Installing Windows Media Player 7.1 Under Windows NT 4.0 SP6a

It’s hypocrisy gone mad! Yes, I know. As the self professed leader of the Say No To 7 campaign, here I am about to show you how to install it onto something it was never meant for!
Well, one does like to fiddle.

 

Windows Media Player 7.1

The interesting thing about Microsoft, is their uncanny self-imposed need to artificially limiting their software products to conform to whatever marketing initiative they’re currently undertaking. This isn’t necessarily always a bad thing – it does force some level of forward progress. However, I do wonder how much end user adoption they have inhibited, and how large a slice of the security exploits pie such a policy has helped to create.

The the official system requirements for Windows Media Player 7.1 are as follows (Source):

Minimum

  • Microsoft Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows 2000, or Windows Millennium Edition
  • Pentium 166 megahertz (MHz) processor
  • 32 MB RAM
  • 28.8-kilobits per second (Kbps) modem
  • 16-bit sound card
  • 256-color video card

Recommended

  • Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows 2000, or Windows Millennium Edition
  • Pentium or AMD Athlon K6 266 MHz processor or faster
  • 64 MB RAM
  • 56-Kbps modem
  • 24-bit true colour video card

If you’re someone who takes such information as sacrosanct, then this might surprise you:

Windows Media Player 7.1 under Windows NT 4.0 SP6a

I would like to stress that the image is not a fake, it is a genuine Windows NT 4.0 Workstation screenshot. Neither is the process some sort of hack which would be seen as a breach of EULA terms by rewriting, hex-editing, decompiling or resource editing even a single binary digit of Microsoft code.

Though it was exceptionally time consuming to initially setup, the program runs on the Windows NT 4.0 kernel with no modifications, no special DLL’s ripped from any other version of Windows, and relies upon nothing more than the Windows Media Player 7.1 installer binary, and a fully patched Windows NT 4.0 installation.

You are probably wondering at this point why I’m fiddling with Windows Media Player 7.1, when there is a version 9 release out there just waiting to be converted down. Truth be told, I did try it. However, it loads with a Kernel related error and attempting to fix it goes too far plus, when all is said and done, I wasn’t going to spend that much time on this project.

 

NOTE: This has only been tested under Windows NT 4.0 Workstation SP6a on a Virtual PC Image, and has not been thoroughly tested in features or performance. It should however work with NT 4.0 Server and Advanced Server (it may not Terminal Server). Use at your own risk.

 

Installing

I have created a redistributable of the Windows Media Player 7.1, which will enable you to get it working in a few very short steps. If you are so inclined, you can inflate the installer yourself.

The binary download includes:

  • Windows Media Player 7.1
  • Adaptec CD Burning Plug-in (untested)
  • Windows Media Device Manager (untested)
  • All other installed components
  • Windows Media Player 7 Patches:
    1. Q308567 ASF Processor Contains Unchecked Buffer
    2. Q320920 Windows Media Player Rollup
    3. Q808226 Windows Media Player Script Commands Update
    4. Q817787 Flaw in Windows Media Player Skins Code Execution
    5. Q828026 Windows Media Player URL Script Command Update
  • Windows Media 7 ActiveX Control for Internet Explorer

 

Patch It Up

Step one in this plan is for you to fully patch NT 4.0. I recommend that you follow my guide, and get yourself the Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 (with the shell update) from HPC:Factor or anyone else you care to source it from.

When I say patch it, I mean it. In full. If you don’t want to install Microsoft Internet Explorer, stop reading now and go and download WinAmp.

View: Windows NT 4.0 Installation, Patches & Updates Guide (HPC:Factor)

 

Download

The installation binary for Windows Media Player 7.1 for Windows NT is nothing fancy, just a zip file which you will need to drag into your own file system, and a bat file that you need to run yourself. There is no formal uninstaller, though it’s pretty easy to reverse engineer the bat file to clear out your system.

Download: (11.8 MB) wmp71-nt4.zip

 

Installation Procedure

Please be sure to read the following carefully!

  1. Inflate the zip file into a temporary folder
  2. Exit Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer and ideally all programs / tray applications
  3. Copy the Program Files over program files on your system drive. It’s safe to allow all overwrites*
  4. Copy the WinNT folder over your file system. READ all dialogue boxes. Do NOT overwrite new files with older ones
    e.g. If the file you already have is 23/03/2002 and the one you are copying is 02/04/1999 do not overwrite it
    If you say Yes to overwrite a system file and Windows tells you that it cannot perform the replacement action, ignore it
  5. If you wish to install ‘My Music’, copy the My Music folder into the My Documents (Personal) default profile, and then in turn into your user(s) profile(s)
  6. Run the Register.bat file
  7. Copy the Windows Media Player shortcut into your Start Menu, desktop, quick launch (as desired)
  8. Installation is now complete

 

* Back up your system registry before running this update