Simplix Pack to update Live Win7 System/ Integrate hotfixes into Win7 distribution

How can I check if the update applied correctly? In the update history I only see the updates up until 11-2020

 

You can check system file modification dates and versions in %windir%\System32. Such as ntoskrnl.exe.
But if there was no error in the log (%windir%\UpdatePack7.log) then everything should be fine.

 

Hi...I have two existing W7 installations and they have 265 updates in one and 122 in the other. That includes updates and security updates. Used 'wmic qfe list' command in command window and directed output to a file..

I created a new W7 installation from a W7 Ultimate installation disk with SP1 integrated. I also added the cumulative KB3125574 update. I loaded several apps and confirmed they all worked. Later, I found out about the Updater featured in this forum and applied it to the installation. When it finished (UpdatePack7R2-21.7.14.exe), one of my apps did not start and there were only 57 updates listed.

Should there be more updates (updates, security updates, etc.)? I did not think to check before using UpdatePack7R2-21.7.14.exe.

I installed the same app in the W7 installation with 122 updates and it ran fine. The only error I can see is a werfault.exe error 0xC0000005, when the app fails to start, which seems to be a memory error.

I don't want to unload all the apps to create an install disk using Simplix since they take a while to install. Can someone suggest a solution?

 

The reason an updatepack7r2-serviced windows 7 image contains only 50-60 updates is KB3125574-v4. It replaces a metric a**load of updates.

1. You're using an outdated version of the updatepack. Current version is 21.9.15.
2. The 57 updates I explained above.
3. Please... PLEASE specify what exactly you're installing/changing/adding/removing. PLEASE. There's programs out there that require specific updates to be installed on the system in order to work. On the flip side, some programs actually don't work because of some update or another. P L E A S E be specific in a technical forum.

 

@shhnedo ...thanks for explanation. I checked my other W7 installation and only one has KB3125574, that's the one with 265 updates listed. I notice you added v4 at the end so I'll check to see if there is a different version of that update.

I'm aware of that. Would it make much of a difference to use newer updatepack?
.

Sorry...I thought I had explained pretty well what I am doing, but I'll do it again.

I installed W7 Ultimate on a new hard drive from an install disk with SP1 integrated. I had not intended to go online with it, just to use the disk for music production. So, I loaded my music apps. They all worked fine until I used the UpdatePack7R2-21.7.14 update on the disk. Only one app refused to start, the rest are fine. When I loaded the app on another W7 installation (with 122 updates) it worked OK.

It should be fairly easy to find where it is failing since it's right after the splash screen. I plan to run the app on the windbg debugger and see where it fails. It's not a major crash, there is no BSOD and no dump file generated. I might use Ollydbg since it's a 32-bit app. If I do find where it fails, say in a call from a system module, I still have to track down which version it needs but I may be able to do that debugging the app on the W7 installation upon which it runs.

First, I need to see where it fails (in which module and version) then I need to trace that code to the same point in the good version and see which module and version is used. Then I need to track down which update replaced that module.

Thought it would be a lot easier to ask first.

If none of that works, I may try a repair install, which should move the installation back to SP1. I can check to see if the app runs. Then I can try the cumulative update and see if it runs.

Or...I could try one of the Simplix integration packages and upgrade my W7 Ultimate SP1 disk, then try a repair install. Don't know if that would work. Just d/l'd SiMPLiX_AiO_ISO_Tool_v19.12.19 but need some time to learn how to use it.

 

I'm fairly new to this hence the confusion. I got the Simplix package here:

https://forums.mydigitallife.net/th...-aio-iso-with-install-wim-esd-creation.79421/

Is there a newer version?

As far as the repair install, I noticed in XP, with the Harkaz SP4 unofficial update, that it created an install ISO that did not allow a repair install. Instead, it created another Windows folder that could be booted independently of the original Windows. Does the cmd file above add the ability to select repair install?

 

After consulting my non-existent crystal ball, I've come to the conclusion that the app in question just doesn't like you and, apart from remaining completely anonymous, doesn't want you using it. Maybe we should try fortune cookies...

 

Some apps definitely don't like me, or so it seems, but I have found that persistence generally gets them going. I have not started investigating this one but it's odd that it works on one version of W7 and not another version. I like mysteries and have the skill to go beyond crystal balls.

I could give you more info but that would require getting into reverse engineering. I want to be polite and not discuss areas of reverse engineering that might not be welcome here. I am trying to keep the discussion to system-level modules related to updates and not get into the specifics of code analysis.

You have given me enough information to get me going and I appreciate that. I am hoping Enthousiast will get back with info about the right Simplix package to use, or maybe you could help with that.

 

Is this the latest version to which you refer?

SiMPLiX_AiO_ISO_Full_Tool_2_7_21.8.11

I found W7_x86_x64_2.7_Legacy_WIN7_Based_ISO_ESU_With_AiO.cmd in that folder.

 

Hello. I have question if some1 can answer. Thanks..
1) does this method update all updates (including telemetry updates) ?
I have genuine iso of windows 7 ultimate sp1 64bit, and i would like to integrate updates without those telemetry updates + to integrate ie11, latest netframework supported for W7 and vcredist

 

@gordo999, no disrespect intended, but I really don't understand why you are having difficulty finding the current version. Look in the very first post of this thread. About 4 or five sentences down you should see this:

So the current version of the UpdatePack is 21.9.15, and it should be updated sometime in the next two weeks or so. Links for the UpdatePack itself are directly below that text.

Scroll on down, while staying in the first post, until you get to:

You are correct above that SiMPLiX_AiO_ISO_Full_Tool_2_7_21.8.11 is the latest version of @Enthousiast's tool, and he is trying to tell you to use the latest tool + WA addons + Smartfix AND the latest UpdatePack.

As to what @shhnedo asked you, look at it from his, and everyone else's perspective. We have all read what you said, roughly paraphrased here:

Besides the fact that you were using an old version of the tool and, I assume an old version of the UpdatePAck, without knowing what the app is EXACTLY, including version number, no one will be able to even begin to help you. It will also help to know EXACTLY what happens when you attempt to run the app besides "it won't start." What does it do? Error message of any kind, or what? Have you tried installing ONLY that app in a clean installation of your Simplix'ed install to see if it runs then? If it does, it might help you narrow down what is causing the interference. I have no idea what else to suggest without knowing more about the app and the symptoms.

Cheers and Regards

 

@Difermo

Don't worry about "telemetry" all that much. Simply disabling diagtrack and ceip services should be enough. This isn't windows 10.

 

How to do that? Running script W10Tel.cmd from link below?
https://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/disable-remove-telemetry-and-tracking-service.68131/
And one more question.. I dont know if i integrated @abbodi1406 his WA addons
I just puted them next to UpdatePack.exe in C:\ and then runned command: UpdatePack.exe /ie11 /NoUSB /WimFile=C:\W7\sources\install.wim /Index=4

They will be integrated inside alonge with updates?

Is there anything else i need to do or is recommended for security reason?

 

P.S. I'm mostly pointing out stuff that's already in OP. You just have to read it.

 

Yea i read that but was confused.. thanks for replaying.. wish you the best..

 

...no disrespect taken, and thanks for response. I am not blaming anyone at MDL, it's far more likely that Microsoft changed the code in a newer update which affects only certain apps.

I was redirected to this forum from

https://forums.mydigitallife.net/th...-aio-iso-with-install-wim-esd-creation.79421/

I got the old pack from a link on page 1 on that forum but I notice it has now been updated to the new version. I was only trying to confirm that I am now in the right forum and using the right Simplix integrator.

I did an update a while back on XP using the unofficial Harkaz SP4 updater. No matter how well instructions are laid out, there are always gray areas in the interpretation. For example, in the Harkaz updater it was not explained that the final integrated disk did not allow a repair install. Part of the reason I want to use the Simplix integrator for W7 is to run a repair install on an existing W7 installation. It has since been explained how to do that, but if I had not asked, I would have had a W7 integrated installation disk that would not allow a repair install.

...I understand all that, I have already applied the Update pack from two months before.

...that presumes I am a complete noob, which I'm not. I understand perfectly what the integrator is meant to do, I have not even tried to apply it yet. All I was asking is this. Has anyone noticed that the updates from the updater have stopped apps from working? I was asking that based on many years of experience which have urged me to be clear as to the effect of using such a tool.

I laid it out specifically and received a reply that suggested I was withholding information. So, I replied again, explaining that I have 3 different W7 installations wherein each installation has a differing number of updates ranging from 57 in a new W7 installation with SP1 and updates from the Updater to122 updates and 265 respectively.

Please note: the app in question works in the W7 installation with 122 updates.

One explanation offered is that cumulative update KB3125574 removes a lot of updates. However, it is in my installation with 122 updates and in the one performed by the Updater. Yet one has 122 updates and the other has 57 updates.

I have explained all that in detail. in a post to shhnedo dated Monday at 16:51.

I need to be clear that I was not asking for help with the app. I mentioned it only to see if anyone else had experienced a similar problem. I am well equipped for troubleshooting this on my own. If I find an issue with an update I'll let you know.

I have 20 years of reverse engineering experience and I am just preparing to run the app with a debugger, then I'll know where it fails. Right now, it fails right after the opening splash screen and an error is found in the Event Viewer. Since the error is via werfault.exe the amount of error detail is limited. There is no BSOD.

There is an exception code: 0xC0000005 which I relate to a memory error. That would be typical of an app trying to reach an address in a module that is not there because Microsoft changed it. It's not as if the app is trying to access illegal memory, which might produce a BSOD. It likely just came to an address with a CALL that leads nowhere.

 

Well, you are. You have yet to name the app.

I'm not completely sure what you mean by:

There is a fine line of distinction between "not asking for help with the app" and wanting help regarding changes to the OS that cause the app not to run. The app and the OS work together, or in your case they don't.

I appreciate your concern about staying within forum policies regarding discussing reverse engineering or modifying apps. From my experience, MDL is quite lax, open, and forgiving about such discussions, compared to other forums. MDL seems to believe that you are within your rights to modify your own hardware or software as you see fit in order to accomplish your goals. Your comments imply, at least to me, that this mysterious music app has been modified to run on either hardware or an OS that it was not designed or approved to run on? MDL is full of examples of other such endeavors, from running Win 7 on newer hardware than what it was designed for, to running Win 11 on older hardware than it was designed for, and to running apps on either older or newer OS than they were designed for. To get around these problems, folks often end up modifying either the installation methods or the OS or apps themselves. Depending on various factors, it is sometimes frowned upon sharing the modified files themselves, but I have never seen a case where sharing the methods used so that others could modify their own files in a similar manner was discouraged.

What is the harm in naming the app? If you don't want to get into detail of the changes that were required to get it to run and how you you figured them out, no one will make you say, though I'm sure many will be curios and some will ask. There are also other things to consider. If you name the app then there might be someone else who is also running that app that you can compare notes with more productively than with the general public. Also, if someone was considering using that or a similar app, then they will have significantly more interest in following this conversation than they would otherwise.

Bottom line, to my knowledge, as to the general question of whether:

no one has mentioned such a phenomenon anywhere in the 204 pages of this thread, or anywhere else on MDL that I have seen. Sure, there have been cases in the past when individual updates from MS have interfered with certain apps, or have even caused entire OS to crash or lock up, but MS has usually replaced those updates when the problems became known. No such problem updates have been purposely included in the updater, at least not any that are still there that we know of. If your problem is caused by such a problem update, we will look forward to hearing about it if you are able to determine which one it is. If that happens, thank you in advance for helping make the updater better for us all.

 

With equal good humour, I am having trouble understanding what the fuss is re naming the app. My reluctance stems from my years in reverse engineering wherein it was known that most apps have a stated declaration that reversing the app is illegal. Since I am not officially reversing the app, but trying to find where in the code it fails, I don't think I'm doing anything illegal. However, most music apps these days employ heavy protection schemes and they have Digital Rights Management snoops patrolling the Net looking for evidence of reversing or illegal sharing. Therefore, I am reluctant to draw attention to it.

I agree with MDL that a person 'should' be able to modify his/her own hardware or software, and I do when necessary, but I won't name the app I am reversing on the Net. I participated in a reversing forum for 20 years and we would discus code snippets without naming apps. Of course, some people would name an app and ask for specific help. However, some people have developed means of hiding their URLs so they can't be tracked by snoops. I was never into hiding my identity to that extent therefore I was careful not to name apps I was working on.

But seriously, and with humour, this is not about the app, As I indicated, I have more than enough experience to troubleshoot the problem on my own. My question was more to do with re-inventing the wheel. In the past, I have spent hours, even days, trying to troubleshoot a problem only to have someone step up and tell me the problem is a longstanding issue and here's the solution.

I learned about MDL from participating in the forum at win-raid. A couple of the guys posting at win-raid also posts here and passed the MDL URL on. I was drawn here initially by danielk's modded XP drivers, although I already had modded USB and SATA drivers from win-raid for both XP and W7 for the Intel 300-series chipset.

I thought it was great of MDL to host danielk's drivers and I have since learned of the great work MDL does for W7 stuff. As an example of the Internet snoops, Intel, of all people, served notice that no one could talk about code in files with the extension .sys. Up till the 300-series chipset, Intel had been very cooperative about supplying information helpful to chipset designers and those who wished to understand the chipsets or the assembly code involved. In essence, they are now enabling Microsoft to discontinue support for XP, and now W7.

I don't mind helping anyone out, but again, this forum is not about reverse engineering, and I did not want to take advantage. I don't plan to be modding code to get it to run, only to find where it is failing and to identify the system module where it is failing.

When I find the problem, if it is peculiar to the app, then I don't mind naming it, and saying why it is failing. I'm sure it is related to a specific update because it works fine in another version of W7. That will help with troubleshooting since I can compare the code in the working app to the code in the failing app. Until them, I'd rather not draw the attention of Internet cops to the app or to this site