Remove programme update nag?

martinlest · 27 Jan 2022

I have been using XXCopy (kind of super-charged XCopy) for at least 20 years and have many scripts that I use regularly - some of them every day. (There is also 'Robocopy' of course but (just to be clear from the outset) I am not interested in replacing all my XXCopy scripts with ones for Robocopy as a 'solution' to my question

XXCopy does all I want and I am very familiar with writing scripts I need... Just this update nag that is a bit of a 'fly in the ointment').

XXCopy closed down ten years ago now, but the installation regularly brings up 'CMD' windows reminding the user to update the programme. Not like it's one quick window.. there's lots of text, which slowly scrolls into view: you just have to sit back and wait...

What would be nice is to be able to kill this pointless nag script somehow, but I cannot work out how to do this at all. Has anyone any knowledge of this and would be able to help? Can't see that removing the update reminder would be doing anything 'illegal' now.. Can upload the XXCopy installer if needed...

(Googled this over the past few years, to no avail: there is one possibility posted long ago which suggests how to do what I want, but it is very dependent on having an older version of the programme than the one I have (the latest, from 2012, I guess).

Thanks

Try3 · 27 Jan 2022

I suggest
1 You look in your XXCopy folder for anything called updater or similar and rename it / delete it / …
2 If these cmd windows are running whether you are running XXCopy commands or not then look in Task mgr, Startup and Task mgr, Services for any reference to it.
3 While the cmd window is running, look in Task mgr, Processes for its entry. Note that you can see the command that starts it by right-clicking on any column header and selecting Command line as an additional column.
4 And I agree with dalchina [below]. Check Task scheduler as well.

Best of luck,
Denis

dalchina · 27 Jan 2022

Hi, some possibilities occur:
a. Identify its origin if possible. A particular exe in the program's folder might be responsible- but equally it might be buried in the code. If so, change the name of the relevant file.
b. Run an Autohotkey script crafted to recognise that window and close it when it occurs.
c. Check to see if there's a related scheduled task.

martinlest · 27 Jan 2022

Thanks for the replies... as this happens only every 2 or 3 weeks I will have to wait until the next time to go further (and will then post again) - though I do have XXCopy on three PCs, so between them it might occur again fairly soon. I can say that there is no updater.exe - the script must be buried in the code (the post I referred to talks as far as I recall about using a HEX editor - so not straight forward. I'll try to find it and post the link: it'll be old by now - but as I say, XXCopy has been defunct for 10 years now - but still very useful to me indeed. It may help someone identify how to proceed).

The update window only happens when you start to run XXCopy.exe - it doesn't come up if the programme has not been launched..

EDIT. Here:

Get Rid of XXCopy's 30-day Repeating Update Nag Message! - Windows 9x Member Projects - MSFN

Bree · 27 Jan 2022

martinlest said:

....the script must be buried in the code (the post I referred to talks as far as I recall about using a HEX editor - so not straight forward....

It is. You don't even need a Hex editor to see that is the case, rename a copy of xxcopy.exe as a .txt file and you can see it in Notepad.

Maybe you could approach this a different way. How about fooling XXCopy into thinking it was installed less than 30 days ago? The install date is held in the registry.

Remove programme update nag?-xxcopy-install-date.png

martinlest · 28 Jan 2022

How about fooling XXCopy into thinking it was installed less than 30 days ago? The install date is held in the registry.

I have tried that in the past - I can't recall what the result was (I also have a little programme called 'Run As Date' that helps with setting up stuff like this): I guess it didn't work or wouldn't still have the problem.. but I'll try again and report back (though it'll take some time to see any result, as I say).

Many thanks.

dalchina · 28 Jan 2022

Hi, you're either going to need to try to hack the exe file, or, if the notification is a separate window, arrange to automatically close it when it occurs as I indicated above.
Autohotkey is pretty good at allowing you to identify windows by their characteristics and provides a tool to help you identify those.

martinlest · 28 Jan 2022

you're either going to need to try to hack the exe file

... I'd need to do that with a hex editor?? I have Googled it, but it all seems rather complex to achieve. Or is there a relatively straight-forward way to change the exe file so that the reminder is erased. If you just close the reminder window it restarts (scrolling through all that text, so it takes a while) next time you run XXCopy.

Meanwhile, I changed the registry entry as you indicated. I have tried setting a date well into the future.. not sure how that will work. We'll see.

dalchina · 28 Jan 2022

Have you actually tried the patch from the link you posted?

That said, here's a patch pattern exclusively to disable the nag on XXCOPY freeware v.2.96.5 (it applies to no other version but this one).

0) Get the free version of XXCOPY (you must get XXCOPY FREEWARE v.2.96.5 - xxfw2965.zip. From that zip one must extract XXCOPY.EXE and confirm it has the following characteristics:
Size: 388,608 bytes
Created: Tue Jan 08, 2008 04:09:06 GMT
PE Timestamp: 0x4783F0A8 or Tue Jan 08, 2008 21:52:40 GMT
CRC32: 5C139E0E
MD5: 994BB5EE8E3317FADF6D978D97E6F858
SHA-1: D73B93A15A7CA4BA5A48427DB3BDBBC6162FBAC9
1) Download the freeware command-line utils.zip, from KanastaCorp, grab inside it just patch.exe and drop it into the \%windir%\command\ folder;

2) Download the xxcopypat.7z attached below, grab inside it xxcopy.pat and drop it into the same temporary folder one put XXCOPY.EXE in;

3) Rename XXCOPY.EXE to XXCOPY.ORI;
4) Start a DOS box, go to that temporary folder, and run the following command from the DOS prompt:
patch -p XXCOPY.ORI xxcopy.pat XXCOPY.EXE
All having gone well, the new, nagless version of XXCOPY.EXE shall have:
CRC32: 7926035F
MD5: 09783DA9A811BF596FCFA1CB0F531CDD
SHA-1: 20E6A15819CF0639A8626AA5FEF0D12F483FB1C1
For those who decide to install XXCOPY for the first time, it's maybe easier to install the package as downloaded and then replace the XXCOPY.EXE file by the patched one. In any case, on installing XXCOPY FREEWARE v.2.96.5 it'll nag about it being a too old version, but this nag is another one, not related to the one addressed by the patch, and it happens just during installation, so it can be ignored and forgotten about.

xxcopypat.7z

martinlest · 29 Jan 2022

I didn't try it, no, as the poster was very clear that it only worked with this old version. (Or maybe I did, and things went awry - the instructions not matching what I saw on my PC - I am not 100% sure now, it was a long time ago).

If the registry change doesn't help, I will give it a(nother) go nonetheless, (and post back here).

Thank you once again.

- - - Updated - - -

Well any 'tampering' with the exe file by the method above means that the programme will not run any more. Seems it would only to work with that old version of the exe file (which I do not have).

The registry 'tweak' has not worked either - I have the date set in the future, but just now XXCopy brought up its scrolling update window as usual. Maybe if I put a date in the very recent past, but that won't be effective for very long as time moves on - easier just to let the cmd update window run.. if you let it complete it doesn't show again for a week or so.

How about hacking the exe file? How would I go about that? I tried removing the 'offending' text in Notepad and saving the file.. not that I expected that to work of course: it didn't - I now get a notice saying that 'this programme cannot run in this operating system'..