> Unfortunately, for code pages, the "swap file" was the original .exe, so the changes to the memory page would corrupt the .exe, probably requiring it to be reinstalled.
Do you mean Windows modified user programs without warning? It seems like it was a serious bug.
Yes, it could overwrite any program, but (if I recall correctly) it hit OS file most of the time simply because they were always open. It was a very rare bug, because it had to combine both corruption of the VM to allow the write to happen, and a bug (e.g. a pointer error) that would write to the program's code page. The actual modification would usually be very small, and wouldn't change the file size.
And yes, it was a serious bug, that might have been responsible for why Windows seemed to have a "half life". Over a given period of time, each system had a chance of corrupting itself. Some systems would be fine for years, but many needed to be reinstalled after a ~year.
Do you mean Windows modified user programs without warning? It seems like it was a serious bug.