ERPMan's Essential Downloads Page [created by Noel Piring]
Updated: Monday September 9, 2024

The downloads posted here are listed in alphabetical order.

Note to Win10 (non-LTSC) users: If you are still using Windows 10, update to either 21H2 or 22H2 version and
install the latest cumulative update.

Note to Win8.1 users: If you are still using Windows 8.1, install Update 1 (KB2919355) & Update 3 (KB3000850)
and their latest updates.

Note to Win7 SP1 users: If you are still using Windows 7, install Service Pack 1 and their latest updates,
                                        especially the KB4474419 & KB4490628 updates, which add SHA-2 (SHA256) support.

Note to WinVista SP2 users: If you are still using Windows Vista, install Service Pack 2 and their latest updates,
                                              along with the KB4039648 update, which add SHA-2 (SHA256) support.

Note to WinXP SP3 users: If you are still using Windows XP, install Service Pack 3 and Windows Installer 4.5
and their latest updates.

Note to Win2000 SP4 users: If you are still using Windows 2000, install Service Pack 4 with the KB891861
post-SP4 Update Rollup 1, Windows Installer 3.1 and Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 & their latest security updates.


Essential Shareware: (these are NOT free; please register/pay to get full benefits)
Note: A little star * indicates a must have program. Notes: Some of these shareware programs can act like trialware, meaning it's free to try for a certain amount
of time.  When that time has run out, they may stop working & you will have to register the software(s) for
continued use.  Others will have some features disabled until you register them to acces these features.
Winzip 9.0 may require Win98 or better to use; however Winzip 9.0 does seem to run under Win95 as long
as the appropriate Win95 updates are installed.  Winzip version 11 & higher require Win2000, XP or Vista
and are not compatible with Win9x/ME & NT4.  Win98 & ME users should obtain Winzip 10 here while
Win95/NT4 users should get Winzip 9.0 at this Oldversion.com site.  Winzip versions 20 & higher have
full Windows 10 support but versions 21 & higher will require at least Windows 7 to use as version 20 is
the last version to support XP & Vista.
^ - The latest version of Malwarebytes software requires at least Windows 7 SP1 to use.  Those using
Windows XP or Vista can obtain Malwarebytes 3.5.1 from here, which is the last version to support XP/Vista.
Also note that the newest versions of Malwarebytes running on Win7 SP1 require the KB4474419 update
or no newer versions of that software will be offered.
* - Recent versions of the CacheMan program require at least Windows XP SP3, Vista, Win7/8.x or greater
to install & use.

Essential Freeware: (more coming soon)
A little ~ symbol denotes a program is freeware but also adware.  A little star * indicates a must have tool. Notes:  The MS Windows Defender download for Windows XP/2003 is no longer available from Microsoft
after Microsoft ended support for the consumer editions of Windows XP [home/pro/TPC/MCE] on 4/8/2014.
<> ! RED ALERT: Please download Shareaza at the Official Shareaza site and NOT at the
shareaza.com site.  The shareaza.com site is a "phishing" scam site that contains ShareazaV4
which bundles spyware.  If you have already downloaded and/or installed ShareazaV4, please
remove it immediately and download the correct version of Shareaza from the official web site.
~ - Spybot S&D versions 2.0 to 2.4 require WinXP SP2 or higher to install and use as it will not work
under pre-XP editions of Windows.  Those using Win2000 or older should obtain Spybot S&D 1.6.2
from this Spybot download page.   Windows 7, 8.x and 10 users may want to upgrade to or install
Spybot version 2.9 for the newest features but XP & Vista users should stay with Spybot 2.4 as the
2.5, 2.6 & higher versions will not work on these older Windows versions.
^ - The latest version of Malwarebytes software requires at least Windows 7 SP1 to use.  Those using
Windows XP or Vista can obtain Malwarebytes 3.5.1 from here, which is the last version to support XP/Vista.
Also note that the newest versions of Malwarebytes running on Win7 SP1 require the KB4474419 update
or no newer versions of that software will be offered.

Web Browser Software [Common Internet Browsers] all are free:   Note: The SeaMonkey browser suite replaces the old & obsolete Mozilla browser suite and contains
            newer Gecko runtime engine featured in certain Mozilla Firefox browsers.  No more new
            versions of the Netscape Web Browser are being made but existing versions can be found here.
            The latest Seamonkey and Firefox web browsers require a minimum of an Intel Pentium 4 CPU w/
            SSE2 support with at least 512 megabytes of RAM.  Latest nightly build of Firefox 2.0.0.22pre
            for Win98/ME/NT4 can be downloaded here.  Note that Seamonkey 2.x & Firefox 3.x-12.x  require
            a minimum of Win2000 to use (unless Win98/ME users have latest version of KernelEx installed).
            Firefox 13 & higher and Seamonkey 2.10.0 & higher will require minimum of WinXP SP3 to
            install & use.  Firefox 12 and Seamonkey 2.9.1 are the last versions to support Win2000.  The
            Apple Safari web browser for Windows was discontinued in 2012 but Apple will still provide updates
            for Safari for recent Macintosh OS X operating systems & iPhone iOS systems.  The new Vivaldi
            browser is based on the old Opera (Presto) engine for old versions of Opera web browsers; however
            versions 1.1 & higher require at least Win7 to use.  Version 1.0 (32bit & 64bit) of Vivaldi is the only
            version to support WinXP & WinVista.  Also WinXP & Vista users must use the 32bit ESR version
            of Firefox 52.9.x as Firefox versions 53 and higher have completely dropped XP/Vista support and
            require Windows 7 or higher to use.  And Seamonkey versions 2.53.x & higher will also require
            at least Win7 to use as the last version of Seamonkey to support XP/Vista is 2.49.5.  The latest
            Maxthon browser for old XP/Vista systems is 3.5.2.1000.
Sidenotes: A Computing.net forum user has found a way to install Firefox 2.0 under a Windows 95 OS.
Read this computing.net forum topic on how to install and run Firefox 2 under Win95.  Also, Opera Browser
versions 10.60 and greater no longer work under Win9x/ME/NT4 as those versions fail to load on startup.
Last version of Opera to reliably support Win9xME is v10.54 and for NT4 it's v9.64.  Although Win98/ME
users can try installing Opera versions 10.60 to 10.63 on their machines with KernelEx installed. 
Google Chrome's Print Preview feature was fully completed and became an official feature in
Chrome 13 & higher.  Chrome 14 & higher include Print Preview for recent Apple Macintosh OSes.
Also, Opera versions from 15 to 25 dropped the Print Preview feature but returned starting with version 26.
NOTE on Installing Google Chrome: The Google Chrome setup program will normally install the browser
files into the Application Data or AppData folder for the current user and not in the Program Files folder.
Download & run the Chrome standalone installer and make the Chrome browser install onto the \Program Files\
folder for all users.
~ Sidenote: Google Chrome browser for Windows versions 35 and later require a minimum of an Intel
Pentium 4 processor with SSE2 support or an AMD K8 (Athlon 64 or Sempron 64) or AMD "X2" CPU as
they no longer support nor run on older legacy systems with Intel Pentium 3 or AMD K7 processors & below.
Also, Chrome browser versions 50 & higher require minimum of Windows 7 as Google dropped XP & Vista
support effective April 2016. And Opera browser versions 37 & higher will no longer install nor run on
WinXP/Vista as they require at least Win7.  As with Opera v15 & higher, Vivaldi browser's setup program
crashes on legacy CPUs w/out SSE2 support and require CPUs with SSE2 or better (Intel Pentium 4 or
AMD Athlon 64, Sempron 64, etc.).  And Firefox 49 & greater also require minimum Intel Pentium 4 or
or AMD equivalent processor with SSE2 support and will not install nor function on older CPUs; same thing
applies to Seamonkey 2.46 & higher as those versions will also require CPUs with SSE2 support.  Also,
the current downloads of the Pale Moon browser listed here only support SSE2 based CPUs and won't
install nor work on pre-SSE2 processors.  Versions 28, 29 & newer of the Pale Moon browser only support
Windows 7 & greater.  Vista users can get either the 32bit or 64bit version of Palemoon 27.9.4 browser
from the Filehorse site as this is the last version to support Vista.
Google Chrome versions 89 & newer will require an Intel or AMD processor that has SSE3 support.
Also note that Mozilla Firefox versions 100.0 and greater when used under Windows 7 SP1 will require
the KB4474419 SHA-2 update or they may not install nor run.  Also, version 109.0.5414.120 of Google
Chrome is the last one to support Win7/8.x as version 110.0 and higher will only support Win10 and
newer as noted here.  And with Opera & Vivaldi web browsers, the last Opera version to support Win7/8.x
is version 95 as Opera 96 & greater will require at least Win10 and the last official Vivaldi version to run on
Win7/8.x is 5.6.2867.62 (32bit & 64bit) as Vivaldi 5.7 & newer will also need at least Win10 to run.  Also,
Firefox version 115 is the last version to support Win7 & 8.x as noted here.  Newer Firefox versions after
115 (like 116) will require at least Win10.
The official 64bit editions of Pale Moon browser from 33.3.0 onwards require at least an Intel or AMD CPU with
Advanced Vector Extensions [AVX] support while the 32bit editions of Pale Moon require at least an Intel
or AMD processor with SSE2 support.  Specific SSE2 & AVX2 64bit builds of Pale Moon can be obtained from
this Pale Moon forum thread for users with certain old or new Intel/AMD processors.
Also, WaterFox versions from G4.1.0 onwards require at least an Intel or AMD processor with SSE4.1 support.
Note for Internet Explorer: All download links for IE have been removed and have been replaced with the
downloads for Microsoft Edge Chromium.
Note 2 - As of January 13, 2023, the Avant Browser is no longer listed here as it has not been updated for
about 3 years.  Also, archived or old versions of the Maxthon Cloud Browser can be found here.

Web Browser Plug-Ins & Media Players: Note: RealNetworks RealPlayer 18 (aka RealTimes) requires at least Win7 to run.  To download previous versions
of Realplayer, get them from this Oldversion.com page, if you are using a slower machine, WinVista or older OS.
Adobe Reader versions from 7.x to 9.x require at least Windows 2000 to use while Adobe Reader X (ver. 10)
& XI (ver. 11) require a minimum of Windows XP SP2/SP3 to use.  Version 6.02 of Adobe Reader is the
last version supported under Win98se, WinME & WinNT4 SP6.
For the latest Flash Player ActiveX downloads for Windows 8.x & 10 see MS support KB article 4580325.
(After July 2021, the link to the KB4580325 Flash Player ActiveX downloads have been removed by Microsoft
 once the flash player activex removal KB4577586 updates were included in the July 2021 Win10 cumulative
 updates and the July 2021 monthly rollup updates for Windows 8.x & Server 2012 versions)
 Flash Player 11.x & later require a minimum of WinXP SP2 and can't install under Win2000 & earlier.  Last
version of Flash Player officially supported under Win2000 is 10.1.102.64, however, version 10.2.159.1 can
install and work under Win2000, even though Adobe doesn't officially support that version on Win2k.  If you
want to install the latest version of Flash Player 10.3 under Win2k, install Unofficial KernelEx for Win2000.
Adobe Shockwave Player versions 11.x/12.x only support WinXP & higher (and Win2000 w/ GDI+ installed).
Win98/ME users should get Shockwave Player v10.3.0.24 while Win95/NT4 users should obtain v8.51 here.
Older versions of Flash Player (including the discontinued v18 ESR ones) are no longer available from Adobe.
Note that Adobe has discontinued support for Shockwave Player on April 9, 2019 and discontinued support
for Flash Player on December 31, 2020 AND all Flash Player downloads sometime in 2021 were removed.
All Shockwave Player download links also have been removed in 2021.
~ - The Adobe Acrobat Reader DC versions (2015, 2017 & newer) require minimum Windows 7 to install
and use.  The last version of Adobe Reader to support Windows XP SP3 & Vista SP2 is version XI and
all support for Adobe Reader XI ended on October 15, 2017 although a November 2017 security update
was released for it here.
* - The Apple Quicktime Player downloads have been removed as they've been discontinued a few years ago.
<> - Due to lack of updated versions of Winamp for several years, version 5.8 beta was released in late 2018 on
their web site that is compatible with Win8.1 & Win10.  However, a 5.9 final version was released in early
September 2022, which only works with at least Win7 SP1 or better and is fully compatible with Win10 & Win11.

Antivirus/Antimalware Software & Updates: [free to try; register/pay to keep; updates are free] Note: You can download a demo version of these popular antivirus programs.  If you want to continue using
antivirus software, buy any one of them.  Some of them are sold in computer stores. Use the most recent
version of any antivirus software whenever possible.  Antivirus detection updates & patches are free but
upgrades are not free.  Most of these antivirus products require WinXP SP2 or higher to use.  NOD32
versions 3.0 and higher require Win2000 or greater to use but it could be used under WinNT4 SP6a
with Windows Installer 2.0 installed, however, some features of NOD32 v3.x, 4.x may not work under NT4.
NOD32 is a very good "lightweight" antivirus program that uses much less system resources than
commercial & more popular antivirus software but it's biggest weaknesses is that users are unable to
manually download and apply virus detection updates to NOD32 with NO internet connection available
and sometimes the ESET servers do not work when attempting to obtain NOD32 virus signature updates.
To download NOD32 virus detection updates offline, read here. To download the latest Clamwin setup
setup file for NT4 users, read this Clamwin forum topic.  AVG Antivirus software is now owned by Avast.
~ - It is recommended that Win10 users upgrade to at least Avast 2015 R2 as this version is completely
compatible with the new Windows 10 OS.  Version 0.99.4 of the ClamWin Antivirus program has been
released and contains recent security fixes for the program and is compatible with Windows 8/8.1 as well
as with Windows 10.
~ - Versions 4.5.216 to 4.10.209 of the Microsoft Security Essentials software no longer officially support
Windows XP and these versions are for Windows Vista & Windows 7 only.  The latest virus definition
updates for Microsoft Security Essentials beyond July 2015 no longer support WinXP/2003 and those
users will need to use alternative antivirus programs that still function on these OSes.
Version 4.10.209 of MSE was the last version to support Windows Vista and although Microsoft ended
support for Vista on April 11, 2017, the MSE definition updates released beyond early 2017 no longer support
Vista/Server 2008.  Also, Microsoft Security Essentials is not needed under Win8.x & Win10 as the built in
Windows Defender Antivirus program on these Windows versions has the same functions as MSE.  As of
early 2020, the MS Security Essentials app downloads were no longer available after extended support
for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020 but are still available from this MS download center page.
 <> - Only current & recent versions of the Avira Antivir software are compatible with Windows 10 & no longer
support WinXP/2003 OSes.

Other sites to get Demo, Freeware & Shareware Programs [and Device Drivers]: Note: The Oldversion.com site is a nice place to download older versions of certain software when using an older version
         of Windows like Windows 95, 98 or Windows NT4.

Some Microsoft Addons for Windows:

Microsoft .NET Framework Full Offline Installer Downloads:

Note: The .NET Framework 1.1 & 2.0 addons include version 5.1.3101 of the gdiplus.dll file but will not be
installed under WinXP SP1 & Win2003 systems as that file is already included.  MS .NET Framework v2.0
can not be installed nor will run under WinNT4 so use version 1.1 instead.  MS .NET Framework v3.5 SP1
has been released but requires WinXP, Server 2003 or higher to use and includes MS .NET Framework
versions 3.0 SP2 and 2.0 SP2.  I only link to the full redist. packages of .NET Framework which are large
downloads.  Windows 7 includes .NET Framework 3.5.1 while Windows 8 includes .NET Framework 4.5,
Windows 8.1 includes .NET Framework 4.5.1; Windows 10 v1511 includes .NET Framework 4.6.1;
Windows 10 v1607 includes .NET Framework 4.6.2; Windows 10 v1703 includes .NET Framework 4.7;
Windows 10 v1709 includes .NET Framework 4.7.1 and the v1803 & v1809 releases include v4.7.2 of
.NET Framework while the v1903, v1909 & later releases of Win10 include .NET Framework 4.8.
Windows 11 22H2 & newer include .NET Framework 4.8.1.
<> Caution: There may be problems after installing .NET Framework 2.0 SP2, 3.0 SP2 & 3.5 SP1 on
Windows XP, 2003, Vista & 2008.  See MS KB article 959209 and install the updates listed there.  The
.NET patches there do not apply to Win7, Win8 & higher.
~ - The Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.1 software can also be installed under Vista SP2.  MS
.NET Framework 4.7.1 & higher include the KB4019990 d3dcompiler_47.dll updates for Win7 & Win8.0
and also require Win10 anniversary update v1607 (Redstone) or greater to install and won't install under
the RTM/v1507 & v1511 (Threshold) releases of Win10.  The .NET Framework 4.6.2 offline installer
download package was quietly revised in early May 2021 which is only SHA-2 signed and requires the
KB4474419 update for Windows Server 2008 SP2 but can now install on Server 2008 SP2 and possibly
Windows Vista SP2 with the KB4474419 SHA-2 update installed.
^ - The newly released .NET Framework 4.8.1 software only supports recent Windows 10 versions along
with Windows 11 & Server 2022 versions and longer supports older Windows 10 versions from v2004 &
earlier and also drops support for Windows 7 & 8.x.
 Important note: Microsoft will be ending support for .NET versions 4.5x to 4.6.1 on April 26, 2022 as
noted on this page.

Microsoft Windows Installer Engine Downloads:

Note: Windows Installer 2.0 is included in Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 or higher installed, Windows XP,
and Windows Server 2003.  Windows Installer 3.1 is now available as a redistributable download for
Win2000 SP4 users, XP SP1/SP2 & Server 2003 systems and is included in Windows Server 2003
Service Pack 2 and Windows XP Service Pack 3.  Windows Installer 3.x is not available for Windows 95, 98,
ME & NT4 systems. The Windows Installer 3.1 addon has been revised to fix the problem mentioned
in MS support KB article 898628.  Those using Windows Server 2003 should install SP2 which includes the
latest fixes for Windows Installer 3.1 under Windows Server 2003 systems.  Windows Installer 4.5 is only
available for Windows XP SP2/SP3, Server 2003 SP1/SP2, Vista orig./SP1 & Server 2008.  Ver. 4.5 of MSI
is included in Windows Vista SP2 & Server 2008 SP2.  Windows 7 & 8.x include Windows Installer 5.0 and
the latest MSI updates for these are included in the Oct. 2016 & greater cumulative updates.
Note: To install 64bit Windows Installer 4.5 on Windows XP X64 edition, just download & run the installer
package for Windows Server 2003 x64.
  

Microsoft XML (extended markup language) Downloads & Security Updates:

Note: MS XML 3.0 & higher require at least Win98, WinNT4 with SP6, Win2000/ME or better to use.  Win95
users should install XML 2.6 SP3 instead from MS article 823490.  Microsoft XML 6.0 & beyond cannot
be used under Win9x, ME & NT4 and requires Win2000 SP4, XP SP1 or higher to use.  XML 6.0 is included
in Windows Vista.  There is no standalone MS XML 5.0 download as XML 5.0 is part of MS Office 2003 &
Office 2007 and updates for MSXML 5.0 will be posted on my Office & Works Updates page - part 1.
Versions of XML installed can be determined by reading MS article 269238. XML 4.0 Service Pack 3 no
longer supports Win98/ME/NT4 and requires Win2000 SP4 or better to use.  Win98/ME/NT4 users can
install the latest unofficial XML 4.0 SP2 update available.
 

Other MS Addons/Downloads:


Motherboard Chipset Driver Downloads: (essential if using brand new motherboards)

AMD Utilities, Drivers & Updates site - search for them on their new AMD Support site.

Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility page - only recent versions of this program are listed on this Intel page.

NVIDIA Driver Downloads Page (go here)
(select "nForce" as the Product Type to obtain motherboard chipset drivers)

SiS Support & Downloads site (new link)
(accept License Agreement first before obtaining driver downloads)

VIA Driver Download Portal site (new link)
 (select 'Chipset or Platform' driver after selecting your Operating System)

Notes: These motherboard chipset drivers are needed when using new kinds of motherboards under
Win98 SE, 2000, ME, XP, Vista or Seven or to fix bugs in older kinds of motherboards and using any
version of Windows (or when using most recent motherboards with brand new chipsets).


Software Wavetable Synthesizer Downloads: (make those old AC97 sound cards play MIDI files better)
(many of these are considered Abandonware)
Important note: none of these MIDI Softsynths are compatible with 64bit Windows OSes.
You must use a 32bit version of Windows to run any of the software listed below and be using
between a Intel Pentium II 233Mhz (slow) & an Intel Pentium 4 with Hyperthreading (3.xGhz) CPU
(and/or between an AMD K6 [166Mhz] & an AMD K7 [Sempron 3300+ or Athlon XP 3200+ 2.2Ghz] CPU).
Modern multi-core (aka, Dual-Core, Quad-Core, AMD K8/K10 series and the Intel Core i3/i5/i7 series) processors
can not properly handle these Yamaha softsynths (except for the S-YXG50 VST version which is not listed here).

See either this page or this page on a list of MIDI software synthesizers available.
Note 1: I have installed and tested the Edirol/Roland Virtual Sound Canvas VSC-88H3 v3.23 and
Wingroove v0.A4 beta 2 / v0.A5 software synthesizers under Windows Vista and have confirmed them
to work.  However, you MUST run their setup programs in WinXP SP2 compatibility mode in order for
them to install and run successfully under 32bit editions of Windows Vista/Win7/Win8.  Read the vscvista.txt
file on how to setup Roland Virtual Sound Canvas v3.23 under Vista/Win7/Win8 and the wg_vista.txt file
on how to install WinGroove under Vista/Win7/Win8.  The Roland VSC-55 MIDI softsynth is no longer
available here as it is superseded by VSC-88H3.

X - The S-YXG70 softsynth is temporarily not available until I can find a site that has a copy of it.
 
! - Warning: Wingroove versions 0.A4 Beta 2 and earlier do NOT install correctly as a "MIDI Device Driver"
under Win2000 SP3/SP4 when performing a "clean" installation of Wingroove.  To resolve this problem,
un-install Wingroove 0.A4 or earlier including your Wingroove registration info, reboot & install the Japanese
edition of Wingroove 0.A5, then reboot & un-install that but without removing your Wingroove registration info,
reboot and then re-install Wingroove 0.A4 English under Win2k SP3/SP4.  OR you can just simply remove
all traces of your previous version of Wingroove (including its reg info) and just install the Japanese version
of Wingroove 0.A5. Be sure to write down your registration info before performing a complete removal of
Wingroove so that you can re-enter it when installing the latest available version.

Tips on choosing between the 2Mb & 4Mb wavetable soundset files for S-YXG50/S-YXG100 [and a link
to the rare SYXG50 v4.01.25 Legacy/WDM JP (2002) release which includes WDM drivers for Win98se/ME]
and for Win2k/XP] and breaking the 128 max polyphony limit are posted on my sxgtips.txt file.

Caution: The Yamaha S-YXG100 softsynth program is NOT compatible with NT-based editions of Windows
(ex. WinNT, Win2k/XP & later).  The Yamaha S-YXG100+ softsynth can only be used under Win95/98/ME
systems.  There was another edition of S-YXG100 called "S-YXG100 PVL" [aka. the PolyVL edition] but
was only available in Japanese language AND Yamaha never produced an NT-compatible version of
S-YXG100.  However, to get the full benefits of the S-YXG100 PVL softsynth, you must be using Win98 or
WinME on at least an Intel Pentium 3 (600Mhz), AMD Athlon/K7 (700Mhz) processor.

Note 2: None of these softsynths have been tested under Windows 10 operating system and they
may or may not work as expected.  Many of these can only be used on 32bit/x86 version of Win10 but
not the commonly used 64bit X64 & ARM64 versions.

^ these software wavetable synthesizers have been discontinued and are no longer being updated and no
   longer supported by their manufacturers.
~ full edition but discontinued product
# unofficial Yamaha XGPlayer v4 update packs now include MidToAudio converter DLL file, however, the
   MidToAudio (aka. MIDI to Wave) converter loads in XGPlayer v4 only if the Yamaha WDM softsynth driver
   is installed; for some odd reason, the MidToAudio converter will not show up in XGPlayer v4.x when
   SYXG50 v3.x or SYXG100 v1.x is installed
$ only version 0.A5 of Wingroove has "partial" XG support for XG-based MIDI files
& - ask me for the valid registration keys for Wingroove to use it as a full version with no nags

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