User:Matthiasbasler

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ReactOS testing overview and FAQ for beginners

Following secion is for ReactOS users who intend to test software with ReactOS and report the results back to the community. It is built as a FAQ supposed to cover the typical questions of people new to testing ReactOS. This section does not cover the answers in detail but rather links to selected existing detail pages in order not to duplicate that information.

See also: Testing Introduction

What is the current version of ReactOS I should test?

  1. If you prefer the most stable version and do the tests only for you own curiostity, you may use the latest release, available on the official download page.
  2. (Preferred:) If you want a rather stable version, want to do regression tests for the upcoming release and want to report found bugs use the current release candidate, whose download link is on the current release testing page, such as f.e. Tests for 0.4.14 The navigation bar below shows the releases, including the latest one being tested when there are ongoing tests.
  3. If you know the feature you testing is not yet contained in the latest release or if you are asked to check a bug is still contained in the latest nightly build, download the nightly build. (Tip: Click on the left (<) arrow to go back to a revision that is already available for download.)
Version Tests
0.3.x Series 0.3.3 | 0.3.5 | 0.3.6 | 0.3.7 | 0.3.8 | 0.3.9 | 0.3.10 | 0.3.11 | 0.3.12 | 0.3.13 | 0.3.14 | 0.3.15 | 0.3.16 | 0.3.17
0.4.x Series 0.4.0 | 0.4.1 | 0.4.2 | 0.4.3 | 0.4.4 | 0.4.5 | 0.4.6 | 0.4.7 | 0.4.8 | 0.4.9 | 0.4.10 | 0.4.11 | 0.4.12 | 0.4.13 | 0.4.14

How to set up ReactOS so it runs stable?

Depending on what you intend to test (software vs. hardware and drivers) you may set up ReactOS either on real hardware or in a Virtual Machine. Whenever possible use a VM because this eases testing a lot as you can just reset your VM once you crashed or destroyed your ReactOS installation during a test. For details see here:

How to set up a good testing/logging environment?

So you have become aquainted with ReactOS and found problems for which you want (or were asked) to provide debug logs. There are several ways to create debug logs:

  1. The easiest way is to start (in the boot manager) ReactOS with the option "ReactOS (Log file)". This will create a log file in the OS installation directory within the VM, such as f.e. C:\Reactos\debug.log. Just copy the content to your host and attach as text file to the JIRA ticket.
  2. If you encounter OS freezes, blue screens or other situations where you cannot grab the created log after the incident, you may use the option to create live log files using putty or similar tools.

Where to post the results of my tests?

This depends on the ROS version you tested (official release, release candidate or nightly build) and whether you want to report a success or an issue.

  • If you want to report some successfully running application or game, post this in the forum under Epic Win! Specifically for games you can also add it to the Games testing page.
  • If your findings concern the last official release, you can file a bug in JIRA, but be prepared to be asked to check whether this bug still exists in the latest nightly build, as release versions are usually something like 1-4 months behind the master (the latest developlent version), so your findings may be somewhat outdated and the issue possibly already fixed. Please do not edit the testing page for an already released version any more.
  • If your findings concern a release candidate (e.g. if you did a regression test checking for issues introduced in this release) then you can add your software to the "Stuff not in the Downloader list" section of the latest testing page for this version (e.g. Tests for 0.4.14). Be sure to read the guidlines on the top of this page and check your software is not already on the list (with a similar version). It is recommended to create separate JIRA tickets for every issue you came across, of course only for issues likely related to ROS (that is, not a bug in the software itself which also appears under Windows).
  • No matter what version and what (legal) software you tested you are free to post your results on your personal wiki page (e.g. "User:<yourusername>") or create a forum thread. Using a wiki page is recommended if you intend to regularly update this information, a forum thread (or JIRA issue) is better for starting a discussion about a certain found issue.

How to create good bug reports?

This is covered well here on the wiki.

Further information

  • Testing Central contains information about requesting a certain software to be regression tested regularly and how to do this.


Tutorial: Getting a stable software stack with ReactOS on VirtualBox.

This tutorial aims at providing beginners and software testers with a step by step guide for creating a ReactOS installation in a VirtualBox which works as seamlessly as possible. While setting up ReactOS in a VirtualBox somehow is rather easy, getting all the drivers, guest additions and software settings right can be a bit tricky, especially since some decisions may cause Blue Secreens (BSOD) or make VirtualBox snapshots difficult.

This tutorial does not cover each and every software, only a "should have" driver and software stack and some applications I use in order to test multimedia and 3D settings or which I consider useful for end users.

Disclaimer: Everything written here is based on my own experience and ReactOS might behave differently on other computers. I am not someone "official" either, so don't blame me if something doesn't work as described.

Configuring VirtualBox

This section is based on https://reactos.org/wiki/VirtualBox, but covers more details. It assumes you have a ROS boot image. Tested with VirtualBox 5.2.26 and 6.0.22 releases.

Attention: At the time of writing (with ROS 0.4.13 or 0.4.14 RC) it's recommended not to use VirtualBox 6.1 as it dropped support for Direct3D acceleration for anything below Windows 7 and thus for ReactOS (CORE-17105). However, if you don't need 3D support you may use VBox 6.1.

And early 6.0.x versions had an issue with the AC97 sound driver (CORE-16019). 6.0.22+ should be fine though.

  1. Create a new virtual machine based on Windows 2003 (32-bit), as this the target for ReactOS. Note that the type is not really important, the actual VM settings are.
  2. Create a virtual hardisk. I use a 20 GB (dynamically allocated) as this should be enough for tests.
  3. Once the VM has been created, open and adjust its settings:

Section "General"

  • Tab Advanced: Enable Bidirectional shared clipboard. This helps copying URLs, registration codes and text around.

Section "System"

  • Adjust your memory settings. At least 256 MB is recommended, but some software might require far more than that. I chose 50% of my real memory.
  • There is no need to enable I/O APIC as Multithreading is not supported in ROS 0.4.x yet ¹.
  • Leave all other settings as they are (1 processor¹, hardware virtualization on)

¹ Multi-core support is in development on the 0.4.15 branch, so starting from 2022 you might test it. I haven't tested it myself yet.

Section "Display"

  • Set video memory to 32MB. Do NOT use more than 32MB as this will cause the Guest additions to prevent ROS from starting.
  • For this multimedia-centric tutorial enable 3D and 2D acceleration, that is, if your graphics card is not from the last century.

Section "Storage"

  • Use the "Empty" IDE controller to assign the ROS boot image (.iso) to the "DVD" drive.

Section "Audio"

  • Ensure that the audio controller is "ICH AC97". ROS ships with a driver for this controller.

Section "Network"

  • Tab "Adapter 1": Open the "Advanced" section and choose the adapter type "PCnet-FAST III". Again, ROS has a driver for this.

Section "Shared Folders"

  • Add a shared folder and select "Auto-mount". I also chose "Read-only" as my driver is on an NTFS drive. (I haven't tested write access yet.)

That's it. Now boot ReactOS from the ISO and follow the instructions. I recommend increasing the initial screen resolution. The boot loader settings can remain as they are. I leave the most settings unchanged, only modifying the keyboard layout to personal taste.

Installing guest additions and basic drivers

After a few minutes and two restarts later, ReactOS is installed and will ask you to provide hardware drivers. You can cancel these dialogs or click through - ReactOS will not (yet) find drivers. That's expected.

CHECKPOINT: You may want to create a snapshot in VirtualBox in case something goes wrong later.
NOTE: At this point you can create snapshots both while ROS is running or after it is shut down and both should work well.

Installing the guest additions

  1. Do a restart and on the boot manager, press F8, select "Safe mode" and then start "ReactOS".
  2. In the VirtualBox menu, choose "Devices" -> "Insert guest additions CD image"
  3. Navigate to the "VBOXADDITIONS" drive and start "VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe".
  4. Leave the target directory unchanged unless there is a reason to change it.
  5. Enable "Direct3D support". That's why we had to switch to the "Safe mode".
  6. Restart

NOTE: If you get a BSOD for "VBoxDisp.dll" you likely have chosen more than 32MB graphics memory. Recover your last snapshot, shutdown ROS (if necessary) and change that setting before trying again.

After the restart you may want to adjust the display resolution and color settings.

Installing additional drivers

Note that the following steps are no longer necessary for ROS 0.4.15 builds starting from mid Feb. 2022, since these builds already include the AC97 driver and provide sound "out of the box".

  1. In the ReactOS application manager (RAPPS), section "Drivers", install the AC97 driver. When prompted for the target directory, choose "C:\ReactOS\" (with trailing backslash. Unless, of course, you chose a different OS folder name).
  2. Open the device manager in under system settings -> system, tab "hardware", select the "Multimedia audio device". It should be the only remaining "Unknown device". In the context menu, select "Update driver" and follow the wizard. Installation should be successful. If not you likely did something wrong in the previous step.
  3. Restart TWO times. The first reboot may take an extra 20 seconds or so. Installation was successful when, after the second restart you hear the ReactOS welcome sound. Note that sometimes a third reboot is needed and that installing some other software beforehand may make the sound not work at all, thats's why I recommend installing this driver early.

CHECKPOINT: I recommend shutting down ROS and creating another snapshot in VirtualBox. Note that when recovering a snapshot later, your screen resolution may be reset to VGA but you can drag the windows larger or re-set the resolution in ROS. This seems to happen randomly.
ATTENTION: At this time, when you create the snapshot while VBox is running and later return to that snapshot, ROS will show a BSOD. The sound driver causes this, unfortunally. You have to "Reset" the machine in this case, after which ROS will boot without problems. But there is no use in a snapshot of a running ReactOS if the running OS cannot recover. In ROS 0.4.15 it also happens for me that the system freezes after creating a VBox shapshot when running.

Installing additional software

From now on, you may focus on whatever you think most important. I can give some suggestions:

Installing Firefox and Flash

ATTENTION: Firefox 53 and newer will not work on ReactOS 0.4.x, as support for WinXP has ended. Neither does (unfortunately) FF 52.3.0 ESR or any other release above FF 48, as my tests showed.

I recommend installing FF 48.0.2 from the application manager, which is the latest release I know to work on ReactOS.
Alternatively you may download it from: [1] or for the German version: [2]

After installation the first thing you need to do is enter the Firefox settings and disable auto-updates. (You may ignore the balloon tab telling you about a newer, already downloaded version.)
ATTENTION: If you either open the about dialog or forgot to disable auto-updates, Firefox will quickly update itself to a newer version which will not run. Never ever open the "About" dialog - it initiates the update even if auto-update is off (which I find counter-intuitive)!

You may then install Addons. However it will be very difficult to find addons for pre-FF51 versions (old addon type) as they have been basically completely removed from the official repository. Maybe you are lucky to have a backup of the installation files?

Firefox 48 can playback HTML5 videos on Youtube, but there is no sound. In order to get some videos and live-streams working with sound, Flash can be installed. In most release versions except ROS 0.4.7 and 0.4.12 you can use the online installer from [3], which does work reasonably well. Ensure you select Windows Server 2003 as target OS.

With ROS 0.4.7 and ROS 0.4.12 you will need to use the archived, well-hidden offline installers, currently under following link (scroll down to "Flash Player archives"): https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/archived-flash-player-versions.html#main_Archived_versions These huge 400MB-downloads contain versions for all OS, among them a Windows version (e.g. "flashplayer27_0r0_170_win.exe"). This offline installer works well.

CHECKPOINT: How about another snapshot now? (Better shut down ReactOS beforehand.)
ATTENTION: I found that recovering to snapshots created at this time or later with ROS being shut down can sometimes cause ROS to start with graphics problems (light blue screen with some artefacts on top). It is not clear exactly what causes this, but resetting the VM helps.

Installing and configuring VLC player

As of ReactOS 0.4.14 the VLC player 3.0.7 can be downloaded from the application manager (RAPPS) and works out of the box. You can leave the video output set to "Automatic".

In older versions of ReactOS (I believe 0.4.8 and below) it was necessary to configure VLC as as following before playing any video:

  1. Once VLC is installed, open it without a video first.
  2. In the menu, open the "Tools" -> "Preference" and in the bottom left corner, switch to "All" settings. This is important because VLC will freeze trying to open the Video settings in the graphical setup.
  3. In the list now shown on the left, select Video -> Output modules (near the bottom).
  4. Change the Video output module from "Auto" to "OpenGL video output" or "Direct3D video output"

I found OpenGL to give better video performance. I haven't tested all, but "DirectX (DirectDraw)" and "Direct2D" do not work for me.

Checking 3D

OpenGL, Mesa 3D and Google Earth

If you followed this tutorial, OpenGL should be already working. You can install Furmark (e.g. version 1.1.7) and check it works, albeit slowly.

In the ReactX diagnosis application (dxdiag), the DirectDraw tests fail. This can be fixed by installing the Mesa driver. However, since Mesa 3D is a non-accelerated 3D driver this will further decrease the performance in FurMark, so it may not be what you really want. If you still want to try:

  1. In the application manager, within "Libraries", select and install the "Mesa3D Graphics Library".
  2. Carefully read the setup information: The non-accellerated OpenGL library will replace any other OpenGL driver if set as default. In order to satisfy the dxdiag DirectDraw test, it must be set as default.
  3. Open the ReactX diagnosis application (dxdiag) and check the DirectDraw test works. (Direct3D does fail for me.)

If you intend to install and use Google Earth, you *must* currently install the Mesa drivers, because otherwise Google Earth will make ReactOS freeze on startup. If you have them installed, however, Google Earth will run, albeit with not the framerate you might be used to.

Recommended end user software

Here is a list of some end user software which I found to work well on ReactOS 0.4.x. (It does not include debugging tools and such.) See the test page for the version your are installing for more details. Games are deliberately not listed here, but you find games tests on this wiki page.

For some of the software listed below the section "Software_tests" may contain more recent test results from the yet unreleased 0.4.15 branch.

Tools

  • 7zip (packer, open source, in RAPPS)
  • Notepad++ (editor, open source, in RAPPS)

Office

  • Adobe Reader 7.0.7 (PDF reader, Freeware) works well, ... if you are able to get this 2006 version nowadays.
  • Adobe Reader 9.3.0 (PDF reader, Freeware) also works well. Note that you must use the default theme with both versions of Adobe Reader as up to now the Lautus theme will cause freezes when using their toolbars.
  • SumatraPDF 3.1.1 (PDF reader, open source) is reported to work well.
  • Scribus 1.4.6 (desktop publishing, open source) is reported to work with only minor glitches.
  • LibreOffice 5.2.6 installs and on the 0.4.15 nightly builds "Writer" is usable, "Calc" has some major glitches. Didn't test the other LO apps yet.

I haven't tested Apache OpenOffice.

Graphics

  • Faststone Image Viewer, current version (image viewer with editing functions, "Free for home users")
    • FS IV 6.x has a minor display problem in thumbnails view, but works well otherwise. It is recommended to use version 6.x over 7.x as the latter has more severe issues (tested on 0.4.15 nightly builds).
  • IrfanView 4.44 (image viewer, Free for home users) works but before installation requires to download and extract the VisualC++ 6 runtime (e.g. from RAPPS) and manually copy the DLLs to C:\ReactOS\system32 (or your OS operation folder).
  • RawTherapee 4.2.1 for WinXP works, unlike newer versions of this RAW processing software. So stick with this old one for now.
  • Aquasoft Diashow Studio 6.4.03 (slide show/presentation, commercial) works when using software mode for playback. Note that other versions (including the free c't edition 6.6.03) have major issues, as far as I tested. The even older v5.7 should work as well.

Audio/Video

  • VLC 3.x (video player, open source, in RAPPS), works well, see above
  • Winamp 2.9.1 (MP3 and music player, Freeware) works with minor GUI display issues in older releases.

Other software

  • Google Earth 7.1 (virtual globe, Freeware), installed via the offline installer(!) works in OpenGL mode, but requires Mesa driver to be installed. Performance in areas with 3D cityscapes might be poor and search is not working, otherwise it is completely usable. Note bug CORE-17106 on 0.4.14 RC!

Hope this helps If you have further recommendations or corrections, please leave a note on my talk page: [4] --Matthiasbasler (talk) 19:49, 5 September 2017 (UTC)

Software tests

This chapter was added to my personal page as there is, at the time of writing, no 0.4.15 branch and software regression tests for release 0.4.14 have last be done roughly a year ago. In order to avoid regressions to go unnoticed I'd like to do tests on the more recent builds. These tests will only cover selected software and are not intended to replace official pre-release tests done later for a potential 0.4.15 version.

Latest tests were done on VirtualBox 6.0.22 using 32 bit environment, basically the settings described in the above tutorial. They are not real hardware tests!

Please note that this table is work in progress.

Software test results

Software/Stage Installation Application Last version tested / by Comments
General noticed operating system issues 0.4.15-dev-5833 (2023-03) matthiasbasler
  • Minor: In task manager, the tabs are shown disabled, but work nonetheles. (Same in dialog "Document properties" in Adobe Reader 9. (First noticed in 0.4.15-dev-5833)
Adobe Reader 7.0.7
(German version tested)
Works Run w/o result 0.4.15-dev-5833 (2023-03) matthiasbasler Installs, runs, loads documents (but see below) and uninstalls. Settings pages are OK.
  • Major: With Lautus Theme, using scrollbars makes application freeze at 100% CPU. CORE-15579 -> Run wo result
  • Minor: InstallShield wizard draws unnecessary scrollbars
  • Minor: Installer complains once about missing MSVCR71.dll (C++ 2003 runtime), but continues fine.
  • Minor: After installation, desktop shortcut shows placeholder image, F5 helps
  • Minor: Associated PDF files don't show PDF icon, just blank square
  • Minor: Start screen shows black background.
  • Minor: Tooltips don't contain any text, just a blank rectangle
  • Fixed: Sidebar doesn't show tab labels.
  • Fixed: Trying to uninstall via RAPPS doesn't do trigger anything (Worked with 0.4.14. Uninstall function broken?)
  • Fixed: Uninstall via RAPPS does not delete installation files (App still works afterwards!) CORE-10094?
Adobe Reader 9.3.0
(German version tested)
Works Run w/o result 0.4.15-dev-5833 (2023-03) matthiasbasler Installs, runs, loads documents (but see below) and uninstalls.
  • Major: With Lautus Theme, using scrollbars makes application freeze at 100% CPU. CORE-15579 -> Run wo result
  • Major: After uninstalling via RAPPS, the application fails attempts to re-install at the end of the setup with "The instruction at "0x7c93ca2a" referenced a memory at "0x01000014". The memory could not be read.
  • Minor: Manually selecting an installation path during setup shows "_BrowseProperty" instead of selected path in main dialog (seems display problem only).
  • Minor: After installation, desktop shortcut shows placeholder image, F5 helps
  • Minor: Start screen shows black background.
  • Minor: TOC in settings dialog is too narrow.
  • Minor: Uninstalling from a custom installation path (via RAPPS) shows error trying to unregister "authplay.dll" in the standard path from the registry, so maybe a wrong path was registered.
  • Minor: Uninstalling via RAPPS does not remove (all) files from installation directory.
  • Fixed: Trying to uninstall via RAPPS doesn't do trigger anything (Worked with 0.4.14. Uninstall function broken?)
  • Fixed: Uninstall via RAPPS does not delete installation files (App still works afterwards!) CORE-10094?
Adobe Reader 11 (XI) Online installer
(German, reader11_de_a_install.exe)
Failed Not tested 0.4.15-dev-5508 (2022-12) matthiasbasler Fails to install. (Note that you need to get a current installer from Adobe, older ones will not even initialize. Be sure to select the version for Windows Server2003 or WinXPSP3.)
  • Major: Cannot access curent Adope Reader download page in Wine or Firefox 48 browser from ReactOS. Thus cannot download installer.
  • Untestable: After downloading XPSP3 version (11.0.8) or Win Server 2003 version (11.0.10), starting the installer will create a BSOD or freeze the system (unrecoverable)
  • Untestable: After download, during the installation the installer reports a newer version is already installed (which is a lie).
  • Untestable: Images in installer now shown.
Adobe Reader 11.0.10 Offline installer
(German version tested)
Failed Not tested 0.4.15-dev-5833 (2023-03) matthiasbasler Fails to install. (Older ROS versions: If installed via workaround, works reasonably well with ROS classic theme.)
  • Major: 0.4.15-dev-5833: Setup starts installing, but finally states that the setup was cancelled. (Compatibility mode doesn't help.) Using the workaround (see below), ROS freezes during optimization step in installer.
  • Major: 0.4.15-dev-5508: Setup quickly states: "Hauptdialogfeld konnte nicht erstellt werden" and aborts. (Regression) Same applies trying to do below workaround
  • Untestable: Installer starts but then reports the installation has been cancelled. Likely CORE-8550. See here for a workaround to install version 11.0.0 anyway.
  • Untestable: After workaround inst. (From command line, extract with AdbeRdr11010_de_DE.exe -nos_o"C:\" -nos_ne and execute .msi file separately to install) the application freezes either before or after startup (unrecoverable)
  • Untestable: With Lautus Theme, using scrollbars makes application freeze at 100% CPU. CORE-15579 -> Run wo result
  • Untestable: Better not open "Tools"/"Sign"/Comment" sidebars - take virtually forever to load resp. make applicatin freeze for a while.
  • Minor: Reader claims it cannot start in "protected mode". User has to select to start it in unprotected mode.
  • Minor: Start screen shows black background.
  • Untestable: Settings dialog changes its size depending on what category you click.
  • Untestable: Does not open multiple documents in parallel via double-clicking on PDF files
  • Untestable: When opening a second document via "load", it appear in a separate window without menu bar
Aquasoft Diashow 6.4.03
(Commercial, legacy)
Works Run w/o result 0.4.15-dev-5508 (2022-12) matthiasbasler Installs, runs with basic slideshow playback. Software player has to be set in "Diashow" -> "Settings" (No DirectX yet)! No perceived change to 0.4.11.
  • Major: Using scrollbars with Lautus theme makes application freeze at 100% CPU. CORE-15579 -> Run wo result
  • Major: MP3 sounds are not played. "Preview" playback of them causes app freeze att 100% CPU.
  • Major: Uninstall via RAPPS does not work. Uninstall dialog does work and claims programm uninstall is complete, but application still works.
  • Minor: Almost all toolbar icons are plain black (but work).
  • Minor: While application is running there is a phantom window (or button?) in the top left screen corner.
  • Minor: Very slow UI redrawing when resizing window or docked frames within.
  • Minor: After fullscreen playback, screen is not refreshed, only partial UI updates.
  • Fixed after 0.4.15-dev-3875: Menu entries without shortcut (e.g. in context menus) show shortcut "F17" ... I don't even have this key. ;-)

Note that other versions of 6.x can show different behaviour: DiaShowDeluxe_ctNL_6.6.03.exe from c't magazine Netherlands works equally but causes driver error message for sptd.sys on every reboot.

  • Fixed after 0.4.15-dev-3875: When using "Standard player (DirectX)" in fullscreen mode, presentation is shown in top left corner of screen only. (Now application correcly detects that there is no Direct3D 9)
Aquasoft Diashow 8.6.03
(Commercial, legacy)
Works Failed 0.4.15-dev-5508 (2022-12) matthiasbasler Installation completes and shows start icon on desktop. Program doesn't start.
  • Major: Clicking onto the icon of the installed application starts the process but no UI shows up. (DiaShow.exe at 0% CPU). Compatibility modes don't help.
  • Fixed after 0.4.15-dev-3875: Error during installation after EULA page: "Runtime error in script: Access violation at address 0045BBE4 in module 'Setup.exe'. Read of address 00000010".
Aquasoft Diashow 9 for Youtube
(Freeware, legacy)
Works Failed 0.4.15-dev-5508 (2022-12) matthiasbasler Installation completes and shows start icon on desktop. Program doesn't start.
  • Major: Clicking onto the icon of the installed application starts the process but no UI shows up. (DiaShow.exe at 0% CPU). Compatibility modes don't help.
Bridge Constructor Playground 1.0 Works Failed 0.4.15-dev-5833 (2023-03) matthiasbasler Installs but fails to start (regression since at least 0.4.15-dev-3875)
  • Major: Clicking onto the icon of the installed application only starts something briefly, then process terminates CORE-18727 (Regression)

Older 0.4.15 versions: Installs, uninstalls and works well including sound.

  • Minor: When uninstalling via RAPPS, the link in the start menu (shortcut section) is not removed.
Faststone Image viewer 6.4/7.5
(Free for home use)
Works Works 0.4.15-dev-5508 (2022-12) matthiasbasler Installs, works and uninstalls well. (No percieved change from ROS 0.4.13)
  • Major: Version 7.5 only: File names not shown in thumbnail view (already in ROS 0.4.11.) CORE-16052
  • Minor: Visual glitch with thumbnail view: Frames around thumbnails too small, image not centered. CORE-16053
  • Minor: In full-screen view (or full-screen edit windows) the taskbar remains in foreground, may overlap some controls. CORE-16056
  • Minor: Mouse wheel scrolling does not work in the thumbnail top panel of full-screen mode CORE-16055
  • Minor: Version 7.5 only: In thumbnail view, when selecting a single image, the first point of the selection rectangle around it starts from the previous image, causing a visual glitch. CORE-18729
Google Earth 7 Online Installer Failed Run w/o result 0.4.15-dev-5508 (2022-12) matthiasbasler Major: Installation fails, version 7.3 installer complains about unsupported Windows version (it didn't do so in the past, likely Google placed additional constraints onto the setup). Using "Windows 7" compatibility mode gets over this but then the setup will fail for missing DLL entry point.
Google Earth 7.1.8 Offline Installer Works Run w/o result 0.4.15-dev-5508 (2022-12) matthiasbasler Requires Mesa3D from RAPPS! Installs and runs in both DirectX and OpenGL rendering mode. (Brings up update screen on first start, but this can just be closed.)
  • Major: Search does not work, shows auto-complete but no results CORE-17669 -> run wo result
  • Major: Uninstall via RAPPS doesn't give feedback and does not delete program files, but uninstaller in start menu works CORE-17670
  • Minor: Initial installer screen is visually garbled (redraw issue?) CORE-17668
  • Fixed: Starts but seemingly fails to logon to Google server. CORE-17106, CORE-17596
  • Minor: City labels show black dotted line above text, likely a text halo rendering issue
  • Note: mouse navigation of earth works
Kyodai Mahjongg 2006 1.42 Works Works 0.4.15-dev-4414 matthiasbasler Installs, runs & uninstalls. Sound is OK.
  • Major: May crash when toggling music on and off
Kyodai Mahjongg 17.24 Works Failed 0.4.15-dev-4414 matthiasbasler Installs but "Kyodai 2D" fails to finish starting.
  • Major: Initial settings screen is unusable, not just because the options are invisble but mostly because the "OK" button does not work. It is possible to work around this by either repeatedly switch back and forth between some explorer window using Alt+Tab or by copying a "Kyo17.24.ini" with saved settings into the installation folder.
  • Major: After clicking OK on the info dialog, the application reproducibly crashes the whole VM (!) with an memory issue error dialog.
LibreOffice 5.4.7.2 Works Run w/o result 0.4.15-dev-5508 (2022-12) matthiasbasler Installs & runs
  • Major: Calc: Significant (cell content) redraw issuces, making it essentially unusable.
  • Major: Calc: Redraw issues of selection rectangle after having scrolled with the mouse wheel at least once CORE-13920
  • Major: Calc: Diagrams not properly drawn. (Appear as thumbnails only, but preview has correct size) CORE-18054
  • Minor: Install & uninstall takes long, startup takes long CORE-11724
  • Minor: MSI setup can not drag the window during "Computing space requirements" and "Copying new files" CORE-15328
  • Minor: MSI setup Wrong default taskbar icon during setup CORE-10522
  • Minor: MSI-installer rushes progress bar to end while progress-bar should move linearilly CORE-14779
  • Minor: Desktop shortcut created by setup initially has no icon. (F5 afterwards helps)
  • Minor: SWriter does not automatically add file ext on save CORE-15020
  • Minor: Writer has drawing issues when spell checking dialog window in foreground is moved
  • Minor: Options dialog: After making changes to dropdowns (e.g. in "View" section, such as toolbar icon theme), the old value instead of the changed one is shown in the field. This, again is a redraw issue. If you switch to another application and then back you see the right value.
  • Minor: Calc: In function assistent, function list on the left has redraw issues.
  • Minor: Uninstall via RAPPS shows dialogs telling it is "resuming installation" or "installing", but actually does an uninstall. CORE-18738
  • Fixed: MSI-installer shows no bitmaps CORE-14413
  • Fixed: no blinking caret in writer CORE-13984

Untested or unconfirmed:

  • Minor: Maximized-border (interestingly only when double-clicking a doc from filebrowser while one instance is already open, but not when Swriter is opened on its own without any document) CORE-12945
  • Minor: MSI setup strange drawing effects in its header section CORE-15728
  • Minor: MSI installer does not create new folder CORE-14748
Mozilla Firefox 48.0.2 Works Failed 0.4.15-dev-5508 (2022-12) matthiasbasler Installs, runs, browses fine, uninstalls, scroll-wheel ok, customization OK.

Did not test for all problems, see more issues on Tests for 0.4.14

  • Major: Auto-update must be disabled directly after installation. After update to FF52.03ESR it doesn't start, but hangs endlessly CORE-12828
  • Minor: can only be minimized one time via titlebar, but no second time CORE-17840
  • Minor: main app, fullscreen via F11 leaves taskbar visible CORE-11242, pressing F11 multiple time causes weird effects, showing window minified in top-left corner.
  • Minor: uninstalling the app does succeed, but we need to press F5 to make its desktop icon disappear CORE-17839
PanoramaFactory 4.5 m32 Edition
(Commercial, legacy, requires WinXP SP2+)
Run w/o result Works 0.4.15-dev-4853 (2022-06) matthiasbasler Installs without the installer finishing correctly. Works and is able to stitch, edit/corrent and save panorama images.
  • Major: Regression from 0.4.14RC24: Installer only starts if executed in WinXP SP3 compatibility mode, otherwise complains it cannot open/read certain created temp files.
  • Major: Installation starts, but then installer disappears and never tells it is finished. Program is seemingly installed, however.
  • Minor: Do not enter file extension in image save dialog, otherwise program adds nonsense extension and then complains it cannot handle it. Leave name without extension then the application applies the correct .jpg (for example).
  • Fixed: Works in ROS 0.4.15-dev-4853: Startup fails with application error: ('The instruction at "0xx41c6d6 reference memory at "0x00000020". ...') Compatibility mode doesn't help.

Note: Three blinking toolbar icons also happen under Win10 with the "m32 Edition", so likely not a fault of ROS.

PanoramaFactory 4.5 Legacy Edition
(Commercial, legacy, requires Win95+)
Works Failed 0.4.15-dev-5508 (2022-12) matthiasbasler Installs, uninstalls and starts, but is unusable for stitching. (Same as for ROS 0.4.12)
  • Major: Regression from 0.4.15-dev-4414: Installer only starts if executed in Win95 (!) compatibility mode, otherwise complains it cannot open certain created temp files.
  • Major: Regression from 0.4.15-dev-4853: Setup continue/cancel buttons are shown mostly outside the installer window's frame (can only be accessed via keyboard)
  • Major: Regression from 0.4.15-dev-4853: Startup fails with application error: ('The instruction at "0x7194ca7f reference memory at "0x00000004". ...') Compatibility mode doesn't help.
  • Untested: With German language, four errors show up during start, e.g. "You have selected a language that identifies an unknown locale". Program starts with massive UI font issues in German version CORE-13757, "Reset to English" menu entry fixes them.
  • Untested: Application is somewhat usable, but fails at important steps like setting control points and stitching. (Runs at 100% CPU forever.) CORE-13765 -> Failed

Note: Three blinking toolbar icons also happen under Win10 with the "m32 Edition", so likely not a fault of ROS.

  • Minor: Installer has redrawing issues (e.g. after selecting a different installation path), flickers if moved.
Ulead PhotoImpact 10
(Commercial, legacy)
Works Run w/o result 0.4.15-dev-4414 (2022-04) matthiasbasler Installs, runs (with limitations) and uninstalls (deleting 1 of 2 created progam directories). Most tested drawing/image manipulation functions work. Stability issues.
  • Note: Application requires msvcirt.dll (from VC++6) in system32 in order to start. (Install 7zip from RAPPS, then VC++6 runtime, unpack vcredist.exe from target folder, then right-click on deflated VCRedist.inf and choose "Install".)
  • Major: Open file dialog sees no images and DnD of image into program does't work either. By entering "*.jpg" as file name and pressing Enter, image files appear. They can be loaded by double click or though "Open" button (which appears rather grey).
  • Major: Clicking on the path or text tool in the left toolbar crashes the application: The instructions at "0x5f409bbb" referenced memory at "0x0000010c". The memory could not "read". OS is not able to recover and must be re-started. (Regression from 0.4.14)
  • Major: When moved, floating text option dialog loses its controls and becomes useless.
  • Major: Exiting the application does not end process. -> Run wo result
  • Minor: Initially started application window shows some redraw issues, e.g. over right sidebar
  • Minor: Sometimes "Open" button in "File open" dialog is greyed out even if jpg file is selected. (Unclear how to reproduce)
  • Minor: Layer manager shows some contorted icons.
  • Minor: All entries in "Trickkiste" sidebar show "Ebenenmanager" as label instead of different labels
  • Minor: Toggle buttons in "Transform" toolbar do not toggle exclusively (erratic on/off states)
  • Minor: "Clone"/"Improve" tools unusable, mouse cursor hidden etc.
  • Minor: UI update isses, f.e. selections or mouse cursors leave black traces on screen, but work in general.
  • Minor: Screenshot function opens screenshot settings dialog but does not work.
  • Minor: Not possible to change "mask color" in initial settings page (either shows error or does nothing)
  • Fixed: Clicking on shadow color (in order to change it) displays "Insufficient memory" (Tested to be fixed for objects, not text!)
Ulead PhotoImpact 12
(Commercial, legacy)
Works Failed 0.4.15-dev-4414 (2022-04) matthiasbasler Installs, partly works with major issues, uninstalls fine.
  • Minor: Application requires msvcirt.dll (from VC++6) in system32 for start, however, it doesn't tell you so, but silently quits start screen after a while. (-> Install 7zip from RAPPS, then VC++6 runtime, unpack vcredist.exe from the target folder, then right-click on deflated VCRedist.inf and choose "Install".)
  • Major: Patch "upi12_patch_(g).exe" must not be installed, otherwise, PI 12 shows start screen long time, then silently quits. (debug.log shows zombie process detection).
  • Major: Can crash the OS at almost anything (even just loading an image), making it near-impossibly to do serious tests -> "Failed" (Regression from 0.4.14)
  • Major: Exiting the application reproducibly crashes the system (Regression from 0.4.14 where it "only" left a process running)
  • Major: Most pages of the preferences dialog do not show any content (show no settings). Which ones work or don't can vary!
  • Major: When using some tools (e.g. clone brush), mouse cursor disappears when over image, which makes using it ... difficult.
  • Major: Entering text mode (clicking on "T" in side bar) can cause almost anything, like exceptions/BSOD or wild flickering.
  • Minor: Open file dialog has no title and shows no file type dropdown. Image files appear, however, and can be opened.
  • Minor: All buttons on secondary toolbar + status bar show generic icon. (Primary toolbar and others are OK.) Only affects Lautus theme.
  • Minor: On first start, all entries in "Trickkiste" sidebar show "Ebenenmanager" as label instead of different labels. On subsequent starts, "Trickkiste" is empty.
  • Minor: Untested: In the save dialog, when opening JPG/PNG options a field validation error message pops up which has to be clicked away for the options dialogs to open.
  • Minor: Untested: In the save dialog, when opening JPG/PNG options the tab titles within the dialog are greyed out (as if inactive) but work. The PNG options dialog takes some seconds to open (making it appear as if the app is unresponsive). There are redraw issues sometimes.
  • Minor: UI update issues, f.e. in selection/lasso tools, but works in general
  • Minor: Untested: Clicking on shadow color or text color (in order to change it) displays "Insufficient memory"
  • Fixed: After installation of application, the start menu and the task bar don't react any more.

Separate "Photo album 12" application works but shows redraw issues and crashes when using Lautus Theme.

RawTherapee 4.2.1 for WinXP Works Works 0.4.15-dev-5508 (2022-12) matthiasbasler Installs, runs and uninstalls fine.
Basic functionality seems to work - not throughoutly tested.
  • Fixed: In "processing queue" view (cog wheel on left side), UI only shows up after mouse-over
  • Fixed: Tabs on the left hand side look strange (too much white space below each symbol)
RawTherapee 5.0r1
(last for WinXP)
Works Works 0.4.15-dev-4414 (2022-04) matthiasbasler Installs, works.
  • Minor: Installing the application (?) leaves two processes running
  • Minor: Depending on the resolution (1280 or narrower), toolbar and status bar icons of the main window may overlap.
  • Minor: Tabs on the left hand side look strange (too much white space below each symbol)
  • Fixed: application starts and shows welcome screen, but hangs there with ~100% CPU CORE-14086. Can be killed with task manager. No welcome screen but same problem on next start. Compat. mode does not help.
Winamp 2.9.1 Works Works 0.4.15-dev-5508 (2022-12) matthiasbasler Installs, works and uninstalls fine (not all features tested). Sound quality depends on general quality of AC97 sound in your setup.
  • Major: Since the inclusion of the AC-97 sound driver into ROS, nothing's heard during playback initially after installation (even though ROS startup sound came up). You have to enter the settings, and under Plug-ins -> Output, select "DirectSound output" instead of "waveOut output". Then sound played well for me.
  • Fixed: UI (re)drawing issues, especially when resizing playlist window. UI still usable. CORE-16438

Note: Could no longer reproduce the redraw issue with 0.4.14-RC-96. May be fixed.

RealHW (driver) test results

Tests with my old HP Compaq 8510p (GB966EA). This page continues the results formerly posted into the ReactOS forum.


Notebook specs:

  • Processor HP Compaq 8510p GB966EA
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo.
  • Chipset: Intel® PM965 Express
  • Memory 2048MB, DDR2
  • HDD: 120 GB SATA, 5400 rpm
  • Optical Drive: Dual DVD-RW
  • Video: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600, 256MB
  • Display: 15.4, 1280x800 (WXGA)
  • Audio Intel® High Definition Audio
  • Network: WLAN 802.11b + Bluetooth + LAN 1 Gbit + Modem
  • Card Reader: Secure Digital

Initially undetected:

  • VGA compatible graphics card (= ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600)
  • ACPI Embedded Controller
  • 14x ACPI Power Resource
  • 2x Audio Device on High Definition audio bus
  • 2x Communication Device
  • Ethernet controller (=> Ethernet Drivers (c1.0.0.8))
  • Firewire controller
  • Network controller
  • 4x Other ACPI device
  • 2x PCI cardbus bridge
  • 2x Unknown device

Some of the corresponding devices detected under MS Windows Vista (mainly those not listed below in test):

  • ATI Function Driver for High Definition Audio - ATI AA01
  • SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio
  • Intel ICH8M Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 2850
  • RICOH OHCI-konformer IEEE 1394-Hostcontroller (=Firewire)
  • 2x Ricoh R/RL/5C476(II) oder kompatibler CardBus Controller (PCMCIA-Adapter)

Driver tests

Last test with reactos-bootcd-0.4.15-dev-4853-g3a72a52-x86-gcc-lin-dbg.iso, patched for blocking CORE-17879.


Device Tested driver(s) (SP=SoftPaq number) Results comments
Chipset, e.g.
  • Intel 83801 PCI-Brücke - 2448
  • Intel ICZ8 Family PCI Express Root Port 1 - 283F
  • Intel ICZ8 Family PCI Express Root Port 2 - 2841
  • Intel ICZ8 Family PCI Express Root Port 5 - 2847
Intel Chipset Installation Utility for ICH8 (v8.2.0.1012) (SP36492) Run w/o result:
  • Unzips, installs and exits successfully. Corresponding entries in the device manager (see left) report a problem installing the driver.
Intel 82566MM Gigabit Network Connection

(initially listed as "Ethernet controller")

HP Ethernet Drivers (v1.0.0.8) (SP36267) Works
  • Unzips, executes and exists. Have to point the "Ethernet controller" to the created unpacked C:\swsetup\SP36378 folder in order to find the driver. Then internet works (not even restart needed). Tested using application manager.
Ricoh Smartcard Reader Ricoh Media Card Driver (v2.10.00.04) (SP45112) Run w/o result
  • Installation finishes OK
  • SD card slot currently is disabled in BIOS because it blocks the ROS installation and start (MUP.SYS hangs)
  • Before that the SD card slot did not work. (SD cards are not recognized and shown in the explorer.)
High Definition Audio Modem Windows XP 32-bit HDA Modem Installer (v1.00 A7) (SP36004) Run w/o result
  • Compaq 8510p is listed as supported.
  • Seems to install. Functionality not checked. Cannot find an unknown device that wants this driver.
Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad Synaptics Touchpad Driver (v13.2.6.2e) (SP44921) Failed
  • Note that touchpad works out of the box in ROS
  • Trying to assign driver fails with: "Gerät konnte wegen eines unerwarteten Fehlers nicht installiert werden."
  • After reboot touchpad does not work any more.
AuthenTec Inc. AES2501A (Personal identifiction devices) Authentec Fingerprint driver (v1.10 D) (SP39199) Run w/o result
  • Unzips, executes and exists normally.
  • Not seing any result of this.
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN Intel PRO/Wireless Drivers (8.20 C) (SP43395) Run w/o result
  • lists Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965 as supported device
  • Installer just deflates files to c:\swsetup\SP43395 but does not start actual installer
  • Manual start of dpinst32.exe, installer claims two drivers were successfully installed and exits normally
  • Device manager lists "Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN" under "Network adapters" afterwards => OK
  • However WLAN connection is disabled (red icon) and cannot be "activated" even though I believe the WLAN hardware is enabled.
Broadcom 4311AG 802.11a/b/g WiFi adapter Broadcom Wireless LAN driver (7.20B) (SP42780) Run w/o result
  • Unzips, executes and exists normally.
  • Cannot find an unknown device that accepts this driver.
  • Unclear if this notebook contains this WLAN module (probably the Intel one above)
HP quick launch buttons HP quick launch buttons (6.50.17.1) (SP49104) Failed
  • Unzips, installer executes and then shows error: "Unhandled exception" in DLL call: HPQNT.hpqGetBrand". Exits setup.
  • With compatibility mode set to WinXPSP4 or Win2000, installer quits already in startup with error.
Bluetooth HP Integrated module with Bluetooth wireless technology (v5.1 I) (SP38145) Failed
  • HP Compaq 8510p is listed as supported (devices: VID_03F0&PID_011D + VID_03F0&PID_171D)
  • requires VC++ 6.0 Runtime, otherwise: "MFC42.dll was not found".
  • Installs fine and exists setup normally.
  • After required re-logon, blutooth symbol becomes visible in task bar. However, any user action instantly freezes the system.
  • Blutooth functionally itself thus could bot be tested.
Intel Matrix Storage Manager (for SATA) (8.9.8.1005 M) (SP48491) Failed
  • "Provides improved SATA disk performance"
  • Does not support Win2000 (requires WinXP, Vista or 2003)
  • Requires Chipset driver to be installed before according to readme
  • Installer copies files and claims it installed the driver.
  • After reboot ROS hangs on FASTFAT.SYS during startup, rendering the system unusable
Intel ICH8M-EN SATA ACHCI Controller Intel SATA AHCI-Controller (7.5.0.1017) (SP36132) Run w/o result
  • Requires Chipset driver to be installed before according to readme
  • Outer installer deflates files to c:\swsetup\SP36132 and finishes then
  • According to readme, Intel Matrix Storage Manager has to be installed first, which failed -> run w/o result
? GMI 915GM Video Driver? (Installer info: Intel NC4200/TC4200 Video Driver for Win2000/WinXP) (v1.00D) Failed
  • Setup-Programm only shows empty blue window, freezes with CPU at 100% (CORE-13774)
  • Driver is documented to contain video drivers, but notebook has no intel IGP
  • Unclear if this driver even applies to this notebook
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 ATI Video Driver and Control Panel (8.65-090813A-087634C) (SP51066, from 2010)
or version 8.391 A (SP38546, from 2008)
Failed
  • Compaq 8510p is listed as supported
  • requires VC++ 6.0 Runtime, otherwise: "MFC42.dll was not found".
  • VC++ 6.0 Runtime installation does not work on ROS 4.x, so I unzipped the file and installed via .inf file.
  • With installed MFC42.dll: Unzips, shows initial setup screen. Then dialog "Express" vs. "Custom" appears. Then driver reports it cannof find driver compatible with hardware or operating system. (CORE-14479)
  • Setup.exe in "Driver" subfolder "ATI-Treiber-Setup" also reports it is not compatible. Same with WinXP SP3 compatibility mode.
  • Driver can seemingly be installed by pointing Device manager to c:\swsetup\SP51066\Driver\XP_INF

-> Finds and installs Radeon HD2600 driver ...

  • ... but on next reboot ROS hangs forever when loading ATI2MTAG.SYS, making system unusable
UAA Bus Driver for HD Audio (e.g. v1.00B3, 1.00.32C) Failed
  • Setup cancels with error (-5011 : 0x80040707) in SetupDLL.cpp
  • No change with compatibility modes.
SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio ADI SoundMAX HD Audio Driver for XP (5.10.1.5220) (SP38529) Failed
  • According to Installer: HD Bus Driver KB888111 must be installed first. (=> see above)


Software tests

Works: 7zip 9.20
  • Installs and can be used without issues.
Works: Firefox 48.0.2 (last known working on ROS)
  • Installer works and finishes normally
  • Firefox starts up and works (a bit sluggish, but anyway)
  • It's necessary to immedialy disable automatic updates until later versions of FF are known to work.