I just found out about this POS 2009 hack for Windows!

Registry hack enables continued updates for Windows XP
http://www.zdnet.com/article/registr...or-windows-xp/

foo.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001

On 07/19/2016 07:20 PM, Danny D. wrote:
Registry hack enables continued updates for Windows XP
http://www.zdnet.com/article/registr...or-windows-xp/

foo.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001


Did it work though?

On 7/19/2016 6:49 PM, Big Al wrote:
On 07/19/2016 07:20 PM, Danny D. wrote:
Registry hack enables continued updates for Windows XP
http://www.zdnet.com/article/registr...or-windows-xp/


foo.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001


Did it work though?

Yes it does work but it is not a cure all.

Check out these links for more information.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/registr...or-windows-xp/
and
http://www.zdnet.com/article/hacked-...ll-a-bad-idea/
Note the comment from Microsoft in the last paragraph...

On Tue, 19 Jul 2016 23:20:55 +0000, Danny D. wrote:

Registry hack enables continued updates for Windows XP
http://www.zdnet.com/article/registr...or-windows-xp/

foo.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001

That hack is not complete. I have been using the one below for
several months on two boxes and one VM with no ill effects. It
does however require SP3.


Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\WindowsEmbedded\ProductVersion]
"FeaturePackVersion"="SP3"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WEPOS]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WES]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001

--
Wildman GNU/Linux user #557453
The cow died so I don't need your bull!

On Tue, 19 Jul 2016 21:22:54 -0500, Wildman wrote:

That hack is not complete. I have been using the one below for
several months on two boxes and one VM with no ill effects. It
does however require SP3.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\WindowsEmbedded\ProductVersion]
"FeaturePackVersion"="SP3"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WEPOS]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WES]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001

Is your reg file for 32 bit or 64 bit WinXP?

On Wed, 20 Jul 2016 04:32:03 +0000, Danny D. wrote:

On Tue, 19 Jul 2016 21:22:54 -0500, Wildman wrote:

That hack is not complete. I have been using the one below for
several months on two boxes and one VM with no ill effects. It
does however require SP3.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\WindowsEmbedded\ProductVersion]
"FeaturePackVersion"="SP3"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WEPOS]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WES]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001

Is your reg file for 32 bit or 64 bit WinXP?

32 bit.

--
Wildman GNU/Linux user #557453
The cow died so I don't need your bull!

| Is your reg file for 32 bit or 64 bit WinXP?

It shouldn't matter. That's the same path in 32 or
64. 32-bit *on* 64-bit would be different, but that
would only be relevant for 32-bit settings on Win64.

You should be careful, though. What you're using is
updates for kiosk systems. MS could send you an
update at any time that's a problem for normal XP.
Those patches are not officially supported, so they're
not going to make sure they work OK. They might even
deliberately break something. I've seen them do that
before. For instance, in 1998 I was using their icon
browsing dialogue in my software. In WinME they
changed how it worked, for no good reason. The change
broke it. But they never supported that usage by
Windows programmers in the first place. So they had
made no commitment to maintain compatibility or to
inform anyone they'd broken compatibility. I had to
rewrite my software because I'd used undocumented APIs.
The same could happen with your patches.

And what do you get for that risk? A lot of patches,
but it's likely that few if any are even slightly relevant
to security on your computer. Most security issues are
not in the OS but rather in MS Office, IE and networking
protocols that most SOHo users don't need to enable.

On Tue, 19 Jul 2016 23:20:55 -0000 (UTC), Danny D. wrote:

Registry hack enables continued updates for Windows XP
http://www.zdnet.com/article/registr...or-windows-xp/

Yeah, I'll bookmark that just in case I want to downgrade from
Windows 7...

--
s|b

On Wed, 20 Jul 2016 11:06:24 -0400, "Mayayana"
wrote:

| Is your reg file for 32 bit or 64 bit WinXP?

It shouldn't matter. That's the same path in 32 or
64. 32-bit *on* 64-bit would be different, but that
would only be relevant for 32-bit settings on Win64.

Maybe it shouldn't but this is what it says at the url in the OP.

"This specific hack works only on 32-bit systems, but a 64-bit
workaround is available at this page, which may have been Williams's
source for the 32-bit hack."

And there are links to places where the 64 bit v ersion is shown and
iirc it's not a mere .reg file but a .bat file, with several steps.

You should be careful, though. What you're using is
updates for kiosk systems. MS could send you an
update at any time that's a problem for normal XP.
Those patches are not officially supported, so they're
not going to make sure they work OK. They might even
deliberately break something. I've seen them do that
before. For instance, in 1998 I was using their icon
browsing dialogue in my software. In WinME they
changed how it worked, for no good reason. The change
broke it. But they never supported that usage by
Windows programmers in the first place. So they had
made no commitment to maintain compatibility or to
inform anyone they'd broken compatibility. I had to
rewrite my software because I'd used undocumented APIs.
The same could happen with your patches.

And what do you get for that risk? A lot of patches,
but it's likely that few if any are even slightly relevant
to security on your computer. Most security issues are
not in the OS but rather in MS Office, IE and networking
protocols that most SOHo users don't need to enable.

Micky wrote:
On Wed, 20 Jul 2016 11:06:24 -0400, "Mayayana"
wrote:

| Is your reg file for 32 bit or 64 bit WinXP?

It shouldn't matter. That's the same path in 32 or
64. 32-bit *on* 64-bit would be different, but that
would only be relevant for 32-bit settings on Win64.

Maybe it shouldn't but this is what it says at the url in the OP.

"This specific hack works only on 32-bit systems, but a 64-bit
workaround is available at this page, which may have been Williams's
source for the 32-bit hack."

And there are links to places where the 64 bit v ersion is shown and
iirc it's not a mere .reg file but a .bat file, with several steps.


I thought WinXP x64 only went up to SP2 ?

There was no SP3 for it.

Paul

On Wed, 20 Jul 2016 14:43:41 -0400, Paul wrote:

Micky wrote:
On Wed, 20 Jul 2016 11:06:24 -0400, "Mayayana"
wrote:

| Is your reg file for 32 bit or 64 bit WinXP?

It shouldn't matter. That's the same path in 32 or
64. 32-bit *on* 64-bit would be different, but that
would only be relevant for 32-bit settings on Win64.

Maybe it shouldn't but this is what it says at the url in the OP.

"This specific hack works only on 32-bit systems, but a 64-bit
workaround is available at this page, which may have been Williams's
source for the 32-bit hack."

And there are links to places where the 64 bit v ersion is shown and
iirc it's not a mere .reg file but a .bat file, with several steps.


I thought WinXP x64 only went up to SP2 ?

There was no SP3 for it.

Good point. YOu're referrring to the line at the start of the one
Wildman gave that says iiuc that it goes with SP3.

I used the first one, in the OP, for over a year** but I still have a
netbook that I want to update for a trip.

But I'm reluctant to install Wildman's, despite his good experience.
Any advice, anyone?


**before all my windows files disappeared and I moved to a Vista
computer,

Paul

Micky wrote:


Good point. YOu're referrring to the line at the start of the one
Wildman gave that says iiuc that it goes with SP3.

I used the first one, in the OP, for over a year** but I still have a
netbook that I want to update for a trip.

But I'm reluctant to install Wildman's, despite his good experience.
Any advice, anyone?

The POS hack for Windows Update makes sense
for WinXP x32. You're not likely to have
WinXP x64 SP2. There were enough warnings on Newegg
to stay away from it, the uptake should be minimal.
There is only one guy on microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
using it. One problem with it, is drivers.

You can back up the C partition and do any
test case you might want. If it "blows up",
restore from backup. There's more than one person
out there who is (quietly) using the POS hack.

Paul

On Tue, 19 Jul 2016 21:22:54 -0500, Wildman
wrote:

On Tue, 19 Jul 2016 23:20:55 +0000, Danny D. wrote:

Registry hack enables continued updates for Windows XP
http://www.zdnet.com/article/registr...or-windows-xp/

foo.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001

That hack is not complete. I have been using the one below for
several months on two boxes and one VM with no ill effects. It
does however require SP3.


Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\WindowsEmbedded\ProductVersion]
"FeaturePackVersion"="SP3"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WEPOS]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WES]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001

I just figured out how to tell what the WEPOS and WES parts add to the
original POSReady part.

Install the POSReady part, kick off the updates, and note what updates
you get. Install them all (or if you don't, note in detail which ones
you don't.). Then add one or both of the wepos and wes
parts and do this all again. You won't have to install them just
because you download them, and you can take out the newer keys if you
really don't like them.

I just did the first part of this, and I got 33 updates. This
represents about 2 years of updates. Only one was called Cumulative,
the security update for IE8. Maybe the Definition Update for Windows
Defender was cumulative.

All the other 31 were called security updates also.

Most for WEPOS and POSReady, and about a quarter of them for WES09 and
POSReady. 22 and 8. But that doesn't mean that there are none for
WEPOS or WES that are not for POSReady. Of course, the XP users this
is addressed to are neither WES, WES09, WEPOS, or POSReady, so what
would more updates imply???

Anyhow, I may do this if I have time and energy, but someone tells me
I don't really need the other two sections.

On Mon, 25 Jul 2016 05:40:21 -0400, Micky wrote:

On Tue, 19 Jul 2016 21:22:54 -0500, Wildman
wrote:

On Tue, 19 Jul 2016 23:20:55 +0000, Danny D. wrote:

Registry hack enables continued updates for Windows XP
http://www.zdnet.com/article/registr...or-windows-xp/

foo.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001

That hack is not complete. I have been using the one below for
several months on two boxes and one VM with no ill effects. It
does however require SP3.


Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\WindowsEmbedded\ProductVersion]
"FeaturePackVersion"="SP3"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WEPOS]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WES]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001

I just figured out how to tell what the WEPOS and WES parts add to the
original POSReady part.

Install the POSReady part, kick off the updates, and note what updates
you get. Install them all (or if you don't, note in detail which ones
you don't.). Then add one or both of the wepos and wes
parts and do this all again. You won't have to install them just
because you download them, and you can take out the newer keys if you
really don't like them.

I just did the first part of this, and I got 33 updates. This
represents about 2 years of updates. Only one was called Cumulative,
the security update for IE8. Maybe the Definition Update for Windows
Defender was cumulative.

All the other 31 were called security updates also.

Most for WEPOS and POSReady, and about a quarter of them for WES09 and
POSReady. 22 and 8. But that doesn't mean that there are none for
WEPOS or WES that are not for POSReady. Of course, the XP users this
is addressed to are neither WES, WES09, WEPOS, or POSReady, so what
would more updates imply???

Anyhow, I may do this if I have time and energy, but someone tells me
I don't really need the other two sections.

I have searched for the web site where I got the hack but I haven't
had any luck. It explained what the different entries did and of
course I can't remember. It was back when support for XP was about
to be dropped when I got the hack so that web page may not even be
around now.

--
Wildman GNU/Linux user #557453
The cow died so I don't need your bull!

[Default] On Mon, 25 Jul 2016 05:40:21 -0400, in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general Micky
wrote:


I just figured out how to tell what the WEPOS and WES parts add to the
original POSReady part.

Install the POSReady part, kick off the updates, and note what updates
you get. Install them all (or if you don't, note in detail which ones
you don't.). Then add one or both of the wepos and wes
parts and do this all again. You won't have to install them just
because you download them, and you can take out the newer keys if you
really don't like them.

I just did the first part of this, and I got 33 updates. This
represents about 2 years of updates. Only one was called Cumulative,
the security update for IE8. Maybe the Definition Update for Windows
Defender was cumulative.

BTW, I think I read that definition updates for Wnidow Defender ended
a year ago. But they still sent the last update. I have Avast
anyhow. Despite some praise that it got, I thought Windows Defender
only protected against selected malware, not everything they could
identify.

This post is really about XP -- well, it's about what happened when I
pretended that XP was POSReady, so since the thread was once in 7,
I'll post this almost the final post there too. Someday a similar
situation might arise for 7 users!!!

Unfortunately installation stalled in the middle of the 18th update.
It just sat there, when earlier items finished in a few seconds.

So I cancelled it, and it said it was restarting, but it didnt'. Then
for 12 hours WUpdate didnt' show up again, and it looked a little like
I might never get the remaining 15 updates. But it showed up the next
day.

I unchecked the one that caused trouble, to do with .net framework,
and installed the other 15. When it had said, those you did not
check will not be installed, and check this box so you won't be
notified again about them, I checked the box and clicked Yes.

An hour later 13 more showed up, including the .net framework that I
said not to ask me about again. Is it possible there were two for the
same thing? I didn't note the numbers. But I know in the past, on
another version of XP, I would repeatedly ask not to be notified about
updates I didn't want, and it would keep doing it.

Then an hour later 1 more update showed up, and maybe one more later.
And it's settled down now.

I know I should have checked operation after each group of updates.
Hopefully, if something went wrong, I'll be able to figure out which
to uninstall, or I'll have to reinstall! What a pain. But so far, so
good.


In the middle of all this, before the last 13 updates, it changed the
settings for the sytray notifications. It went back to showing the
cable connection, with an X in it, that I will maybe never have, and
to not showing the wireless connection, even though it was active -- I
was connected wirelessly. Even though I had just spent 20 minutes
working hard to set these, and they had been working fine. This
reversion was only partial, also. But still later, it
went back to the way I had set it!!!

All the other 31 were called security updates also.

Most for WEPOS and POSReady, and about a quarter of them for WES09 and
POSReady. 22 and 8. But that doesn't mean that there are none for
WEPOS or WES that are not for POSReady. Of course, the XP users this
is addressed to are neither WES, WES09, WEPOS, or POSReady, so what
would more updates imply???

Anyhow, I may do this if I have time and energy, but someone tells me
I don't really need the other two sections.