#2821 2026-02-27 06:24:55

wickedlester

Member

From: Texas

Registered: 2026-02-22

Posts: 17

Re: Distro-hoppers anonymous

Has anyone ran reactos? I wonder if it is closer to windows 7 or are they trying to make it like the newer windows? I guess That should be my next adventure. I wish there was a good port/fork/whatever of win 7 without all the bs.

Colonel Panic

Member

Registered: 2018-11-13

Posts: 1,571

Re: Distro-hoppers anonymous

Has anyone ran reactos? I wonder if it is closer to windows 7 or are they trying to make it like the newer windows? I guess That should be my next adventure. I wish there was a good port/fork/whatever of win 7 without all the bs.

Tha nks for the mention. I'd be interested in trying it since I still use some Windows software and don't want to pay Redmond for Windows 11 (which my computer wouldn't run anyway).

wickedlester

Member

From: Texas

Registered: 2026-02-22

Posts: 17

Re: Distro-hoppers anonymous

Tha nks for the mention. I'd be interested in trying it since I still use some Windows software and don't want to pay Redmond for Windows 11 (which my computer wouldn't run anyway).

I might try to run it in a vm sometime in the next few days to see how stable it is.

WizardofCOR

Member

Registered: 2023-07-28

Posts: 35

Re: Distro-hoppers anonymous

Would love to hear what you think, wickedlester!
I'm looking to get the wife off of 10, but she uses her machine primarily for Cricut software, which of course is Windows-only.
Could take a chance on WINE, but honestly the confidence really isn't there yet, especially with peripherals & drivers.  So ReactOS might be a viable solution.
Maybe I'll fire up a NUC with it - thanks for the idea!

---

Just a dude playing a dude, disguised as another dude...

Colonel Panic

Member

Registered: 2018-11-13

Posts: 1,571

Re: Distro-hoppers anonymous

Tha nks for the mention. I'd be interested in trying it since I still use some Windows software and don't want to pay Redmond for Windows 11 (which my computer wouldn't run anyway).

I might try to run it in a vm sometime in the next few days to see how stable it is.

Thanks for replying. It's literally only a handful of Windows programs that I use now, and they're all either from the 90s or early noughties with the exception of Textpad (an excellent Windows-only text editor which I have registered and paid for).

Last edited by Colonel Panic (2026-03-01 22:33:19)

wickedlester

Member

From: Texas

Registered: 2026-02-22

Posts: 17

Re: Distro-hoppers anonymous

Well I got it (reactos nightly) installed using virt-manager and qemu, but after the install it reboots and then it never comes back up. I am going to have to do some research to see what I did wrong.

MarkW

Member

Registered: 2024-11-03

Posts: 440

Re: Distro-hoppers anonymous

Have you seen this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnLQvqoxXjA

Interview with a couple of ReactOS devs

wickedlester

Member

From: Texas

Registered: 2026-02-22

Posts: 17

Re: Distro-hoppers anonymous

I didn't watch it all but I just watched about 30 minutes of it. It looks like ReactOS is something to keep an eye on. I think I will wait a few months then try it again.

unklar

Back to the roots 1.9

From: #! BL

Registered: 2015-10-31

Posts: 2,867

Re: Distro-hoppers anonymous

deadbang

   

Last edited by unklar (2026-03-02 09:09:35)

Colonel Panic

Member

Registered: 2018-11-13

Posts: 1,571

Re: Distro-hoppers anonymous

There's a a Polish distribution now called Q83 which is based on Debian but which uses the Cosmic window manager.

I've been trying it out today and although it's certainly well specified and smart-looking, I couldn't get the installation to finish (it got stuck on choosing a location), and I also couldn't find a way to edit my grub configuration file. Good try though.

Last edited by Colonel Panic (Yesterday 23:50:28)

Colonel Panic

Member

Registered: 2018-11-13

Posts: 1,571

Re: Distro-hoppers anonymous

From a Polish distro to a Turkish one; Pardus has recently released a new version of its desktop distro (25).

As I think I've said before, Parduds used to be a very idiosyncratic distro with its own package manager (PiSi) until the country's dictator sacked the devs for being opposed to his government.

Now, with a new and probably more cowed workforce, it's somewhat more conventional but still seems fairly solid. It's now based on Debian with XFce as its main desktop although Gnome and server editions are also available, and has a few packages from Deepin too.

One good thing about Pardus is that it's software centre is very comprehensive (one of the most comprehensive ones I've ever seen). It'as also good if you like leopards, because leopard images are everywhere! You can also set a Night Light option, which changes the colour balance of the display at night.

Last edited by Colonel Panic (Today 21:02:09)