Distro-hoppers anonymous

wickedlester · 2026-02-27 06:24:55

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 · 2026-03-01 12:26:33

wickedlester wrote:

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 · 2026-03-01 18:06:50

Colonel Panic wrote:

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 · 2026-03-01 21:13:05

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!

Colonel Panic · 2026-03-01 22:32:31

wickedlester wrote:

Colonel Panic wrote:
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 · 2026-03-01 23:59:26

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 · 2026-03-02 00:02:13

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

Interview with a couple of ReactOS devs

wickedlester · 2026-03-02 02:05:11

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 · 2026-03-02 09:04:48

deadbang

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

Colonel Panic · 2026-03-03 23:27:49

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 (2026-03-03 23:50:28)

Colonel Panic · 2026-03-04 20:44:20

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, Pardus 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 its software centre is very comprehensive (one of the most comprehensive ones I've ever seen). It's 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 (2026-03-05 00:08:21)

Colonel Panic · 2026-03-05 14:22:25

Soplos broke after I upgraded it so, after a few fruitless attempts to boot it up and get it working again. I decided the best thing to do would be to wipe it and install Lilidog in the partition instead.

I'm looking forward to trying it soon and in particular to seeing how well I can get Wine working in it.

Last edited by Colonel Panic (2026-03-05 14:27:11)

Colonel Panic · Yesterday 09:59:52

Just tried to install the latest version of Besgnulinux, 3.3 - I think the Debian installer is broken because I had the same problem with it as I did with QB3 (which is also based on Trixie); I couldn't get past the step that asked you to choose the language (English, but American or British?), so I had to give it up as a bad job.

I think I'm going to give Debian-based distros a miss until this is fixed.

Last edited by Colonel Panic (Yesterday 10:09:32)

unklar · Yesterday 10:54:26

Colonel Panic wrote:

I think the Debian installer is broken

I definitely think this is a fake.

Colonel Panic · Yesterday 12:55:04

unklar wrote:

Colonel Panic wrote:
I think the Debian installer is broken
I definitely think this is a fake.

Well it's either that or my brain shuts down whenever I attempt an installation, because over the years I've installed Debian, and distros based on it, literally dozens of times on the various computers Ive had with no problem at all.

My guess is that they've changed something in the installer and it doesn't agree with my computer.

(Edit: just thought of a possible solution, will try again.)

Last edited by Colonel Panic (Yesterday 15:36:48)

unklar · Today 11:15:29

^Could it be that you are completely wrong? Because the distribution describes 'Calamares' as the installer and NOT the Debian installer.
According to the package list, it's not on the ISO either.

Colonel Panic · Today 14:55:48

Wrong about what - getting stuck trying to install BesGnu (based on Trixie)? I wish I was. If the installer is still Calamares they've changed it because it looks black now.

unklar · Today 16:36:02

You wrote about the debian-installer and that is not calamares!

Colonel Panic · Today 19:55:29

No you're probably right unklar but what conclusions am I supposed to draw when I try and install two different Debian Trixie-based distros, from two different countries (so no obvious connection between them), and come up against the same problem in each case?

It's surely natural to assume that the Debian installer is the problem, although it looks like this was an incorrect assumption in this case. I'll give it another go when I've got a bit more time.

Last edited by Colonel Panic (Today 22:47:42)

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

Re: Distro-hoppers anonymous

#2822 2026-03-01 12:26:33

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#2823 2026-03-01 18:06:50

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#2824 2026-03-01 21:13:05

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#2825 2026-03-01 22:32:31

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#2826 2026-03-01 23:59:26

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#2827 2026-03-02 00:02:13

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#2829 2026-03-02 09:04:48

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#2830 2026-03-03 23:27:49

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#2831 2026-03-04 20:44:20

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#2833 Yesterday 09:59:52

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#2834 Yesterday 10:54:26

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