Sidekick98 / 99 in Windows 10 ver 1909 2

[james33]

Anyone managed to install Sidekick98 / 99 in Windows 10 ver 1909?
If so please post your solution here as we have a few people who are struggling, I haven't updated to that version (still on Windows 7 and if this is the case I'll stay here).

We never know, but I am in conversations with some people and if I get any ideas I'll post here.
Regards all
Jim

Regards Jim
Check the FAQ area of any Forum you are in for answers to similar queries, it could save you a lot of time and effort! Good Luck!

 

[Rich224422]

hi James. You friend from across the pond here!

Perhaps I spoke too soon. I think the file finally uploaded.

Here is what I was intending to ask you!

I just posted an offer to upload SK98 .HLP file in PDF format (Free). However, I need your direction on how to do that upload We Used to use Engineering,con but I couldn't get that to work like it did in the past?

I first checked the FAQ but couldn't find an answer.

I am trying the link t the bottom of this form. Maybe that will do the job?

Once again MS Update wiped out the ability to use any .HLP file. I fixed it though with a PDF

Kindly Advise!

Merry Christmas

Dick Lockwood
Pioneer, CA USA

 

[james33]

Hi Dick,

That's a brilliant job you've done there and would it be ok with you if I included that with the Sidekick98 download I offer as I have just updated to Windows 10 and encountered that problem myself. I could also make it available as a free separate download on the server just in case your link doesn't work. I'm paying for the downloads I have available so a small pdf wouldn't cost me any more.
I would also offer a suggestion that if the file is kept on the root of the C:\ drive with no spaces in the name (C:\SidekickHelp.pdf) it could be put at the top of each cardfile and could be copied and then pasted into the Winkey+R box and then is very accessible.

Let me know what you think of the idea, I would obviously credit you with the creation of the file and won't do anything until I'm sure you are happy.
Jim

Regards Jim
Check the FAQ area of any Forum you are in for answers to similar queries, it could save you a lot of time and effort! Good Luck!

 

[Rich224422]

Hi James: Happy New Year 2020. (This is my 80th).
I appreciate the "Brilliant" designation you have bestowed upon me. However, that converted .HLP file is more likely the result of my lucky find of that freeware utility that made the conversion of the SK HLP. to .PDF for me/us.

[sup]You may certainly use that entire file in any shape or form that you think would be useful to other SK users. Most assuredly, you should make it available as part of your SK download package. Perhaps a stand-alone Adobe PDF document would be best way to go? Less likely to be victimized by a Microsoft invasion and destruction during one of their "Helpful" updates!

In my case, I have placed a desktop icon link right next to my sidekick icon. This is a direct link to the PDF .HLP file I made. I rarely access the SK help file, so I don't need to open it very quickly. For newer SK users, the help file (.HLP) is invaluable. As it is for me when my occasional brain lockup fails to remind me about how to do something in SK 98. The ability to "Search" in Adobe makes key words (and therefore Tasks) a quick find. Whoever wrote that original SK Help file did a very comprehensive job. Everything one needs to know about SK is in there somewhere.

I can't resist beating that old drum once again. In spite of all the new data/calendar programs out there, SK remains the best calendar/ data utilities ever made. Why oh Why doesn't someone put it out once again?

Personal: My wife and I are looking forward to visiting our ancestor's lands. We are going to visit Edinburgh, Scotland at the end of September 2020. We both have Mac Farland (Sometimes spelled Mc Farland, Mac Farlane, Mc Farlane) lines in our distant family trees. Time permitting, we will visit Ireland too. We also have Irish ancestors: Fenton (sometimes spelled Finton), Fannon and some others. As I read and studying those family lines, I find that there was migration back and forth between Ireland and Scotland. Especially true of the Mc Farlane Line.

Thank You for all you to to keep Sidekick alive James33!
Dick 22

 

[james33]

Thanks Dick

Thanks for allowing me to use what you refer to as a serendipitous find, although as they say here in Ireland, it could be you discovered it because the "Hungry eye sees far!"
Whatever the reason, it will be of great value to our community.

I must point out however that I think the age profile of Sidekick users is pretty high, especially when you are at the 80th trip around the sun and I am getting there gradually but only on my 71st circuit. I would love to hear of any Sidekick users below the 40th trip, so if there are any around out there, let it be known that I would love to hear from them and I'm sure we and some of the other Sidekick users here would like some more recent confirmation of ours and their prejudices!
Good luck on your travels and if you are anywhere near Boyle or Sligo in the North West of the Republic of Ireland, you are very welcome to come and stay in our small cottage, we do have modern enough amenities!

Surprisingly enough, my daughter lives just south of Glasgow and we visit her quite often as she has recently (September 25th 2018) had twins. I believe Glasgow to be what I would consider a real Scottish city, with beautiful places like the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and many other places like the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery and as a change from them, the Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre which contains some kinetic sculptures.(Book for a guided tour early as it fills up to the allowed number fairly quickly)... I could go on and on about all the other places to see there as it is a city I love to visit.

Anyway, safe journey wherever you go and maybe we will meet when you visit the 'Auld Sod'

Regards
Jim

Regards Jim
Check the FAQ area of any Forum you are in for answers to similar queries, it could save you a lot of time and effort! Good Luck!

 

[james33]

Hi everyone,
I have finslly done the windows 10 upgrade and Sidekick 98 is not only working fine, it is loading faster and is far snappier than it was on Windows7.
I upgraded via the free Microsoft site from windows7 Pro 64 bit to windows 10 Pro 64 bit. Since they are removing support from windows7 from the 12th of January 2020 I was lucky yo be able to avail of it. If anyone is on Windows 7 I would definitely recommend it.
The easiest Microsoft procedure I have ever done. Thank you Microsoft.

Regards Jim
Check the FAQ area of any Forum you are in for answers to similar queries, it could save you a lot of time and effort! Good Luck!

 

[newsnet]

James33 .
Thanks for your very interesting post.
When Windows 10 first became available I managed to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 with no problem. However, my computer stalls when it attempts to install UPGRADES to the Windows 10 software and persistently reverts the "original" Windows 10 version!

...Anyway, whatever the reason for this minor snag, I have suddenly discovered that - as of this week - my old Sidekick 98 (along with my original data files and contact lists) is working just fine and adapts automatically to provide the correct date and time. There is nothing anywhere on the market which is anything like Sidekick - and the "98" version was by far the best iteration (much better than the "99"). Thankfully I still have the original Starfish 98 installation CD.

DMJ

 

[Rich224422]

Run Sidekick as ADMINISTRATOR:

I have been using SK v 98 with all James 33 patches on W 10 Machines. I now am running W 10 Home but previously was using it on a W 10 Pro machine.

With the assistance of James33's download and his patches, the install went well (Through several installs into new machines over the years). Using his recommended method and creating the separate file folders for the install is a must do. I keep the install files and the patches in my Starfish/Sidekick Program file folder. And, of course, I have all of them burned onto a CD as well.

A problem I was encountering after every MS Update was the .hlp file not working. That was remedied with the printing of the entire S K Help file as a .PDF.. A copy of same is free to you all as posted earlier in this Thread.

Several other minor run problems were remedied by always running SK 98 as Administrator. This setting can be made a permanent requirement in your settings for SK.

Here is how to set "RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR" as your default setting:
Right click your sidekick.exe desktop icon. (Or right click the Sidekick.exe file in your program files)
Select "PROPERTIES"
Select the "COMPATIBILITY' tab at the top.
Here are the settings that are working for me in SK 98 on my Windows 10 Home computer:
(All are found on the Compatibility tab's page in "Properties")
"Compatibility mode": Out of several drop down boxes in that setting I selected Windows XP(Service Pack2)
Under "SETTINGS" the only box I checked is "Run this program as administrator".

Be sure to select (left click) "Change settings for all users" .
Lastly: Select (left click) "APPLY" at the bottom right.
Close the "Properties" page and you are done.

After you change the Operation to Always Run As Administrator, you will have to give windows permission to Run Sidekick each time you click the S K program to open. In my case S K is an icon on my desktop. That is a minor trade off to get the S K program running well every time it opens. The very minor extra step you encounter is the Microsoft Nag Screen that pops up every time you open Sidekick.
"DO YOU WANT TO ALLOW THIS APP FROM AN UNKNOWN PUBLISHER TO MAKE CHANGES TO YOUR DEVICE?" It will list Sidekick.
Answer YES and the program opens.

I have been using SK 98 on Windows 10 machines ever since MS killed WXP Pro. I did have it working on W 7 but never tried W 8. I think my problem was that Sidekick 98 was not opening for me. It may have been James33 that suggested running as administrator. If not, I got lucky and found the solution somewhere else on the web.

This works for Me! I hope this helps others!

A request: I cannot find my WXP Pro Licensed copy. If I had another one, I would run many older programs in my Oracle Virtual Machine. I refuse to go to the scam web sources for a pirated unlicensed copy. Does anyone on this forum have a legitimate source? I would be more than willing to pay a reasonable price for a licensed one.

 

[jimalex]

Hi Rich
Edinburgh is my home town and my surname is Macfarlane.
I live in Gibraltar but if you have any problems with Edinburgh I might be able to help on macfarlane_james@hotmail.com

 

[Junglemate]

Hi everybody,
I'm glad to see that others also have problems with Sidekick 98/99 in Win 10 ver 1909.
I manage to install both versions and I have tried EVERYTHING! I tried to install the program in different places, tried all compatibility possibilities, run as administrator and evrything else. I have installed Windows 10 1909 on 3 machines. On one I made an update and on two others clean new installations. The results are the same. After installation and trying to run sidekick.exe, on all machines comes the same error message:

sidekick.exe - Entry point not found

The procedure entry point "TSAttach was not found in the DLL "C:\Starfish\program\ETWIN.dll"

[german][sidekick.exe - Einsprungspunkt nicht gefunden

Der Prozedureneinsprungspunkt "TSAttach wurde in der DLL "C:\Starfish\program\ETWIN.dll" nicht gefunden]



Besides, both SK98 and 99 work fine on Windows 8.1 And I love my Sidekick and use it all the time

Thanks for your assistance

 

[Rich224422]

Hi Junglemate

I posted the "Run as" settings that work for my application. I am running W 10 Home. Run as administrator solved a lot of problems in my case.

Not sure if this will work or not but here is a thought or two.

1. Before doing this, download fresh copies of James33 install files (to eliminate the possibility that your install copies may have been infected or compromised.
2. Use your virus program to scan the new install files.
3. Start your computer in safe mode.
4. Run your Sidekick install in Safe Mode start up.
5. Before starting that install, turn off all anti virus and protection programs. (after first disconnecting from your internet access/modem.
6. Be sure to create those separate SK File Folders on your desktop as per James33 instructions.
Not sure if this will work. I am sure that the program is working well on my W 10 Home. I have reinstalled it on several other W 10 computers (Home and Pro versions.)
I will watch this forum to see if any of this works for you.

 

[Junglemate]

Dear Rich,
thanks a lot for your immediate reply. I already had some futile conversation with James33. I have various install programs for SK98 + 99 from different sources and they all have been working fine until Windows 10 ver 1909. I will probably stick with Windows 8.1 where SK98 works fine until I find a solution to that dll problem as described.
I'll be grateful for any advice.
Thanks
Werner

Of course the ETWIN.dll is in the program

 

[james33]

Dear Junglemate

I appreciate your frustration, it seems you have tried just about everything

I am running the 1909 version and the methods I and all the others in this thread have been describing; whereby we create a shortcut to the install program (which we set to run under compatibility mode for XP (Service Pack 2)) and then install on the root of the C:\ drive, then do the same with the Sidekick98 program (Shortcut and compatibility) all of which appears to work perfectly.
There is a further caveat that you should disconnect from the internet and disable any antivirus program that is running

Keep an eye on this forum, someone else might suggest something that will work for you, or alternatively remember something that we have said before.

Good luck


Regards Jim
Check the FAQ area of any Forum you are in for answers to similar queries, it could save you a lot of time and effort! Good Luck!

 

[Junglemate]

Dear Jim,

thanks a whole lot for your compassion! I tried what you have described and: it doesn't work. The same message pops up which I have translated as "The procedure entry point "TSAttach was not found in the DLL "C:\program\ETWIN.dll"
On the other hand one of my old friends and a real IT (ex-)professional has installed Sidekick on a fresh Windows 10 1909 machine and there it works - without any workarounds. He is also trying for me, but he doesn't think that Sidekick is worth as much as I do...

I don't give up yet!

Best regards
Werner

 

[TomDCI]

Dear Werner,

I am experiencing the same problem with SKW98, ETwin.dll and TSAttach. In my last attempt to install a new and "clean" copy of SKW98, my antivirus software - McAfee - detects the exec of SKW98 as a virus and quarantines it!!! I suspect that the recent downloaded copy of SK98 is infected???

Previous to McAfee, I was encountering the ETwin.dll / entry point TSAttach stop error.

Have you made any progress in resolving this issue?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[Rich224422]

Hi Werner and Tom:

Werner: Not sure what is left to try for you Werner.
Something is being blocked at the install stage would be my guess.
Perhaps a latent residue of virus protection (Even in safe mode).
Maybe consider uninstalling your virus program (with internet and modem off of course).
Then, try installing SK.
If it works (you need not be on-line to test it) you can then reinstall your Virus Program.
If SK does not work after that, you know the conflict is with the Virus program you use.
If James 33 can't fix it, I am not sure anyone can! :>)

For Tom: From your writing, it appears that Mc Afee is killing the run for SK.exe
I had Mc Afee years ago. I am not current now.
In your Mc AFee operations settings, is there a place where you can allow certain exceptions?
If so, enter the SK.EXE there and see if that cures your problem.

Perhaps others with Mc Afee knowledge can amplify this suggestion with steps fort you to take.
Perhaps some help: Here is one set of suggestions from Mc Afee I found on the internet at this link:

`​

https://service.mcafee.com/webcente...enterWidth=100%25&_adf.ctrl-state=q63qvg166_9

As I said earlier...I have installed, reinstalled, etc. on several W 10 machines using James 33 install files and patches.
That includes the latest MS 10 Home Version and the 2018 version of W 10 PRO.
I do not have any current experience with the W 10 Pro latest version.
I am current with my version of W 10 HOME.

My request for WXP install program was found. I am now running Oracle virtual machine with WXP Pro Update 3.
I could run the SK program there but it is still working in the W 10 Home Host (main machine).
The only thing not working in SK 98 (and has not worked for many years) is the Time Sinc. Who cares?

Be well, be safe all of you sidekickers! All is good here in the CA Mountains.
Dick