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Submission + - ReactOS 0.4.16 Released With New ATA Driver and Hardware-Accelerated 3D

Submitted by jeditobe
jeditobe writes: The ReactOS project has released ReactOS 0.4.16, the latest version of its open-source Windows-compatible operating system.
The release comes after around 21 months of development and includes more than 2,700 changes. Among the highlights is a new ATA storage driver with Plug and Play support for SATA, PATA, ATAPI, AHCI and SCSI devices. The release also brings a new unified BootCD, an updated LiveCD mode with a first-stage GUI installer, HD Audio improvements, networking and Plug and Play fixes, better bitmap and PNG rendering, and a less flickery desktop experience.

Perhaps more interestingly, ReactOS now has hardware-accelerated 3D graphics working on real hardware for the first time. The work currently targets Windows XP-era Intel, NVIDIA and AMD/Radeon GPUs and drivers. One enthusiast with nickname AotoriHibiki has already put the new 3D support through a more interesting test than a screenshot of the desktop: running games on real hardware with hardware acceleration under ReactOS. His videos demonstrate Doom 3 BFG Edition, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Call of Duty 2, Delta Force: Xtreme, Prey, Halo: Combat Evolved and Penumbra: Overture. He said number is over 60.

ReactOS remains alpha software, but 0.4.16 is another step toward running the Windows-compatible OS on actual hardware rather than just inside a virtual machine. Seeing older but still demanding 3D games running on real hardware provides a more tangible demonstration of what the new graphics support can actually do. ReactOS 0.4.16 release announcement

Submission + - ReactOS 0.4.16 Released With New ATA Driver and Hardware-Accelerated 3D

Submitted by jeditobe
jeditobe writes: The ReactOS project has released ReactOS 0.4.16, the latest version of its open-source Windows-compatible operating system.
The release comes after around 21 months of development and includes more than 2,700 changes. Among the highlights is a new ATA storage driver with Plug and Play support for SATA, PATA, ATAPI, AHCI and SCSI devices.
The release also brings a new unified BootCD, an updated LiveCD mode with a first-stage GUI installer, HD Audio improvements, networking and Plug and Play fixes, better bitmap and PNG rendering, and a less flickery desktop experience.
Perhaps more interestingly, ReactOS now has hardware-accelerated 3D graphics working on real hardware for the first time. The work currently targets Windows XP-era Intel, NVIDIA and AMD/Radeon GPUs and drivers.
One enthusiast with nickname AotoriHibiki has already put the new 3D support through a rather more interesting test than a screenshot of the desktop: running games on real hardware with hardware acceleration under ReactOS. His videos demonstrate Doom 3 BFG Edition, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Call of Duty 2, Delta Force: Xtreme, Prey, Halo: Combat Evolved, Penumbra: Overture and many others. He said number is over 60. Some examples:
Serious Sam 2 | Doom 3 BFG Edition | S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat | Amnesia | Call of Duty 2 | Delta Force: Xtreme | Prey | Halo | Penumbra ReactOS remains alpha software, but 0.4.16 is another step toward running the Windows-compatible OS on actual hardware rather than just inside a virtual machine. The fact that an enthusiast is already using the release's new hardware-accelerated graphics to run games such as Doom 3 BFG Edition, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Halo on real hardware makes the change considerably easier to appreciate.
ReactOS 0.4.16 release announcement

Submission + - ReactOS Unifies Installation Media, Introduces GUI Installer and New ATA Driver (phoronix.com)

Submitted by jeditobe
jeditobe writes: Developers of ReactOS told Phoronix that the project has introduced a unified BootCD, replacing its previously separate installation media and LiveCD images. The new image combines the traditional text-mode installer with a LiveCD mode in a single medium.

Within this unified BootCD, the updated LiveCD mode now includes an option to launch a first-stage GUI installer. The graphical interface is intended to make installation more approachable for new users compared to the long-standing text-based setup process.

In a separate development, the project has also merged a new ATA storage driver that has been in progress since early 2024. The plug-and-play–aware storage stack supports SATA, PATA, ATAPI, AHCI, and even SCSI devices, potentially expanding the range of hardware on which ReactOS can successfully boot.

Following recent improvements to graphics driver support, the project continues to make incremental progress across core subsystems, though its long development timeline remains a point of discussion.

Will these usability and hardware compatibility improvements be enough to broaden ReactOS adoption beyond its current niche?

Please note that all new features are not present in version 0.4.15 and are available for testing in the latest nightly test builds.

     

Submission + - Intel, NVIDIA, AMD GPU Drivers Finally Play Nice With ReactOS

Submitted by jeditobe
jeditobe writes: The ReactOS project announced significant progress in achieving compatibility with proprietary graphics drivers. Thanks to a series of fixes and the implementation of the KMDF (Kernel-Mode Driver Framework) and WDDM (Windows Display Driver Model) subsystems, ReactOS now supports roughly 90% of GPU drivers for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Prior to these changes, many proprietary drivers either failed to launch or exhibited unstable behavior. In the latest nightly builds of the 0.4.16 branch, drivers from a variety of manufacturersâ"including Intel, NVIDIA, and AMDâ"are running reliably.

Additionally, the project demonstrated ReactOS running on real hardware, including booting with installed drivers for graphics cards such as Intel GMA 945, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS and GTX 750 Ti, and AMD Radeon HD 7530G. Successful operation on mobile GPUs, such as the NVIDIA Quadro 1000M, was also highlighted, with 2D/3D acceleration, audio, and network connectivity all functioning correctly. Further tests confirmed support on less common and older configurations, including a laptop with a Radeon Xpress 1100, as well as high-performance cards like the NVIDIA GTX Titan X.

A key contribution came from a patch merged into the main branch for the memory management subsystem, which improved driver stability and reduced crashes during graphics adapter initialization.

Submission + - ReactOS has ensured stable operation of proprietary GPU drivers. 2

Submitted by jeditobe
jeditobe writes: Recently, ReactOS developers, thanks to a number of targeted fixes and the implementation of the KMDF and WDDM subsystems, have managed to close the gap to supporting 90% of existing proprietary video card drivers ever released for Windows XP/2003.
https://github.com/reactos/rea... — list of fixes

https://www.linux.org.ru/image...
The first screenshot shows three real computers with different GPUs and installed manufacturer drivers. From left to right: INTEL GMA 945, NVIDIA 8800 GTS, AMD Radeon HD 7530G. A fresh nightly build of ReactOS 0.4.16 has been installed with an additional memory management patch, which has already been accepted into the main project branch at the time of this post. https://github.com/reactos/rea...

https://www.linux.org.ru/image...
The second image shows an NVIDIA Quatro 1000M, 3D acceleration is enabled, as are sound and network connections.

https://www.linux.org.ru/image...
The third image shows an Asus laptop with a Radeon Xpress 1100 series graphics card.

https://www.linux.org.ru/image...
The fourth image shows a computer with an NVIDIA GTX Titan X.

Anyone can now test the new functionality on the publicly available nightly builds of the project. https://reactos.org/getbuilds/

Submission + - ReactOS celebrates 30 years in pursuit of becoming an open-source Windows (reactos.org)

Submitted by jeditobe
jeditobe writes: ReactOS, the open-source operating system aimed at binary compatibility with Windows, recently marked its 30th anniversary. Launched in 1996, ReactOS has focused on providing a free alternative to Windows, with compatibility for Windows applications and drivers. Though still in development, it has made significant progress in recent years, including improvements to USB support, better hardware compatibility, and enhanced performance with the release of version 0.4.15. The upcoming 0.4.16 release is set to introduce UEFI support, KMDF and WDDM graphics driver support, marking a major step forward in ReactOS's development.
https://www.phoronix.com/news/...

Comment Re:Russian Project (Score 3, Informative) 38

by jeditobe (#63642362) Attached to: The ReactOS Project Suddenly Shows Signs of Life

Just be aware that this project is largely built by Russian developers, which in and of itself may not make the project risky, however, I think it is fair to make this clear in-case anyone has any concerns about this. Is the project trustworthy? What are the odds of any back-dooring or Russian government influence in the project?

I don't want to be a fearmonger, and it's quite possible that the project is safe, but in these times it's worth asking these questions.

This statement is more like speculative and slanderous
While several Russian developers took part in the project, their total number cannot be called significant against the background of a total number of developers of 250 people.
Check the names:
https://github.com/reactos/rea...
https://reactos.org/wiki/Peopl...

The project, despite the wide publicity, did not receive any support from the Russian government, which prefers to develop its own forks of Linux distributions
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

For many years now, the project has been managed exclusively by a German foundation, whose board includes mostly people with European citizenship. The Russian body was disolved in 2015.
https://ev.reactos.org/index_e...
https://reactos.org/wiki/React...

Submission + - The ReactOS project suddenly showed signs of life (reactos.org) 1

Submitted by jeditobe
jeditobe writes: ReactOS is an open-source operating system that aims to replicate Microsoft Windows, and can already run many Windows applications without modification.

ReactOS published a new (infrequent) newsletter to outline recent work. It reveals that progress has slowed down recently, but the project definitely isn’t dead. The newsletter also acknowledges team hasn't put out a new version since the end of 2021 although progress continues. Due to shifting focuses to quality releases, they are no longer on a quarterly release cadence. The date of the next release is not set yet but according to huge list of already implemented changes they aim for it to be a substantial update.

The last update to ReactOS was version 0.4.14, released on December 2021. While developers were previously committed to releasing updates every three months, that has since changed, and updates will now be focused on quality rather than quantity. For the ReactOS team to be confident enough to release something, it needs to have less than 20 known unfixed regressions while adding new features and functions.

Behind the scenes, it looks like things are spinning well. The team specifically highlighted its progress on the x64 port of ReactOS, which went from being a non-booting mess to an operating system that boots up and mostly works. It doesn’t run any x86 programs since it doesn’t have WoW64, but it’s going well

Submission + - ReactOS 0.4.8 released with Windows Vista/7/8/10 API support (osnews.com) 1

Submitted by jeditobe
jeditobe writes: With software specifically leaving NT5 behind, ReactOS is expanding its target to support NT6+ (Vista, Windows 8, Windows 10) software. Colin, Giannis and Mark are creating the needed logic in NTDLL and LDR for this purpose. Giannis has finished the side-by-side support and the implicit activation context, Colin has changed Kernel32 to accept software made for NT6+, and Mark keeps working on the shim compatibility layer. Although in a really greenish and experimental state, the new additions in 0.4.8 should start helping several software pieces created for Vista and upwards to start working in ReactOS. Microsoft coined the term backwards compatibility, ReactOS the forward compatibility one.
A new tool, a DrWatson32 alike, has been created by Mark and added to 0.4.8, so now any application crashing will create a log file on the desktop. This crash dump details the list of modules and threads loaded, stack traces, hexdumps, and register state.

Submission + - ReactOS 0.4.7 Released (reactos.org)

Submitted by jeditobe
jeditobe writes: OS News reports that the latest version of ReactOS has been released:
"ReactOS 0.4.7 has been released, and it contains a ton of fixes, improvements, and new features. Judging by the screenshots, ReactOS 0.4.7 can run Opera, Firefox, and Mozilla all at once, which is good news for those among us who want to use ReactOS on a more daily basis. There's also a new application manager which, as the name implies, makes it easier to install and uninstall applications, similar to how package managers on Linux work. On a lower level, ReactOS can now deal with Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, BtrFS, ReiserFS, FFS, and NFS partitions."
General notes, tests, and changelog for the release can be found at their respective links. A less technical community changelog for ReactOS 0.4.7 is also available. ISO images are ready at the ReactOS Download page.

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