Btcc22

Eh, Seagate used to be pretty solid, although they've supposedly gone down hill in recent years. I've owned a good number of Seagate drives and have never had a problem with them, so far. You'll find bad drive models with every manufacturer though.
 
 

He doesn't even post this version:
 

That's not actually true. Here's my debunk:
This 'problem' only affects a few irrelevant Java applications and even then, it's not a real problem.
Windows provides version information as a major and minor version number that can be used to determine the version according to a table, like this one. It has no feature that allows you to get the version as a string.
Java, however, detects the operating system version using a function like this one and translates that to a string (like "Windows 98") for the application.
If you tried to run one of these poorly coded applications on Windows 9, without a JVM specifically updated to handle it, it'll just return something like "Windows NT (Unknown)", meaning the code you pasted wouldn't break. If the Windows JVM developers wanted to update the detection to handle Windows 9 without breaking old code, it'd just take a simple workaround such as returning "Windows Nine", "Windows 9", "Microsoft Windows 9" or some alternative.
You can actually take a look at the relevant portion of source for an implementation right here to get a better idea of how it works and why it's a non-issue.
TL;DR - Microsoft didn't skip Windows 9 because of some sloppy code.

Linux in general.

Linux in general.

Eh, Seagate used to be pretty solid, although they've supposedly gone down hill in recent years. I've owned a good number of Seagate drives and have never had a problem with them, so far. You'll find bad drive models with every manufacturer though.
 
 

That's not actually true. Here's my debunk:
This 'problem' only affects a few irrelevant Java applications and even then, it's not a real problem.
Windows provides version information as a major and minor version number that can be used to determine the version according to a table, like this one. It has no feature that allows you to get the version as a string.
Java, however, detects the operating system version using a function like this one and translates that to a string (like "Windows 98") for the application.
If you tried to run one of these poorly coded applications on Windows 9, without a JVM specifically updated to handle it, it'll just return something like "Windows NT (Unknown)", meaning the code you pasted wouldn't break. If the Windows JVM developers wanted to update the detection to handle Windows 9 without breaking old code, it'd just take a simple workaround such as returning "Windows Nine", "Windows 9", "Microsoft Windows 9" or some alternative.
You can actually take a look at the relevant portion of source for an implementation right here to get a better idea of how it works and why it's a non-issue.
TL;DR - Microsoft didn't skip Windows 9 because of some sloppy code.

That's not actually true. Here's my debunk:
This 'problem' only affects a few irrelevant Java applications and even then, it's not a real problem.
Windows provides version information as a major and minor version number that can be used to determine the version according to a table, like this one. It has no feature that allows you to get the version as a string.
Java, however, detects the operating system version using a function like this one and translates that to a string (like "Windows 98") for the application.
If you tried to run one of these poorly coded applications on Windows 9, without a JVM specifically updated to handle it, it'll just return something like "Windows NT (Unknown)", meaning the code you pasted wouldn't break. If the Windows JVM developers wanted to update the detection to handle Windows 9 without breaking old code, it'd just take a simple workaround such as returning "Windows Nine", "Windows 9", "Microsoft Windows 9" or some alternative.
You can actually take a look at the relevant portion of source for an implementation right here to get a better idea of how it works and why it's a non-issue.
TL;DR - Microsoft didn't skip Windows 9 because of some sloppy code.

That's not actually true. Here's my debunk:
This 'problem' only affects a few irrelevant Java applications and even then, it's not a real problem.
Windows provides version information as a major and minor version number that can be used to determine the version according to a table, like this one. It has no feature that allows you to get the version as a string.
Java, however, detects the operating system version using a function like this one and translates that to a string (like "Windows 98") for the application.
If you tried to run one of these poorly coded applications on Windows 9, without a JVM specifically updated to handle it, it'll just return something like "Windows NT (Unknown)", meaning the code you pasted wouldn't break. If the Windows JVM developers wanted to update the detection to handle Windows 9 without breaking old code, it'd just take a simple workaround such as returning "Windows Nine", "Windows 9", "Microsoft Windows 9" or some alternative.
You can actually take a look at the relevant portion of source for an implementation right here to get a better idea of how it works and why it's a non-issue.
TL;DR - Microsoft didn't skip Windows 9 because of some sloppy code.

As7raios was playing around with customising his Windows 7 background, which prompted me to do the same. We discovered that there's a 256kB limit on the background image size, making the images looks pretty terrible on higher resolution monitors. From a quick search around the web, the consensus seemed to be that this is just how things are and that there's nothing much that can be done about it.
 
 
Long story short, I had a quick reverse engineering session to figure out where this limit was being imposed and to how remove it. I'm posting this as a tutorial here because I have nowhere else to document it and hopefully other souls in search of an answer will stumble across it.
 
Before we begin, here's the usual disclaimer that applies when messing around with system files:
 
Follow this tutorial at your own risk. The only person responsible for any damage caused to your machine/files is yourself.
 
Having said that, I consider this to be a pretty low-risk modification.
 
1) First up, follow another tutorial for setting your custom wallpaper up. Disregard the bit about keeping your file below 256kB. This one should be fine.
2) Navigate to C:\Windows\System32. If you've installed Windows to another directory, head there.
3) Make a copy of authui.dll. Save it somewhere easy to access (say, C:\) and rename it to something along the lines of authui_working_copy.dll.
 

Don't worry if your file isn't the same size.
 
4) Make a copy to hack on. This will be our patched file.
 

 
5) Next up, you'll need to find yourself a hex editor. I'll be using Hex Workshop which can be downloaded here. It has a trial-period more than ample for following this tutorial.
6) Open your authui_patched.dll in your hex editor.
7)
For 32-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: 3D 00 E8 03 00 73 51 For 64-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 73 3E 8)
For 32-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: 3D 00 E8 03 00 90 90 For 64-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 90 90
A before and after for the 64-bit edit
 
If you're wondering what the change is, it's removing the instruction that checks the size of the file and replacing it with two instructions (called nops, or no operations) that do nothing. The 00 E8 03 00 bytes represent the 256,000 byte limit.
 
Patching done, now to replace the file
 
9) Time to replace the stock authui.dll with our patched version. There are several ways you could do this but I'll detail the method I used.
10) Reboot the machine. Hold F9 before Windows begins loading and select the repair option. We're not going to run the repair tools, it's just an easy way to access a console.
11) Once you've logged in, select the bottom option to open a command prompt window.
 

Bottom option, right there
 
12) By default, it'll place you in the X: drive, the temporary space used for booting the repair tool. Switch to your normal C: drive by typing "D:". Confirm that it's your C: drive by checking the contents using the dir command. If it's not (it won't be if you have multiple drives), go through the letters (E:, F:, etc) until you find it.
13) Now type the following commands, substituting D: for the drive letter you discovered in the previous step (if it differed).
takeown /f D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll copy D:\authui_patched.dll D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll When prompted to overwrite the file, select yes. Reboot and enjoy your high-res wallpaper goodness!
 
Click the spoiler button for a before and after example (saved as PNG to preserve quality). Click the images to view them at full resolution.
 
 
Troubleshooting, for those that dun goofed
 
Problem: Windows boots to a black screen with a cursor.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one. You either messed up the editing or removed read access from the SYSTEM user for authui.dll - this can happen if you follow other tutorials on replacing system files.
 
Problem: Windows doesn't boot.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one.
 
Problem: I copied the original authui.dll back but I still can't access Windows.
Solution: Run the repair tool, followed by running sfc from the command prompt (sfc /scannow /offlinedir=D:\Windows - replace D with your drive letter, if it differs).

As7raios was playing around with customising his Windows 7 background, which prompted me to do the same. We discovered that there's a 256kB limit on the background image size, making the images looks pretty terrible on higher resolution monitors. From a quick search around the web, the consensus seemed to be that this is just how things are and that there's nothing much that can be done about it.
 
 
Long story short, I had a quick reverse engineering session to figure out where this limit was being imposed and to how remove it. I'm posting this as a tutorial here because I have nowhere else to document it and hopefully other souls in search of an answer will stumble across it.
 
Before we begin, here's the usual disclaimer that applies when messing around with system files:
 
Follow this tutorial at your own risk. The only person responsible for any damage caused to your machine/files is yourself.
 
Having said that, I consider this to be a pretty low-risk modification.
 
1) First up, follow another tutorial for setting your custom wallpaper up. Disregard the bit about keeping your file below 256kB. This one should be fine.
2) Navigate to C:\Windows\System32. If you've installed Windows to another directory, head there.
3) Make a copy of authui.dll. Save it somewhere easy to access (say, C:\) and rename it to something along the lines of authui_working_copy.dll.
 

Don't worry if your file isn't the same size.
 
4) Make a copy to hack on. This will be our patched file.
 

 
5) Next up, you'll need to find yourself a hex editor. I'll be using Hex Workshop which can be downloaded here. It has a trial-period more than ample for following this tutorial.
6) Open your authui_patched.dll in your hex editor.
7)
For 32-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: 3D 00 E8 03 00 73 51 For 64-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 73 3E 8)
For 32-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: 3D 00 E8 03 00 90 90 For 64-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 90 90
A before and after for the 64-bit edit
 
If you're wondering what the change is, it's removing the instruction that checks the size of the file and replacing it with two instructions (called nops, or no operations) that do nothing. The 00 E8 03 00 bytes represent the 256,000 byte limit.
 
Patching done, now to replace the file
 
9) Time to replace the stock authui.dll with our patched version. There are several ways you could do this but I'll detail the method I used.
10) Reboot the machine. Hold F9 before Windows begins loading and select the repair option. We're not going to run the repair tools, it's just an easy way to access a console.
11) Once you've logged in, select the bottom option to open a command prompt window.
 

Bottom option, right there
 
12) By default, it'll place you in the X: drive, the temporary space used for booting the repair tool. Switch to your normal C: drive by typing "D:". Confirm that it's your C: drive by checking the contents using the dir command. If it's not (it won't be if you have multiple drives), go through the letters (E:, F:, etc) until you find it.
13) Now type the following commands, substituting D: for the drive letter you discovered in the previous step (if it differed).
takeown /f D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll copy D:\authui_patched.dll D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll When prompted to overwrite the file, select yes. Reboot and enjoy your high-res wallpaper goodness!
 
Click the spoiler button for a before and after example (saved as PNG to preserve quality). Click the images to view them at full resolution.
 
 
Troubleshooting, for those that dun goofed
 
Problem: Windows boots to a black screen with a cursor.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one. You either messed up the editing or removed read access from the SYSTEM user for authui.dll - this can happen if you follow other tutorials on replacing system files.
 
Problem: Windows doesn't boot.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one.
 
Problem: I copied the original authui.dll back but I still can't access Windows.
Solution: Run the repair tool, followed by running sfc from the command prompt (sfc /scannow /offlinedir=D:\Windows - replace D with your drive letter, if it differs).

As7raios was playing around with customising his Windows 7 background, which prompted me to do the same. We discovered that there's a 256kB limit on the background image size, making the images looks pretty terrible on higher resolution monitors. From a quick search around the web, the consensus seemed to be that this is just how things are and that there's nothing much that can be done about it.
 
 
Long story short, I had a quick reverse engineering session to figure out where this limit was being imposed and to how remove it. I'm posting this as a tutorial here because I have nowhere else to document it and hopefully other souls in search of an answer will stumble across it.
 
Before we begin, here's the usual disclaimer that applies when messing around with system files:
 
Follow this tutorial at your own risk. The only person responsible for any damage caused to your machine/files is yourself.
 
Having said that, I consider this to be a pretty low-risk modification.
 
1) First up, follow another tutorial for setting your custom wallpaper up. Disregard the bit about keeping your file below 256kB. This one should be fine.
2) Navigate to C:\Windows\System32. If you've installed Windows to another directory, head there.
3) Make a copy of authui.dll. Save it somewhere easy to access (say, C:\) and rename it to something along the lines of authui_working_copy.dll.
 

Don't worry if your file isn't the same size.
 
4) Make a copy to hack on. This will be our patched file.
 

 
5) Next up, you'll need to find yourself a hex editor. I'll be using Hex Workshop which can be downloaded here. It has a trial-period more than ample for following this tutorial.
6) Open your authui_patched.dll in your hex editor.
7)
For 32-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: 3D 00 E8 03 00 73 51 For 64-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 73 3E 8)
For 32-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: 3D 00 E8 03 00 90 90 For 64-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 90 90
A before and after for the 64-bit edit
 
If you're wondering what the change is, it's removing the instruction that checks the size of the file and replacing it with two instructions (called nops, or no operations) that do nothing. The 00 E8 03 00 bytes represent the 256,000 byte limit.
 
Patching done, now to replace the file
 
9) Time to replace the stock authui.dll with our patched version. There are several ways you could do this but I'll detail the method I used.
10) Reboot the machine. Hold F9 before Windows begins loading and select the repair option. We're not going to run the repair tools, it's just an easy way to access a console.
11) Once you've logged in, select the bottom option to open a command prompt window.
 

Bottom option, right there
 
12) By default, it'll place you in the X: drive, the temporary space used for booting the repair tool. Switch to your normal C: drive by typing "D:". Confirm that it's your C: drive by checking the contents using the dir command. If it's not (it won't be if you have multiple drives), go through the letters (E:, F:, etc) until you find it.
13) Now type the following commands, substituting D: for the drive letter you discovered in the previous step (if it differed).
takeown /f D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll copy D:\authui_patched.dll D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll When prompted to overwrite the file, select yes. Reboot and enjoy your high-res wallpaper goodness!
 
Click the spoiler button for a before and after example (saved as PNG to preserve quality). Click the images to view them at full resolution.
 
 
Troubleshooting, for those that dun goofed
 
Problem: Windows boots to a black screen with a cursor.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one. You either messed up the editing or removed read access from the SYSTEM user for authui.dll - this can happen if you follow other tutorials on replacing system files.
 
Problem: Windows doesn't boot.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one.
 
Problem: I copied the original authui.dll back but I still can't access Windows.
Solution: Run the repair tool, followed by running sfc from the command prompt (sfc /scannow /offlinedir=D:\Windows - replace D with your drive letter, if it differs).

My only guess is that some programmer did it on a whim for performance reasons. Perhaps they didn't want OEMs accidentally adding huge wallpapers and adding several extra milliseconds to the loading time for that screen. I've tried it with a 7MB file and it was perfectly fine, albeit on a fast machine.

As7raios was playing around with customising his Windows 7 background, which prompted me to do the same. We discovered that there's a 256kB limit on the background image size, making the images looks pretty terrible on higher resolution monitors. From a quick search around the web, the consensus seemed to be that this is just how things are and that there's nothing much that can be done about it.
 
 
Long story short, I had a quick reverse engineering session to figure out where this limit was being imposed and to how remove it. I'm posting this as a tutorial here because I have nowhere else to document it and hopefully other souls in search of an answer will stumble across it.
 
Before we begin, here's the usual disclaimer that applies when messing around with system files:
 
Follow this tutorial at your own risk. The only person responsible for any damage caused to your machine/files is yourself.
 
Having said that, I consider this to be a pretty low-risk modification.
 
1) First up, follow another tutorial for setting your custom wallpaper up. Disregard the bit about keeping your file below 256kB. This one should be fine.
2) Navigate to C:\Windows\System32. If you've installed Windows to another directory, head there.
3) Make a copy of authui.dll. Save it somewhere easy to access (say, C:\) and rename it to something along the lines of authui_working_copy.dll.
 

Don't worry if your file isn't the same size.
 
4) Make a copy to hack on. This will be our patched file.
 

 
5) Next up, you'll need to find yourself a hex editor. I'll be using Hex Workshop which can be downloaded here. It has a trial-period more than ample for following this tutorial.
6) Open your authui_patched.dll in your hex editor.
7)
For 32-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: 3D 00 E8 03 00 73 51 For 64-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 73 3E 8)
For 32-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: 3D 00 E8 03 00 90 90 For 64-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 90 90
A before and after for the 64-bit edit
 
If you're wondering what the change is, it's removing the instruction that checks the size of the file and replacing it with two instructions (called nops, or no operations) that do nothing. The 00 E8 03 00 bytes represent the 256,000 byte limit.
 
Patching done, now to replace the file
 
9) Time to replace the stock authui.dll with our patched version. There are several ways you could do this but I'll detail the method I used.
10) Reboot the machine. Hold F9 before Windows begins loading and select the repair option. We're not going to run the repair tools, it's just an easy way to access a console.
11) Once you've logged in, select the bottom option to open a command prompt window.
 

Bottom option, right there
 
12) By default, it'll place you in the X: drive, the temporary space used for booting the repair tool. Switch to your normal C: drive by typing "D:". Confirm that it's your C: drive by checking the contents using the dir command. If it's not (it won't be if you have multiple drives), go through the letters (E:, F:, etc) until you find it.
13) Now type the following commands, substituting D: for the drive letter you discovered in the previous step (if it differed).
takeown /f D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll copy D:\authui_patched.dll D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll When prompted to overwrite the file, select yes. Reboot and enjoy your high-res wallpaper goodness!
 
Click the spoiler button for a before and after example (saved as PNG to preserve quality). Click the images to view them at full resolution.
 
 
Troubleshooting, for those that dun goofed
 
Problem: Windows boots to a black screen with a cursor.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one. You either messed up the editing or removed read access from the SYSTEM user for authui.dll - this can happen if you follow other tutorials on replacing system files.
 
Problem: Windows doesn't boot.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one.
 
Problem: I copied the original authui.dll back but I still can't access Windows.
Solution: Run the repair tool, followed by running sfc from the command prompt (sfc /scannow /offlinedir=D:\Windows - replace D with your drive letter, if it differs).

As7raios was playing around with customising his Windows 7 background, which prompted me to do the same. We discovered that there's a 256kB limit on the background image size, making the images looks pretty terrible on higher resolution monitors. From a quick search around the web, the consensus seemed to be that this is just how things are and that there's nothing much that can be done about it.
 
 
Long story short, I had a quick reverse engineering session to figure out where this limit was being imposed and to how remove it. I'm posting this as a tutorial here because I have nowhere else to document it and hopefully other souls in search of an answer will stumble across it.
 
Before we begin, here's the usual disclaimer that applies when messing around with system files:
 
Follow this tutorial at your own risk. The only person responsible for any damage caused to your machine/files is yourself.
 
Having said that, I consider this to be a pretty low-risk modification.
 
1) First up, follow another tutorial for setting your custom wallpaper up. Disregard the bit about keeping your file below 256kB. This one should be fine.
2) Navigate to C:\Windows\System32. If you've installed Windows to another directory, head there.
3) Make a copy of authui.dll. Save it somewhere easy to access (say, C:\) and rename it to something along the lines of authui_working_copy.dll.
 

Don't worry if your file isn't the same size.
 
4) Make a copy to hack on. This will be our patched file.
 

 
5) Next up, you'll need to find yourself a hex editor. I'll be using Hex Workshop which can be downloaded here. It has a trial-period more than ample for following this tutorial.
6) Open your authui_patched.dll in your hex editor.
7)
For 32-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: 3D 00 E8 03 00 73 51 For 64-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 73 3E 8)
For 32-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: 3D 00 E8 03 00 90 90 For 64-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 90 90
A before and after for the 64-bit edit
 
If you're wondering what the change is, it's removing the instruction that checks the size of the file and replacing it with two instructions (called nops, or no operations) that do nothing. The 00 E8 03 00 bytes represent the 256,000 byte limit.
 
Patching done, now to replace the file
 
9) Time to replace the stock authui.dll with our patched version. There are several ways you could do this but I'll detail the method I used.
10) Reboot the machine. Hold F9 before Windows begins loading and select the repair option. We're not going to run the repair tools, it's just an easy way to access a console.
11) Once you've logged in, select the bottom option to open a command prompt window.
 

Bottom option, right there
 
12) By default, it'll place you in the X: drive, the temporary space used for booting the repair tool. Switch to your normal C: drive by typing "D:". Confirm that it's your C: drive by checking the contents using the dir command. If it's not (it won't be if you have multiple drives), go through the letters (E:, F:, etc) until you find it.
13) Now type the following commands, substituting D: for the drive letter you discovered in the previous step (if it differed).
takeown /f D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll copy D:\authui_patched.dll D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll When prompted to overwrite the file, select yes. Reboot and enjoy your high-res wallpaper goodness!
 
Click the spoiler button for a before and after example (saved as PNG to preserve quality). Click the images to view them at full resolution.
 
 
Troubleshooting, for those that dun goofed
 
Problem: Windows boots to a black screen with a cursor.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one. You either messed up the editing or removed read access from the SYSTEM user for authui.dll - this can happen if you follow other tutorials on replacing system files.
 
Problem: Windows doesn't boot.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one.
 
Problem: I copied the original authui.dll back but I still can't access Windows.
Solution: Run the repair tool, followed by running sfc from the command prompt (sfc /scannow /offlinedir=D:\Windows - replace D with your drive letter, if it differs).

My only guess is that some programmer did it on a whim for performance reasons. Perhaps they didn't want OEMs accidentally adding huge wallpapers and adding several extra milliseconds to the loading time for that screen. I've tried it with a 7MB file and it was perfectly fine, albeit on a fast machine.

My only guess is that some programmer did it on a whim for performance reasons. Perhaps they didn't want OEMs accidentally adding huge wallpapers and adding several extra milliseconds to the loading time for that screen. I've tried it with a 7MB file and it was perfectly fine, albeit on a fast machine.

As7raios was playing around with customising his Windows 7 background, which prompted me to do the same. We discovered that there's a 256kB limit on the background image size, making the images looks pretty terrible on higher resolution monitors. From a quick search around the web, the consensus seemed to be that this is just how things are and that there's nothing much that can be done about it.
 
 
Long story short, I had a quick reverse engineering session to figure out where this limit was being imposed and to how remove it. I'm posting this as a tutorial here because I have nowhere else to document it and hopefully other souls in search of an answer will stumble across it.
 
Before we begin, here's the usual disclaimer that applies when messing around with system files:
 
Follow this tutorial at your own risk. The only person responsible for any damage caused to your machine/files is yourself.
 
Having said that, I consider this to be a pretty low-risk modification.
 
1) First up, follow another tutorial for setting your custom wallpaper up. Disregard the bit about keeping your file below 256kB. This one should be fine.
2) Navigate to C:\Windows\System32. If you've installed Windows to another directory, head there.
3) Make a copy of authui.dll. Save it somewhere easy to access (say, C:\) and rename it to something along the lines of authui_working_copy.dll.
 

Don't worry if your file isn't the same size.
 
4) Make a copy to hack on. This will be our patched file.
 

 
5) Next up, you'll need to find yourself a hex editor. I'll be using Hex Workshop which can be downloaded here. It has a trial-period more than ample for following this tutorial.
6) Open your authui_patched.dll in your hex editor.
7)
For 32-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: 3D 00 E8 03 00 73 51 For 64-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 73 3E 8)
For 32-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: 3D 00 E8 03 00 90 90 For 64-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 90 90
A before and after for the 64-bit edit
 
If you're wondering what the change is, it's removing the instruction that checks the size of the file and replacing it with two instructions (called nops, or no operations) that do nothing. The 00 E8 03 00 bytes represent the 256,000 byte limit.
 
Patching done, now to replace the file
 
9) Time to replace the stock authui.dll with our patched version. There are several ways you could do this but I'll detail the method I used.
10) Reboot the machine. Hold F9 before Windows begins loading and select the repair option. We're not going to run the repair tools, it's just an easy way to access a console.
11) Once you've logged in, select the bottom option to open a command prompt window.
 

Bottom option, right there
 
12) By default, it'll place you in the X: drive, the temporary space used for booting the repair tool. Switch to your normal C: drive by typing "D:". Confirm that it's your C: drive by checking the contents using the dir command. If it's not (it won't be if you have multiple drives), go through the letters (E:, F:, etc) until you find it.
13) Now type the following commands, substituting D: for the drive letter you discovered in the previous step (if it differed).
takeown /f D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll copy D:\authui_patched.dll D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll When prompted to overwrite the file, select yes. Reboot and enjoy your high-res wallpaper goodness!
 
Click the spoiler button for a before and after example (saved as PNG to preserve quality). Click the images to view them at full resolution.
 
 
Troubleshooting, for those that dun goofed
 
Problem: Windows boots to a black screen with a cursor.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one. You either messed up the editing or removed read access from the SYSTEM user for authui.dll - this can happen if you follow other tutorials on replacing system files.
 
Problem: Windows doesn't boot.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one.
 
Problem: I copied the original authui.dll back but I still can't access Windows.
Solution: Run the repair tool, followed by running sfc from the command prompt (sfc /scannow /offlinedir=D:\Windows - replace D with your drive letter, if it differs).

As7raios was playing around with customising his Windows 7 background, which prompted me to do the same. We discovered that there's a 256kB limit on the background image size, making the images looks pretty terrible on higher resolution monitors. From a quick search around the web, the consensus seemed to be that this is just how things are and that there's nothing much that can be done about it.
 
 
Long story short, I had a quick reverse engineering session to figure out where this limit was being imposed and to how remove it. I'm posting this as a tutorial here because I have nowhere else to document it and hopefully other souls in search of an answer will stumble across it.
 
Before we begin, here's the usual disclaimer that applies when messing around with system files:
 
Follow this tutorial at your own risk. The only person responsible for any damage caused to your machine/files is yourself.
 
Having said that, I consider this to be a pretty low-risk modification.
 
1) First up, follow another tutorial for setting your custom wallpaper up. Disregard the bit about keeping your file below 256kB. This one should be fine.
2) Navigate to C:\Windows\System32. If you've installed Windows to another directory, head there.
3) Make a copy of authui.dll. Save it somewhere easy to access (say, C:\) and rename it to something along the lines of authui_working_copy.dll.
 

Don't worry if your file isn't the same size.
 
4) Make a copy to hack on. This will be our patched file.
 

 
5) Next up, you'll need to find yourself a hex editor. I'll be using Hex Workshop which can be downloaded here. It has a trial-period more than ample for following this tutorial.
6) Open your authui_patched.dll in your hex editor.
7)
For 32-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: 3D 00 E8 03 00 73 51 For 64-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 73 3E 8)
For 32-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: 3D 00 E8 03 00 90 90 For 64-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 90 90
A before and after for the 64-bit edit
 
If you're wondering what the change is, it's removing the instruction that checks the size of the file and replacing it with two instructions (called nops, or no operations) that do nothing. The 00 E8 03 00 bytes represent the 256,000 byte limit.
 
Patching done, now to replace the file
 
9) Time to replace the stock authui.dll with our patched version. There are several ways you could do this but I'll detail the method I used.
10) Reboot the machine. Hold F9 before Windows begins loading and select the repair option. We're not going to run the repair tools, it's just an easy way to access a console.
11) Once you've logged in, select the bottom option to open a command prompt window.
 

Bottom option, right there
 
12) By default, it'll place you in the X: drive, the temporary space used for booting the repair tool. Switch to your normal C: drive by typing "D:". Confirm that it's your C: drive by checking the contents using the dir command. If it's not (it won't be if you have multiple drives), go through the letters (E:, F:, etc) until you find it.
13) Now type the following commands, substituting D: for the drive letter you discovered in the previous step (if it differed).
takeown /f D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll copy D:\authui_patched.dll D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll When prompted to overwrite the file, select yes. Reboot and enjoy your high-res wallpaper goodness!
 
Click the spoiler button for a before and after example (saved as PNG to preserve quality). Click the images to view them at full resolution.
 
 
Troubleshooting, for those that dun goofed
 
Problem: Windows boots to a black screen with a cursor.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one. You either messed up the editing or removed read access from the SYSTEM user for authui.dll - this can happen if you follow other tutorials on replacing system files.
 
Problem: Windows doesn't boot.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one.
 
Problem: I copied the original authui.dll back but I still can't access Windows.
Solution: Run the repair tool, followed by running sfc from the command prompt (sfc /scannow /offlinedir=D:\Windows - replace D with your drive letter, if it differs).

As7raios was playing around with customising his Windows 7 background, which prompted me to do the same. We discovered that there's a 256kB limit on the background image size, making the images looks pretty terrible on higher resolution monitors. From a quick search around the web, the consensus seemed to be that this is just how things are and that there's nothing much that can be done about it.
 
 
Long story short, I had a quick reverse engineering session to figure out where this limit was being imposed and to how remove it. I'm posting this as a tutorial here because I have nowhere else to document it and hopefully other souls in search of an answer will stumble across it.
 
Before we begin, here's the usual disclaimer that applies when messing around with system files:
 
Follow this tutorial at your own risk. The only person responsible for any damage caused to your machine/files is yourself.
 
Having said that, I consider this to be a pretty low-risk modification.
 
1) First up, follow another tutorial for setting your custom wallpaper up. Disregard the bit about keeping your file below 256kB. This one should be fine.
2) Navigate to C:\Windows\System32. If you've installed Windows to another directory, head there.
3) Make a copy of authui.dll. Save it somewhere easy to access (say, C:\) and rename it to something along the lines of authui_working_copy.dll.
 

Don't worry if your file isn't the same size.
 
4) Make a copy to hack on. This will be our patched file.
 

 
5) Next up, you'll need to find yourself a hex editor. I'll be using Hex Workshop which can be downloaded here. It has a trial-period more than ample for following this tutorial.
6) Open your authui_patched.dll in your hex editor.
7)
For 32-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: 3D 00 E8 03 00 73 51 For 64-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 73 3E 8)
For 32-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: 3D 00 E8 03 00 90 90 For 64-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 90 90
A before and after for the 64-bit edit
 
If you're wondering what the change is, it's removing the instruction that checks the size of the file and replacing it with two instructions (called nops, or no operations) that do nothing. The 00 E8 03 00 bytes represent the 256,000 byte limit.
 
Patching done, now to replace the file
 
9) Time to replace the stock authui.dll with our patched version. There are several ways you could do this but I'll detail the method I used.
10) Reboot the machine. Hold F9 before Windows begins loading and select the repair option. We're not going to run the repair tools, it's just an easy way to access a console.
11) Once you've logged in, select the bottom option to open a command prompt window.
 

Bottom option, right there
 
12) By default, it'll place you in the X: drive, the temporary space used for booting the repair tool. Switch to your normal C: drive by typing "D:". Confirm that it's your C: drive by checking the contents using the dir command. If it's not (it won't be if you have multiple drives), go through the letters (E:, F:, etc) until you find it.
13) Now type the following commands, substituting D: for the drive letter you discovered in the previous step (if it differed).
takeown /f D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll copy D:\authui_patched.dll D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll When prompted to overwrite the file, select yes. Reboot and enjoy your high-res wallpaper goodness!
 
Click the spoiler button for a before and after example (saved as PNG to preserve quality). Click the images to view them at full resolution.
 
 
Troubleshooting, for those that dun goofed
 
Problem: Windows boots to a black screen with a cursor.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one. You either messed up the editing or removed read access from the SYSTEM user for authui.dll - this can happen if you follow other tutorials on replacing system files.
 
Problem: Windows doesn't boot.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one.
 
Problem: I copied the original authui.dll back but I still can't access Windows.
Solution: Run the repair tool, followed by running sfc from the command prompt (sfc /scannow /offlinedir=D:\Windows - replace D with your drive letter, if it differs).

As7raios was playing around with customising his Windows 7 background, which prompted me to do the same. We discovered that there's a 256kB limit on the background image size, making the images looks pretty terrible on higher resolution monitors. From a quick search around the web, the consensus seemed to be that this is just how things are and that there's nothing much that can be done about it.
 
 
Long story short, I had a quick reverse engineering session to figure out where this limit was being imposed and to how remove it. I'm posting this as a tutorial here because I have nowhere else to document it and hopefully other souls in search of an answer will stumble across it.
 
Before we begin, here's the usual disclaimer that applies when messing around with system files:
 
Follow this tutorial at your own risk. The only person responsible for any damage caused to your machine/files is yourself.
 
Having said that, I consider this to be a pretty low-risk modification.
 
1) First up, follow another tutorial for setting your custom wallpaper up. Disregard the bit about keeping your file below 256kB. This one should be fine.
2) Navigate to C:\Windows\System32. If you've installed Windows to another directory, head there.
3) Make a copy of authui.dll. Save it somewhere easy to access (say, C:\) and rename it to something along the lines of authui_working_copy.dll.
 

Don't worry if your file isn't the same size.
 
4) Make a copy to hack on. This will be our patched file.
 

 
5) Next up, you'll need to find yourself a hex editor. I'll be using Hex Workshop which can be downloaded here. It has a trial-period more than ample for following this tutorial.
6) Open your authui_patched.dll in your hex editor.
7)
For 32-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: 3D 00 E8 03 00 73 51 For 64-bit Windows, search for the following hex bytes: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 73 3E 8)
For 32-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: 3D 00 E8 03 00 90 90 For 64-bit Windows, replace the found bytes with: E8 03 00 41 3B C1 90 90
A before and after for the 64-bit edit
 
If you're wondering what the change is, it's removing the instruction that checks the size of the file and replacing it with two instructions (called nops, or no operations) that do nothing. The 00 E8 03 00 bytes represent the 256,000 byte limit.
 
Patching done, now to replace the file
 
9) Time to replace the stock authui.dll with our patched version. There are several ways you could do this but I'll detail the method I used.
10) Reboot the machine. Hold F9 before Windows begins loading and select the repair option. We're not going to run the repair tools, it's just an easy way to access a console.
11) Once you've logged in, select the bottom option to open a command prompt window.
 

Bottom option, right there
 
12) By default, it'll place you in the X: drive, the temporary space used for booting the repair tool. Switch to your normal C: drive by typing "D:". Confirm that it's your C: drive by checking the contents using the dir command. If it's not (it won't be if you have multiple drives), go through the letters (E:, F:, etc) until you find it.
13) Now type the following commands, substituting D: for the drive letter you discovered in the previous step (if it differed).
takeown /f D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll copy D:\authui_patched.dll D:\Windows\System32\authui.dll When prompted to overwrite the file, select yes. Reboot and enjoy your high-res wallpaper goodness!
 
Click the spoiler button for a before and after example (saved as PNG to preserve quality). Click the images to view them at full resolution.
 
 
Troubleshooting, for those that dun goofed
 
Problem: Windows boots to a black screen with a cursor.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one. You either messed up the editing or removed read access from the SYSTEM user for authui.dll - this can happen if you follow other tutorials on replacing system files.
 
Problem: Windows doesn't boot.
Solution: Go back to step #12 but this time copy the original, backed up, file over the patched one.
 
Problem: I copied the original authui.dll back but I still can't access Windows.
Solution: Run the repair tool, followed by running sfc from the command prompt (sfc /scannow /offlinedir=D:\Windows - replace D with your drive letter, if it differs).

I like how you can't see the CCTV monitor.

What console are you referring to that runs at 4k and 60fps?

what does 4k have to do with shaders.

You posted an entire rant that blamed the victim for bringing it on themselves, stopping just short of "they deserved it", which in my book is tantamount to defending the attack.
 
The only thing that bothered you is that two police were killed. The rest? You don't care because they were involved in publishing cartoons. Clearly there's something about your worldview that makes you think of satire as a pretty serious crime. You go beyond meer apathy because they knew they were putting themselves at risk but into genuinely believing that they were bad people that got what was coming to them.
 
 
Or in other words, "your rights end where my feelings begin".
 
 
They didn't "target" anybody for an "extended period of time" or "go out of their way" - they treated them exactly as they treated any other group. They knew the risks and made an active decision not to kowtow and allow anybody to be beyond reproach. They made the decision to excerise their rights to publish what they please and show those that sought to silence them that they still have their freedom.
 
The funny thing is that if you tell somebody that they can't do something because it offends them (see the Danish cartoon from 2006), they're more likely to do it just to prove that they can. You're probably already aware of the Streisand effect though.
 
Western European nations have paid a high price to be free from fascism and for rights that they enjoy today, including the right to blaspheme Allowing yourselves to be silenced through the threats of violence is to give those rights up by the back door. Free speech does not exist if people are too scared to use it. Free speech does not exist if it only extends as far as somebody's feelings (not far at all).
 
Whether or not it was intended, those that were killed yesterday have been made martyrs for western values and rather than pointing fingers and blaming them for bringing it on themselves, I'd rather see them held up as champions for standing up for their values, regardless of whether you agree with their satire. They stood up and refused to allow violence to silence them and today, they've been joined by countless other European publications.
 
Out of interest, do you think there should be laws against blasphemy?
 
 
Everybody knows they're the real deal, including the magazine that's already been firebombed several years ago. Nobody's denying that.