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Frequently Asked Questions for users

Just arrived here? Probably these FAQs will answer most of your questions. They have been created by Users for Users so we do really hope they'll be helpful for you too. But in the case they aren't, feel free to join the ReactOS Forum or the IRC channel. It's as easy as clicking on one of the following buttons:

Ok..so what's ReactOS?

ReactOS is a free and open source operating system written from scratch. It's design is based on Windows in the same way Linux is based on Unix, however ReactOS is _not_ linux. ReactOS looks and feels like Windows, is able to your run Windows software and your Windows drivers, and is familiar for Windows users.

Free and Open-whaaat...?

Free and Open Source. Free as "you can download and use it for free", and open source which means...you can view the source code for everything from the operating system to the apps and even the build system. You can modify it, you can provide patches for any bugs you find, and can understand how thing works: You can even create your own ReactOS versions! You're using Open Source software daily if you use Firefox, chrome, android, open office, any GNU-Linux distribution (among zillions( and so much more. Open Source projects such as ReactOS, are driven for and by its Community, so being active translating, donating, or coding is the best way to help ReactOS move forward.

What are the differences between Windows and ReactOS?

There are mainly two. Firstly ReactOS is open source. Secondly ReactOS is Free. Also Windows (especially the newer versions) are known to monitor all your activity by default. So if you're concerned about your privacy or just don't want to share any personal info, we promise (and you can check our source code) that we don't track any of your data.

So...can I install ReactOS and run any software compatible with Windows on it?

That's the idea. However we highly recommend to check if your favourite apps run by trying them and reporting either your success with the community, or any problems you encounter with our task tracker. ReactOS is still an on-going project and not all the apps and drivers run perfect on it just now. The best way to check the compatibility is to install ReactOS inside a virtual machine ( a step by step and video guide can be found here) and try things for yourself. There are tons of pieces of software and, as you can imagine it's is impossible for us to try and to track them all.

Is ReactOS legal?

Yes we are. All the code that make up the ReactOS operating system has been written from scratch by our developers. We go to great lengths to ensure that the code our developers create is clean. and we make sure that the methods we use to understand Windows internals is also clean. We use a variety of methods to achieve this, which include clean room reverse engineering, using existing documentation freely available both in books and on the web, using extensive tests (tens of millions) which apply black box engineering methods against both public and private APIs which are exposed by the operating system. We believe commercial operating systems should be freely available, and we're pushing to mimic the success Linux had in making the Unix operating system freely available to the masses, except we're doing it with the Windows operating system.

I am not a Developer...how can I help?

A project of this size isn't all about developers, there are many different roles which contribute to our success. One of the main areas we're always looking for more help with is testing, and you don't need any specific skills to get started in this area, but stick at it and you'll gain a deep knowledge into the Windows operating system. We're always on the lookout for graphic designers to help us in many areas including our icon set, our website and our PR initiatives. We're looking for good writers who can write up news or blog articles for out website, or perhaps take minutes at our meetings and make sense out of them. We're always in need of translators. As our operating system and website grow, we need translators from across the world to translate things into their native tongue. And finally and perhaps most importantly we need donors, because without donations we're unable to meet the costs of running the website, paying the infrastructure costs and occasionally helping to fund developers to work on features outside of their normal free development work.

How can ReactOS help me?

Being part of a Worldwide Community, as ReactOS is, will boost your own personal skills to a highest new level. Teaming up with people from different countries will enhance your team-working, empathy and English. All these skills are really appreciated by companies out there in job interviews. Contributing your free time into an open source project seems to be also trending and marks a difference withing you and another candidate for the same job. If you want to learn about coding and Windows internals, you won't find a better real field case. You'll find in ReactOS the possibility to move from the book theory to the practical cases. This is the main reason why top-most sotware companies offer ReactOS Devs jobs opportunities. Also, from time to time (and when donations let us), we offer scholarships to our contributors for specific tasks to be done.

How can I help to translate?

You can help to translate in at least two different ways. The first one is helping to translate the website (our new one is currently only available in English), the second one is to help with translating the operating system. Here you can find a guide about how to request a position to translate the site.

More info: IRC

IRC is the fastest way to communicate with the ReactOS Team.
Join the #reactos channel and talk with other community members.

Watch realtime developer talking in #reactos-dev. You can join us here or using your favourite IRC client in: