Windows in WebDT
Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 4:41 pm
The first of all I need to say "THANK U ALOT" to all people here sharing information about WebDT tablet.
With your help I have fully working tablet and im happy.
Thank you!
The second thing - please be patient with my poor language.
Im Russian and my English is very bad, i know it.
Its second week passd since I get my WebDT from EBay.
During this time I try almoust all possible configurations of OSes and software to make my tablet work with all I need.
In fact I was trying to solve very simple task: to read the books at home and to have a car navigation for my region.
Both of this tasks nearly impossible under WinCE basically installed on tablet and finaly I have WinXPe...
Here is little description of my experience I get in this two weeks.
May be it will be usefull for somebody.
WindowsCE 5.0
Basic set of software so pure...
It makes nearly impossible to do anything except to connect using TerminalClient.
I do not have place to connect and even WiFi itself so it absolutelly useless to me.
What I need is GPS and text reading.
1. Text reading.
I cant find any software for WinCE on x86 to read books.
Potentially its possible to get acrobat.
I cant find it and, anyway, it can only read PDF but I need simple TXT files.
2. GPS
There are some potential (I cant find runable copy or they are too stupid for my needs) run software to view vector maps and navigate on them.
All of them are useless for me.
The problem is simple: there are no detailed maps for my region.
People from OziExplorer (www.oziexplorer.com) was so kind to compile special x86 version of Ozi.
(now its available at Ozi download page)
I was happy until I set it up...
Its UNCREDIBLE slow
I spend several hours experimenting with map formats and Ozi settings without any luck to speed it up.
Its nerly twice slow comparing same Ozi version running under WinXPe.
Very sad because CE version greatly customizable
At this point I decide to forget about Windows CE.
Its cool but without software absolutelly useless.
Lunux
There are several linux distributives can run on WebDT but: where are problems with drivers and where is no Ozi under.
Forget about it.
The only choice is Windows.
Windows
1. Windows 95.
Installs and run successfully.
There are no drivers (I even do not try to search for them), too old and possible bugly under new soft builds, knows nothing about WiFi and USB.
Fun but useless.
2. Windows 98
+ its possible to install "USB support package"
- stupid windows installer has dissasembly USB host and asks me "do you have additional PCMCI cards?".
How I suppose to answer it without USB keyboard?
I cant.
Remove it and forget.
3. Windows 2k
Has potential to setup on device but has several problems:
a) Setupper think he need at least 900Mb of free space on disk.
Little patch and 500Mb just fine for it.
b) The single driver it uses on first boot to access disk is IDE driver.
Traps on boot.
Its possible to specify another driver using FDD but I have no such driver (and event dont know which driver need to be used).
Spend some time trying to find out solution for this and throw out Win2k distributive.
I just have no enought knowledge for this.
If someone can solve this problem its will be interesting to setup Win2k - all drivers will work and OS uses only 30-40Mb of memory itself.
4. Windows XP (possible tablet eddition)
Using nLite I make several distributives and try them on virtual machine under Vmware.
Two problems:
a) setup think it need more when 1Gb of free space
b) even with all unnecessary applictionas and drivers removed it take too much space on disk
Forget it.
5. Windows XPe
I try to make installer using SP1 (basic XPe package).
Have no luck.
It just traps or hung up somethere during system preparation.
Donno why.
Additionally SP1 knows nothing about bluetooth and multilanguage.
It force me to use SP2 with all tools (increase setup size up to 30-50Mb) as descibed at first topic here on forum.
Using "devices" provided by "angrymeat" (thank u man!) and all other drivers I make bootable and runable image with all I need.
Book reading software is not a problem for Windows, Ozi explorer run as usual.
The only thing I make with base target project was: I remove useless things like netmeeting and add some usefulls like date\time and power control panel applets and regional support.
Spending some time to tune it up I got windows which uses 300Mb on disk and has all thing I may need in future.
After this I make ghost image and try to change a date in WebDT tablet to 2012 year.
After restart I saw a BSOD with licence message "trial period expired".
The most anoying thing in this is even if you roll back date to present time windows will never boot anymore
Its very sad becouse I potentially can get this problem deep in the forest, withut any navigation.
Unacceptable.
Iv try to determine how much MS wants for licence.
It seems it some sort of secret information.
Cant find a simple answer for this question.
It seems I need a licence for image itself and... to make it using licenced MS XPe tools.
But tools cost about $800.
I think its a little much for a $99 tablet...
Next several days I spend surfing and in IDA (http://www.hex-rays.com/idapro).
Here is the things i found:
a) XPe uses WPA licence check processed by winlogon.exe.
Its an old method and where are several methods to delete it.
In a minute Iv found "Microsoft Windows 2003 and XP Anti Product Activation Crack v1.6.2.zip" which successfully patch winlogon on XPe.
Actually winlogon.exe exactly the same as in any windows with SP2 installed (502272 bytes long) so its possible just to copy over already patched file from desktop system.
b) On XPe special shell executed, which starts all logons.
Its called FBA (First Boot Agent).
It has library fbalib.dll which check two registry keys:
HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup\SystemPrefix
and
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Executive\PriorityQuantumMatrix
In this keys during first preparation FBA store times when windows was setted up and when trial ends.
So, the second thing need to do is to remove this stupid checks.
Its easy if you exactly know what u need
After this you will have full-functional WinXPe with time-bomb removed and windows itself think its not trial limited.
Here is a little archive with all files already patched:
http://rapidshare.com/files/258499962/W ... s.rar.html
Where are two directory Origs and Patched with original and patched files.
Its possible to replace files before setup (in nearly created by trget designer file set) or on already setted windows to remove trial limitations.
Additionally where are two more files in archive:
syssetup.dll - removed special actions on trial systems during setup
ntoskrnl.exe - removed registry protection for SystemPrefix and PriorityQuantumMatrix keys
Trial must be removed without whem just using patched fbalib.dll and winlogon.exe but i packd all I patch just in case.
With your help I have fully working tablet and im happy.
Thank you!
The second thing - please be patient with my poor language.
Im Russian and my English is very bad, i know it.
Its second week passd since I get my WebDT from EBay.
During this time I try almoust all possible configurations of OSes and software to make my tablet work with all I need.
In fact I was trying to solve very simple task: to read the books at home and to have a car navigation for my region.
Both of this tasks nearly impossible under WinCE basically installed on tablet and finaly I have WinXPe...
Here is little description of my experience I get in this two weeks.
May be it will be usefull for somebody.
WindowsCE 5.0
Basic set of software so pure...
It makes nearly impossible to do anything except to connect using TerminalClient.
I do not have place to connect and even WiFi itself so it absolutelly useless to me.
What I need is GPS and text reading.
1. Text reading.
I cant find any software for WinCE on x86 to read books.
Potentially its possible to get acrobat.
I cant find it and, anyway, it can only read PDF but I need simple TXT files.
2. GPS
There are some potential (I cant find runable copy or they are too stupid for my needs) run software to view vector maps and navigate on them.
All of them are useless for me.
The problem is simple: there are no detailed maps for my region.
People from OziExplorer (www.oziexplorer.com) was so kind to compile special x86 version of Ozi.
(now its available at Ozi download page)
I was happy until I set it up...
Its UNCREDIBLE slow
I spend several hours experimenting with map formats and Ozi settings without any luck to speed it up.
Its nerly twice slow comparing same Ozi version running under WinXPe.
Very sad because CE version greatly customizable
At this point I decide to forget about Windows CE.
Its cool but without software absolutelly useless.
Lunux
There are several linux distributives can run on WebDT but: where are problems with drivers and where is no Ozi under.
Forget about it.
The only choice is Windows.
Windows
1. Windows 95.
Installs and run successfully.
There are no drivers (I even do not try to search for them), too old and possible bugly under new soft builds, knows nothing about WiFi and USB.
Fun but useless.
2. Windows 98
+ its possible to install "USB support package"
- stupid windows installer has dissasembly USB host and asks me "do you have additional PCMCI cards?".
How I suppose to answer it without USB keyboard?
I cant.
Remove it and forget.
3. Windows 2k
Has potential to setup on device but has several problems:
a) Setupper think he need at least 900Mb of free space on disk.
Little patch and 500Mb just fine for it.
b) The single driver it uses on first boot to access disk is IDE driver.
Traps on boot.
Its possible to specify another driver using FDD but I have no such driver (and event dont know which driver need to be used).
Spend some time trying to find out solution for this and throw out Win2k distributive.
I just have no enought knowledge for this.
If someone can solve this problem its will be interesting to setup Win2k - all drivers will work and OS uses only 30-40Mb of memory itself.
4. Windows XP (possible tablet eddition)
Using nLite I make several distributives and try them on virtual machine under Vmware.
Two problems:
a) setup think it need more when 1Gb of free space
b) even with all unnecessary applictionas and drivers removed it take too much space on disk
Forget it.
5. Windows XPe
I try to make installer using SP1 (basic XPe package).
Have no luck.
It just traps or hung up somethere during system preparation.
Donno why.
Additionally SP1 knows nothing about bluetooth and multilanguage.
It force me to use SP2 with all tools (increase setup size up to 30-50Mb) as descibed at first topic here on forum.
Using "devices" provided by "angrymeat" (thank u man!) and all other drivers I make bootable and runable image with all I need.
Book reading software is not a problem for Windows, Ozi explorer run as usual.
The only thing I make with base target project was: I remove useless things like netmeeting and add some usefulls like date\time and power control panel applets and regional support.
Spending some time to tune it up I got windows which uses 300Mb on disk and has all thing I may need in future.
After this I make ghost image and try to change a date in WebDT tablet to 2012 year.
After restart I saw a BSOD with licence message "trial period expired".
The most anoying thing in this is even if you roll back date to present time windows will never boot anymore
Its very sad becouse I potentially can get this problem deep in the forest, withut any navigation.
Unacceptable.
Iv try to determine how much MS wants for licence.
It seems it some sort of secret information.
Cant find a simple answer for this question.
It seems I need a licence for image itself and... to make it using licenced MS XPe tools.
But tools cost about $800.
I think its a little much for a $99 tablet...
Next several days I spend surfing and in IDA (http://www.hex-rays.com/idapro).
Here is the things i found:
a) XPe uses WPA licence check processed by winlogon.exe.
Its an old method and where are several methods to delete it.
In a minute Iv found "Microsoft Windows 2003 and XP Anti Product Activation Crack v1.6.2.zip" which successfully patch winlogon on XPe.
Actually winlogon.exe exactly the same as in any windows with SP2 installed (502272 bytes long) so its possible just to copy over already patched file from desktop system.
b) On XPe special shell executed, which starts all logons.
Its called FBA (First Boot Agent).
It has library fbalib.dll which check two registry keys:
HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup\SystemPrefix
and
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Executive\PriorityQuantumMatrix
In this keys during first preparation FBA store times when windows was setted up and when trial ends.
So, the second thing need to do is to remove this stupid checks.
Its easy if you exactly know what u need
After this you will have full-functional WinXPe with time-bomb removed and windows itself think its not trial limited.
Here is a little archive with all files already patched:
http://rapidshare.com/files/258499962/W ... s.rar.html
Where are two directory Origs and Patched with original and patched files.
Its possible to replace files before setup (in nearly created by trget designer file set) or on already setted windows to remove trial limitations.
Additionally where are two more files in archive:
syssetup.dll - removed special actions on trial systems during setup
ntoskrnl.exe - removed registry protection for SystemPrefix and PriorityQuantumMatrix keys
Trial must be removed without whem just using patched fbalib.dll and winlogon.exe but i packd all I patch just in case.