Windows XP update killed Sidekick

[sidekick95]

I have been happily using Sidekick95 from day one. I am running it on Win XP sp3.
The last Windows update from Microsoft killed my Sidekick. It starts with the splash window
and hangs. I reinstalled Sidekick to no avail. Has anyone running XP SP3 that received the
Windows December update been able to run Sidekick?
Thanks,
Sidekick95

 

[DougSilver]

I have successfully been running Sidekick 2.0 in XP SP3 and continue to do so but I will be moving on to SK98 soon as I am getting a Win 7 64-bit machine at work and 2.0 won't install. I seem to recall though having the splash screen freeze problem and I think I solved it by some compatibility option to run Sidekick in its own memory space (this option should show up somewhere if you right-click the shortcut). After that there was no problem (except for the occasional Win 16 subsystem issue).

Doug

 

[sidekick95]

Thanks, Doug. Your response got me to dig a little deeper and I remembered that I recently messed with the registry.
So I uninstalled Sidekick completely and made sure that there is nothing on the drive called Sidekick. I then reinstalled and all is well. Sorry Microsoft. It was not your fault.
I hope to keep Sidekick forever, even if I have to keep an old PC just to run it.

 

[DougSilver]

Hey Sidekick95--have you encountered the "Win 16 subsystem does not have enough resources" issue? I did not have this on my other work computer that was an older Compaq Evo w8000 with XP sp3 but when the company switched me to a newer Dell 1500 that was also running XP xp3 it has chronic Win 16 subsystem issues and the only way around is to restart the computer. I know it has something to do with the number of handles available under XP and there is a patch that replaces wow16.dll or some file like that but the antivirus software on that machine does not permit me to change that file.

I am in the process of moving over to yet another computer since mine is one of the only ones still running XP and the company wants everyone on Win 7. I will definitely need to abandon Sidekick 2.0 which I much preferred to later editions but I will have to bite the bullet and transition to Sidekick 98 which presumably runs okay under Win 7.

Doug

 

[sidekick95]

Hey, Doug. I have never seen "Win 16 subsystem does not have enough resources" and I have been using Sidekick95 regularly since 1995. But to be fair I am a very conservative user. I seldom have more than 1 or 2 apps open and I close apps as soon as I finish using them for a time. I love my win xp system and she loves me back.

 

[jimalex]

Hi Sidekick95,
If it really is the December update that froze Sidekick, I suggest you try System Restore and go back to a date before the update. At least it will confirm that the update is the problem.
Jimalex

 

[DougSilver]

Hey Sidekick95--on my previous computer running XP SP3, I NEVER encountered the Win 16 subsystem issue. But when that computer started acting up, the company moved me to a newer Dell 1500 machine that was also running XP SP3 (my current machine) and this is the one with chronic Win 16 subsystem issues. From researching this problem it has something to do with the number of handles that XP allows (this is where my tech knowledge breaks down) and it probably has something to do with the other stuff that is running in the background on this machine--especially the Kaspersky virus scanner stuff. Whenever I get the Win 16 subsystem error the only way to resolve is to reboot the machine which is annoying.

What causes more anxiety is the fast approaching deadline the company has given me to move over to the Win 7 64-bit machine that is ready for me. In addition to Sidekick I have a bunch of other older apps, some of which dos-based, that I have had to coax along every time a newer computer or newer operating system comes out. Some of those apps would not run unless I used some slowdown utility like MO'SLO but they all seem to run well in DosBox. Hopefully DosBox will also run on the new Win 7 machine awaiting me.

Doug