Hi, just wondering if there is any update on this?

Also, will the new release be based upon the 4.x or 5.x engine?

Thanks.

5.x or even 6.x. We'll see.

just a random guess but id say ive done ~65% of the work.

once ive finished going through the database of info ive got, which shouldnt take too much longer, i think it should be at ~80%.

and as raptor said itll be based on AP 5.x or 6.x

make that ~75% now

in a few days time in hoping to be at ~90%.

not exactly a fews days as id hoped, but now at ~85% with about 105 totally complete modules (not including parents)

not long to go now ....

So it should be available soon?

I'm autopatching a computer this week (user needs it back).

Any closer to completion? I'm looking to deploy this at work so some news would be great.

just testing and minor changes, then a release
itll be out very soon now

im not sure if the main server is up yet though, so if anyone's prepaired to host, please email me (theblazingangel 'at' aol.com).
when its done ill contact you all and then somehow get it uploaded to the first server, get it spread to the other servers via that one, and then post the public links in a new thread.

Thanks. I look forward to the release!

About 2 months have passed and to be onest I didn't thinked something will change. That's sad, to see that the project dies.. Oh well, ce la vie!

WTF????? U even read the last 5 posts above yours?

hey, its taken a long time to get here buts its almost ready

i was up till 5.15am last night doing extensive testing to find which modules were giving me the error messages i was getting.
That works out to around 12 hours straight i was working not including breaks!! and ive just now had 7 1/2 hours sleep before im up again to get back on with it in a little while.

As soon as ive sorted a few things out, and ive got some mirrors, itll be here

dont worry its far from dead

Status:

I have about 2 errors to fix, once there done, encrypting, packing, uploading to mirrors, and released to public!

The errors and lack of mirrors is all thats holding me back.

Can anyone willing to be a mirror to the 2K release please email me - TheBlazingAngel 'at' aol.com

Just so you know:

Full Pack will be ~210MB
Lite ~160MB
Translators Pack ~20MB (complete guess that one)

Come on people. Some of you must have some bandwidth to offer up?

*anxiously awaiting release.*

I must say, good job Blaze! Btw, are the "2 errors" the ones you described in your e-mail?

Just so everyone else knows (answered raptor in IM)...

One of them was, the other is to do with failed dll's or something
im currently narrowing it down to find out which module it was.



ill try and contact the current mirrors, or ask raptor to when ive fixed this last error im getting and have packaged it all up.

Ive already got the forum posts pre-written in txt files

TheBlazingAngel,

A couple quick questions for you. Will the modules for the new 2000 version be compatible with the XP version? What I'm really hoping for is that the latest versions of Autopatcher 2000 and XP could be thrown together in the same directory. This would really simplify my situation as I deal with both 2000 and XP machines at work. Would it be as simple as throwing the modules from the upcoming 2000 version into the same directory as the XP modules, or am I getting my hopes up?

I only started using version 5 a few days ago, but I am extremely excited about this new release for 2000! One of the most useful programs I have stumbled upon in quite some time. Keep up the good work!

^^
im making it as compatible as possible

however, currently it wont be as simple as dropping one on top of another...

Some modules included are also in the XP release, but are not in the same \modules sub-folders (im using AP 5.1). Mainly due to having a 'Windows - Updated Components' section in the 2K release.

Throwing them together would result in having multiple copies of modules using the exact same name and they would cause AP to crash.

If its ok with raptor, ive got a small list of things to do to the XP release when im done with this one. Making sure there 100% compatible will be the main aim.

Currently to be compatible, after merging them together, you would have to go through the \modules folder & subfolders and remove the multiple copies.
I recommend keeping the copy from the 2K release because ive made some slight improvements to some modules from the XP release.

---
Status: narrowing down search for conflicting updates to solve the last error message...

Thanks for the info Blaze. I guess for now I'll have an autorun vbscript on my cds to determine the OS and then launch the appropriate AutoPatcher.

Two last questions: On a Win2k SP4 machine with no post-SP4 critical updates , will AP require a reboot during the installation of all the criticals, or will all of these updates be successfully installed in one boot cycle?

Also, am I correct in assuming that if I'm running AP in unattended mode and that if I take everything out of the module sub-directories (recommended updates, addons, tweaks) except the critical updates, AP will only run the criticals and not have any problems?

Thanks!

argh, my reply just dis-appeared into thin air when i pressed send, wierd
lets try again, hopefully the other one doesnt turn up...

1) ok, but removing the few duplicate files isnt that big a deal.

2) itll require 2 boot cycles.
first will install most items, even including IE6SP1
on the second a few more updates will be available because Ie6SP1 has been installed.

3) incorrect...

The 'selected by default' module setting determins whether a module is checked to install by default.

Running in unattended mode will install all modules that have this setting checked.

To customise your selection, you can delete any modules you dont want, and edit the setting in modules you want to keep by using the module editor in the \tools folder.

4) I strongly recommend you dont ignore the recommended updates, and updated components (a new section in the upcomming 2K release).
The recommended updates and updated components are vital to keeping a stable and secure system.
Critical updates are only labeled as such because they pose a major threat to security, but other updates are still very important.

I stand corrected once again, heh. Thanks for the quick replies Blaze.



So does this mean that if IE6SP1 is already installed only 1 reboot is necessary? Also, is it possible to add an option to let AP run automatically at the next logon so that it can finish patching IE? I think that would be a cool feature. If not, I'm sure I could whip up a little script to do that for me.

^^
yep, if IE6SP1 is pre installed, only one boot cycle will be necessary.

you could chuck AP in your start>programs>startup folder with the unattended switch, and it'll install the remaining updates.
However youd have to first configure the default selections, as i mentioned in reply to you in another thread, so that items you dont want are not installed.
(remember items you already have installed will be automatically de-selected, no matter what the 'selected by default' option is set to. so dont worry about items installed on the first boot cycle being installed again!).

Once again, thanks for the info Blaze. I think for my purposes I'll write a little segment of vbscript that checks if IE6SP1 is installed. If it's not, then it will add a string value to the registry for autopatcher to "runonce" unattended. I dislike that legacy StartUp folder

I'm one of the computer guys at a local college, and what I'm mainly using AP for is to help make sure our incoming students have all the latest Windows updates before we let them on our network. Last year I had created a CD which we distributed to the students that just had a batch file that ran all the critical updates for their particular OS. My CD didn't bother to check if an update was already installed, so it took quite some time to run on the student computers (oops ). Also, I'm sure I messed up the command line switches on at least one of the updates. I can only imagine the nightmare you had to go through to get all those blasted updates to install properly, because just figuring that part out took 90% of the total time to create the CD. I found out about AP about a month after I created that CD and have been kicking myself ever since. This time I'm going to do it right. So far with my testing everything has worked flawlessly on the XP side. Once the new 2000 release is out I'll integrate that into the CD as well.

Anyway, how's that last error coming along Blaze?

Ive found the mod thats causing the 13 error messages.
However, its not a problem with the mod itself, its actually conflicting with another mod.

Im using a search algorithm i learnt in college and have so far narrowed down the search for the conflicting mod to 6 possibles.

btw, just so everyone knows how much dedication im putting into this, and so they understand why its taking so long...
- im a perfectionist, so when i start something, i do the best job i can before i finish it.
- ive made a large database of m$ 2K updates and related info, covering over 100 updates.
- ive manually installed every single one of around 120 setup files, one at a time, with a reboot after most, when gathering ETA and reg detection data.
- i have used AP to install every single update one at a time, with reboots after most of them, while bug fixing.
- and if you add up all the reboots and reformats ive done on my test machine, it must add up to at least 200.

wow...

Sooooo......you saying it's ready now?

*taps foot impatiently*

The scary part is that Blaze is not kidding... He actually got all ETAs based on the real thing, not just an estimate!!! Major props again!

Keldyn, I think he's saying he's narrowing the conflict down... Currently down to 6.

I had some problems with the October release I think are driver errors...

Is it too late to post them here?

That's all fine and good, but what if someone is using it on a system that is much slower than the one Blaze is testing on? Are you checking processor speed and total memory to determine some sort of multiplying factor for the ETAs you have recorded? (Please tell me no, I advise you to seek professional help if you're going that far with it )

^ The answer is, indeed, no. But only because cpu speed and memory are not always the key factor. Besides, AutoPatcher v5 only allows one ETA value. If you disable backups, things will go much faster. I usually go with 'safe' values (i.e if an installation takes 20 seconds on my pc, i put 40), so people see AutoPatcher report "2 hours etc etc". When they go ahead and install, it usually takes a little less than an hour. I think blaze is doing a great job, giving us a better estimate on how long an installation will take. ETAs are, by nature, never 100% accurate, that's why we call them "estimates". With Blaze's work however, I see those estimates becoming more accurate, and with AutoPatcher Version 6.0 (which will allow separate ETAs for installation with and without backups), things should get even better.

damn, more work to be done

^ Yeah, but optional work See, AutoPatcher 6.0 will be smart when it comes to .amc handling. All properties used by the .amc are loaded, and then AutoPatcher fetches the needed property. This way, you can use as many properties are you like. If you forget to add the ETAWithNoBackups property, AutoPatcher will use the ETAWithBackups property If you put the Description property in before the Name property, there will be no problem AutoPatcher will find the right one

Hey Blaze,

Just wondering what the current status is. Do you think the release will come before the end of this week? *crosses fingers*

im gonna have to say no.

this last error is getting extremely complicated to work out.
its taking a hell of a lot of tests to work out exactly whats conflicting, and each test takes about 2 hours to complete.
for every test i have to reformat, reinstall windows, copy the AP 2K cd to the hard drive (a lot faster to run off than the cd), load AP, make the selection for the next test, and wait through the installation to get the result, then repeat for the next test.

im getting though about 3 or 4 tests a day, but its seriously draining my energy.

and its not as simple as a problem with a single module, or one mod conflicting with another.
There are multiple combinations of modules that can cause the error!!!
The first combines at least 4 modules, the fourth of which i havent worked out yet!!

im still in the middle of a long process of working out the conflicts before i can even begin working out why.
only then can i start to work out a solution, try it, and if successful, move on to the packing stage.

im affraid it may take at least another week

and dont get me wrong, this has nothing to do with me being picky, i seriously cant release it in the state its in with this error. its become a major problem.

Wait wait wait... you're telling me that you're not using something like Norton Ghost to speed this process up? If you had a ghosted backup of the drive before you started testing then you would reduce the total time for each test by about 45 minutes (or however long it takes to format the drive and reinstall 2000)!! The latest version, 9.0, can even be purchased and downloaded from Nortons site for only like $50 USD. It will save you a bundle of time, trust me.

Agreed. Use a drive imaging tool.
To speed it up, you can even partition the HD. set 5 GB to the system. The rest to data.
And only use the partition function of the drive image tool - I use Ghost.

When you image a partition, you can save it to another partition on the same physical disc. Takes about 20-30 min depending on the compression, can restore in 15 minutes depending on the info. Even less if its a pure system.
I use this to backup the system of my laptop all the time, while keeping all my data.
As I use symbolic links I can even back up profiles, email etc, that normally is required by the system to be on c drive.
The current version of Autopatcher is stored on the data drive - no need to reload AP.

If i where you I'd stick to 8.0, IMO 9.0 tends to suck..

Why not to use a Virtual Image like Virtual PC or vmware?
This way you can save the image file on the stage you need, make every test and restore the imagem file when you need to start over again.
It will be even faster if you backup the image on the HD.

___
RP

ok, ive got hold of a copy of vmware.
ive got it setup and have created a snapshot.

hopefully this'll save some time, however i redid the first test to check the vm software acted the same, but i think it had a different result.
ill do a re-test after gathering the results i need.


btw, the test comp's only got a 4gig hdd

VMWare will run slower than an actual system, as 2 systems are running.

With Ghost images, you can use high compression to keep the size down. Not sure on actual figures, but I think its close to 50% depending on content. I have 4GB on my system part at the moment. Not sure if was that when I imaged it, but turn off system restore, hibernation, and move the page file to another partition, and you will save a lot of space. no point using sys restore if your going to re-image it anyway. My image is just slightly over 2GB. Thats with office, photoshop, dreamweaver and all the others installed. a pure system, you should be able to fit on a 2/2 split.

Or better yet, scrounge up several 4GB HDs and image them all first. Then you can just keep swapping hard drives out as you test. While you got one test running you can have the last hard drive being reimaged. This is assuming that you have all that spare hardware lying around. I do

Can I suggest you delay this until Microsoft Releases the the update rollup for windows 2000. Seeing as this is to be the final update released for windows 2000. And expected to be released before the end of this month..

My understanding, it could install as a single module, and would probably have the conflicts you are finding pre-fixed.

I hope you didn't do all that work for nothing blaze ... The update rollup is not the last update for 2000. After the end of this month, Microsoft will only be releasing security related updates for 2000, so this isn't the one end-all patch. Basically in the Windows 2000 lifecycle it is coming to the end of the "Mainstream Support Phase" and entering the "Extended Support Phase". From Microsoft:

Extended support includes:
* Paid support
* Security update support at no additional cost
* Non-security related hotfix support requires a separate Extended Hotfix Support contract to be purchased. Per-fix fees also apply.
* Microsoft will not accept requests for warranty support, design changes, or new features during the Extended support phase.
* Extended support is not available for Consumer, Hardware, Multimedia, and Business Solutions.

This update rollup will probably contain updates from around 50 of the modules that Blaze has already made. From the articles I'm reading, Microsoft already has completed testing on it and it is ready to go. Release will probably come in the next week or two. Something to keep in mind blaze

damn it...i knew it was coming sometime but not so close to getting this completed.
months and months of work for nothing...

dont worry though, ill keep up the work until i fix the errors or the update rollup is released and then ill see what happens.

Remember blaze, the update rollup probably only contains mostly critical and important updates. I'm sure you've made modules for other patches not included in the upcoming rollup. All is not lost

Blaze, any new updates? I need to have a 2000 patching solution by Wednesday and AutoPatcher would really help me out

Ive kinda given up for now. im waiting for tuesday to see if this big rollup is comming out.
if it does ill quickly add it and remove any that it replaces, and if the errors gone ill have it out in no time. but if not i guess its back to work.

In Microsoft's anouncement I've sow that they will release that rollup update somewhere in the middle of this year, do you have some new information on this or how/from where do you know this will be released tuesday? Or what tuesday?

The update rollup for W2K SP4 will definitely be out before the end of this month. Looks like the rollup will miss the official "Patch Tuesday" for this month (today), but I imagine we'll see it next week or the week after. We're pretty sure it will be on a Tuesday because Microsoft always releases patches on a Tuesday.

Yeah I noticed that last nite. Check to see if the rollup was there, and only the standard patches..

Well, they are applied now..