Windows 9x's explorer.exe running on ReactOS

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dackean
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Windows 9x's explorer.exe running on ReactOS

Post by dackean »

Hello, I'm new to ReactOS and didn't know where to put this question, so I decided to place it here.

Anyways, I'm a real nostalgia freak when it comes to computers and I'm really fond of the look of Windows 9x's UI design, particularly Windows95's UI. But since the operating system is quite obsolete, I was wondering if its explorer.exe files would work on ReactOS, similarly to how ReactOS's explorer.exe files can work on Windows. I just want to know if this is possible, as long as I have access to Windows95's explorer.exe files. Thank you to anyone who can help.
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: Windows 9x's explorer.exe running on ReactOS

Post by dizt3mp3r »

Do you have a copy of Win98? If so, then get hold of the explorer.exe and test it in a virtualbox and the latest daily build or ReactOS.
Sounds interesting and sounds like it might work. Someone here might give it a try if you are very lucky but the best thing is to test yourself.
ReactOS explorer has the Windows classic look and feel, perhaps it will do what you want it to do.
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Forever Winter
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Re: Windows 9x's explorer.exe running on ReactOS

Post by Forever Winter »

dizt3mp3r wrote:Do you have a copy of Win98? If so, then get hold of the explorer.exe and test it in a virtualbox and the latest daily build or ReactOS.
Since he has specifically mentioned Windows 95, I guess he want a shell without the desktop update. In this case Windows 95 and NT may be the only options, but this is just a guess.
dackean wrote:I was wondering if its explorer.exe files would work on ReactOS, similarly to how ReactOS's explorer.exe files can work on Windows.
No, it doesn't. The only one from a Windows 9.x system that kind of works, is the one from Windows Me. But apart from this, if you want the look of Windows 95, it is probably better
to modify the ReactOS shell to look like the one from Windows 95, instead of using the one from Windows 95, since otherwise you have to also exchange other stuff like shell32 and
so on and I doubt that this works.
karlexceed
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Re: Windows 9x's explorer.exe running on ReactOS

Post by karlexceed »

Forever Winter wrote: dackean wrote:
I was wondering if its explorer.exe files would work on ReactOS, similarly to how ReactOS's explorer.exe files can work on Windows.

No, it doesn't.
Can confirm. I knew that this was the case, but this post got me curious so I figured I'd give it a shot anyway. I went and grabbed a copy of Explorer for Windows 98 SE, loaded it into a working copy of ReactOS and - nothing. It didn't run, but it didn't error out either. On the other hand, a copy of Explorer from Server 2003 instantly BSODs. So there's your answer.
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EmuandCo
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Re: Windows 9x's explorer.exe running on ReactOS

Post by EmuandCo »

Try Win9x Explorer in 2003 or XP, if it works, we have a problem. Otherwise it's not working in NT at all and thus not in ROS too.
ReactOS is still in alpha stage, meaning it is not feature-complete and is recommended only for evaluation and testing purposes.

If my post/reply offends or insults you, be sure that you know what sarcasm is...
erkinalp
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Re: Windows 9x's explorer.exe running on ReactOS

Post by erkinalp »

It should work with errors, as it is a valid PE.
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EmuandCo
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Re: Windows 9x's explorer.exe running on ReactOS

Post by EmuandCo »

Valid PE still can depend on 9x specific stuff NT does not have
ReactOS is still in alpha stage, meaning it is not feature-complete and is recommended only for evaluation and testing purposes.

If my post/reply offends or insults you, be sure that you know what sarcasm is...
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