This question is a means of preventing automated form submissions by spambots.
What are the l a s t four characters of "ab847ae805dc98184168c1a"? You must also add "xx!1.." to the answer but type "1" as a word not a number.
Smilies
:clap: :crazy: :thumbdown: :thumbup: :wtf: :yawn: :tired: :relaxed: :grin: :smile: :wink: :sad: :eek: :shock: :???: :cool: :lol: :mad: :razz: :oops: :cry: :evil: :twisted: :roll: :!: :?: :idea: :arrow: :neutral: :mrgreen: :geek: :ugeek: :eh: :lolno: :problem: :shh: :shifty: :sick: :silent: :think: :wave:
   

If you wish to attach one or more files enter the details below.

Re: Windows 98 cleartype

PROBLEMCHYLD, 2015-11-21 21:53 »

Here is an old version I put together without Revolution Pack, I actually got Tihiy permission and he said I could do what I want with it. It works, you just get a nag screen.

CLEARTYP.CAB
(89.49 KiB) Downloaded 930 times

Drugwash, 2013-11-21 02:44 »

Steven W wrote:Wow. That certainly is a possibility. BTW, you have the RP9 source? That would be nice thing to have available.

I have been poking around, in my own way (not too seriously) and I believe that in addition to ctras.dll and GDI+ that the files browseui.dll, shdocvw.dll and shlwapi.dll will come into play here too.

Oh yeah, what registry keys were mentioned in that post?

Thanks for posting Drugwash! :D

Yes, I do have the RP9 sources; they were available at some point on Tihiy's old site and he posted the link at MSFN some time ago. They require VC6, PowerBasic7, Delphi 7, NASM. I do not know all the languages, I can only understand certain pieces of code. The (main) code dealing with ClearType is in ClearType.c but there's other pieces scattered around too. There are a lot of changes to comctl32.dll, gdi32.dll and user32.dll API.

It's late now and can't remember the registry keys RP9 uses, but I know it does check for the eBook key and if it doesn't exist, it loads the library directly, assuming it's somewhere in a location included in %PATH%. Usually it's in %windir%SYSTEM. Other registry keys may pertain solely to RP9, indicating whether ClearType is disabled or enabled and I do remember there are a couple of values that can be modified to alter ctras' behavior.

The problem with patching vs rebuilding from scratch is that first M$ do not release their sources and everything must be done through reverse engineering and second because there may be more versions of the same library and patching in place may be difficult or impossible while at the same time there may be unpatchable bugs or incomplete features in M$' libraries. And as TmEE said above, any unpleasant surprises can be avoided.

Either way, to do a proper job, one must have knowledge, time, dedication and ability to focus. Some people may do it out of passion, as a hobby, not for money but when the prerequisites are (temporarily or completely) missing it's hard to accomplish the task.

Here's the RP9 sources:
rp9source.rar
RP9 sources (original file)
(517.5 KiB) Downloaded 1043 times

Steven W, 2013-11-19 02:35 »

Thanks for sharing TmEE. Lots of goodies in there indeed!

TmEE, 2013-11-14 20:49 »

I would probably invest my time into something too if I were to gain some dough from it, like Mr. Loew is. I have great respect for him though, that guy has skill and patience.
In case of the file in KernelEx its a bit different. The file is a reimplementation to allow control over whatever is going on, rather than act as replacement or such. If latter was enough Xeno would have just chosen the file from a newer OS and made it work.
I personally would jsut reimplement the stuff, in the end I got something that is fuly under my control with no hidden secrets and nothing that fights back. It is also why I am working on my own hardware and software, so I got something that works just as I see fit, and if there's need to change something I can do it with ease. Anyway I am more of a creator than a hacker, at least as far as software goes (hardware I undestand way better, and modify to my needs as I see fit :P).

Also RP9 sources are available in my 98 goodies : http://www.tmeeco.eu/9X4EVER/GOODIES

PROBLEMCHYLD, 2013-11-14 19:52 »

I think it has to do with a number of things such as funds, patience, motivation, ambition etc.... I will use rloew as a example. He has patched many files without reinventing the wheel. Some of his free patches are included with many of patched files from others around the globe. Me and jumper had a discussion about which version of MSIMG32.DLL to use, Windows ME or KEX. No one seems to find nothing superior over the other. Again pointless. What is the purpose to reinvent the wheel and have the same file, same functions that complete the same task. People can get mad if they want and think I'm bashing. I'm just stating facts. They don't like it, they can kiss my ass :P Some of those same people with create bugs, abandon ship, point the finger at us because they spent too much time reinventing the wheel. SMDH
You said it best TmEE, its a lot easier. These days people are spoiled brats and selfish and would like to be spoon-fed.

TmEE, 2013-11-14 14:51 »

It is way harder to patch the stuff mainly because of no documentation or outright misdocumentation. It also why it is a whole lot easier to reinvent the wheel than trying to make the existings work.

PROBLEMCHYLD, 2013-11-13 19:28 »

If someone is ambitious enough, I'm sure one can get it working without RP9, nothing against it though. whatever420 was on to something and now we may have lost one possibility. I miss the good old days when skilled people used to patch the actual files instead of just stubbing and trying to reinvent the wheel with wrappers and such.

Steven W, 2013-11-12 23:37 »

Wow. That certainly is a possibility. BTW, you have the RP9 source? That would be nice thing to have available.

I have been poking around, in my own way (not too seriously) and I believe that in addition to ctras.dll and GDI+ that the files browseui.dll, shdocvw.dll and shlwapi.dll will come into play here too.

Oh yeah, what registry keys were mentioned in that post?

Thanks for posting Drugwash! :D

Drugwash, 2013-11-12 18:00 »

It's not that simple. I've looked through the RP9 sources and Tihiy appears to have implemented ClearType directly into RP8.dll, which hooks into each and every 32-bit application. The mere presence of CTRAS.DLL and some registry keys - which by the way are a bit different than what's been posted in this topic - will not enable ClearType on a 9x system. The functions in CTRAS.DLL must be imported by other libraries through an on/off switch and RP8.dll is that switch, along with the registry keys.

As I see it, it would be far simpler to install RP9, use a classic theme if so desired and enable/disable ClearType from RP9's control panel.

RP9 uses about 4 or 5 programming languages for its components and I haven't even begun to understand how it works or how to compile it as is, let alone modify/fix/add anything. I may not live long enough for that, so my advice is take the easy way out and use RP9. But it's your decision entirely.

Steven W, 2013-11-09 03:55 »

PROBLEMCHYLD, do you know of functions that ctras.dll calls that are missing in 98?

I forgot to do a search for it before my last post, but as I suspected GDI+ and ClearType go hand in hand:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library ... 33818.aspx

Top