An unofficial patch, sometimes alternatively called community patch, is a patch for a piece of software, created by a third party such as a user community without the involvement of the original developer. Similar to an ordinary patch, it alleviates bugs or shortcomings. Unofficial patches do not usually change the intended usage of the software, in contrast to other third-party software adaptions such as mods or cracks.
A common motivation for the creation of unofficial patches is missing technical support by the original software developer or provider. Reasons may include:
Unofficial patches are also sometimes called fan patches or community patches, and are typically intended to repair unresolved bugs and provide technical compatibility fixes, e.g. for newer operating systems, increased display resolutions [8] [9] or new display formats.
While unofficial patches are most common for the PC platform, they can also be found for console games e.g. in context of the emulation community. [10]
Unofficial patches are not limited to technical fixes; fan translations of software, especially games, are often created if the software has not been released locally. [11] Fan translations are most common for Japanese role-playing games which are often not localized for Western markets. [12] [13]
Another variant of unofficial patches are slipstream like patches which combine official patches together, when individual patches are only available online or as small incremental updates.
The most common case is that the source code and the original development tools are not available for the software. Therefore, the faulty software's binary must be analyzed at run time by reverse engineering and debugging. If the problem is found, a fix to the program must be applied. Sometimes only small changes in configuration files or the registry are required, sometimes binary hacks on the executable itself are required to fix bugs. If a software development kit (e.g. for modding) is available, fixes to the content can be easily produced, otherwise the community would need to create their own tools. These found fixes are typically packed to user deployable patches (e.g. with NSIS, Innosetup).
If the source code is available, support can by provided most effectively. Sometimes the source code is released intentionally, [14] [15] [16] sometimes by leaking [17] [18] [19] or mistake, [20] such as what happened with the game engine of the Thief series. [21] [22] Sometimes fans even completely reverse-engineer source code from the original program binary. [23] With the source code available even the support of completely different but recent platforms with source ports becomes possible.
While no court cases have directly addressed the legal ramifications of unofficial patches, similar cases have been tried on related issues. The case of Galoob v. Nintendo found that it was not copyright infringement by a user to apply an unauthorized patch to a system (while the scope was very specific to the Game Genie). On the other hand, the case Micro Star v. FormGen Inc. found that user-generated maps were derivative works of the original game. In Sega v. Accolade , the 9th Circuit held that making copies in the course of reverse engineering is a fair use, when it is the only way to get access to the "ideas and functional elements" in the copyrighted code, and when "there is a legitimate reason for seeking such access". According to Copyright law of the United States 17 U.S. Code § 117, the owner of a copy of a program can modify it as necessary for "Maintenance or Repair", [24] without permission from the copyright holder; an argumentation also raised by Daniel J. Bernstein professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. [25]
Similar user rights are given also according to European copyright laws. The question of whether unauthorized changes of lawfully obtained copyright-protected software qualify as fair use is an unsettled area of law. [26] An article of Helbraun law firm remarks, in the context of fan translations, that while redistributing complete games with adaptions most likely does not fall under fair use, distributing the modifications as a patch might be legally permissible; however, that conclusion has not been tested in court. [27]
Reception of unofficial patches is mixed, but by large, copyright holders are ambivalent. When the software is not considered commercially viable unofficial patches are ignored by the copyright holder as it is not seen as a source of lost revenue. [11] [28] There have been seldom cases of cease and desist letters to unofficial patch and fan translation projects. [29] [30]
Sometimes the copyright holder actively support the patching and fixing efforts of a software community, [31] sometimes even by releasing the source code under a software license which allows the software community the continued software support by themselves. [16] [14] [15] [32] [33] [34] Examples for such software are in the List of commercial video games with later released source code.
The free and open source software movement was founded in the 1980s to solve the underlying problem of unofficial patches, the limited possibility for user self-support in binary only distributed software due to missing source code. Free and open source software demands from distributed software the availability of source code, which prevents the technical problems and legal uncertainties of binary only user patching of proprietary software.
Computer game | Type |
---|---|
Anachronox | Bug fix patch [35] |
Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome | Bug fixes, balance fixes, stability fixes, UI and sound improvements, resolution fixes including support for more higher definition resolutions [36] |
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | Bug fix patch, [37] fan translation |
Battlezone II | Bug fix patch [38] [39] [40] |
Civilization IV | Bug fixes and extensions, [41] (with SDK source code [42] [43] and accessible XML configuration and Python files) [44] |
Civilization V | Bug fixes and extensions (based on source code) [45] [46] [47] |
Chrono Trigger | Fan translation, bug fix patch [48] |
Command & Conquer | Bug fix patch, resolution fixes, added support for language packs [8] [49] [50] |
Dark Souls II | Bug fixes [51] |
Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut | Resolution fix [9] |
Ecco the Dolphin | Bug fixes, ports for newer OSes [52] [53] |
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall | Bug fix patch, [54] fan translation |
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Bug fix patch, [55] [56] translation fixes [57] |
Empire Earth 2 | Bug fixes, unhandled exception crash fixes, Windows 8 / 10 / 11 support, more screen resolutions (including 4k and the custom screen resolution generator), DirectX 9 support, G-Sync / FreeSync and high monitor refresh rate fixes, unlimited camera zoom settings, changed low-quality sounds, new options in game (e.g. more population, cycle time of day, disable crowns system and leaders), integrated language changer, integrated private multiplayer server and many more new features (fully customizable), frequently updated. [58] |
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | Bug fixes [59] [60] |
Fallout 2 | Bug fixes, [61] resolution fixes |
Fallout: New Vegas | Bug fixes, [62] [63] stability and performance fixes (especially for modern systems) [64] |
Fallout 4 | Bug fixes [65] [66] [67] |
Freelancer | Bug fix patch [68] |
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Engine, graphics and quality-of-life fixes [69] |
Gothic 3 | Bug fix patch [7] [33] [70] |
Infinity Engine ( Baldur's Gate series, Icewind Dale etc.) | Bug fix patch, resolution fixes [71] |
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover | Fix mod based on source code (which later became an official release as "Blitz Edition") [72] |
Jagged Alliance 2 (now JA2-Stracciatella) | Bug fix patch, resolution fixes, ports [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] |
Jazz Jackrabbit 2 | Bug fixes, stability fixes, new features for client side and server side [79] |
Legacy of Kain series | Bug fix patch [80] [81] [82] |
LucasArts adventures ( Monkey Island , Indiana Jones , etc.) | Fan translation [83] |
Master of Magic | Fan patch [84] [85] [86] |
Master of Orion 3 | Fan translation, [87] bug fix |
Minecraft | Fan fixes implemented to latest patches [88] [89] [90] |
MVP Baseball 2005 | Fixes, support continuation [91] [92] [93] |
Nier: Automata | Resolution fixes, performance fix [94] |
Nuclear Throne | Various bug-fixes for co-op mode, as well as addition of online co-op [95] [96] |
Paradroid | Bug fixes, speed fixes [97] |
Rollcage | Bug fix patch [98] |
Silent Hill 2 | 'Enhanced Edition' rehaul, including bug fixes, enhanced and remade graphic assets, full widescreen support, HD cutscenes, and numerous modern improvements [99] |
Silent Hunter II / Destroyer Command | Bug fix patch (Ubisoft endorsed with source code) [16] [100] [101] [102] |
Star Ocean | Fan translation [12] |
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords | Bug fixes, [103] [104] restored content, [105] widescreen support [106] |
Supreme Commander | Bug fixes, multiplayer client and server replacement (Server emulator) [107] [108] [109] [110] |
Dark Engine ( Thief 1 , Thief 2 , System Shock 2 ) | Bug fix patch [21] [22] [111] |
Titan Quest | Bug fix patch [112] [113] |
Ultima series | Bug fix patch, [114] fan translation |
Ultima 4 | Bug fix patch, remaster [115] [116] |
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines | Bug fix patch, restored content, widescreen and modern OS support [117] [118] [119] |
Xenonauts | Bug fix patch and support continuation [120] [121] |
Software | Type |
---|---|
3dfx drivers | Driver fixes, continued support [122] [123] |
Adobe Acrobat | Fast security fix [124] |
Socket 7 boards' Award BIOS | 32 GB+ HDD support, AMD K6-2/3+ support [125] [126] [127] |
iOS 4.3.3 | Fast security fix [128] |
Java | Fast security fix [129] |
Windows 7, Windows 8 | Unlocking of hardware support [130] |
Windows 98 | Slipstream patch, Bug fix patch, [1] [131] support for harddrives > 137 GB, [132] support for 2k API [133] [134] [135] |
Windows XP | Update pack [136] [137] |
Internet Explorer | Fast security fix [138] |
Nvidia nForce Chipset Device driver | Support for older Chipsets on newer Windows OSs [139] [140] [141] |
Palm Pre | Functionality extension [142] |
Windows Metafile format | Fast security fix [4] [5] [6] |
Windows URI problem | Fast security fix [143] |
Mac OS X 10.3 | Daylight saving time patch [144] |
An end-of-life product is a product at the end of the product lifecycle, which prevents users from receiving updates, indicating that the product is at the end of its useful life. At this stage, a vendor stops the marketing, selling, or provisioning of parts, services, or software updates for the product. The vendor may simply intend to limit or end support for the product. In the specific case of product sales, a vendor may employ the more specific term "end-of-sale" ("EOS"). All users can continue to access discontinued products, but cannot receive security updates and technical support. The time-frame after the last production date depends on the product and relates to the expected product lifetime from a customer's point of view. Different lifetime examples include toys from fast food chains, mobile phones and cars.
Video game modding is the process of alteration by players or fans of one or more aspects of a video game, such as how it looks or behaves, and is a sub-discipline of general modding. Mods may range from small changes and tweaks to complete overhauls, and can extend the replay value and interest of the game.
A patch is data that is intended to be used to modify an existing software resource such as a program or a file, often to fix bugs and security vulnerabilities. A patch may be created to improve functionality, usability, or performance. A patch is typically provided by a vendor for updating the software that they provide. A patch may be created manually, but commonly it is created via a tool that compares two versions of the resource and generates data that can be used to transform one to the other.
Jagged Alliance is a series of turn-based tactics video games. The first games in the series were released for DOS. From Jagged Alliance 2 on, the games were developed using DirectX for native Windows operation. Jagged Alliance 2 was also released for Linux and is available on Steam and on GOG.com for Windows.
Ultima IX: Ascension is a 1999 role-playing video game developed by Origin Systems and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows. It is the ninth and final main installment of the Ultima series.
Homebrew, when applied to video games, refers to software produced by hobbyists for proprietary video game consoles which are not intended to be user-programmable. The official documentation is often only available to licensed developers, and these systems may use storage formats that make distribution difficult, such as ROM cartridges or encrypted CD-ROMs. Many consoles have hardware restrictions to prevent unauthorized development.
Jagged Alliance 2 is a tactical role-playing game released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows and later ported to Linux by Tribsoft. It is the third entry in the Jagged Alliance series. The game was followed by the expansion Unfinished Business in 2000. Two commercial versions of the mod Wildfire were released in 2004 in the form of expansion packs. The core game and the Unfinished Business expansion were combined and released under the title Jagged Alliance 2 Gold Pack in 2002.
Rollcage is a 1999 racing video game developed by Attention to Detail and published by Psygnosis for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation.
The Dark Engine was a game engine developed by Looking Glass Studios and was used from 1998 to 2000, mainly in the early Thief games.
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall is an open-world, action role-playing game published by Bethesda Softworks. The second video game in the Elder Scrolls series, it was released on September 20, 1996 for MS-DOS, following the success of 1994's The Elder Scrolls: Arena. The story follows the player, sent by the Emperor, to free the ghost of King Lysandus from his earthly shackles and discover what happened to a letter sent from the Emperor to the former queen of Daggerfall.
Gothic 3 is a fantasy-themed open world action role-playing game for Microsoft Windows developed by Piranha Bytes. It is the sequel to Gothic II.
Companies whose business centers on the development of open-source software employ a variety of business models to solve the challenge of making profits from software that is under an open-source license. Each of these business strategies rest on the premise that users of open-source technologies are willing to purchase additional software features under proprietary licenses, or purchase other services or elements of value that complement the open-source software that is core to the business. This additional value can be, but not limited to, enterprise-grade features and up-time guarantees to satisfy business or compliance requirements, performance and efficiency gains by features not yet available in the open source version, legal protection, or professional support/training/consulting that are typical of proprietary software applications.
Abandonware is a product, typically software, ignored by its owner and manufacturer, which can no longer be found for sale, and for which no official support is available and cannot be bought.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a 2011 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth main installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006), and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 11, 2011.
Fallout 4 is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the Fallout series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The game is set within an open world post-apocalyptic environment that encompasses the city of Boston and the surrounding Massachusetts region known as "The Commonwealth".
Spacebase DF-9 is a space simulator video game developed by Double Fine Productions. It was prototyped during Double Fine's open Amnesia Fortnight 2012, directed by JP Lebreton. After being released as an open beta on October 15, 2013, it was officially released on October 27, 2014, for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux. After the official end-of-life of the game in May 2015, the community took over the development based on an open-source code fork. The community fork of this game has also since been abandoned, the last update Patch v1.09 Unofficial - Jan 16, 2023 marking the end of community accepted contributions. DerelictGames has disbanded afterwards.
Skyrimmodding refers to the community-made modifications for the 2011 fantasy role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. One of the most modded video games of all time, it has nearly 70,000 mod submissions on Nexus Mods and 28,000 in the Steam Workshop. Many of these mods were created for utility reasons, patching numerous bugs left in the game by Bethesda Softworks, while also improving the game's usability and character movement. Other mods add new quests and characters, or update the game's graphics and animations. As the vanilla game has a reputation for outdated mechanics, it is common for players to mod Skyrim even prior to their first playthrough.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)Looking Glass Studios closed in 2000, a year after System Shock 2's release, and the copyright to the series went into the hands of an insurance company. That left EA with only the System Shock name, but no actual development rights.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Security vendor ESET, makers of the NOD32 anti-virus program, on Wednesday shipped an interim patch for the bug, almost a week before Microsoft Corp. is scheduled to release a properly tested security update.
Because of the severity of the threat, the SANS Institute, a computer security group, has released a patch for the vulnerability until Microsoft's fix is available next week.
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has generic name (help)Thoman had uploaded "DPfix 0.1 alpha," a patch that allowed Deadly Premonition players to manually adjust the game's resolution. [...] The most recent DPfix release fixed pixel offset errors that occurred at higher resolutions, fixed anti-aliasing when it was not being correctly applied, added improved depth-of-field effects, and added an option for screen space ambient occlusion.
[...]fans of the Myth trilogy have taken this idea a step further: they have official access to the source code for the Myth games. Organized under the name MythDevelopers, this all-volunteer group of programmers, artists, and other talented people devote their time to improving and supporting further development of the Myth game series.
With the release of Homeworld 2 for the PC, Relic Entertainment has decided to give back to their impressive fan community by releasing the source code to the original Homeworld.
gave source code to subsim.com [...] a fund raising drive netted more than $7000 to jump-start Project Messerwetzer [...] Skilled volunteers and playtesters rallied to the call [...] a free 5MB to 6MB patch that will be finally polished and playtested. The original crippling flaw, multiplayer instability, has been dramatically minimized
[C2E] In 2000 the source code of Falcon 4.0 leaked out and after that groups of volunteers were able to make fixes and enhancements that assured the longevity of this sim. Do you see the source code leak as a good or bad event? [Klemmick] "Absolutely a good event. In fact I wish I'd known who did it so I could thank them. I honestly think this should be standard procedure for companies that decide not to continue to support a code base."
As of this weekend, Christmas has come early for the Through the Looking Glass community. A CD's been discovered containing the source code for the Dark Engine, aka the engine used by Thief, Thief II and System Shock 2 (not to mention Irrational and Looking Glass' cancelled cold war spy game Deep Cover).
Double Fine's Chris Remo (via Kotaku) tweeted out word of the abruptly unearthed hunks of unofficial patching gold, pointing the way to a French forum called Ariane4ever.
This is an unofficial patch for Thief II: The Metal Age (T2) which updates the game from v1.18 to v1.19, providing improved support for modern hardware and correcting many known bugs.
Dune Dynasty is a continuation of the classic real-time strategy game Dune II by Westwood Studios. It is not a remake. It builds upon the original game engine as reverse-engineered by the OpenDUNE project.
[…]we told Mr. Sakamoto that a fan translation had been done some years ago for Front Mission 1, and asked how he felt about such efforts. The producer replied that he actually found them very encouraging – it's something the developers should be doing, but because they're not, the fans are doing it instead. He stated that he'd like to be able to give something back to the fans, and would like to thank personally each of the fans that worked on the translation.
As of May 9, 2009, the patch is no longer hosted due to a cease & desist letter from Square Enix.
[...]that no further patches to the title would be forthcoming. The community was predictably upset. Instead of giving up on the game, users decided that if Activision wasn't going to fix the bugs, they would. They wanted to save the game by getting Activision to open the source so it could be kept alive beyond the point where Activision lost interest. With some help from members of the development team that were active on fan forums, they were eventually able to convince Activision to release Call to Power II's source code in October of 2003.
Being part of the "Community Patch Team" formed to fix the great but bug-baiten "Gothic 3″ game, Mad Vulture Games was taking care of major coordination work, 3D model fixing and lots of other work for the Gothic 3 Addon "Forsaken Gods" Enhanced Edition, also being the producing company.
The classic Age of Empires – revived in HD! This is the unofficial (HD) patch for Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome, a complete revamp of the original game – with HD resolution, HD quality interface graphics, hundreds of bug fixes, new gameplay options and many other enhancements.
there's another big new release expected, but it's not an official expansion. It's the Community Patch Project (CPP; to be named Vox Populi on release), a community-made mod that overhauls and improves a majority of the game's systems in an attempt to make Civilization V the best game it possibly can be.
Community Patch was actually built upon another mod. Since development began in 2014, it's become its own thing, prompting a rebranding: Vox Populi. Besides improving upon the game's AI, Vox Populi tweaks the game's balance, and fixes bugs that were left behind after Firaxis moved on. [...]we have to respect them for giving us the source code, and that must have taken some courage
Special Operations was unique to the Nintendo 64 and Playstation versions of the game, but the maps have since been extracted and included in unofficial fan patches.
There's no excuse for the durability bug to be part of Scholar of the First Sin. It's not limited to the PC version, either. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions run at 60 frames-per-second. From Software and Bandai Namco have not yet responded to my request for comment. You might not be surprised to learn that fans have decided to rescue the game again, however. DS2fix removes the durability bug from the game, in addition to addressing a few other issues.
[...]the goal of the Unofficial Skyrim Patch (aka USKP) is to eventually fix every bug with Skyrim not officially resolved by the developers [...]Hundreds of gameplay, quest, NPC, object, item, text and placement bugs fixed already
Die Erweiterung Skyrim – Director's Cut hat es sich zum Ziel gemacht, die deutsche Version von The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim so gut es geht zu verbessern. Vorrangig geht es darum, fehlende Übersetzungen nachzuholen und Texte und Begriffe so anzupassen, dass sie auch zu den vorherigen Teilen der Reihe passen. Mit dem beiliegenden inoffiziellen Skyrim-Patch werden zudem eine Vielzahl Fehler des eigentlichen Spiels, die die offiziellen Patches noch nicht korrigiert haben, behoben. Mit der Erweiterung könnt ihr außerdem alle englischsprachigen Texturen nun in deutscher Sprache vorfinden.
Beim Internet Archive ist nun nicht nur das Originalspiel [E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial] von 1982 zu finden, sondern auch eine Version, die seine schlimmsten Programmierfehler korrigiert.
a new Gothic 3 Enhanced Edition v1.75 Update Pack (International)
The BG2 Fixpack is a WeiDU compilation of fixes for Baldur's Gate II. […] This collaborative effort, including the work of modders from several different modding communities and assistance from BG2 lead writer David Gaider, has resulted in a fixpack that currently includes all of the fixes addressed by Baldurdash (including the Game Text Update) and several hundred new bugfixes. The project is ongoing, and we're working through a substantial list of bugs culled from various sites, the old Baldurdash forums, and our own research.
Jagged Alliance 2 [...] and maintains both a tutorial for getting GOG games to run on Mac OS X, and a list of games he has personally tested to work on Mac OS X through CrossOver, Wineskin, and open source ports.
Update 2013-03-13: Added support for high video resolutions. For example, game can be started in 1024x768 mode like this: ja2.exe -res 1024x768. Any reasonable resolution should work. Some bugfixes from this forum have been integrated. [...]
JJ2+ is a patch, with a lot of fixes for bugs and lots of new features, both clientside and serverside. [...] One major JJ2+ feature is the implementation of the AngelScript scripting language, which allows you to write your own scripts that manipulate various parts of the game and are run either by specific levels or by multiplayer servers.
[…]now you can play in BO1 under Windows-7 without any problems with video.
What the Insecticide patch is all about? to make the MoM game as bug-free and as AI-challenging and as user-friendly as possible without modifying the content. The patch now features more than 200 bug-fixes, AI improvements and interface changes.
Another factor in MVP's favor: The game allows greater access to its innards than most titles. [...] 2K's failure to match MVP's approval rating despite several years of running unopposed on the PC market, made MVP the go-to game for modders even as it lost its looks relative to 2K and The Show. The community's support peaked from 2005 through the first PC edition of 2K in 2009, tailed off for a time, and then ramped up again once Take-Two abandoned the PC market in 2013 and canceled 2K entirely last year. A decade of EA development made MVP the best baseball game on the PC market in 2005, and a decade of amateur development has helped it keep that title in 2015.
former Attention to Detail programmer Robert Baker, who also still had a candle burning for Rollcage. Baker had been contacted by hardcore Rollcage fans asking for his help to keep Rollcage running on drastically newer PC hardware, 15 years down the track. "I can't speak for other developers, but for myself, I've worked on a dozen games and Rollcage is the only game that I've personally supported after release," says Baker. "I don't hold the source code to many games as that belongs to the company that develops these games of course, but Rollcage was a bit different."
Subsim Review served as the gathering place for Projekt Messerwetzer, the project that brought Silent Hunter II – Destroyer Command computability to full fruition
After years of development, the cut content has been finally restored and most of the bugs have been fixed, thanks to a project known as the "Restored Content Mod.
On top of that, the mod fixes "over 500″ bugs, because Obsidian, basically.
The official multiplayer servers for Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance have been decommissioned for a while now, but fortunately [...] the community-driven Forged Alliance Forever has emerged. The self-patching multiplayer client allows players of the epic real-time strategy title to continue blowing things up in massive quantities. It even adds new units, a new faction, and some game modes that weren't available on the official servers, such as 6v6.
Bloodlines […] was essentially abandoned by its publisher after its developer closed a few months after release, but the fans have just kept on going, fixing things, improving things, digging up locked away extra content […]
Updated Security researchers have developed an unofficial patch for a zero-day Adobe Acrobat and Reader vulnerability that's become the subject of hacker attacks. Adobe acknowledged the vulnerability last week but said an official patch wouldn't be available until 11 March.
Win98: Enable 48-bit LBA patch for Windows 98 posted on MSFN.ORG – Implements 48-bit LBA support into Windows 98's default IDE driver to support hard drives larger than 137GB.
This is a fascinating project from a technical standpoint. They are implementing missing API calls used by newer applications that are missing from Windows 98 and Windows ME.
Another unofficial patch has been released to counter a critical flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)Many users with an nForce chipset mainboard, who are running or going to install Windows XP (32/64bit), are searching for actual nForce chipset drivers, which are suitable for their special chipset and will give them the best possible performance and stability of their system. NVIDIA itself doesn't offer them.