Informal eCS 1.2R releases

[xynixme]

Apparently creating bootable, updated OS CD is quite hard. Are there informal eCS 1.2R releases for OS languages which have no official eCS 1.2R release (which shoudl work with more than one core), just like there's an informal Korean Warp 4 FP15 FixPak?

[Roderick Klein]

Having worked at Mensys on eCS 1.2R it was released in English, Italian and German. The Italian version might have been 1.2 and not 1.2R.  eCo software created an eCS 1.2R Russian.

I am not aware of any other languages being created. The reason most likely nobody ever did this is because most likely nobody understands the complex technical swamp its under the bonnet of any OS/2 installer. Its not really down to the desigh of the eCS or ArcaOS installer. They both lean on portions of the IBM installers such as
SEINST/RSPINST (which install the base OS from OS2IMAGE). This is where the first fun starts, updating the pack files in the correct directories.  If you cold call this fun! Then other installers such as the PEER and MPTS installer run in different fashion. So example MPTS uses a ZIP files instead of packfiles. 
I consider it a technicall house of horrors.

Anyway stepping in and updating all of that stuff is certainly a pretty massive job... My estimate at Mensys is that we worked a full release of another language about 2 tot 3 months at least. Which should give a clue how much work it was.... And of course you need to know what your doing and how to debug a failling a installation, which can also be pretty time consuming...

[xynixme]

Having worked at Mensys on eCS 1.2R it was released in English, Italian and German. The Italian version might have been 1.2 and not 1.2R.  eCo software created an eCS 1.2R Russian.

This is where the first fun starts, updating the pack files in the correct directories.

So elves don't exist... Of course I want the missing one, albeit an informal 1.2R may be restricted to e.g. Dani-updates and a newest kernel (just the basic stuff to support hardware newer than Pentium 4s).

I do use the official, full 1.2R English too, but only to install the English toolkit. Its 1.2R installer works. I don't like the concept of mixing languages (e.g. Korean FP6 and English FP15), so I never considered using a 1.2R CD. Which may be too old by now anyway.

Other people have already reported that updating a 1.2 or 1.2R release is possible in theory, but that this route matches the one described by you. Easier said than done. I was hoping for elves with an own informal update, a 1.2R or 1.2S, without each user having to re-invent that wheel. Hence the question. Thank you for your efforts.

[xynixme]

Informal user's quality improvement: a simple Rexx script, which assumes Mozilla is installed in the default C:\PROGRAMS\MOZILLA directory. It sets the LIBPATSTRICT & BEGINLIBPATH settings of default Mozilla WPProgram objects, to avoid possible DLL conflicts with more recent members of the Mozilla family (FF/SM/TB).

Do not execute this if you have already applied those settings to the Mozilla WPProgram objects, because then the same setting will be set twice.

Change the text C:\PROGRAMS\MOZILLA (4 times) when another base directory is in use. The app doesn't verify any condition.

Code: [Select]

/**/
CALL RxFuncAdd 'SysSetObjectData','RexxUtil','SysSetObjectData'
IF SysSetObjectData('<MOZILLAEXE>','SET LIBPATHSTRICT=T;SET BEGINLIBPATH=C:\PROGRAMS\MOZILLA') THEN SAY 'Mozilla - Mozilla (LIBPATH management)'
IF SysSetObjectData('<CCINBOX>','SET LIBPATHSTRICT=T;SET BEGINLIBPATH=C:\PROGRAMS\MOZILLA') THEN SAY 'Mozilla - Mozilla Mail (LIBPATH management)'
IF SysSetObjectData('<MOZILLAPROFMANAGER>','SET LIBPATHSTRICT=T;SET BEGINLIBPATH=C:\PROGRAMS\MOZILLA') THEN SAY 'Mozilla - Mozilla Profile Manager (LIBPATH management)'
IF SysSetObjectData('<MOZILLACHAT>','SET LIBPATHSTRICT=T;SET BEGINLIBPATH=C:\PROGRAMS\MOZILLA') THEN SAY 'Mozilla - Mozilla Chat (LIBPATH management)'
EXIT

[xynixme]

Yet another possible improvement by an user, for Microsoft Excel 5.0 (of Microsoft Office 4.3): increase the DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT entries in x:\OS2\INSTALL\DATABASE from 4 to, for example, a more modern 8 or 16.

With a setting of 4 MiB the available memory is hardly more than just 3 Mib (menu ?, Info..., System info).

Using 8 is not required, but e.g. undo may keep working more frequently. I don't know what the default setting of ArcaOS is.

[xynixme]

A derived https://www.os2world.com/wiki/index.php/Creating_a_WPS_Object-"trick": if the templates folder stopped working (0 items found, possible hang), then templates can be created elsewhere. For example, if you need a FTP-PM template but cannot access your templates folder anymore:

Code: [Select]

/* Untested */
CALL RxFuncAdd 'SysCreateObject','RexxUtil','SysCreateObject'
IF SysCreateObject('Ftp','FTP-PM','<WP_DESKTOP>','TEMPLATE=YES') THEN SAY 'FTP-PM template created.'
EXIT
Using Rich's OO.EXE is recommended, if possible, for one to try to avoid possible REXX.DLL-entries in POPUPLOG.OS2 later:

Code: [Select]

oo.exe /n Ftp FTP-PM "<WP_DESKTOP>" TEMPLATE=YES
Ftp is the class, FTP-PM is a name, <WP_DESKTOP> is the location (with quotes, to avoid redirection of I/O), and TEMPLATE=YES is a WPS setup string (also accessible via the settings of such a created object).

[Neil Waldhauer]

I frequently update installed OS/2 versions from (Warp4 to ArcaOS 5.0.4) to the latest using Suntan Special.. But this is English-only. Still, if installing English updates (everything I use is included, not just the operating system) would help a non-English system, I'd guess that could help.

It's a lot of work to update, and I think Suntan Special does not save much time, but does help to remember all the items that need updating.

[xynixme]

I frequently update installed OS/2 versions from (Warp4 to ArcaOS 5.0.4) to the latest using Suntan Special.. But this is English-only. Still, if installing English updates (everything I use is included, not just the operating system) would help a non-English system, I'd guess that could help.

It's a lot of work to update, and I think Suntan Special does not save much time, but does help to remember all the items that need updating.

Installing English updates, e.g. a latest OS/2 Warp 4 FixPak for OS/2, is a matter of choice. If the OS doesn't change, and you are officially one of the happy few (eCS 2.x: DE, eCS 1.x but not eCS 1.2R: DE/IT/NL), then the numbr of language issues is limited. For one because of having lost a lot of countries and languages.

I'm compiling a "full" installation manual at the moment, to not have to remember everything. It's longer than expected. I still have to install a few apps and still have to configure (e.g. sometimes setting or checking the language) almost all apps, but so far language-related changes are: keyboard selection during the install if it's not US-International, change or check the WIN-OS/2 keyboard if it's a Dutch (and perhaps other) keyboard, install a "language update" for *.MAH files, and change a translation error (WPPrograms' title "Eeditor"). I could change many names ("Lokaal Systeem" -> "Lokaal systeem"), but that's overdoing it. Language packs of FF/SM are included in a profile backup. Most of the individual INSTALL.CMD /INSTALL.EXE files have been moved to 12 INSTALL.CMDs, which may sometimes use a translated parameter string or title ("[Which driveletter?]" -> "Welke stationsaanduiding?]"). Install WIN-OS/2 printer driver with a right language, if available. That's it, so far. Also caused by the fact that we've (almost) lost a few communities (e.g. Italy, Japan, ...), so it's hard to avoid English software, and you'll need many "users" for a translation. I'm one of the happy few, with rather active translators. I'm not sure if I would/could buy ArcaOS NL tough, especially if legacy stuff doesn't always work properly anymore. Anyway, the hardest part of installing a supported foreign OS will typically be that you'll have to select the option in the middle instead of having to recognize "Laat het toetsenbord gezellig de grootte van de beeldschermresolutie van de opdrachtaanwijzing zelf bepalen". eCS does mix languages, but that's quire rare. CMD.EXE's "yes"-prompt, instead of "ja", comes to mind. Presumably the Korean OS/2 Warp 4 FixPak is the most impressive one, because it's not IBM's.