
ReactOS 0.4.5 Released - ma2rten
https://reactos.org/project-news/reactos-045-released
======
StevePerkins
I tried installing this on the latest VirtualBox release. It installed
cleanly, but the VM would not fully boot. It just hangs on the startup splash
screen, with the progress bar about three-quarters of the way across.

I found a wiki page advising VirtualBox users to disable "I/O APIC", and to
change the virtual network adapter to "PCnet-FAST III". But this made no
difference.

Just to be thorough, I re-installed completely from scratch with these
settings. Still no difference.

Just to be _crazy_ thorough, I created a new VM profile that was set for a
32-bit guest. Reinstalled from scratch. Still no difference.

Gave up.

Nothing but respect for the ReactOS folks, and all they've done over the
years. But I imagine that the overwhelming majority of people who try this out
are doing so in a VirtualBox VM. So if you don't have an up-to-date and
accurate list of instructions for installing ReactOS on VirtualBox,
prominently displayed near the download page, then you might consider
prioritizing that.

~~~
mickrussom
I just tried it in VMware Workstation, both on Linux and Windows. Looks to be
32-bit only. Did not install. Rebooted to black screen. Also did not detect
multiple CPUs. Tried settings for windows NT, 2000, 2003, Windows XP and
Windows XP-64-bit. I've booted Windows NT 3.51 in here as well as OS/2 Warp,
Solaris, and other less used OSes in here. This is one of the very few that
didnt boot. I dont get how Windows NT 5.2 (2003-level) is going to be very
useful anymore as the two OSes at that level, Windows XP-64 and Windows 2003
are out of support so while this project is impressive Im not what the point
of it is outside of being an interesting science project. It also didnt
support NTFS, only FAT during install.

NOTE: Just got it working. Seems to be UP only, 32-bit only, works under
"Windows XP Pro" profile with IDE only.

Impressive clone of windows 2003 32-bit, 13-14 years after...

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akoster
First off, I'd like to thank all the developers who have put their time and
effort into building this amazing piece of software.

I have been curious: if ReactOS aims to be binary compatible with windows,
does this mean it succeptible to windows malware infections? I understand that
despite having a similar API, the ReactOS implementation different from
microsoft's implementation, so a vulnerability on Windows won't necessarily be
present in ReactOS, but let's say a user infects themselves through a
malicious word doc macro that downloads a windows malware exe or dll, can that
still cause harm to a reactOS system? Or is some sort of sandbox in place to
prevent such attacks?

~~~
chungy
It's a vague question. Bugs in implementation creating security exploits are
usually not going to be replicated on both systems. Applications, including
malware, using only the documented API functions should behave identically.

In short: WannaCry should work "properly" on ReactOS in that it will use the
crypto APIs to encrypt all of the user's files. It shouldn't propagate itself
through the same remote network vulnerability that affected Windows.

~~~
jeditobe
100% correct answer!

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dandelion_lover
BTW, Qubes OS is considering to add ReactOS as an official template VM.

[https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-
issues/issues/2809](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/2809)

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SyneRyder
A definite improvement over 0.4.3. I just tried it with a Windows graphics
program I make, and while it isn't perfect, it works and is usable. Looks like
you can actually run Photoshop plug-ins on ReactOS now.

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slazaro
I know this is such a little nitpick for a huge project like this one, but
every time I see ReactOS screenshots I notice that the taskbar looks off.
Comparing this [1] screenshot from the article to this [2] random Win98
screenshot, the start button and app buttons seem to have different margins,
padding and dimensions.

Again, it's such a small thing, but I (and I guess other people do as well)
tend to focus on this kind of graphical details. I wonder if it's easy to
fix...

[1]
[https://reactos.org/sites/default/files/imagepicker/23908/Ex...](https://reactos.org/sites/default/files/imagepicker/23908/Excel_Word_2010_on_ReactOS_r73868.png)

[2]
[http://www.guidebookgallery.org/pics/gui/desktop/firstrun/wi...](http://www.guidebookgallery.org/pics/gui/desktop/firstrun/win98se.png)

~~~
nxtrafalgar
I don't think it's supposed to look like Windows 98.

Here's Windows XP's 'Classic' theme, for reference:
[https://i.stack.imgur.com/lZp4Q.png](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lZp4Q.png)

~~~
omgtehlion
Yep, it indeed looks more like XP classic.

XP has consistent paddings though. In reactos padding on top of the Start
button is smaller then on the bottom. Taskbar buttons (for apps) are smaller
than start, and do not have padding in between them.

~~~
rfoo
That might be some copyright issues here, you can't make a 1:1 copy of the
original Windows shell I guess.

~~~
omgtehlion
Actually, they already have these tasks in their JIRA, so might get it right
eventually.

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walterbell
What is needed for Xen or KVM to be "recommended" for ReactOS,
[https://reactos.org/wiki/Virtualization_software](https://reactos.org/wiki/Virtualization_software)?

~~~
janvidar
KVM is QEMU. QEMU is already listed there.

~~~
walterbell
Qemu provides device emulation for KVM, but there is other code that could
affect Windows/ReactOS compatibility, including guest drivers for net/disk IO.

~~~
AstralStorm
Virtio drivers should already work. The emulated SATA and E1000 ones also work
as they are the same as for QEMU, which works. Audio HDA also works. (a bit
better than in Windows if you pick pulseaudio backend)

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nathan_f77
I haven't really looked into ReactOS, but I just read some more about it [1],
and I'm starting to get interested. There's still not a lot of software for
Linux, but there's a ton of software for Windows. I also don't really care
about the price of the Windows license, but I really like that the source code
is available, and that I would be able to fix any bugs and submit a pull
request. Having said that, I don't recall ever noticing a single bug in
Windows, and I used it for more than 10 years. Definitely a lot of security
holes though (i.e. viruses.)

Unfortunately, I don't think I will ever have a practical reason to use this
or contribute to it. I use Windows 10 to develop apps, and sometimes to play a
couple of games on Steam, so I think I'll always need to be running the latest
version of Windows.

[1]
[https://www.reactos.org/wiki/ReactOS](https://www.reactos.org/wiki/ReactOS)

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iuguy
I wonder how practical ReactOS could be as a small business server?

With Microsoft's changes in Licensing, it seems there's a demand for an OS as
straightforward as Windows, obviously with some degree of compatibility, but
without all of the telemetry garbage. Could ReactOS (or a distribution derived
from it) plug this gap?

~~~
snvzz
If you're looking for AD, samba4 can do it on Linux.

~~~
iuguy
I think the two main things such a thing could bring to the table is graphical
"familiar" (for the windows admin) administration. Something that abstracts
the files.

That and a free RDP interface would be nice.

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mathnode
Are there any long uptime reports from reactos users?

~~~
hepta
Yeah, I'd like to know what the experience is for people who use it regularly.

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EGreg
Didn't Microsoft release the .NET API and also Wine can be used?

[https://www.winehq.org/](https://www.winehq.org/)

I am really impressed with what ReactOS is doing, but what is the practical
reason for it? I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) they're cloning Windows XP,
which happens to be my favorite Windows operating system.

~~~
majewsky
Wine and .NET only cover the userland. There are a huge number of Windows
installations out there that are stuck on XP because some specialized device
(e.g. a lab probe or a CNC mill or a dialysis machine) only has drivers for
XP. If we could get these on ReactOS, it could decrease the impact of the next
WannaCry.

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pier25
For a moment I thought this was based on React...

