Will ReactOS be ready when Windows 8.1 is phased out?

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Sand
Posts: 136
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:23 pm

Will ReactOS be ready when Windows 8.1 is phased out?

Post by Sand »

I dislike Windows 10, and currently using Windows 8.1. I wonder whether ReactOS will be ready when third-party software will require Windows 10 to run. I also wonder whether I would be able to use ReactOS shell under newer Windows versions as a replacement to the "Metro" interface.

Here is my desktop under Windows 8.1 and I find it quite suitable for my purposes after customization:

[ external image ]
middings
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Joined: Tue May 07, 2013 9:18 pm
Location: California, USA

Re: Will ReactOS be ready when Windows 8.1 is phased out?

Post by middings »

Your question has no answer. The ReactOS Project does not offer target dates.

(Microsoft Windows 8.1 Mainstream Support ends on January 9, 2018. Extended Support ends on January 10, 2023.)
dark
Posts: 297
Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2005 9:40 pm

Re: Will ReactOS be ready when Windows 8.1 is phased out?

Post by dark »

Sand wrote:I dislike Windows 10, and currently using Windows 8.1. I wonder whether ReactOS will be ready when third-party software will require Windows 10 to run. I also wonder whether I would be able to use ReactOS shell under newer Windows versions as a replacement to the "Metro" interface.

Here is my desktop under Windows 8.1 and I find it quite suitable for my purposes after customization:

[ external image ]
If you can find someone with a million euros to donate, maybe you can get it usable by then. https://www.reactos.org/es/node/305

As for replacing the metro interface on WIndows 8 and above, I don't think that will be possible since the old WIndows shell runs inside of a metro program (at least in 8).
Sand
Posts: 136
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:23 pm

Re: Will ReactOS be ready when Windows 8.1 is phased out?

Post by Sand »

As for replacing the metro interface on WIndows 8 and above, I don't think that will be possible since the old WIndows shell runs inside of a metro program (at least in 8).
Can you please elaborate? Programs like fxxkmetro kill the metro thread successfully without damaging other function. But what I was talking about is using ReactOS Explorer instead of Windows Explorer (which contains Metro).
dark
Posts: 297
Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2005 9:40 pm

Re: Will ReactOS be ready when Windows 8.1 is phased out?

Post by dark »

Sand wrote:
As for replacing the metro interface on WIndows 8 and above, I don't think that will be possible since the old WIndows shell runs inside of a metro program (at least in 8).
Can you please elaborate? Programs like fxxkmetro kill the metro thread successfully without damaging other function. But what I was talking about is using ReactOS Explorer instead of Windows Explorer (which contains Metro).
All I can find about fxxkmetro is it was found on a Chinese forum somewhere, don't see any source and definitely wouldn't put it on my PC. Looking at the instructions, it probably just blocks any attempt to call the metro interface from the desktop and needs to be rerun whenever the PC reboots. Hidden Metro, but not killed. If you want to get a better idea of the difference with metro and shells, try some alternative shells on 8 and see that they only affect the desktop "program" while leaving the metro stuff untouched. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_a ... or_Windows
Murmur
Posts: 142
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:16 pm

Re: Will ReactOS be ready when Windows 8.1 is phased out?

Post by Murmur »

IMO just install classic shell on win 8/8.1/10 and it runs fine. Just tell it to ignore all metro apps and it runs like win7 with a bit of quirkiness.

http://www.classicshell.net/
Sand
Posts: 136
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:23 pm

Re: Will ReactOS be ready when Windows 8.1 is phased out?

Post by Sand »

dark wrote: All I can find about fxxkmetro is it was found on a Chinese forum somewhere, don't see any source and definitely wouldn't put it on my PC. Looking at the instructions, it probably just blocks any attempt to call the metro interface from the desktop and needs to be rerun whenever the PC reboots. Hidden Metro, but not killed. If you want to get a better idea of the difference with metro and shells, try some alternative shells on 8 and see that they only affect the desktop "program" while leaving the metro stuff untouched. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_a ... or_Windows
No. I wrote a similar program myself before I learned about fxxkmetro. What it does is killing the Metro thread inside Explorer.exe. It searches for window of the class "ImmersiveShell_AudioFlyoutNotification", then finds its thread and kills it. My program used a different method to find the thread, but was doing the same. After the thread killed, it does not consume processing cycles and memory any more, nor does it possess any windows.

This is the Metro thread, one can kill it using Process Hacker:
[ external image ]
Last edited by Sand on Wed Oct 05, 2016 10:27 am, edited 2 times in total.
Sand
Posts: 136
Joined: Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:23 pm

Re: Will ReactOS be ready when Windows 8.1 is phased out?

Post by Sand »

Murmur wrote:IMO just install classic shell on win 8/8.1/10 and it runs fine. Just tell it to ignore all metro apps and it runs like win7 with a bit of quirkiness.

http://www.classicshell.net/
If you do not kill Metro, it consumes processing power, memory and, and if you are using Classic theme, on waking up from sleep mode there are 3 parasitic incons in Alt+Tab dialog (belonging to MetroGhostWindow class).
middings
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Joined: Tue May 07, 2013 9:18 pm
Location: California, USA

Re: Will ReactOS be ready when Windows 8.1 is phased out?

Post by middings »

The conversation is drifting away from the topic. Perhaps a new topic should be started with a name like "Adapt ROS Shell to MS Windows 8 & 10".
dsp8195
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Feb 07, 2014 5:35 am

Re: Will ReactOS be ready when Windows 8.1 is phased out?

Post by dsp8195 »

Sand wrote:*snip*
Nice customization! :D

The answer to your first question is "unlikely", giving the pace of current development speed and the amount of financial investments put into project.

The answer to your second question, however, is "it's already possible". If memory serves me well, Gigaherz has developed a separate version of the ROS Explorer with stand-alone shell functions. Sadly, it was quite some time ago, and the code in question is already outdated in comparison to the current TRUNK. You may want to visit the official IRC channel and ask for that particular build and see if it fits your needs. If it does, commission him to make a new one for you.
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