomatoes or veggies at me, feel free to do so. I developed this in my free time with a desire of curiosity and experimentation, to see if I can push my old machine to its extreme limit, and so far, at least personally, I'm quite satisfied. But as always, it's up to you to judge whether the UOC Patch is actually useful for your system, or it's an utter piece of garbage. Be aware I'm not responsible of any pandemy, nuclear warfare, space/time continuum and so on caused by your system. I upload the UOC Patch for experimental purposes, and it's provided AS IS. Happy RDD'ing!

Finally a snake is caught .

Python37_WinXP_20181128_105126167.exe
https://www114.zippyshare.com/v/FBBJz5vw/file.html

Special thanks to Samuka since I stole his API implementation.

Special thanks to FranceBB for making installer for me .

I believe it will help Https proxy development too.

Nothing really to post ... just making mention of the "historical event" ! ... 10 days and counting.

Found this XP article from March 21st ... from the article below:

WINDOWS XP EXISTING UPDATES

We've talked to Microsoft and it has confirmed that all existing security patches and updates for Windows XP will still be available after support officially ends. This means that after the 8th April 2014, you'll still be able to use Windows Update to download all existing security patches.

This is important, as if you re-install Windows XP, you should still apply all of the existing patches in order to make the base operating system as secure as it should be.

There is a worry that Microsoft will decide at some point to pull the updates from its website or make them harder to get. Don't worry, as the best thing you can do when support ends is to make a custom XP disc with SP3 and all updates pre-applied.

As our instructions in the previous link show you, slipstreaming is a brilliant thing to do. This takes your original XP installation files and bundles together the service pack and updates into it. When you install XP from this disc, it's completely up-to-date with no need to visit Windows Update for anything. Given the situation with XP, this is the best thing that any existing XP user can do.

When Windows XP Support Ends, This is How You Secure Your PC and Save All Updates.

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/software/1304965/when-windows-xp-support-ends-this-is-how-you-secure-your-pc-and-save-all-updates

21 Mar 2014

David Ludlow

It's soon going to be a tough time for a lot of people, as Microsoft is pulling support for Windows XP on 8th April 2014. With no more security updates after that date, the security implications are huge, particularly as this aged OS still commands almost 30 per cent of the desktop market, according to NetMarketShare.

Only Windows 7, with around 47 per cent of the market, sits above Windows XP, with the much maligned Windows 8 taking just shy of seven per cent of the OS cake.

more at the link ...

Might as well add this link also ...

How to slipstream an XP disc with SP3 and all other updates.

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/software/1306762/how-to-slipstream-an-xp-disc-with-sp3-and-all-other-updates

...

Anyways Skype 7.38 is the last version to support Windows XP.And MS decided to "end" support for skype 7(a.k.a skype classic) on November 1st,2018 And they didnt but they will problaby soon.I use Skype almost always.I dont want to use the web version.So if it will be possible to use Skype 8 on XP that would be awesome!

What happened? FF blocs Flash...

Solution:

Flash 18.0.0.209 active-x and plugin  (direct downloads)     

Enjoy!

Since nothing came up today (EOL), I make listing to recap the updates of XP and .NET framework after last Service Pack applied.

XP SP3 (no MCE/TPC)
.NET 1.0 SP3
.NET 1.1 SP1
.NET 3.5 SP1
.NET 4.0

PostSP.txt

Old Avast security products will continue to receive security definition updates: 

"Older system users who have not updated will continue to be protected by the corresponding older versions of our security products, even receiving virus definition updates, but they will not benefit from the newest programs and features. If you have any questions about this End of Support notice, just reach out to Avast Support for answers."

https://blog.avast.com/avast-discontinues-support-for-windows-xp-vista

Microsoft Update offered me two suppsedly important updates for Office 2010 on Windows XP a couple of days ago, KB2863821 and KB4461522.
They installed fine, but the next day I came to use Word, and it would not run, with the error message -

Application popup: winword.exe - Entry Point Not Found : The procedure entry point GetDateFormatEx could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNEL32.dll.

This was followed by "The operating system is not presently configured to run this application".

I quickly found that no Office programs would now run, with the same error messages.
I removed the two updates, and all returned to normal.
I have no idea which of the updates caused the problem, and I haven't been offered either of them again so far, but if you are offered them, beware as they may well completely break your Office installation!

Now that we have finally reached EOL, I am curious to know how many people will continue to use Windows XP. I for one, will. However, I do use GNU/Linux, and newer versions of Windows for certain software that is not compatible with XP.

After some research by MSFN staff, we have a working solution to enable ACHI on the ICH9 with appropriate SATA/NCQ drive(s).

For more information about AHCI, we refer to Wikipedia.org:

The Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) is a hardware mechanism that allows software to communicate with Serial ATA (SATA) devices such as host bus adapters which are designed to offer features not offered by Parallel ATA (PATA) controllers besides higher speeds, such as hot-plugging and native command queuing. The specification details a system memory structure for computer hardware vendors in order to transfer data between system memory and the device.

List of needed files and driver packs:

32-bit Floppy Configuration Utility for Intel® Matrix Storage Manager

64-bit Floppy Configuration Utility for Intel® Matrix Storage Manager

Index:

1. Unpacking drivers

2. Preparing the drivers

3. Creating Windows registry file

4. BIOS Settings

5. Installing the drivers in Windows

6. Final installation check

7. Editors thoughts

1. Unpacking drivers

Unpack the Floppy Configuration Utility for Intel® Matrix Storage Manager and extract the file (.ZIP) with WinRAR or similar program.

2. Preparing the drivers

Copy the file IASTOR.SYS to the Windows SYSTEM32/DRIVERS directory. Open the IAAHCI.INF with Notepad from the directory where you unpacked the drivers. Use CRTL-R and you should get a “replace” window. In the first input window you type “2821” and the second “2923”, so you will replace all “2821” text to “2923”, and click “Replace All”. Save IAAHCI.INF over the original file.

Replace the line:

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2923&CC_0106.DeviceDesc	= "Intel(R) 82801HR/HH/HO SATA AHCI Controller"

To:

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2923&CC_0106.DeviceDesc	= "Intel(R) ICH9 SATA AHCI Controller"

Save the file under the same name, e.g. IAAHCI.INF and exit Notepad.

3. Creating Windows registry file

Now we create a registry file with Notepad and the following contence:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase\pci#ven_8086&dev_2923&cc_0106]
"Service"="iaStor"
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor]
"Type"=dword:00000001
"Start"=dword:00000000
"Group"="SCSI miniport"
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"ImagePath"="system32\\drivers\\iaStor.sys"
"tag"=dword:00000019
"DisplayName"="Intel AHCI Controller"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters]
"queuePriorityEnable"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Enum]
"0"="PCI\\VEN_8086&DEV_2923&SUBSYS_B0051458&REV_02\\3&13c0b0c5&0&FA"
"Count"=dword:00000001
"NextInstance"=dword:00000001

Save it as AHCI_ICH9.REG and run it after closing Notepad.

4. BIOS Settings

Restart the computer and enter the BIOS (Mostly entered by pressing DEL). Make the settings:

	SATA RAID/AHCI Mode   	   [AHCI]
 	SATA Port0-3 Native Mode	 [Enabled]

Restart again to boot into Windows XP.

For ASUS P5K motherboards (IF present in BIOS, please report if not present.):

Restart the computer and enter the BIOS (Mostly entered by pressing DEL). Make the settings:

	SATA Configuration   	   [Enhanced]
 	   Configure SATA as		[AHCI]

Restart again to boot into Windows XP.

5. Installing the drivers in Windows

If you did steps one to four right, you will not get that “known” BSOD again before you hit the desktop! Windows will show new devices found like all your optical drives and hard disks until you hit to “PCI-Device”. Select “Install manual” and point to the folder where you saved the IAAHCI.INF file and select the IAAHCI.INF file as this is the driver that needs to be installed. Follow the instruction on the screen and restart your computer again.

6. Final installation check

When Windows has started, go to the control panel to check your system properties. In the hardware configuration list there should be now:

IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers -> Intel® ICH9 SATA AHCI Controller.

Beware: You can’t install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager, as the ICH9 doesn’t have RAID. On the net people talk about a modified version that should install, but it’s useless when you don’t have RAID.

We hope you enjoy your new ACHI enabled ICR9 Bridge in XP!

7. Editors thoughts

It must be a marketing question from Intel and Microsoft. There is nothing else I can think of why neither Intel nor Microsoft made new drivers for XP. The only thing I can think of is that Intel wants to sell more ICR9R bridges and Microsoft wants to push its Windows Vista. Like always both companies won’t make any comments!...

Regards,

puntoMX

Ps. if there is any good info I should add, please post it ...

Changes:

• 23 DEC 2007, Edited point 4; ASUS BIOS settings.
  
• 04 JAN 2008, Edited point 6; Fact, unable to install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager.
  
• 07 FEB 2008, Edited point 1 and 2; Clearer explication about the IAAHCI.INF file, and option when a floppy drive is used.
  
• 19 MAY 2008, Edited point 3; ControlSet001 changed on second line of registry file to CurrentControlSet, thanks to skipg for correcting me.
  
• 10 AUG 2008, Post contents added to sticky FAQ, this post is now un-stickied and retired
  
• 10 DEC 2008, Changed the Intel driver links, now for 32 and 64 bit and the latest version, thanks to an3k for the links.
  
• 18 DEC 2008, Intel drivers are now packed as a .ZIP file, removed the outdated un-packing procedure, thanks to tre_ge.
  
  

I'm getting reports, and also tested myself that Internet Games in Windows XP (and Windows ME) no longer can connect to the game server.
I've tested Windows 7 Internet Games and they seem to work fine.

Can any of you fine XP diehards here test if they are not working for you either?

I use Outlook 2010 as email client.

To get in contact with my email providers it is neccessary to have modern TLS protocols, TLS1.0 / SSL is no more supported.

And to solve this problem I use sTunnel (latest version for 32bit is 5.49).

The advantage of sTunnel is that the Windows certificate storage can be used, which greatly simplifies the configuration in this case.

So sTunnel only needs to be installed and activated as a service, as well as using this simple configuration (example of stunnel.conf):

debug = 4
engine = capi
options = NO_SSLv2
options = NO_SSLv3
options = NO_TLSv1

[gmx-pop3s]
client = yes
EngineID = capi
accept = localhost:xxxx
connect = pop.gmx.net:995

[gmx-smpts]
client = yes
EngineID = capi
accept = localhost:yyyy
connect = mail.gmx.net:465

In Outlook the local ports are set as default connection (server localhost and port POP xxxx / SMPT yyyy)

Thats all.

It works also for other email clients, so this may be a good advice for a configuration.

This is not really an XP question as much as it is a general NTFS question, but I figure I'd post it here.  I was trying to Ghost an 80 gb hard drive today, a drive that I try to clone at least once a year, one of several.  This is to create a backup.  The drive is from an NT4 server, and the file system is NTFS.  Normally the clone operation goes smoothly, but this time I kept getting a read error on the source drive at the same set of 4 sectors.  Ghost doesn't say what files are located there, and it stops the clone and exits after telling me about the problem.  I've slaved the drive to a running XP system and have had XP do a file-system check and a surface scan of all 3 partitions on the drive, and it finds nothing wrong.  So I was going to find out what files are using those sectors and copy them off the drive and then delete them.  Thinking that the sectors will become un-allocated and Ghost won't try to access them.

I've found similar questions on stack exchange and superuser.com and one way to find out is to use a utility called nfi.exe - Windows NT File System (NTFS) File Sector Information Utility which is part of Microsoft OEM Support Tools Phase 3 SR2.  So I ran it and found the sectors were used by a file in an RP (restore point?) folder in System Volume Information.  At first I couldn't do much there until I added "all users" full control and then I could mess with those files.  I copied the particular RP folder off the drive and then tried to nuke as much inside the System Volume Information folder that I could (because NT4 doesn't use it - right?).  Strange thing though - I run nfi.exe after deleting the file (the entire RP folder) and it still reports those sectors being used by the file in question even though the file is gone in explorer and a file-search for the file turns up nothing. 

Anyways, short story is that after doing that, Ghost still balks about a read error at the same sectors, so I'm not too impressed at this point and I want to do something to those sectors to make Ghost happy but I don't know what.  Any ideas? 

As in the topic, are there any realiable TH forks for Windows XP? Just like BasiliskXPmod/ New Moon for the browsers?

All i need is to receive security updates after thunderbird jumped onto FF 60 ESR fork.

Hello,
i have managed boot Windows Xp and Geforce 970, but i need also some Audio and Lan driver, and using USBtoLAN adapter as backup and without sounds gaming boring, i had MSI board MSI Z97 Gaming 7 where all these things working, but wasnt available, so i have bought Asrock Z97 Extereme 4/3.1

  Yes i could use also USB audio or soundcard, but switching is annoying.

Update:
Realtek HD 2.74 seems to work fine, so only LAN driver is needed.

I use New Moon 28 as my default browser.
I recently installed Interlink MailNews.

I've just noticed today that videos don't now seem to be appearing on Instagram pages with Firefox ESR 52.9.0.
There isn't even a placeholder, they are completely missing, all that's there of the posts is the text that should be beneath the video frame!
Static images are still displaying fine.
Is anyone else seeing this? They were fine yesterday!
The videos are still fine in Firefox 65 on Windows 10 needless to say.
I've tried spoofing the browser user agent using an extension, which I already have to do to get Facebook HTML5 videos to work, but none of the ones I've tried make any difference on Instagram.