Opposite. I long for an OS this... cluttered and maximalist. Every screen has been edited to make it more flashy for no good reason. It's beautiful to me
This is DEFINITELY some sort of bizarre Arab/Pakistani bootleg of XP. The Arabic text on the top of the boot screen translates to "In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful." Even tho I'm muslim (and Pakistani), something about that boot screen is making me wince.
This is the infamous Gold Windows XP 2016 by Muhammed Sadeem. Michael did a video about it many years ago. It was distributed by a group calling themselves the Computer Worm Corporation in Pakistan.
Replacing files with copies from a standard copy of Windows XP, that brings up the ship of thesies. There's a point where that installation stops being that installation as the individual files are replaced.
I think as long as he kept the integral files (not bootscreens bug the others in system32 that literally form the OS), he’s fine. He kept the hull and materials, but repainted it and fixed up holes.
Hi MichaelMJD, it’s Aaron formerly Buttoncrusher from the Original XP Gold Video, I can’t believe it’s been 8 years already. Also Congrats on 500K, Can’t wait to see you reach 1 Mil. Keep up the awesome work.
the icons of the stuff that didn't change even if you modified it to change is due to the fact there's an icon cache. you need to clean it and every icon should be re-read from where it should
I remember first seeing XP Gold Edition on a stream by Rogueamp and he called Muhammed Sadeem as his number was in the installer. Just turned out that in Pakistan at the time it was like 3AM lol.
I honestly think all these "bundled/bloated" Windows Builds are good challenges for technically adept people. It puts your knowledge of Windows to the test.
very nice video michael here are some notes from my experience of debloating windows xp: if you install the sp3 update it will restore some of the stock files like the boot screen and logon screen and other system files, it is much faster and safer some you have to manually replace for ntoskrnl file it has to be the same exact version number otherwise it will result in a bootloop, as for the default user pictures they are located in "document and settings/all users/application data/microsoft/user account pictures" make sure you check show hidden files option from folder options, and finally to solve the issue when creating new accounts it will apply the classic theme and vista sounds :from hirens boot cd you have to copy ntuser.dat and ntuser.ini files from default user folder from another clean installation to defaultuser folder on the machine that is being debloated
Instead of manually copying the system files over, you can do a System File Check (SFC) command and reference an external file source to verify against, and let Windows scan for and fix any non-standard files. There's a few tricks/methods, but the proper way I think is to boot into the Windows installer DVD/ISO Pre-install environment (PE) and run SFC from a command prompt there, since I dont think XP had a real recovery environment built-in like more modern Windows do. You can make custom windows boot disks with just the PE environment too, I haven't played with that in ages though and can't remember all the details.
You could have saved a lot of time if you did the following: 1) Boot from an installation media of Windows XP that matches the edition 2) Go through the regular install process, but STOP when it finishes searching for existing Windows installations 3) Highlight the correct XP installation and press R to repair, which will delete modified files and copy original files from the installation media
that would be against the spirit of the video i feel, the idea was to try to clean it by hand as much as possible (although copying system files from a boot media is kind of the same)
Just create a new user account, and then insert an official Windows XP disc, and do a repair upgrade. It worked for me undoing changes to this very same bootleg.
This is great to restoring most of the original OS functionality, but it's far from an actual clean install as there's thousands of leftover files, dlls, registry entries, configuration files, etc. Still, I'm very impressed by the result.
The 0x0000007B BSOD you got is generally caused by an inaccessible boot partition. Windows is very picky about the way it accesses storage devices, and if you change that method without changing other settings that tell Windows to use that new different access method, it will flip out and BSOD. Two common ways this can happen are you can change the storage controller mode from IDE to AHCI or vice versa. Or, you mirrored an IDE drive to a SATA drive and the SATA drive controller is in AHCI/RAID mode. Another way it can happen is if the storage controller driver is changed improperly or the files for the driver are clobbered, which probably happened when you overwrote all of system32.
12:55 the "config" folder contains the registry. I would assume that if you skipped that folder, it would fix the BSOD issue. As for the DLLs, it's possible that they patched some of them to bypass activation, and copying new ones simply reverts that. Copying ones from the RTM release of XP might yield a better success.
Ahhh yes, this kind of reminds me of a time when I was cleaning off the old phone server at work because we were giving it to a non profit to use and we were upgrading to a new system. All I had to do was clean off anything related to the company WITHOUT wiping the drive and starting over. That was a fun job, but very tedious.
0x7B stands for INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE. When you replaced everything in the system32 folder, you also overwrote the registry stored in system32/config so all the values that it expected to boot were likely set wrong as a result. Did you use a different computer with a different chipset or a different hard drive emulation mode ? Hiren's boot actually has a built-in fix for that. Don't recall where but there's definitely one of the tools that's labeled for this specific blue screen. I had to use it a couple times when swapping hard drive from one computer to another back in the days. Doubt this would have solved the other activation problem tho.
(First Modify the shell32.dll and imagres.dll) To change the icons you have to delete the current user and create a new one and the icons and other stuff will get reset
I am sure that the blue xp theme was the luna theme.I know that if you wanna set the luna theme in retrobar it says win xp blue so the people who created xp gold could rename the luna theme to blue xp.
8:34 - That software is actually part of a Windows XP update to allow XP users to decrypt BitLocker To Go on removable drives in case someone performed a BL encryption on Vista and newer
It's less the "hitting the fan" and more the "clean up" that I find enjoyable. It's the struggle and the hope for and sharing in the success and also sharing in the failures sometimes. Idk. it's fun.
Pretty neat idea, it's pretty common for people to say "just do a clean reinstall" when systems have bloatware, but this is the first time I've seen someone actually try to remove all of the bloat manually and get it back to clean without reinstalling.
If you want a bigger challenge try removing Norton antivirus from windows vista. The absolute pain that is caused when you realize that the removal tool doesn’t work on that old of a version of Norton.
Man, I used to see this damn thing a lot back when I was still doing PC repair for random customers. I'd never have taken the time to undo all of this, but bravo doing so! I'd still just assume it was compromised to hell and back though (not that one should be putting a WinXP machine anywhere near the open Internet but you get what I mean I'm sure.) Great vid!
LETS GOOO my favorite UA-camr EVER did another video on Gold Edition XP. I still have a copy on a VM because of your original video. I still play with it from time to time.
Hey mjd! I remember that the first one of your videos that I watched was that massive upgrade saga on the $5 98 pc that went all the way to windows 7 and they have gotten better since! also congrats on 500k man!
The topmost pity is that the boot screen was never restored. But thanks Michael you led me know this Windows XP modification that I've gonna trying it right now!
Here's an idea for a video (if you haven't done it yet): Set up Windows XP for daily use in 2024. Is it possible? What's the best PC you can build that'll both handle modern resource demand AND have XP driver support. What software will help more with security? Just all of that jazz. I've become more curious about that after reading more into Microsoft spyware in Windows 10 & 11.
The guys who are making XP Gold 2016 must have really drilled into the original Windows OS and also changed it so that attempts to change it from the outside are blocked. You should only use your own bootleg and nobody else's - you can see what comes out of it. I also changed my Windows 10 with Classic Shell but only the start menu, installed the Windows XP icons and retired those of Windows 10, installed the Windows XP task manager and the classic system configuration. Finally, I installed RetroBar. This is a small program that overlays the taskbars from old Windows versions onto those of Windows 10 and 11. RetroBar is not very well known, but I am proud that it comes from German developers. If you have time, you can make a short video about RetroBar.
This was so intriguing! I also learned many things about how XP functions, so I'd say that was a win-win! Also, congrats! You deserve even more subscribers than this!
This reminds me of the Wild Wild West days of working IT 20 years ago, before stuff was locked down. Folks would complain their computers were slow and it would be caked with malware, cracked games, third-party apps, and crappy themes they tried to install.
@@Qwertypigeon853 Def True, but I was referring to corporate environments, where workstations are now locked down with group policies, admin access is limited, and known seedy websites are blocked by firewalls. I rarely see a malware-infected workstation these days at work, which is a good thing :)
this is the polar opposite of vinesauce joel's windows destructions
Windows reconstruction
It’s perfect.
they should have live duel where they're both trying to do opposite things to the same disk image in real time. it'll be like a hacker movie.
We’re still waiting for him to destroy windows 11 😂
@@SilverBlaze189sb189 as if windows 11 wasn't already destroyed enough
The logon screen's exe file is logonui.exe. winlogon in Windows XP is a critical system process. When terminated, it will crash.
Ha! Knew it was something with logon in it, lol.
Someone managed to terminate winlogon on XP without getting a blue screen
Didn't Enderman do it? (I think it was Enderman, but I'm not sure myself)@@newyoshistudio
@@ElzockiLP I think Bob Pony did
In Newer oses if you end winlogon it just takes you back to the logonui
You don't understand how uncomfortable using this OS would make me feel. It's like something crawling under my skin with that boot screen. My god.
CRAWLING IN MY SKIN
Opposite. I long for an OS this... cluttered and maximalist. Every screen has been edited to make it more flashy for no good reason. It's beautiful to me
@DanteToska Oh I don't mean the stock OS at the start, I mean the one at the end where he cleaned it up as best as he could.
@@psyclonepman THESE WOUNDS, THEY WILL NOT HEEAALLLL
COMPUTER WORM CORPORATION🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣
This is DEFINITELY some sort of bizarre Arab/Pakistani bootleg of XP. The Arabic text on the top of the boot screen translates to "In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful." Even tho I'm muslim (and Pakistani), something about that boot screen is making me wince.
The default user is also M SADEEM, which, unless that's Michael's last name, is also a hint.
This is the infamous Gold Windows XP 2016 by Muhammed Sadeem. Michael did a video about it many years ago. It was distributed by a group calling themselves the Computer Worm Corporation in Pakistan.
For Mosque PC ?😂
@@marksmithcollins Yeah, that's the typical operating system on most computers that you find in the MENA.
@@BenWillock nah if you look closer the full name is Muhammad sadeem (obviously not mjd's name)
Replacing files with copies from a standard copy of Windows XP, that brings up the ship of thesies. There's a point where that installation stops being that installation as the individual files are replaced.
I think as long as he kept the integral files (not bootscreens bug the others in system32 that literally form the OS), he’s fine. He kept the hull and materials, but repainted it and fixed up holes.
34:00 The *icon cache* says hi.
PS: C:\Documents and Settings\Default User
goddamit dominic, wanted to say that lol
I was hoping he'd figure that out, but I guess it didn't matter much since creating the new user account got him a fresh cache.
Hi MichaelMJD, it’s Aaron formerly Buttoncrusher from the Original XP Gold Video, I can’t believe it’s been 8 years already. Also Congrats on 500K, Can’t wait to see you reach 1 Mil. Keep up the awesome work.
Just noticed you've reached half a million of subscribers! Congrats! Well deserved!
We deserve a windows 7 celebration house party?
@@YuNherd yes
what the fuck? i thought he was in the millions already
@@picclejar yeah me too, i mean his been around longer than game theory
Tbh, Windows XP Gold Edition was just thinking ahead because this is what Windows 11 is like now in terms of bloat.
13:41
Michael was asking himself why the pointer began moving all of a sudden.
I believe it decided to go for a small walk.
it was lunchtime for the mouse
@@HOURHAKor it's going to get a snack
It walked to the lemonade, stand
@@AtrixRBX ok i'm standing now what
It was going to LOCK THE TASK BAR
the icons of the stuff that didn't change even if you modified it to change is due to the fact there's an icon cache. you need to clean it and every icon should be re-read from where it should
no thats not the anwser, the icons didnt change because original icons got overwritten in shell32.dll or shell.dll i dont remember
@Nieczytelny_official when he created a new user and logged in as that, the icons were fine. it's the icon cache!
@@Nieczytelny_officialdid you watch the video? He replaced shell32.dll
@@Nieczytelny_official He copied shell32 and shell from the clean version too, it was definitely the icon cache
@@Nieczytelny_official He did end up replacing the icon stuff (see 21:45 for the cache issue)
THIS is a true MJD video guys , where everything was going wrong but goes right after a lot of troubleshooting. Yeah!
Congrats on 500K!
I remember first seeing XP Gold Edition on a stream by Rogueamp and he called Muhammed Sadeem as his number was in the installer. Just turned out that in Pakistan at the time it was like 3AM lol.
I had the exact same thought as soon as I saw the thumbnail, what a legendary stream
I also remember Dream Installer 2015 that plays some ultra spooky music at all times, good times. The two imo go together like bread and butter.
"But everything goes wrong" Classic Michael MJD content that we love. I can always picture myself in your shoes in these videos.
0:58 PHEW I THOUGHT THERE WAS A SPONSER WHEN HE SAID "BEFORE WE GET STARTED ON THE VIDEO IM GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH"
thank god
you really should be using sponsor block lol
@@squabbledOwO Oh my god thank you so much didint even know this extension existed this is a godsend. Thank you!!
@@squabbledOwO sponsorships are so annoying
@@pythoneerssADOFAI not for me tho, man's gotta eat
The bloatware part looks like a fresh windows 11 install btw
Realest thing I've read all day
REAL
@@micaelcarlos6534 I use Windows 7 and Debian XFCE btw
fr
No, but I can’t imagine that being much worse.
I honestly think all these "bundled/bloated" Windows Builds are good challenges for technically adept people. It puts your knowledge of Windows to the test.
That's cool! I may have a suggestion. Why not take an unofficial Windows 7 like Windows 7 Angry Birds and transform it into a clean install of 7?
I know it sounds stupid but it's worth a try. Right?
That's the same thing that he did in this video, except on an older version of Windows
@@cookiehead.You realize windows 7 is NEWER than XP, right?
@@cookiehead. That was XP. But I agree
What are you, 5?@@Windows7RedEdition
very nice video michael here are some notes from my experience of debloating windows xp:
if you install the sp3 update it will restore some of the stock files like the boot screen and logon screen and other system files, it is much faster and safer
some you have to manually replace
for ntoskrnl file it has to be the same exact version number otherwise it will result in a bootloop,
as for the default user pictures they are located in "document and settings/all users/application data/microsoft/user account pictures" make sure you check show hidden files option from folder options,
and finally to solve the issue when creating new accounts it will apply the classic theme and vista sounds :from hirens boot cd you have to copy ntuser.dat and ntuser.ini files from default user folder from another clean installation to defaultuser folder on the machine that is being debloated
not me yelling at the screen for Michael to click on uninstall.exe to get rid of internet download manager, lol
YES
or for everything, should have tried that first before just deleting the folder
SAME, it was right there!
Instead of manually copying the system files over, you can do a System File Check (SFC) command and reference an external file source to verify against, and let Windows scan for and fix any non-standard files. There's a few tricks/methods, but the proper way I think is to boot into the Windows installer DVD/ISO Pre-install environment (PE) and run SFC from a command prompt there, since I dont think XP had a real recovery environment built-in like more modern Windows do. You can make custom windows boot disks with just the PE environment too, I haven't played with that in ages though and can't remember all the details.
congrats on 500k micheal jordan
You could have saved a lot of time if you did the following:
1) Boot from an installation media of Windows XP that matches the edition
2) Go through the regular install process, but STOP when it finishes searching for existing Windows installations
3) Highlight the correct XP installation and press R to repair, which will delete modified files and copy original files from the installation media
that would be against the spirit of the video i feel, the idea was to try to clean it by hand as much as possible (although copying system files from a boot media is kind of the same)
But that's no fun!
What an interesting-sounding video! I can’t wait to watch it!
Ah yes. Could also have done a fresh install of normal XP. Very fun challenge and makes for a fun video.
This almost felt like one of those Art restauration videos.
Just create a new user account, and then insert an official Windows XP disc, and do a repair upgrade. It worked for me undoing changes to this very same bootleg.
Gold XP is the definition of "graphic design is my passion"
This is great to restoring most of the original OS functionality, but it's far from an actual clean install as there's thousands of leftover files, dlls, registry entries, configuration files, etc.
Still, I'm very impressed by the result.
11:47 “aaaaand check that out! Alright….” 😂
Huh, I didn't think you could "De-Bootleg" a phony version of XP! That's intresting!
The 0x0000007B BSOD you got is generally caused by an inaccessible boot partition. Windows is very picky about the way it accesses storage devices, and if you change that method without changing other settings that tell Windows to use that new different access method, it will flip out and BSOD.
Two common ways this can happen are you can change the storage controller mode from IDE to AHCI or vice versa. Or, you mirrored an IDE drive to a SATA drive and the SATA drive controller is in AHCI/RAID mode.
Another way it can happen is if the storage controller driver is changed improperly or the files for the driver are clobbered, which probably happened when you overwrote all of system32.
I like how you manually sorted through the files for a task that most people would have done by simply reinstalling Windows. Good vid.
Congrats on 500k dude
13:42 had me rolling for some reason
System file checker: "Am I nothing to you???"
The hardest task for any computer is to debloat it completely, and I’m surprised you managed to pull that off. Congrats for 500K subs!
12:55 the "config" folder contains the registry. I would assume that if you skipped that folder, it would fix the BSOD issue. As for the DLLs, it's possible that they patched some of them to bypass activation, and copying new ones simply reverts that. Copying ones from the RTM release of XP might yield a better success.
7B - invalid disk controller settings. He could run it if he would use fix_hdc from Hirens.
Congrats on 500K Subs Michael!
Ahhh yes, this kind of reminds me of a time when I was cleaning off the old phone server at work because we were giving it to a non profit to use and we were upgrading to a new system. All I had to do was clean off anything related to the company WITHOUT wiping the drive and starting over. That was a fun job, but very tedious.
Ah, memories. Bricked my first PC as a kid f-ing around with XP theme packs and stuff. Didn't get another one for 5 years. Good times.
Congrats on 500k! 🎉🎉🎉
0x7B stands for INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE.
When you replaced everything in the system32 folder, you also overwrote the registry stored in system32/config so all the values that it expected to boot were likely set wrong as a result. Did you use a different computer with a different chipset or a different hard drive emulation mode ?
Hiren's boot actually has a built-in fix for that. Don't recall where but there's definitely one of the tools that's labeled for this specific blue screen. I had to use it a couple times when swapping hard drive from one computer to another back in the days.
Doubt this would have solved the other activation problem tho.
This is one case where re-enabling windows file protection and running sfc will have done the majority of the job...
Wait, SFC Scannow actually working? That never happens!
(First Modify the shell32.dll and imagres.dll) To change the icons you have to delete the current user and create a new one and the icons and other stuff will get reset
Unless they modified the default user which is a template copied every time a new user is made
Yes i know but i forgot to edit the comment
You could also just delete the icon cache
WOOOO 500K! 👏🏻
This OS looks like it came straight from a creepypasta vid minus the horror/virus elements. Everything about it just feels uncanny.
Yeah no you're just xenophobic and incapable of comprehending dev cultures in foreign countries
The most interesting xp video that i has been ever seen. Anyway great video. And congrats for 500k subscribers
bloatware? wdym??? we obviously need subway surfers on our windows xp gold edition released after windows 10
I am sure that the blue xp theme was the luna theme.I know that if you wanna set the luna theme in retrobar it says win xp blue so the people who created xp gold could rename the luna theme to blue xp.
Debloating Windows 11 into clean Install of Windows 10
8:34 - That software is actually part of a Windows XP update to allow XP users to decrypt BitLocker To Go on removable drives in case someone performed a BL encryption on Vista and newer
Nice video, crazy work, but satisfying watch. Thanks for your great effort
I feel like I suggested this awhile ago, glorious to see it happen xD
Congrats on 500k🎉 I’ve been here since 300k and your vids are amazing
It's less the "hitting the fan" and more the "clean up" that I find enjoyable. It's the struggle and the hope for and sharing in the success and also sharing in the failures sometimes. Idk. it's fun.
Pretty neat idea, it's pretty common for people to say "just do a clean reinstall" when systems have bloatware, but this is the first time I've seen someone actually try to remove all of the bloat manually and get it back to clean without reinstalling.
If you want a bigger challenge try removing Norton antivirus from windows vista. The absolute pain that is caused when you realize that the removal tool doesn’t work on that old of a version of Norton.
Nice job with 500K! Been here since 130K and you’ve come so far!
Yooooo 500k congrats michael🎉🎉🎉🎉❤
15:29 "69 file(s) copied" what a funny number
Grats on 500k subs, MJD, you deserve it :)
Man, I used to see this damn thing a lot back when I was still doing PC repair for random customers. I'd never have taken the time to undo all of this, but bravo doing so! I'd still just assume it was compromised to hell and back though (not that one should be putting a WinXP machine anywhere near the open Internet but you get what I mean I'm sure.)
Great vid!
LETS GOOO my favorite UA-camr EVER did another video on Gold Edition XP.
I still have a copy on a VM because of your original video. I still play with it from time to time.
this is literally de-ricing xp
As the saying goes, "when the shit hits the fan" LMAO!!!
Half a million subs! Congrats!
Hey mjd! I remember that the first one of your videos that I watched was that massive upgrade saga on the $5 98 pc that went all the way to windows 7 and they have gotten better since! also congrats on 500k man!
That's like those carpet cleaning videos, you get a really dirty carpet and turn it into a work of art once again later!
lol, no one would need to do this, therefore, mjd... it's great
Michael. Is that 500K I see. It is! Nice job on this milestone!
Congrats on 500k subs, Michael!
Wouldn't be an MJD video without something going horribly wrong ...
The topmost pity is that the boot screen was never restored. But thanks Michael you led me know this Windows XP modification that I've gonna trying it right now!
I think the boot screen is logo.sys?
Great job! Whoever suggested this idea is a genius!
love the background music :)
Congrats on 500k
Here's an idea for a video (if you haven't done it yet): Set up Windows XP for daily use in 2024. Is it possible? What's the best PC you can build that'll both handle modern resource demand AND have XP driver support. What software will help more with security? Just all of that jazz. I've become more curious about that after reading more into Microsoft spyware in Windows 10 & 11.
why did you ruin xp gold like this
The guys who are making XP Gold 2016 must have really drilled into the original Windows OS and also changed it so that attempts to change it from the outside are blocked. You should only use your own bootleg and nobody else's - you can see what comes out of it. I also changed my Windows 10 with Classic Shell but only the start menu, installed the Windows XP icons and retired those of Windows 10, installed the Windows XP task manager and the classic system configuration. Finally, I installed RetroBar. This is a small program that overlays the taskbars from old Windows versions onto those of Windows 10 and 11. RetroBar is not very well known, but I am proud that it comes from German developers. If you have time, you can make a short video about RetroBar.
Next video: "Bloating a Fresh Install of Windows XP into a Bloatware!! | Destruction of Windows XP"
Good video man happy Thanksgiving
This was so intriguing! I also learned many things about how XP functions, so I'd say that was a win-win!
Also, congrats! You deserve even more subscribers than this!
How do you plan on cleaning the registry of bloat from the bloat programs given you didn't use Revo Uninstaller?
My soul has been soothed. I would love for this to be a series
This reminds me of the Wild Wild West days of working IT 20 years ago, before stuff was locked down. Folks would complain their computers were slow and it would be caked with malware, cracked games, third-party apps, and crappy themes they tried to install.
@@HellScream107 All that is still possible. I've trashed Windows 10 installs
@@Qwertypigeon853 Def True, but I was referring to corporate environments, where workstations are now locked down with group policies, admin access is limited, and known seedy websites are blocked by firewalls. I rarely see a malware-infected workstation these days at work, which is a good thing :)
Yay, another MJD Video. also congrats on half a million subscribers. love your content, it's really interesting. :)
this is such a cool video concept, make more like these!!
Look what they did with my child, Gold Windows is unrecognizable😰😰😥😢😭😭😭😭😢
The Windows XP install of Theseus
Michael you seem to have just uploaded a video of debloating a stock install of Windows 11, is the title correct?
Haha thanks for going through all this trouble for us 💐 this was fun to watch
with the icon issues you should've also replaced imageres.dll, that file also includes icons that windows uses
I love that the Task Manager badging on the lefthand side of the window is the Apple App Store icon.
The creator of this bootleg seeing his creation cleansed into stock: 😢😢😢
My go to for geeking videos. Cheers Michael
Any reason you didnt start with CCleaner? IIRC it has uninstallers, startup tasks, right click context menu stuff, registry checker, etc
Alright yall it’s time to make this into a speedrunning comp
HAPPY 500K SUBS!!!!!!!!!!
This was a particularly entertaining video; I have no idea why. 😂 Happy Thanksgiving, MJD!
Love how all the themes are named after some type of gold and then there's one called spiderman