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re: Constant NSIS installer errors Saturday, August 28, 2010 at 4:06 pm Posted by gewg_ (4444 messages posted) kamusician wrote: [...]even after reformat/reinstalling 98se[...] |[...]happens after two clean reinstalls/harddrive reformats |It is not due to a virus/malware infection |as it happens after two clean reinstalls/harddrive reformats | You do realize that FORMAT is *not* the lowest level you can go to wipe a disk. Right? e.g. a boot sector virus is *not* affected by a FORMAT. You would have to wipe the **partition** to clobber that --and even after that, some folks have reported problems with drives being stubborn. Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN) is the usual remedy for these edge cases ...or if you just want to be never bothered with any chance of gotchas. |[...]before I ever went online | An interesting item I saw the other day: "25% of Worms Spread Via USB" http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=10/08/26/1343206 ...and, pursuant to that, for those who still foolishly depend on the easily-infected platform called Windoze and (again, foolishly) who haven't prepared a list of dangerous things to disable IMMEDIATELY after the OS install: http://google.com/search?q=intitle:Disable-AutoRun Windoze + Removable media == Dangerous (Add in AutoRun and you may as well stab yourself in the head. Note: Any Unix-like platform--aka anything other than M$'s junk-- doesn't have this massive vulnerability.) |Cannot fix NSIS installer error[...] | The first page I pulled up on this says: :If you get the NSIS error while installing software on your computer, :then the software has failed the integrity check, and is either corrupt or damaged." : If a boot sector virus isn't the issue, I would suspect damaged install media (e.g. scratched CDs). If you are having problems with *multiple* apps, however, this does not extrapolate so well. If your apps' install files were stored on writable media (a HDD), I would suspect that that media got infected. (Again, a proper OS--like Linux--doesn't have these problems.) ...and Linux is FREE and works on old hardware. I am also ASSuMEing that the version of NSIS you have is supported under Win9x. http://google.com/search?q=define:NSIS Have you *ever* had this working under the old M$ OS? Again, the page I pulled up mentioned CMD but *not* COMMAND.COM. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Constant NSIS installer errors Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 1:24 pm Posted by kamusician (4 messages posted)   Thanks for the reply and info. I have been working at it and have (for now) solved the installer problem thru trial and error methods. I am surely getting sick of problems with M$ and would gladly use another system. The machine I am using now is about 13 years old but it is a well built old beast. I wonder if you might steer me toward a Linux app that would run on a Pentium 2  400mhz with 512mg of ram. I have a newer machine with XP but actually prefer this old tank as it generally performs better. I have been to the Linux website and studied a bit but could use the input of an actual user as the options seem a bit overwhelming at first glance...Thanks again for your time in addressing my issues and have a great day! [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Constant NSIS installer errors Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 5:49 pm Posted by gewg_ (4444 messages posted) Lengthy replies are easier to read if you start your posts with the {pre} tag (substitute *less than* and *greater than* where appropriate) and add some paragraph breaks every so often in the text. kamusician wrote: |Thanks for the reply and info. | No sweat. Pass a favor along and it will find its way back to me. |I have been working at it |and have (for now) solved the installer problem thru trial and error methods. | Huh-zah! Can you narrow it down to a particular something? What was the last thing you did before it straightened up? Inquiring minds want to know. |I am surely getting sick of problems with M$ | Everybody who is honest with himself is. As mentioned, M$'s junk is the ONLY ecosystem that requires anti-this and anti-that. http://google.com/search?q=Microsoft+DefectiveByDesign That 9x support for hardware and apps has severely fallen away is another gotcha. |and would gladly use another system. | Considering that there are FREE ones and that they will work on old gear, it's surprizing *everyone* hasn't reached that point. |The machine I am using now is about 13 years old but it is a well built old beast. | I like to point to this guy who uses gear that is beyond archaic. http://google.com/search?q=site:kmandla.wordpress.com+16MB+OR+32MB http://google.com/search?q=site:kmandla.wordpress.com+Pentium+100MHz+OR+150MHz Obviously, he isn't interested in M$'s bloated (and insecure) junk; he mostly uses CRUX or Arch (which aren't so much for beginners) --or, when he needs graphics, SliTaz (which, BTW, is more n00b-friendly). |I wonder if you might steer me toward a Linux app | http://google.com/search?q=define:app I'm thinking you mean something more than that: http://google.com/search?q=define:distro |that would run on a Pentium 2 400[MHz] with 512[MB] of [RAM]. | Hey! Somebody actually mentioned the specs of his machine when asking for a software recommendation. 8-) |I have a newer machine with XP |but actually prefer this old tank as it generally performs better. | I seriously doubt it's the hardware making the difference. http://google.com/search?q="Windows.Rot"+"clean.install" (Something else that Linux doesn't have.) ...and, of course, Win9x has ZERO security (you're always running as root). |I have been to the Linux website | There are about a bazillion of them these days. NOTE: There is more to Linux than *Ubuntu* (which I'm guessing is what you meant). ...and it sounds like you waded into the deep end too soon. I recommend that folks seek out their *local* nerds. You might find a guru/mentor/buddy there. http://google.com/search?q=Linux-Users-Groups Besides monthly gatherings, they do events in the local community as well: http://google.com/search?q=define:installfest |and studied a bit but could use the input of an actual user |as the options seem a bit overwhelming at first glance | Mint is known for its out-of-the-box completeness. The basic edition uses GNOME; another heavyweight edition uses KDE. Mint Xfce Edition is a nice light-ish spin. Mint LXDE is lighter (and just a bit less friendly). Mint Fluxbox Edition is lighter still (and a bit less friendly yet). You won't have trouble finding lots of folks who think any particular one of those is the bee's knees. According to DistroWatch, Mint is holding at #2 in popularity. (forums.linuxmint.com is one of the really great places on the 'Net.) ...and there's nothing that says you can't install EVERY desktop environment / window manager in existence on your box and select at Startup the one you currently want to use. 8-)) In addition, every modern distro offers to set you up as dual-boot (with Windoze or with another Linux distro), so you can also have as many OSes as you like, hardware permitting. I mentioned antiX[1], SliTaz, and Damn Small here: http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/win98/1280447295 I also mentioned a particular version of Puppy there; if you go in thru the front door of the Puppy sites, you won't find that one easily. The versions you *will* spot right off are security sinkholes (see "always running as root", above). With 512MB of RAM, you could run **most** distros. (There are a few distros that are now *requiring* i686 architecture or later *cough*Fedora*cough*[2]--but even those won't restrict you.) Now, with some of the **really heavy** distros, you could end up swapping to disk (aka using Virtual Memory) when running a large bunch of apps concurrently. Best to check out a distro's Requirements page before downloading. ...though booting to the CD and running the OS from it to see how it does with *your* hardware is a very cool option --which Windoze-only users will never experience. When running some of the most demanding tasks, the relatively low clock speed on that old box will be obvious.[3] Most of the time, however, the CPU will be loafing. [1] While the antiX distro is VERY impressive and the content at the antiX forum is quite useful, http://www.antix.freeforums.org/what-specs-are-you-running-antix-on-t1756.html the pages at the antiX forum look like they were designed by a retarded 12 year old. 8-( MepisLovers covers some of the same ground but is less visually irritating (especially after I sic AdBlock Plus on it). http://www.mepislovers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=24170 [2] I have an aversion to distros that use RPM (RedHat Package Manager). I contend that distros derived from Debian are superior (and have a much larger choice of apps). Mint and the various Ubuntu spins are in the Debian-derived group as are MEPIS/antiX. [3] I don't imagine that box *ever* turned handsprings when rendering Flash content. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Constant NSIS installer errors Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 9:14 pm Posted by kamusician (4 messages posted) Well the installer problem was ultimately solved (after some-yes- useless trial and error) by spending some time in the registry removing approx. 50 old/unused keys left over from what was [supposed] to be uninstalled anti- virus software (AVG Free v7) then doing an 'unconditional' format (not sure exactly what that is) and reinstalling 98se again. No problems since.   Enjoyed reading some of the DefectiveByDesign articles and I'm naturally more disgusted with M$ than ever. That is of course another very long story...    Studying on this Linux thing- thanks for the links and your time.   Have a great day! [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Constant NSIS installer errors Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 11:49 pm Posted by gewg_ (4444 messages posted) kamusician wrote: |[...]spending some time in the registry removing approx. 50 old/unused keys | 8-( Linux doesn't have anything like the Windoze Registry to break. Configuration in Linux isn't done via a binary blob which is as brittle as a beer bottle prop and that requires some proprietary tool to monkey with it (and requires Windoze AND ITS GUI to be running to do that). When Linux has problems, it degrades MUCH more gracefully and can be tweaked with any old command-line text editor. |left over from what was [supposed] to be uninstalled anti-virus software | ...and Linux has an actual security model and doesn't require that AV nonsense. When Windoze users see a Linux package manager in action, their jaws drop. M$ doesn't have anything like them. http://google.com/search?q=define:Synaptic-package-manager Imagine being able to select, download, install, and update an app with basically 1 motion: tell Synaptic what you want and turn it loose). Now imagine not having to quit everything else you're doing in order to do that --you can actually USE a Linux computer while it's installing stuff. ...and besides not having to babysit installs, you don't (short of a new kernel) have to reboot --much less reboot, reboot, reboot, reboot, reboot, reboot, reboot. ...and imagine an uninstaller that actually completes that task. (The image in my mind right now is a Windoze system with 6 copies of MFC42.DLL scattered all over its drive.) OTOH, when you use your Linux package manager to uninstall something, it doesn't leave little turds everywhere. First, Linux has a directory structure model that strictly defines where stuff goes; second, a Linux package manager only installs a single copy of a dependency; third, when that dependency isn't needed any more (all apps needing it are uninstalled), it also removes ALL the unneeded cruft. |Enjoyed reading some of the DefectiveByDesign articles |and I'm naturally more disgusted with M$ than ever. | The more you learn about Unix (around since 1969) and Linux (around since 1991), the more you realize what a bunch of bozos Redmond is: Working models of how to do things right already existed--but Micros~1 ignored them. [Reply or follow-up to this message] Tip: Use one of the [Reply or follow-up to this message] links above to add a message to this thread Search this forum Start a new thread on a different subject Report abuse of the forum Return to the Windows 98 Discussion Forum