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ReactOS is a free, open-source Windows NT-like operating system for both 32-bit and 64-bit personal computers, originally developed in 1996. It maintains system-level compatibility with Windows (including computer programs and device drivers developed for Windows Server 2003 and later versions of Windows), and is committed to becoming a perfect replacement for the Windows NT series.
As the oldest, best-known, and most complete Windows alternative operating system, ReactOS provides the same API and application compatibility as the Windows NT series, while maintaining a high degree of customizability and portability. It aims to be a complete operating system, which is capable of running all Windows applications and drivers while maintaining a similar user experience to Windows operating systems and providing better performance and increased security.
As part of the FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software) ecosystem, ReactOS reuses and collaborates with many other FOSS projects, most notably the Wine project, which presents a Windows compatibility layer for Unix-like operating systems.
ReactOS’ kernel and system components are designed to be lean and efficient, so it runs well on low-end hardware. It supports multiple file systems and multiple languages, and its user interface is similar to Windows XP, so Windows users can adapt to ReactOS quickly. Additionally, ReactOS’ codebase has been carefully designed and tested to ensure its security and stability.
ReactOS uses a Unix-like process and thread model to handle multitasking. It uses an advanced multi-tasking scheduling algorithm to quickly switch between multiple tasks and make them appear to be running simultaneously. It also supports priority settings for processes and threads to ensure that high-priority tasks get more CPU time, thereby improving system response speed and performance.
The developers of ReactOS believe that an open-source Windows-compatible operating system will have a significant impact on the entire open-source community, because it can serve as a standard platform for open-source software to further promote the development and application of open-source software. ReactOS is also committed to promoting technology freedom and knowledge sharing, allowing anyone to freely use, modify and distribute it, and welcomes the participation and contributions of community developers.
ReactOS is very stable, consistent, fast, truly user-friendly, and almost as good as it gets. It is worth mentioning that ReactOS is not a Unix/Linux-based operating system, and does not contain any Unix architecture. It’s written in C and C++, and it is a completely independent high-quality clone operating system of the Windows NT series (currently including NT4.0, 2000, XP, 2003).
Since ReactOS applies the appearance characteristics of the Windows operating system, users who are already familiar with the Windows user interface will be at ease when using ReactOS. The ultimate goal of ReactOS is to enable you to completely replace Windows without feeling a change in the end-user experience – run all your favorite Windows applications and drivers in an open-source environment you can trust.
Currently, ReactOS is still in alpha and many features are not yet complete, so developers recommend using it only for evaluation and testing purposes. Either way, ReactOS has absorbed and will continue to absorb the latest version of the Win32 API, tracking and even developing the latest operating system technologies. In addition, most of its achievements are based on 32-bit versions, and the development team is working towards 64-bit porting. In short, ReactOS will use the latest technology as much as possible and constantly integrate new features to the latest version, so there is no constraint on its development.
// Key Features //
- ReactOS is able to run Windows software
- ReactOS is able to run Windows drivers
- ReactOS looks-like Windows
- ReactOS is free and open source
// Fan Made Demo Videos //
// Related Links //
// Download URLs //
| License | Version | Download | Size |
| Free OS | Latest |  (mir) |
n/a |
(Homepage | SourceForge | GitHub)
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