LITTLEBLACKDOG.COM

Big Dog Joined: 18 Oct 2000 Posts: 4419

Name: LWDKernel.exe
Filesize (unzipped): 381 KB (390,656 bytes)
Size on Disk (unzipped): 384 KB (393,216 bytes)
Language: VB6
Author: MAX
Current Version: 1.0.13
Download: here

Install: There isn't one, just download unzip and run

We're finally ready to begin testing our program to randomly display a different bootlogo image everytime your machine boots There are two ways to use this application:

Option 1 (changing to a specific boot logo)
Launching the application it will cause it to scan your system32 directory for files named files named kernel1.exe through kernel999.exe. It then displays all the files it found, in a drop down menu like this:

You can select any bootlogo from the dropdown and press the Preview button to see what that particular kernel looks like:

Once you have selected the modified bootlogo from the dropdown list that you want to use on bootup, press the Change button and you're done!

NOTE: The program will always create a "Failsafe" boot option which will allow you to boot into the original NTOSKRNL.EXE file

Option 2 (Random Mode)

Save the LWDKERNEL.EXE file somewhere on your local machine and then create a shortcut to it in your Startup Group. Modify the properties of this shortcut to add a -random switch at the end (after the quotes) like this:

The next time your system starts the application will scan your SYSTEM32 folder for all files named named kernel1.exe through kernel999.exe, pick one at random and make that your default boot kernel in your boot.ini file. The original NTOSKRNL.EXE will not be chosen as a member of the random rotation, only files named kernel*.exe will be used (so you'll never have to see that ugly thing again).

NOTE: The program will always create a "Failsafe" boot option which will allow you to boot into the original NTOSKRNL.EXE file

Let us know if you find any problems / bugs with this application!

- FIDO

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2001 5:41 am Post subject:

Prease to be uproading executabre to web page befole posting the ULR.

I can't download it! Help!

My £0.02,
Demon
---=== ===---
"I would have succeeded if it wasn't for those pesky God and Jesus fellows."
--Holy Ghost

Big Dog Joined: 18 Oct 2000 Posts: 4419

Quote:

Prease to be uproading executabre to web page befole posting the ULR.

I can't download it! Help!

My £0.02,
Demon
---=== ===---
"I would have succeeded if it wasn't for those pesky God and Jesus fellows."
--Holy Ghost

Try now... I changed to .ZIP file.

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2001 5:54 am Post subject:

Woohoo! New toy. I shall play. Thanks, Fido!

My £0.02,
Demon
---=== ===---
"I would have succeeded if it wasn't for those pesky God and Jesus fellows."
--Holy Ghost

Stray Dog Joined: 09 Aug 2001 Posts: 4 Location: Australia

Very Nice program Fido, I just set it up on my friend's laptop and it works great.

Next up, one that accepts bitmaps?

Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2001 4:02 am Post subject:

So that you can just choose any suitable bitmap with LWDKernel, hit a button and hey presto, new boot logo?

Isn't that what Resource Hacker does already? [ Wink

]

My £0.02,
Demon
---=== ===---
"I would have succeeded if it wasn't for those pesky God and Jesus fellows."
--Holy Ghost

Stray Dog Joined: 09 Aug 2001 Posts: 4 Location: Australia

Quote:
So that you can just choose any suitable bitmap with LWDKernel, hit a button and hey presto, new boot logo?

Isn't that what Resource Hacker does already?

Kind of, but so you can just put a few kernelX.bmp files somewhere and have LWDKernel just grab the appropriate one, put it into a kernel automatically and set boot.ini appropriately.

So basically you'd have ntoskrnl.exe, lwdkrnl.exe and a whole lot of .bmp files in your system32 dir, and two lines in boot.ini pointing to ntoskrnl (failsafe) and lwdkrnl (modified).

When you choose a new kernel image instead of modifying the boot.ini it would recompile lwdkrnl.exe with the .bmp you select.

This would be good for guys who change occasionally 'cause it saves space and makes it easy to add files.

If you were going to change randomly at every boot then you'd stick with modding boot.ini, but have a setup function which takes a suitable .bmp and makes a new kernelX.exe with that image in your system32 directory.

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2001 1:21 am Post subject:

Quote:

Option 1 (changing to a specific boot logo)
Launching the application it will cause it to scan your system32 directory for files named files named kernel1.exe through kernel999.exe. It then displays all the files it found, in a drop down menu like this:

Wouldn't it be better to start at kernel001.exe rather than kernel1.exe thuss keeping the kernel names in a nice ordered 8.3 format?

I gotta get me a decent Sig.

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2001 1:41 am Post subject:

Nevermind.... It accepts kernel1.exe, kernel01.exe and kernel001.exe.

[size=32]AWSOME!!!!!!!![/size]

Cept maybe you can reduce the timeout setting to like 5 seconds.

I gotta get me a decent Sig.

Big Dog Joined: 18 Oct 2000 Posts: 4419

Does it set it to 30 seconds? I'll have that changed and upload a new copy tomorrow

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2001 7:43 pm Post subject:

[size=32]AWSOME!!!!!!!![/size]

The wheel's spinning, but the hamster's dead.

Never fall in love with anything that cannot, in theory, say "i love you" in the morning

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2001 10:15 pm Post subject:

Just a quick question for y'all. I assume that NTOSKRNL.exe can and is modified/replaced when applying service packs. Would this mean that after loading say SP1 I'd then have to trash all of the modified kernels I have made. Otherwise although I've applied SP1 I'd be still a kernel based on the pre SP1 kernel.

I think I saw on another thread a request to have a proggie that loads a resource into the kernel ie many bitmaps but 1 modded kernel.

I'd go 1 step further and not only be able select which bitmap to load into the kernel but which kernel to load it into. That way you only have 1 kernel to modify after each SP.

I know its a bit much to ask, but consider poor lil me who has 30+ kernels to redo.

Maybe there is an easier way... and in the bigger scheme of things.... I mean how often DO they release service packs. OOOPS wasnt I just reading where SP3 is due out shortly. Damn another 30+ kernels to be made up.

I gotta get me a decent Sig.

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2001 10:47 pm Post subject:

I tip my hat to you gents. This is a bloody brilliant little program, it takes a lot of the hassle out of editing the boot logo.

A big Woof to you all.

Stray Dog Joined: 20 Aug 2001 Posts: 7 Location: USA

Could you check your zip file. I'm getting a missing dynamic link library of MSVBVM50.DLL when I try to run the utility. I have MSVBVM60.DLL in my C:\winnt\system32 directory and your note says you're using VB 6.0 so I wonder how that VB 5.0 DLL reference got in there.

And I'm REALLY looking forward to using this utility!

Quote:

Name: LWDKernel.exe
Filesize (unzipped): 381 KB (390,656 bytes)
Size on Disk (unzipped): 384 KB (393,216 bytes)
Language: VB6
Author: MAX
Current Version: 1.0.13
Download: http://www.littlewhitedog.com/images/reviews/other/00025/lwdkernel.zip
Install: There isn't one, just download unzip and run

Big Dog Joined: 18 Oct 2000 Posts: 4419

Quote:

Could you check your zip file. I'm getting a missing dynamic link library of MSVBVM50.DLL when I try to run the utility. I have MSVBVM60.DLL in my C:\winnt\system32 directory and your note says you're using VB 6.0 so I wonder how that VB 5.0 DLL reference got in there.

And I'm REALLY looking forward to using this utility!

ECB3

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:

ECB3
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote>

Perhaps I was mistaken Sad Smile

I didn't actually write it. We had a "retired" member of LWD write it for us. See if you can snag a copy of the VB5 runtime files. Should work then. We didn't include them in the package, cause it makes for a much bigger (and intrusive) download / install.