Is ReactOS Viable for ANYTHING?

I decided to take one more stab at running ReacOS,this time on an old laptop that should work better than the computer I used last time.
First video: • Is ReactOS Viable for ...

[@mgord9518]

Looks like they cloned Windows 95 to a tee, crashes and all. All jokes aside, I really do hope ReactOS eventually becomes stable and a usable replacement for Windows

[@mgord9518]

@Run To be fair, there's a lot of cross-development between ReactOS and WINE. Also, the same issue that could cause WINE to crash a single program could cause ReactOS to bluescreen since it's an entire OS

[@hanro50]

Well...it started as a replacement for win95

[@PlumGurly]

@@hanro50 -- Yes and no. There was the Freewin95 project, but it never began, and they refocused their energy over to Windows XP/2003.

[@CosmoHQ]

Just Switch to Linux , and install WINE trust me you will have a good time

[@mgord9518]

@@CosmoHQ I've been using Linux exclusively for the last 7 years

[@VinkDaniel]

Please have some respect for the creators of this OS. They are reverse engineering a complete OS, from scratch. There is about 20!active programmers working in their free time on this, where as Microsoft had 1000+ engineers for Win95.

[@IPear]

This

[@WalnutSpice]

They've also been at it since 1996 and still don't have any semblance of a product. It's a hopeless dead joke.

[@VinkDaniel]

Please try it yourself if you think you can do better....

[@kpcraftster6580]

@Faeiz Mahrus One reason WINE has been able to progress so much is because it actually uses the work done by the React OS devs

[@StasM]

@Faeiz Mahrus Wine does not have to do the kernel work

[@--..__]

this gives me flashbacks to installing linux as a kid

[@thomasleemullins4372]

Since ReactOS is in continued development, he should try this once a year to show progress or lack of it.

[@theredytper]

At 10:56 the hard drive he uses is a Seagate Momentus 5400.6, for anyone who's wondering.

[@jamesdoe4515]

They've gotten to the point where you can run setup exes which is nice. You'll be stuck with an older version of Mypal but it'll work

[@nsawatchlistbait289]

Its not ready yet but when it's ready, it'll take over everything

[@markusTegelane]

ReactOS is an OS, where you take a shot every time it blue screens

[@PlumGurly]

A shot of Wine...

[@bobzeepl]

I think the "output device" was the MP3 CODEC missing. It wasnt always part of an OS you know. I remember having to install it back in Win95 days

[@Dr.Mohandes]

13:25 just click on remind me later, youtube works also don't install random exe from internet, reactos has usable list of apps with correct version and patches to install from application manager

[@Dr.Mohandes]

keep up the good work your channel is underrated

[@disgruntledtoons]

The only thing controlling the fan on any PC should be thermometer on the CPU.

[@Epsilonsama]

Actually Btrfs is more of a Free Libre Software GPL implementation of OpenZFS features which uses a software license that is not compatible with the GPL which is the license of the Linux kernel. Ext2/3/4 are actually more similar to NTFS than with ZFS/Btrfs.

[@pilks4k]

Did they remove the APP Library that has a list of working apps that download and install automatically it used to have things like firefox in it. EDIT: nope just noticed the application manager icon on the desktop still there lol

[@AtomicPurple]

Yeah, I totally missed that

[@logangraham2956]

nope . you can see the icon for it right there on his desktop several times through out the video. it's definitely still a thing. XD

[@anthonynorton666]

Thanks, you just bummed me out. If I had watched your video one week earlier, I could have saved some money. I ordered a new fan for an old Dell I was working on - it stopped working around the same time I installed Linux Mint. Because it was also around the same time I dropped the laptop, I considered the trauma was the cause. On top of that, I am installing a new CPU which probably means I'll have trouble with that in one way or another too. #@$%!!!

[@Himekocchi]

This guy should be given a noble prize for patience.

[@kpcraftster6580]

More like the devs should. Imagine the patience required to continue chipping away at this project in your spare time for a quarter century, with no plan to ever make money from it or perhaps even get it out of alpha.

[@ThanhTran-pp5dd]

yeah, he trying to test! but if a user as me, I will be mad! but thanks to developers, till be a good work, need to upgrade more

[@CanaldoMiauOfficial]

Your channel it's unique, the design, the content. I love you.

[@lucyinchat]

Nice FreeBSD icon

[@CanaldoMiauOfficial]

@@lucyinchat this is a cat logo that I've design for my channel, it has nothing to do with Free BSD, but thanks

[@vl1asdfasdf]

I love how you went through all that effort of getting a version of Firefox that would work with ReactOS while the Application Manager was _right there_ on the desktop

[@cielazul713]

For what its worth: I recall having the same issue with the fan and half the usbs not working on an old laptop whenever I booted into any new-ish (post - 2010) Linux distro. Just idling with the cpu set to 'conserve battery mode' would eventually hit 90° C on the poor thing. Turns out distros that came with their own versions of a system monitor somehow ended up disabling both the fan & one USB hub at boot. Not only that but I was able to recreate the issue on Windows XP &7 by installing CPU-Z, fan would simply fail to turn on unless I completely uninstalled CPU-Z or whatever additional monitoring tools I had. I believe that such monitoring tools which launch at boot somehow cause this issue in certain mobile intel chipsets. This even after properly installing all OEM drivers that the system originally came with. If youre still up for it, Id try a much older version of reactOS, preferably one that was released a year or two prior to the age of the particular hardware you have in mind for the install. Love your content so far, subbed!

[@PlumGurly]

Older won't help. There would be less support. Many things are still missing.

[@DivergentDroid]

ReactOS woked Flawlessly in your video - It made you React to the OS, it's job is Done.

[@ipponyc]

LOL!! Good one!!!!

[@hanro50]

Ok...on the file system front I believe BTRFS is meant as a replacement for EXT4 It supports features that make it better creating system snapshots and should atleast be somewhat comparable to NTFS. Although it won't be a perfect 1 to 1 match

[@XenotypalTV]

additionally, it most closely resembles ZFS, an awesome filesystem made by oracle. both filesystems support "snapshots", as well as copy-on-write.

[@GameMaker3_5]

I've ran ReactOS off of a USB stick on a Dell XPS M170 (similar looking laptop with a single core Pentium M CPU and 2GB of RAM) it was able to easily run not just UT (the same one he tried and failed) but I also could run Seamonkey 1.0, the original FNaF, and Five Nights at Illuminati (although both clickteam games had issues like FNaF running with a black bar on the screen and FNaI running in window mode), but other than that it ran decent for me despite having hardly any drivers. I didn't have any sound though apart from a loud beep when it ran into errors.

[@GameMaker3_5]

Oh and I also forgot that it could also run the original StarCraft off of a CD... (although it ran with limited colors)

[@lyn1337]

"If I hadn't opened the task manager here, I wouldn't be able to tell it was running." ... reactOS 2020

[@le9038]

Nightly is usually only a public testing branch of the system that is intended for doing updates that are not confirmed to be stable yet and nightly is usually only used by curious beta testers. If you might want a better experience, You may have a better experience on the stable branch. not all of the compatibility is going to work unlike nightly but nightly is usually used for testing new features and stable is for features that have been confirmed to not blow up the PC. also, ReactOS has the ability to tell applications that it is running any number of windows versions so your errors portraying to compatibility to Windows 7 could have been remedied. Hope this helps.

[@Mindflayer86]

Awesome video. Very enjoyable to watch. And ReactOS is a very interesting project. Can we get another try/video, now, 2 years later, with more Tools and peripherals being tested?

[@minediamonds3045]

16:06 that error means it doesn't support that version of "Windows"

[@Lestibournes]

ReactOS has a package manager.

[@WolfPeste]

ReactOS: how Apple fans think Windows works.

[@r3n846]

Filezilla didn't launch since it expects a newer OS. The devs like to drop older systems for no reason. VLC didn't play the disk because you tried opening an audio CD as a DVD. The games didn't run because you didn't have a proper graphics driver.

[@minignoux4566]

you know when running some old games on a netbook on windows they tended to not boot the first time although there was a process did you try closing them and then relaunching?

[@PyroNexus22]

As a Russian citizen, let me tell you, for a Russian-made product, ReactOS is actually working pretty well.

[@cyberp0et]

It will do well as a Soviet OS ;)

[@lucyinchat]

Ah, KalibriOS, it's a much nicer os

[@markusTegelane]

@@lucyinchat much more stable compared to ReactOS

[@MATAM29]

ReactOS isn't from Russia.

[@ivyflow3r]

@@MATAM29 pretty sure he means that there are russian devs who are working on reactos

[@Souls4Roca]

why didn't you use the build in app store under setting add/remove software?

[@someguy4853]

He is a Windows user he doesn't know any better.

[@Souls4Roca]

@@someguy4853 windows have a store though.... :p

[@someguy4853]

@@Souls4Roca does any Windows user ever use the store?

[@Souls4Roca]

@@someguy4853 i do, also many co workers, heck, if you have an i device, it’s the only way to get turn latest icloud and itunes, also nvidia and other manufacturers offer their packages from there directly

[@someguy4853]

@@Souls4Roca I sometimes still windows and I never used the store and all I hear is bad things about it.

[@rezajavadzadeh5597]

then it's a baby windows, still got a long way to go

[@kquote03]

@@camthesaxman3387 The correct analogy is an orphan that hasn't been adopted for 20 years. they are seriously understaffed.

[@LaskyLabs]

Every time I have tried it has refused to install on real hardware. Trust me, I really want to do it.

[@ClaireAzi]

What, I do is find the drivers and install them from the exe or msi instead. Many Manufacturers offer installers for their Hardware Drivers. And ReactOS has a Software Manager that can install some compatible Software, use that to install Firefox.

[@TeamUnpro]

omg I can't decide to be stressed or happy that I'm not the only one who had to deal with the unexplainable jankery of dell laptops

[@logangraham2956]

you'll have to forgive me cause i come from the linux space XD ...... but what didn't you use the application manager to install programs?

[@akeiai]

since ReactOS is using Wine, it has the same problem of drivers not working on it.

[@linuxization4205]

well Wine uses a api-to-library converter as a kernel, and drivers directly face towards the kernel. ReactOS just uses research and applications from wine, so its not gonna be completely compatible.

[@perpetualcollapse]

Ah yes, the first NT-like operating system.

[@Nicklamn]

I’m gonna try reactOS again because I haven’t in a few years. Hopefully it gets worked on and works great soon because it is awesome

[@poly9306]

Just use the buildin app store under setting add/remove software... this is how you get compatible versions of software

[@JessicaFEREM]

AOL Desktop Gold is still being maintained and ran by AOL. it's not terrible, at some point they moved to a chromium base, but with zero changes from their old AOL desktop. last update was oct 28 2023. still being updated although it is a subscription, you need to pay a monthly fee to use it. who would actually pay for a web browser, i've no clue.

[@thomasleemullins4372]

ReactOS is still in alpha and doesn't support USB yet. It is slow development but it is still being worked on.

[@OliverUnderTheMoon]

Watching this on 1.75x it seemed clear there is an issue with the USB stack. I realise you shouldn't have to but I can't help but wonder if a PS/2 mouse would have saved some of those reboots. Great video though, you suffered so we don't have to.

[@plainsabertooth7828]

USB support is something new to reactos note reactos is trying to be like windows xp when it comes to drivers and software support and multi cpu support is not there yet.

[@PlumGurly]

USB support existed for some time, just not working. This is like the 3rd try at it. And maybe some SMP support may be there this year. A GSOC intern is supposedly working on that. I am fairly certain that will cause regressions. But that will be good since the breakages should point out things that can be made more stable in uniprocessor mode.

[@plainsabertooth7828]

@@PlumGurly agreed, I was able to get a nightly build running on my dual pentium 3 box, the only thing that didn't work was smp support. Everything else worked.

[@smudgey5000]

I tried it on an old 2011 laptop years ago. I got it installed fine but couldnt get wifi working.

[@user-pk3pl3qg7b]

What the release version on this video , because reactos dont work on my laptop?

[@digigroovestudios]

Screwing around with ReactOS will ruin you weekend. Seriously..

[@nonetrix3066]

The fan issue is so strange, I am trying to think of why Dell would do such a thing. Maybe since it is controlling it from the OS it has more information to base the fan speed on? Maybe if they CPU has high load it could ramp up the fans expecting the CPU to get hot?? I don't think this would be doable from the firmware, but it's not broken way of doing it so don't fix it basing off temp is enough. Also I hear it's improved quite a bit since, maybe try a up to date beta or compiled from source version, also I haven't tried this myself and I don't know if anyone has tbh but there is new versions of Firefox back ported to XP, maybe they will work???? Also it seems VMWare is the best way to use React OS, it even has graphics acceleration enough to even run Minecraft and Half Life 2

[@minediamonds3045]

17:00 discord doesn't work on anything older than vista

[@KingKrouch]

Funny thing about the Dell fan issue on Linux, that is still a problem on Alienware laptops on Linux. Like the fan will work, but you cannot control the thermal or fan noise mode. You have to boot into Windows to change it. Safe to say I regret buying an Alienware laptop. Thing doesn't even have a MUX switch or a DisplayPort output wired to the GPU (instead of HDMI).

[@riskidxer]

react os version based Windows XP

[@grugiv]

love them inspiron 6400 based laptops

[@Henrynsteri]

ScuffedOS

[@Hayden2447]

This channel is underrated……

[@GameMaker3_5]

Agreed

[@singletona082]

It feels like a lot of 'almost' at paly. I've been following this project for twenty years and am surprised they're still going. I keep hoping for more because even if it's best enviroment is aged hardware... that's still 'window analgoue that is legally kosher and hopefully has security features old windows didn't'

[@Macsneese2345]

That laptop looks like my dell Inspiron 6400 laptop 😮

[@SatelliteEnthusiast]

Are we gonna talk about how they've been working since the 90's and this YEAR they MIGHT be going into BETA? Edit: They did not release a beta after saying they would. ReactOS is dead lol

[@mohamedcraft_1130]

I haw a dell Inspiron 6400 is it compatible for react os

[@JessicaFEREM]

fedora defaults to btrfs now, so I guess it's also for normal users.. idk.

[@nunyobiznez875]

Is there some reason you didn't just use the ReactOS package manager to install applications? The applications in there obviously work. You also could have gotten a slightly newer version of firefox as well (v48), without having to go hunt for it.

[@Free.Education786]

Does ReactOS suppprts 64 bit Windows programs? Games ? Does ReactOS supports VMWARE installation n virtualization? From where to download it officially clean virus free iso file? Thanks for your help and support brothers....

[@kquote03]

-64 bit is in progress, still very buggy, but 64 bit executables run as well as you can expect -yes, but the graphics drivers are better on virtualbox -reactos.org/download/ I recommend using the nightlies

[@stanb1455]

No, the project has been alpha for like 20 years now, nobody wants to work on it, barely any hardware supports it and application support is small.

[@the2323guy]

And people thought Windows ME was bad

[@blaperturemesa]

youre judging a severely unished product, that is a literal reverse engineer of windows nt built from scrach

[@DigiSpaceProductions]

~1k people worked on Windows ME 13 people are working on ReactOS. Windows ME was a finished operating system ReactOS is still in alpha, still trying to match Windows's Kernel.

[@bennguyen1313]

Can't believe the 'release' ReactOS is still at 0.4.14.. despite the WinXP code being leaked long ago. I would think any mystery as to how the OS works, would have been solved. BTW, I have a 2011 sata laptop and would be very happy running 32-bit Windows XP.. *IF* it could be made to run off a USB. Unfortunately, multiple attempts seems like it won't work because XP doesn't have the USB drivers baked into the kernel, so while you can install FROM a usb... and even install ONTO a usb.. it won't BOOT from usb. Any idea if ReactOS can run entirely from USB or an SD-Card? My main goal would be to boot from USB, and run programs that use USB peripherals.

[@karl-erikkald8876]

They can't unfortunately use any of the leaked code as majority of it is the property of Microsoft. If they did, they'd risk a potentially heavy lawsuit. That being said, the ReactOS project is still quite impressive when you consider the substantial reverse engineering involved.

[@perpetualcollapse]

Bro caught encouraging illegal behavior lul

[@Sanjaykumar-eh2uh]

What is that application used to backup all the drivers from windows 7???

[@AtomicPurple]

Driver Backup! 2

[@crybabyme]

Just imagine that React os get update like windows 11. I literally gonna switch to react os

[@andrive]

You didn't install the graphics driver it looks

[@masonthedunce3711]

Don’t give ReactOS hate - it’s a free volunteer-driven development project and it’s done some pretty crazy things (with the windows compatibility and all). Plus it’s written from 100% scratch, and OSDev is really fuckin hard

[@kquote03]

Not * just * from scratch. If anyone has seen any windows source code, they are immediately disallowed from contributing. Which you can blame on copyright, since I really don't see the reason of still protecting really old code like the windows xp source code (which is 20 years old).

[@PlumGurly]

@@kquote03 -- If you are not "clean," you can still help, but you are relegated to things like making themes, documentation, etc. Those who have seen the source are free to write documentation on how it works, so long as they give no code examples (which could taint others). If one wants to do it right, you would use an attorney as an intermediary to make sure no infringing content is used in the documentation. Concepts can be patented, but not copyrighted. Only finished works can be copyrighted. So just giving a text-only overview of how the internals work without including code would be within bounds. On patents, I was concerned when I started following the project over a decade ago since FAT32 was still protected. However, that is no longer an issue since the project is taking so long. You only get 14 years max on patents (7 years and one extension), so if the project is still under development when they expire, there is nothing to worry about.

[@PlumGurly]

@@kquote03 -- And it is not 100% from scratch either. It uses FOSS code from other projects. Wine is one example since parts of Wine are used to avoid having to reinvent the wheel. The IDE/SATA driver comes from a Russian guy who appreciates that his code is being used by ROS. ReactOS helped him find some bugs in his driver. His driver is neat in that it attempts to work with every Windows version and every type of drive. I think he planned on adding RLL support. Those are old drives and I can't imagine too many MFM/RLL drives exist anymore, except by collectors.

[@kquote03]

@@PlumGurly Thanks for the info !

[@videocommenter235]

Can't wait for China to adopt this project.

[@lucien-rowan3685]

13:28 Firefox 45.0.1 doesn't predate HTML5, it's just getting too old.

[@WalnutSpice]

11:44 happens to me every single time on any machine or virtualbox on any ReactOS version released since 2019. Truly a joke of an operating system. 26 years and this is where it's at. This shit can't even compete with DOS and Windows 3.1

[@kpcraftster6580]

What heat spreader is that?

[@amosdalmerifiorino6841]

Great video, its only 32 bit? Thanks

[@kquote03]

64 bit exists but is not recommended and is in very early stages. For reference, they got networking to work on 64 bit only a week ago.

[@orkhepaj]

meh , wouldnt it be easier to use a linux base and try to make it able to install and run win apps ?

[@rmnts]

reactos is not trying to emulate compatibility, it is trying to be binary compatible with windows apps.

[@orkhepaj]

@@rmnts whats the point ? they end up with an outdated ui with plenty of bugs nobody sane would want to use

[@nabagaca]

@@orkhepaj the point is as a research project and a hobby. No one really expects it to replace windows 11 or any modern version, but as they work on it they contribute to the WINE project, and write documentation on the not publically documented parts of the NT Kernel. That and basically it's a "why not" project

[@orkhepaj]

@@nabagaca so it is just for wasting time , then don't get surprised when I label it as such, a useless waste of time OS wonder how much they helped wine if at all

[@nabagaca]

@@orkhepaj they literally contribute nearly half of all work to wine. I don't get how you hear "research" and equate that to a waste of time. If it wasn't for the documentation written up by the guys who make reactOS, which is often the only source on these things, and more importantly the only legally safe way to view information on windows (because reading any actual code from Microsoft instantly means any work you do on any products that potentially would use that code at all e.g. wine now become a copyright violation) the Linux projects and other projects that attempt to run windows binaries likely wouldn't exist, or would be much further behind

[@dxdx6801]

You had to use XP drivers, not Seven`s...

[@reboxtherapy]

I've always been enthusiastic about Linux and windows 95/98 dualboot . However even companies like Dell stop making Linux computers since around 2006.i would say the best bang would be M1 mac.

[@icanhasfreecat]

Looks like ReactOS is a neat idea with terrible execution, and I don't have the patience to put up with all that crap.

[@frankieepurr]

You an bypass the unsupported browser screen on KZbin by clicking remind me later

[@filipvarga2508]

it's just a learn / fun project. from the programmer viewer it is pretty cool to reimplement the whole thing.

[@desktorp]

ReactOS developers tried for years to get the Russian government to support the project so it could be deployed as legit server and workstation replacements for Windows. I'd say it's more than just 'for fun'. ReactOS is a serious, but underfunded and shortstaffed project.

[@crossmodman]

tou need a live cd for the real pc bc the normal one doesnt go

[@angeleocorrodead]

Dos games work?

[@johnjonjhonjonathanjohnson3559]

replacement for death row

[@AlphanPeter]

reatos crash on my laptop then trying install

[@madissiimkull]

USE The software market that is built in RCos

[@BigOlSmellyFlashlight]

huh. 2.3ghz dual core in 2006.

[@idcrafter-cgi]

i think reactos has a appstore thing

[@softwarelivre2389]

It does!

[@EuroWolf420]

This made Vista look as stable as a Mac 😂😂😂

[@linuxization4205]

ironic how theres a comment saying "ReactOS: how Apple fans think Windows works." right above this comment. as a linux user, i bet you havent even tried vista.

[@DigiSpaceProductions]

only unstable if you use incorrect hardware, Vista needed high system specs back when it came out, hints why so many people had issues with it.

[@DollopussD]

Can it play Bluray?

[@kquote03]

no. for one, the library that most programs use to read optical disks isn't functional, which is why VLC and Winamp didn't recognize the CD drive for him

[@JessicaFEREM]

I've gotten rec'd this video but not the first one, so I'm the minority, unless the first one is

[@pantelonis]

Firefox 22+ Supports HTML5

[@Julenuri]

Wine iexplorer won't work because you didn't install Wine gecko ;)

[@JessicaFEREM]

as bad as dell is, lenovo is even worse. idk why nerds like lenovos so much, because they've always had weird issues like failing thunderbolt controllers and a broken BIOS causing lap mode to get stuck on, and performance on a desk to get bad

[@Dr.Mohandes]

you should also try x64 builds of reactos

[@kquote03]

NO NO NO NO NO. He should DEFINITELY stick to 32 bit for now.

[@kquote03]

funfact, only last week they got networking to work 64 bit ::::-), how do you think the rest of the OS is?

[@linuxization4205]

@@kquote03 1 year later, now most of 64 bit reactos is at 90-100% But WoW64 still isnt implemented.

[@kquote03]

@@linuxization4205 I have been keeping up. it is certainly impressive what they accomplished (that and multicore support)

[@hrohrweck]

btrfs is better compared to zfs then ext type filesytems

[@SomeAngryGuy1997]

You backed up the drivers from Windows 7, and expected them to work on what is a clone of Windows XP? Of course you got errors 😂 Not to mention Graphics drivers being completely different between XP and 7

[@6muffinz]

1,000th like! ❤

[@zhaoxunyan4016]

Thank you for saving me time and bandwidth NOT to try ReactOS.

[@minediamonds3045]

13:21 just click remind me later

[@eduardopatricio]

It's an alpha build. I appreciate your attempt to make it work, but your whining is fairly annoying.