So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

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dizt3mp3r
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So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by dizt3mp3r »

I've avoided testing ReactOS for a long time (since 0.3.nn) as the 0.3 versions showed some basic promise as to what ReactOS would become - but in general end-user terms the 0.3 series was a let-down, so much being promised but so little delivered with regard to usability and stability. This was completely understood as ReactOS was and still is so heavily in Alpha.

For those that just want a Windows replacement (and want it now) it was a disappointment, mainly for the end-users' over-expectations of what ReactOS could be.

I thought I'd give it another go with the idea of testing an application or two and I have to say, from the very start - I was really impressed.

Using Virtualbox 5.2.22 and a 10gb VDI file for ReactOS, mounting the nightly build ReactOS download as an ISO for the virtual CD drive and another Windows-created, NTFS-formatted VHD of 3gb to store apps I want to test, I FAT formatted, installed and booted ReactOS flawlessly. Bloody quick, the whole process - what I have always longed for from a Windows install to be but which never was. No corporate bollox, straightforward and easy. No Win 10 "We are getting things ready for you"...

General first impressions using the default theme. I've not used ReactOS for a long time so my general impressions are roughly the same as a naive user faced with a ReactOS installation for the first time. The familiar layout and easy access to all the usual tools and utilities, expected and functioning keypresses all working as I want them to. The slightly jarring non-Microsoft icons do make me instinctively 'feel' that I am running Slax or Linux Mint. A moment or two of getting used to them and I can accept them but I feel unsure I could live with them long term, I'd have to hack them to make them more familiar but I'd probably make them steampunk... That's just me.

Usability, everything on a cursory examination seems to be there, sometimes only in basic form and some things are missing, such as the disc administration tool - but what there is, is usable or obviously under development.

Stability. The ReactOS explorer occasionally crashes and a slow-down occurs during a copy/paste operation but each time it has slowly resurrected itself but ReactOS itself seems significantly more stable. Running multiple applications does not seem that sensible but for simple, single tasks, it really 'feels' more than stable, even usable.

Testing programs. I have a tool, I wrote it myself. It runs in conjunction with Rocketdock. It is an an enhancement of Rocketdock's icon settings utility written in VB6. I did not perform an installation, instead simply copying the application's folder across to the apps VHD and hen transferring manually it to ReactOS programs folder. The first try it complained about a missing VB6, MSVBM60.DLL and I copied a found version into the system32 folder.

[ external image ]

Here is where I start to be really impressed. My VB6 utility worked flawlessly in all its methods without an error. This simple test proved to me where my o/s allegiance will lie in the future. ReactOS runs MY programs, those that I wrote. Rocketdock itself does not run and that has to do with the absence of a fully functioning GDI+ sub system I am guessing. That does not matter for the moment, I know it WILL come. The important thing here for me is that my fairly complex VB6 application runs straight out of the box.

I have some more testing to do with various other utilities and so far he results have been impressive. More on that later.

Forgive me for stating what you probably already know, that ReactOS will be usable, perhaps not in the near future for most but for some, perhaps. For me, as a test bed for installing VB6 apps onto a ReactOS virtual sandbox, programs that I have previously created for XP, it will already prove to be an invaluable testing asset.
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Last edited by dizt3mp3r on Mon Apr 06, 2020 1:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by dizt3mp3r »

Tested the following:

o RJTextEd - an advanced editor - installs correctly, runs OK, no issues yet found. An Epic Win I suggest.
o Adobe Photoshop CS (ver 8.0) install failure - will re-test
o Xwidget - installs correctly, all transparent areas blacked out and graphic areas frozen, suspected GDI issue.
o RocketDock - installs correctly, generates an error when attempting to run, suspected GDI issue.

I will recapture the exact errors during next test and raise them.
Skillset: VMS,DOS,Windows Sysadmin from 1985, fault-tolerance, VaxCluster, Alpha,Sparc. DCL,QB,VBDOS- VB6,.NET, PHP,NODE.JS, Graphic Design, Project Manager, CMS, Quad Electronics. classic cars & m'bikes. Artist in water & oils. Historian.
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by dizt3mp3r »

A little more quick testing using the tools I would typically use on an XP system. Simple installs, no attempts at workarounds.

o add/remove pro - installs - runs - operates, does not actually remove any files!
o cintanotes - installs - runs - crashes - takes ReactOS with it, hanging.
o console 2 - installs - runs - operates
o context - installs - runs - operates
o csdiff - installs - msvcirt.dll not found
o everything - installs - runs - does nothing
o free and easy font viewer - installs - runs - operates
o free file sync - installs - runs - operates, some problems
folder view comboboxes too small but the file synch-ing functions as expected.

o free extended task manager - installs - runs - operates
o licecap - installs - runs - operates, some flashing when showing the GIF
o lotus organiser - installs - ltscsn13.dll not found
o mypal - installs - does not run < - version from RAPPS works.
o nvu - installs - runs - operates
o pc DCL - installs - runs - operates

Some of these are definitely EPIC WINS!
Last edited by dizt3mp3r on Fri Jan 24, 2020 4:32 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Skillset: VMS,DOS,Windows Sysadmin from 1985, fault-tolerance, VaxCluster, Alpha,Sparc. DCL,QB,VBDOS- VB6,.NET, PHP,NODE.JS, Graphic Design, Project Manager, CMS, Quad Electronics. classic cars & m'bikes. Artist in water & oils. Historian.
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by dizt3mp3r »

I've raised three of these successful tests as epic Wins.

Some more testing reveals:

o process hacker - installs - runs - operates.
o resource hacker - installs - runs - operates - not yet used it in anger to replace default icons.
o setup2go - installs - runs - operates - a few on screen artefact errors on the icon menus.
o screentogif - installs - does not run at all.
o spacesniffer - installs - runs - operates, access violation error on exit, causes ReactOS to appear to hang.
o winzip self extractor - installs - runs - operates.
o yahoo widget SDK - appears to install but hangs bringing ReactOS to a halt, suspected GDI issue causing an error in kernel mode.
o sygate personal firewall - installs - does not operate, states component missing after a restart.
o RADtools - installs - runs - operates.
o consolez - installs - process entry point initializeCriticalSectionEx could not be located in KERNEL32.dll
o npackd - installs - runs - operates
o xnview - installs - process entry point initializeCriticalSectionEx could not be located in KERNEL32.dll
(although it still seems to work as expected)

o q-dir - installs - runs - operates
o iconoid - installs - memory reference error - crashes explorer.exe repeatedly.
o effective file search - installs - runs - operates

That's a high success rate considering those are tools I have used daily from the times of XP up to the present day.
Last edited by dizt3mp3r on Thu Jan 23, 2020 4:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Skillset: VMS,DOS,Windows Sysadmin from 1985, fault-tolerance, VaxCluster, Alpha,Sparc. DCL,QB,VBDOS- VB6,.NET, PHP,NODE.JS, Graphic Design, Project Manager, CMS, Quad Electronics. classic cars & m'bikes. Artist in water & oils. Historian.
learn_more
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by learn_more »

Thanks for your kind words!
sling-shot
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by sling-shot »

I am a bit confused here. You refer to ReactOS 0.4.14 but on the website latest available release is 0.4.12. Where did you get your 0.4.14 from?
I am a nobody. Nobody is perfect. So I am perfect.
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by dizt3mp3r »

sling-shot wrote: Wed Jan 22, 2020 10:47 pm I am a bit confused here. You refer to ReactOS 0.4.14 but on the website latest available release is 0.4.12. Where did you get your 0.4.14 from?
https://www.reactos.org/getbuilds/
Skillset: VMS,DOS,Windows Sysadmin from 1985, fault-tolerance, VaxCluster, Alpha,Sparc. DCL,QB,VBDOS- VB6,.NET, PHP,NODE.JS, Graphic Design, Project Manager, CMS, Quad Electronics. classic cars & m'bikes. Artist in water & oils. Historian.
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by shunesburg »

sling-shot wrote: Wed Jan 22, 2020 10:47 pm I am a bit confused here. You refer to ReactOS 0.4.14 but on the website latest available release is 0.4.12. Where did you get your 0.4.14 from?
It's a development build not a real release yet.
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by ROCKNROLLKID »

shunesburg wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2020 2:37 pm
sling-shot wrote: Wed Jan 22, 2020 10:47 pm I am a bit confused here. You refer to ReactOS 0.4.14 but on the website latest available release is 0.4.12. Where did you get your 0.4.14 from?
It's a development build not a real release yet.
Those builds are nightlies from the latest master on Github. Anything from master right now is .4.14, because .4.12 already released and .4.13 is in RC stage. Once .4.14 reaches RC the master will then switch to .4.15 as the new release. If you think about it, since .4.14 is still development, this will only get better by the time it hits RC.
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by shunesburg »

ROCKNROLLKID wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2020 8:35 pm
shunesburg wrote: Thu Jan 23, 2020 2:37 pm
sling-shot wrote: Wed Jan 22, 2020 10:47 pm I am a bit confused here. You refer to ReactOS 0.4.14 but on the website latest available release is 0.4.12. Where did you get your 0.4.14 from?
It's a development build not a real release yet.
Those builds are nightlies from the latest master on Github. Anything from master right now is .4.14, because .4.12 already released and .4.13 is in RC stage. Once .4.14 reaches RC the master will then switch to .4.15 as the new release. If you think about it, since .4.14 is still development, this will only get better by the time it hits RC.
I said : "not a real release yet.". RC is not a final release, the latest is 0.4.12 for the moment.
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by dizt3mp3r »

I have installed some other utilities and a partial success with these:

o PhotoDemon an open source photoshop-style tool written in VB6 installs and runs but baulks on some images.
o XYplorer a non-free Explorer replacement also written in VB6 installs but generates an error and will not run.
o Bloodshed's DEV C++ IDE and compiler 4.9.9.2, installs and configures caches, coding and compiling not yet fully tested. WIP.

Installing and testing these now:
o EDT VMS editor - installs and functions perfectly - for me its an Epic Win but not for most.
o CYGWIN - generated an error on first run, now looking at an alternative XP download.
o Quake ONE - works beautifully as expected using the darkplaces engine.
Skillset: VMS,DOS,Windows Sysadmin from 1985, fault-tolerance, VaxCluster, Alpha,Sparc. DCL,QB,VBDOS- VB6,.NET, PHP,NODE.JS, Graphic Design, Project Manager, CMS, Quad Electronics. classic cars & m'bikes. Artist in water & oils. Historian.
Asadero
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by Asadero »

Where can I download the source code for ReactOS-0.4.13-RC-41 ?
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by EmuandCo »

ReactOS is still in alpha stage, meaning it is not feature-complete and is recommended only for evaluation and testing purposes.

If my post/reply offends or insults you, be sure that you know what sarcasm is...
Asadero
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by Asadero »

I'm aware of where to download ReactOS source code. What I am clueless about is how to end up with a directory of source code on my hard drive that when built would result in an iso image matching ReactOS-0.4.13-RC-41-gc6b2f3a-iso. Additionally, suppose I wanted to separately download source code that when built would result in an iso image matching ReactOS-0.4.13-RC-39-g3862cc6-iso, or ReactOS-0.4.13-RC-36-gbaa9a3e-iso; how would that be accomplished?
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: So impressed by ReactOS 0.4.14

Post by dizt3mp3r »

Perhaps it would have been better to raise your own thread for the question rather than hijack another. You are more likely to get the help you need.

As to the latter question, you should read the earlier response: https://www.reactos.org/getbuilds/
Skillset: VMS,DOS,Windows Sysadmin from 1985, fault-tolerance, VaxCluster, Alpha,Sparc. DCL,QB,VBDOS- VB6,.NET, PHP,NODE.JS, Graphic Design, Project Manager, CMS, Quad Electronics. classic cars & m'bikes. Artist in water & oils. Historian.
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