(OED Oxford English Dictionary 2nd v3 EZ-Install FINAL) [fuzz]

This is the [fuzz] FINAL RELEASE of the digital/CD Oxford English Dictionary 2nd ed. v3. All updates, fixes, crks, & upgrades as of April 8th, 2009 are fully integrated. No CD drive is necessary to install or run. For 32-bit PCs -- x64 probably not. Compared to my prior release, this version .. > Eliminates several Registry entries > Excludes some unnecessary files and is smaller > Fixes a problem with some special fonts ____________________________________________________ INSTALL: (1.7 GB Disk space min) ---------------------------------------------------- (1) Extract (OED).rar to ROOT of any drive partition. (2) Edit 2 lines in the OED.ini file -- Replace 'X' with the letter of the above partition. (3) Move OED.ini to the C:|WINDOWS directory. (4) Run ..|(OED)|bin|oedcd_v3.exe -- Wait for 'LMS' window to close & 'OED' window to open. (5) Click 'Cancel | Yes' to close the OED window. (6) Re-run oedcd_v3.exe -- This time click the 'Finish' button. (7) The OED program appears - it is now installed.

udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:80
udp://open.demonii.com:1337
udp://tracker.coppersurfer.tk:6969
udp://exodus.desync.com:6969

megroncrisp (2009-04-11)

Looks great, but couldn't download beyond 94%.

kds2012 (2009-04-11)

Hmm. Did you try Re-check / Start, or deleting & re-trying?
I've been uploading continually since the 9th, & it seems to be spreading OK ..

Scallionboy (2009-04-13)

Dowloaded just fine, but got error message saying that the ini file was missing or corrupted. Help, please?

kds2012 (2009-04-13)

Hey Scallion - That's the message you'll get if you did any of three things wrong:
1st - Did you extract folder (OED) into a ROOT directory? That is, you should have an #:\(OED) directory, where '#' represents the drive letter of your install directory.
2nd - Did you correctly edit the OED.ini file? Make sure to change the 'X' to drive letter matching the location of the (OED) folder.
3rd - Did you put the included OED.ini file into the C:\Windows directory?
Double check these things & post back. Once you run the OED, if you mess up the install directions, it may be more difficult to correct the problem, but I'll help.

Scallionboy (2009-04-13)

1. I definitely extracted the rar to the root partition.
2. That's my problem, kds, I can't find the OED.ini file. Where is it located?
3. This, considering 2, is irrelevant.
Thanks.

kds2012 (2009-04-13)

NP Scallion - The OED.ini file is included in the torrent package, along w/ the INSTL.txt instruction document. Are you sure you didn't unselect them when downloading? Otherwise, they should be in your torrent download folder.

nok32 (2009-04-14)

i reinstalled the new version and it still didn't show special characters or greek. any ideas?

kds2012 (2009-04-14)

Hi nok32 - Sorry this is turning into a trial..
The 1st things is, did you read/follow the UNINSTALL registry cleaning instructions detailed in the new torrent INSTL.txt file? Once the incomplete OED is run & installed, a clean uninstall is needed to purge & 'reset' the system for the new package.
Are you OK with using regedit.exe? I can help if not.

kds2012 (2009-04-15)

Perform these actions, then stop and let me know, because there are other keys & data, too, to remove, unique to the old OED package.

kds2012 (2009-04-15)

Tell you what - Here's the quick method:
> Use Add/Remove Programs to uninstall cDilla (select BD32200)
> Delete directories C:\C_Dilla and ..\(OED), plus file C:\WINDOWS\OED.ini
> now run regedit.exe
> search for c-dil and delete any key (left panel) or data (right panel) found. Keep doing 'search again' until you get to the registry end.
> Go back to the registry start (scroll to the top key & click the topmost line).
> Now search from the top for OED and delete any OED keys & any data displaying MRU, BAG, or MUI.
> If a 'Start Page' key appears, you can delete the 'Program Cache' entry
If a 'Tray Notify' key appears, you can delete the 'IconStreams' entry
> Finally, search from the top for cdill and also delete any keys & data that are found.
> Make sure there is no file C:\windows\system32\cdantsrv.exe - if there is, delete it.
I know this sounds like alot, but it really only takes about 10 minutes - less if you have a good registry editor like registry workshop. Write back.

nok32 (2009-04-20)

I did a clean install and the special characters are still not displaying right. :(

kds2012 (2009-04-20)

OK buddy - In your case let's do this:
> Install the OED from the torrent you did way back when -- the one that worked, but required the CD to run.
Do that first - I hope you still have the other - From there it should be easy to get the noCD working, using a few files from my torrent.

nok32 (2009-04-22)

yeah i still have it. what files from your torrent do i use to make it NoCD?

TINGISON (2009-04-23)

I am sorry guys i did not get the second point :
(2) Edit 2 lines in the OED.ini file -- Replace 'X'
with the letter of the above partition.
A-Edit two lines to OED.ini file means the result is like that : OED-- ??
B- replace ´X` ? what is X here and wich partition u mean here ???
Thank u in advance.

kds2012 (2009-04-24)

Tingison - If you open the OED.ini file (eg with notepad) included with the torrent, you'll see two lines containing PATH commands - just change the 'X's in those two lines to whichever partition/drive letter contains your (OED) directory.

kds2012 (2009-04-24)

nok32 - When you install the other OED package, do the fonts you need show up then?

nok32 (2009-04-24)

if i use the other torrent it works, yes. except it then asks for the cd fairly often.

kds2012 (2009-04-24)

OK nok32 - Try this:
1. Close the OED program
2. Find file SCRfrsh.exe in the currently working OED directory
3. Rename this file O_SCRfrsh.exe (ie 'Original')
> Copy my version of SCRfrsh.exe into the working directory
4. Try running OED again & tell me what happens...

nok32 (2009-05-03)

seems to work now, thx!

LeechBot2 (2009-05-13)

I actually purchased a new, legit copy of the OED in 1993--for $700! I still have the CD, but OED stopped supporting its installation in 2001 on Windows XP. Even though it would still run on a Mac, they told me I'd have to pay *again* for another new copy if I wanted to continue running it on a PC. They wouldn't do a trade-in of my original CD accompanied by the original receipt. In other words, they ripped me off of $700 when it would have cost them nothing to make good on someone who spent so much money on their software that they later sabotaged. Assholes. They deserve to have this TPB torrent spread far and wide which I will do and maybe they'll stop injuring their legitimate customers.

LeechBot2 (2009-05-13)

I installed it easily from the instructions and it works great.

LeechBot2 (2009-05-14)

Actually, the special characters don't work for me. I installed this latest copy clean and I have no old copy to install on top of, so I can't use the same fix as nok32.

kds2012 (2009-05-15)

Yeah - EXACTLY why I made this package - they spent all their dough on 'security' instead of making an interface & providing the support that would warrant the cost.
Anyway - if the characters don't work, that may also be related to having had an earlier installation -- cDilla does not install itself at all -- you have to really dredge through the registry. What does seem to work is: download a retail v3 OED torrent (there are some others available) & install normally. If the characters work, then you can swap in my SCRfrsh.exe file to disable CD checking.

kds2012 (2009-05-15)

I mean: cDilla does not UNinstall itself lol.

LeechBot2 (2009-05-20)

I can't get the other torrent at:

to work on either of my laptops. I'm going to continue using the fuzz version. I hope that the issue with the special characters can be worked out in the future. It looks like the correct font files are there, but the special characters just come up garbled.

playabit2 (2009-05-23)

Whaow! Magnificent release. Works perfectly, but read below for important information.
VISTA-64, Windows-7 users etc: Instructions at the bottom.
First of all, a million thanks to the uploader. I hadn't been able to run OED for a while. This is the best release of OED ever. The install is amazingly easy.
BUT... If you want to install this, please SLOW DOWN. If you follow the exact instructions of the uploader, it will work. If you take a wrong turn because you are trying to go fast, you may end up wasting hours. Why? Because of a nasty security feature in the software, a feature that the install is designed to bypass. If you don't know the meaning of the word "scrupulous", look it up now, don't wait for OED to install :) ...
From the instructions, let me reinforce that 1) the "(OED)" folder must sit at the ROOT of a hard drive, e.g. c:\(OED). 2) When you run the EXE the first time, pretty fast the program will offer to either Finish or Cancel. You MUST cancel at this stage. 3) You will then run that same EXE file, and this time choose Finish. The install will be complete in a flash. You will be able to run OED from the EXE file or a shortcut that you can create anywhere you like.
This software is a treasure. Do yourself a favor and take the time to install it properly.
NOW FOR VISTA-64, WINDOWS-7 and other 64-BIT users.
The marvellous news is that you can run OED on your machine. Since going 64-bit, I had been very unhappy that I couldn't use OED. Did I say you can install OED on a 64-bit system? No. You can run it, but you can't install it. But don't worry, it's perhaps even better. At the end of this you'll have an OED system you can take anywhere.
Here are the quick instructions. If you go smoothly, it will take an hour. If at any stage you have doubts about any step, Google for the answer.
Basically you need to create a Virtual Machine ("VM") running a 32-bit operating system such as Windows 2000. Why? OED doesn't run on 64-bit machines.
AT SOME STAGE SOMEONE MAY WANT TO RELEASE A VM PRE-LOADED WITH OED. I have just zipped my virtual hard drive with OED and Windows 2000, it is 1.34 GB. I am not able to upload, otherwise THIS IS THE ULTIMATE NO-BRAINER INSTALL. If you know how to seed, this would be of immense service.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. YOU NEED TO DOWNLOAD SOME SOFTWARE:
A. VirtualPC from Microsoft.
B. 7-zip for 32-bit
C. TweakUI for win2000 (from annoyances.org)
D. The torrent for Windows 2000 SP4 (the one where the main file is WIN2KPRO_SP4.iso)
2. Install Virtual PC
When you install, it will say that Vista-64 Home is not supported. Ignore that. It installs.
3. Create a new Virtual Machine. Choose Windows 2000. Give it at least 500MB of RAM.
4. Start the VM. You now need to install the OS (Win2K) on the VM (NOT ON YOUR HOST SYSTEM!!!). Click Action, mount ISO, browse to the WIN2KPRO_SP4.iso file you downloaded. Close the VM, restart the VM: the Win 2000 CD will appear. Install it! Cool, no? To move your mouse outside of the VM window, hold the RIGHT ALT key while you move your mouse.
5. When the install is complete, in the VM, go Action / Install VM additions. Follow instructions. You can now drag and drop between Host and VM.
6. Drag these to the VM: 7-zip, TweakUI, OED.
7. Install 7-zip. Run it. In options, associate 7-zip with all files.
8. Double-click Tweak UI, extract, install by right-clicking the INF file. Open TweakUI in control panel. In Logon, choose Automatic.
9. Double-click the OED RAR file, extract to the ROOT ( C:\(OED) ). Follow install instructions TO THE T.
10. OED IS NOW INSTALLED! PARTY!!!
11. Close the VM, not through the VM's Start Menu but throuh the red Close icon at the top right of the VM window. Choose "Save State" when you close the VM so that it will start up fast, perhaps with OED already opened!
10. Find your virtual machine on the hard drive. Make a shortcut to your desktop. That's how you start OED!
Thanks again to everyone who have refined this marvel of a release over the years.

deruin (2009-05-31)

I seem to have cleaned registries well with regedit.exe as recommended but a repeated installation still won't work. Although, the part 'earch for OED and delete any MUIs, BAGs, and MRUs' is not very clear, there were no 'oed' or 'c-dil' entries detected.
Is there any other way to verify if the system is clean before new installation?

kds2012 (2009-06-02)

Hey playabit2 - Thanks for the glowing review haha! I DID put a lot of time into this, and I'm glad to see it appreciated. I too thought of VM - I have XP 64 on my main machine, but run to my 32b for the OED lol - but I've done my part, and don't expect to do any more. Maybe someone will take the ball from here. Thanks again, and thanks for emphasizing the importance of FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIONS !!

kds2012 (2009-06-02)

deruin - If you have no 'c-dil' regedit search results, maybe you're having 'permissions' problems, or some such thing. Try getting & using Registry Workshop instead.

drift01 (2009-06-03)

I operate windows7 32bit and the install didn't work. This program has known compatibility issues problems.
Any ideas? \

kds2012 (2009-06-05)

Hi drift - Could you describe when the error happened? At what point - following my install instructions - did this message generate?

heinrich66 (2009-06-26)

Unfortunately on the second .exe try I get a "File not found or file read error". I followed the instructions to the letter, and am running XP SP3. I re-extracted, and tried again: no go.

heinrich66 (2009-06-26)

P.S. Then it says: "Search engine did not initialize. Close OED and try again. If the problem recurs, reinstall the OED."

kds2012 (2009-06-30)

heinrich - The error you got is usually related to one or more of the following:
> Failing to download the OED.ini file
> Improper placement of the OED.ini file (supposed to be in C:\windows)
> Improper editing of the OED.ini file
> Failing to unRAR OED to a root directory
The main issue is that OED is using OED.ini to find the install directory. Re-examine these two lines:
CD_PATH=X:\(OED)\
INSTALL_PATH=X:\(OED)\
They both must point to your install location. If they do not, you can try to move the (OED) dir to match the .ini path, or edit the paths to find the current (OED) dir location.
However, if you've run oedcd_v3.exe, you could have great difficulty correcting an improper installation, due to the registry changes made at that time.
Can you explain further what you mean by "on the second .exe try?" Do you mean, you ran oedcd_v3.exe, then Cancelled, then ran it again, and at that point got the Not Found error?
In any case, what I said above stands.
Look into ini path & OED directory matching and tell me what you find. (t would help if you could copy and paste your entire OED.ini file into your comment.)

heinrich66 (2009-07-02)

Thanks for your feedback. Here is my OED.ini file:
[FILE_PATHS]
CD_PATH=C:\(OED)\
INSTALL_PATH=C:\(OED)\
[OPTIONS]
WOTD=ON
AUTO_SEARCH=OFF
LAYOUT=OFF
ENTRY_HISTORY=10
SEARCH_HISTORY=10
TIPS=ON
I extracted the (OED) folder to my C: drive. So when I run the executable, I'm running it from:
C:\(OED)\(OED)\Bin
This is the way it extracted, and I hope the embedded (OED) folders isn't a problem.
What I mean by running it the second time is exactly what's called for by the instructions: run it the first time, cancel, re-run oedcd_v3.exe. It was at that stage that the error appeared.
The only thing that was different about my installation is that the first time I tried this, Spybot came up with a warning about cDilla. I told it to go ahead and let it install, but it may have blocked or deleted something. C_DILLA shows up as a faded folder on C: with a setup folder and a DAT file, also both faded out.
Thanks for any help you can give.

kds2012 (2009-07-06)

There's your main problem heinrich: PATH does not equal install directory.
You should be running from:
C:\(OED)\bin
NOT:
C:\(OED)\(OED)\bin
SO -- Either grab the lower (OED) dir and drag it up onto C:\ and accept overwrites, or else try channging: CD_PATH=C:\(OED)\ &
INSTALL_PATH=C:\(OED)\
To:
CD_PATH=C:\(OED)\(OED)\
INSTALL_PATH=C:\(OED)\(OED)\
PS - sorry for the delay ..

heinrich66 (2009-07-06)

And it's as easy as that.
Thanks for all you've done.

Fuuton (2009-07-12)

plz, is this install perffectlly on windows vista 32-bit... is some one install it on this mentioned os.

kds2012 (2009-07-12)

I cannot say for certain, about Vista-32, but it's very, very likely to run OK -- Vista &/or XP 64 probably not.

Fuuton (2009-07-18)

Many thanks @ kds2012 , I appreciate you support.... I will give it a try :)

nhatuan (2009-07-20)

i'm using vista 32bit and it didn't work even when i try to run in compatibility mode :|

kds2012 (2009-07-22)

nhatuan - I would need more information about the sort of error you get/got, before I can say whether the problem is in the OS or the installation.
Can you describe the steps you took during install, and where/when/what type of errors occured?

Ravengar (2009-08-05)

I can't get this to install on Vista32. Followed all instructions, but when I run oedcd_v3.exe all that happens is I get a "LMS Install Wait Screen" and then an error "The product will not run on this operating system".
I did uninstall and follow all the registry cleanup instructions, but no dice. Any tips? Thanks!

kds2012 (2009-08-19)

All I can say is that I never tried it on a Vista system. After installing, did you try spedifying the "compatibility" setting?
> Right click on the main OED .exe file
> Select 'Properties'
> Check 'Set Compatibility'
> Choose 'Win XP'
Sorry if it doesn't help

maseka (2010-01-25)

seed please..?

the_brotherhood (2010-02-06)

hello kds2012. i installed oed exactly as you described, but it does not run. the problem starts at stage 4: (4) Run ..|(OED)|bin|oedcd_v3.exe -- Wait for 'LMS'
window to close & 'OED' window to open.
I do not get 'LMS' window, but the OED window at once. and there's no option to click cancel. and it does not run. Can the problem be connected with my having had an official version of the cd-rom, which just stopped running at some time? when I asked them to fix the problem, they said that I will have to upgrade to v.4.0 and pay more money, because they no longer support v.3.0. do you think it is possible to fix the problem? thanks

Hugo_Ball (2010-02-08)

Works great. Thanks.

the_brotherhood (2010-02-12)

hi kds2012
I have followed all the uninstall steps, but I cannot delete in the registry. After following the install steps, I cannot run OED. I get the OED screen, but when I click "search" nothing happens.

fang123 (2011-02-26)

I followed the instructions perfectly.
I clicked "cancel" after the first install as instructed. When I ran oedcd_v3.exe the second time and clicked finish I got an error that said "C:\(OED)\bin\scrfrsh.exe" could not be found.
I checked and the file was indeed not there. So I re-extracted and still not there. I deleted the (OED) directory and my torrent and redownloaded and extracted. Same result. the Scrfrsh.exe file was not there.
Oh, after the error message an OED message pops up saying the CD could not be found.
What do I do?

IanW (2012-09-05)

Instructions work almost exactly. I installed though in a VMWare XP Pro machine and had to manually drag the fonts from tempfont to the control panel font application to install them.