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NTFS now supported in ReactOS LiveCD

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Re: NTFS now supported in ReactOS LiveCD

#31

I love the idea of ReactOS but it is moving so slowly that I don't see how they can ever be a relevant alternative to Windows. Is my impression wrong?

While it might be true that ReactOS moves slowly, I love the fact that it's still moving. In the age of Windows 10, OS X and impending mobile domination, there are still people who care about reimplementing Windows NT. I don't know if there are many users out there, but even if there is a single one, working on ReactOS must be gratifying for its developers.

Windows 10 is still a "Windows NT", given the fact that it has an NT kernel.

Re: NTFS now supported in ReactOS LiveCD

#32
post #30
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my impression in 2011 already. Back then I wrote a blog post (in my then-much-worse English) with, admittedly, a bit of Microsoft hatred[1]. However, most of the points I mention are still valid, I think. Of course there have been new releases since 2011, but nothing exactly groundbreaking, at least in the eye of a casual follower like me. Relatively recently, they have run a IndieGoGo campaign and have made…

Apart from being able to run legacy software, wouldn't it being open-source be of value? I know several people who use Windows because they need the Windows-only software (new or old). With ReactOS they would be able to use those applications with an open-source OS. (Though the pros and cons of open-source can be a separate, credible discussion).

The problem is that the development seems to go too slowly to be something more than a curiosity. It looks outdated and cannot replace Windows in a worplace for the moment and it seems like it will be like that forever. I really want this to succeed but I do not think it will.

Re: NTFS now supported in ReactOS LiveCD

#33
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the goal is to be an alternative to Windows. There are many situations where you might want to run Windows apps but don't need everything Windows has to offer. Like others have mentioned, supporting legacy apps is one example of this. There is also research value in having a Windows-compatible OS which is open source.

Which is why we have WINE. There's no reason for ReactOS to exist, especially considering the speed at which it develops.

There are some legacy industrial software we had to keep (for cost reasons) that run on ReactOS with little to no configuration changes that completely break in WINE or run glacially slow on compatibility mode on Windows 7.

Re: NTFS now supported in ReactOS LiveCD

#34
post #16
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my impression in 2011 already. Back then I wrote a blog post (in my then-much-worse English) with, admittedly, a bit of Microsoft hatred[1]. However, most of the points I mention are still valid, I think. Of course there have been new releases since 2011, but nothing exactly groundbreaking, at least in the eye of a casual follower like me. Relatively recently, they have run a IndieGoGo campaign and have made…

It is nice to see that ReactOS are still developing, but I think that their time to make a big impression was 7 years ago. The world has moved on from being a Microsoft-centric place. Perhaps if the Chinese or Russians decided to use it as an alternative OS, it would have worked?

Considering the swath of (mostly pirated) XP installs still floating around China[1], I wonder if many of them would be willing to try this instead. Most of their apps should run just fine too.

[1] http://www.pcworld.com/article/2103680/chinas-windows-xp-use...

Re: NTFS now supported in ReactOS LiveCD

#35
post #10

I love the idea of ReactOS but it is moving so slowly that I don't see how they can ever be a relevant alternative to Windows. Is my impression wrong?

That was my impression in 2011 already. Back then I wrote a blog post (in my then-much-worse English) with, admittedly, a bit of Microsoft hatred[1]. However, most of the points I mention are still valid, I think. Of course there have been new releases since 2011, but nothing exactly groundbreaking, at least in the eye of a casual follower like me. Relatively recently, they have run a IndieGoGo campaign and have made…

> Relatively recently, they have run a IndieGoGo campaign and have made this[2], but to be honest (and I admit I haven't looked very deep), as a first impression, it seems it is more the result of web development, design and social media work, than work on the hard part, i.e. the operating system itself. It'd be nice if someone could clarify whether that's really the case.

I think they made that just to convince people to give them money which is so desperately needed for development. Probably because they previously made a Kickstarter which failed to meet its goals.

What ReactOS needs is some large business to sponsor its development.

Re: NTFS now supported in ReactOS LiveCD

#36
post #7
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly I was thinking the same. I've heard of this project years ago, but today it's only still reading NTFS volumes? For a project attempting to re-implement Windows? I'm also curious about the two Program Files folders I see, identically named in the same folder.

My understanding is that NTFS support is fairly low on the priority chain; most windows features work just fine with FAT. I booted ReactOS into a VM a few months ago, and it ran many programs just fine out of the box, so it's come a long way since the previous time I tried it.

It's taken a long time for Linux to support NTFS fully as well. Not surprisingly, ReactOS has taken some time also. I think that's fair enough, unless you particularly enjoy filesystem corruption.

Re: NTFS now supported in ReactOS LiveCD

#37
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My understanding is that NTFS support is fairly low on the priority chain; most windows features work just fine with FAT. I booted ReactOS into a VM a few months ago, and it ran many programs just fine out of the box, so it's come a long way since the previous time I tried it.

It's taken a long time for Linux to support NTFS fully as well. Not surprisingly, ReactOS has taken some time also. I think that's fair enough, unless you particularly enjoy filesystem corruption.

Could someone explain why this is a particularly difficult technical problem?

Re: NTFS now supported in ReactOS LiveCD

#38
While I agree with other commentors that ReactOS in general is slowly becoming irrelevant, I do believe making NTFS a read and write file system via open source would be a useful addition. I did a hunt a little while ago for ways to read and write NTFS on Linux and Mac, and didn't find many options (commercial or open). The most common response (beyond "reformat!") was to just mount the filesystem in a windows box (or windows running in a VM) and share it over a network connect, which abstracts away the file system, though adds overhead.

(BTW: For mac, I found Tuxera and Paragon, and the "built in" non-supported approach to writing NTFS. For linux, NTFS-3G (with proper fuse support) was the go to, but I found corruption under load in my minimal tests, which probably reflect my setup and lack of experience more than problems with the software)

Have you guys found preferred ways to R/W mount an NTFS volume or partition or USB drive without having to do a network mount for Linux or MacOS? Could this work in ReactOS become the seed? Or is considered a solved problem?

Re: NTFS now supported in ReactOS LiveCD

#39
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the goal is to be an alternative to Windows. There are many situations where you might want to run Windows apps but don't need everything Windows has to offer. Like others have mentioned, supporting legacy apps is one example of this. There is also research value in having a Windows-compatible OS which is open source.

Which is why we have WINE. There's no reason for ReactOS to exist, especially considering the speed at which it develops.

So how does wine handles Windows drivers?

Re: NTFS now supported in ReactOS LiveCD

#40
post #38

While I agree with other commentors that ReactOS in general is slowly becoming irrelevant, I do believe making NTFS a read and write file system via open source would be a useful addition. I did a hunt a little while ago for ways to read and write NTFS on Linux and Mac, and didn't find many options (commercial or open). The most common response (beyond "reformat!") was to just mount the filesystem in a windows box (o…

Try ntfs3g, it works like a charm. http://www.tuxera.com/community/ntfs-3g-download/
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