Hacking Shdoclc.dll
  • PATCH OVERRUN FIX : If you have IE5 and are conscientious in applying all those patches & fixes issued by Microsoft, the "About Internet Explorer" screen may well have been overrun with so many patch numbers that some of the numbers may have fallen off the right side of the screen. Even the "OK" button may be in danger of sliding off also. To check the situation on your system, open IE5, select Help/ About Internet Explorer. Check if the version updates are all visible or if some updates have disappeared off the right side of the screen.
    If some updates are no longer visible, here is a fix that will bring back the update numbers & prove you are a genuine hacker of one the most notorious "dll" family of files known affectionately as the "SHOW-DOCS". The problem lies in the "Width" attribute for 'About Internet Explorer'; apparently MS did not foresee the large number of patches IE5 would [and still is] undergoing because of those naughty "Malicious Website Operators".  The file "shdoclc.dll" defines the size of the 'About Internet Explorer' screen, so it is the file that needs adjustment as follows:
  • Obtain a copy of "shdoclc.dll". Sending it to a portable disk is my preferred method.
  • Open the copy of "shdoclc.dll" with a word processor. My choice is MSWorks, 16Bit, Version 3 -- just ignore the "cannot load conversion file" warning; the file will render just fine in the Word Processor function.
  • Open "FIND" from Edit on the Menu Bar and type in "25.8" [no quotes].
  • At the first successful find of "25.8", change the value to "35.8" [no quotes].
  • Save the changes, close the file, and exit the Word Processor app. DO NOT make any other changes to your copy of "shdoclc.dll".
  • Make sure Internet Explorer is not open. From the Start Menu, select "Run" and type in "SFC" [no quotes].
  • In the SFC dialogue box, select "Extract one file from installation disk"; type in "shdoclc.dll" [no quotes].
  • Fill-in [browse to] the paths to your altered "shdoclc.dll" file and Windows/System folder respectively.
  • Select yes when asked to save [i.e.backup] the original "shdoclc.dll" file to the "Windows/Helpdesk/sfc" folder.
  • Reboot, then open IE5, Help/About Internet Explorer to see that the screen is now wider and all the patch numbers are visible.
  • Note:  The value "35.8" may have to be replaced in the future when more patches are issued or may not accommodate the number of patches on your system. You can try a larger value, but when "hacking" dlls it is often wise to keep them the exact same byte size as the original file; in other words, don't increase the value to over 99.9. If you make another change to "shdoclc.dll", when the System File Checker asks whether to save the current file to the "Windows/Helpdesk/sfc" folder, just say no because the original "shdoclc.dll" already resides there. If you are a bit queasy about changing a Windows/System file, there is an alternate solution [not quite on the level] at Laptop Laff's Patch Overrun .