Microsoft is working on a significant new feature for Windows Vista, known as Restart Manager, which is designed to update parts of the operating system or applications without having to reboot the entire machine. "If a part of an application, or the operating system itself, needs to updated, the Installer will call the Restart Manager, which looks to see if it can clear that part of the system so that it can be updated. If it can do that, it does, and that happens without a reboot." And here & here are some more shots of Vista build 5259.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:Ok, first of all, would you please consider using "reply"? Thank you.
ANd what difference is there to installing a driver under windows which requires a reboot?
The difference is that drivers in windows are *modules*, ie the variant in linux that *doesn't* require a reboot. You remember the Windows uses a microkernel propaganda? One of the supposed benefits of that is that changing a driver would *not* require a reboot, as opposed to linux which is a monolithic kernel that has to have the most basic drivers compiled in.
Bottom line : under windows you have to reboot for drivers, under linux this is still an occurance. It may be slightly rarer but it does happen.
This isn't really the point, the point is that windows or applications wants to reboot all the time for trivial reasons, like for instance installing some sort of cdrecording software. This sw probably adds some driver file somewhere that doesn't get used/found until windows is rebooted. As a linux user you just scratch your head at this one.
So the bottom line is actually, upgrade or install ANY driver in windows and you'll have to reboot, as oposed to linux where you only have to reboot if you upgrade or change some really fundamental core part of the kernel. Adding some software that adds some driver does not require a reboot, unless the application requires you to patch your kernel sources, compile and update your kernel.. In windows you usually call that "upgrading to a new version of the OS".
Drivers that isn't a vital part of system doesn't require a reboot in linux. You are equating changing drivers for the sound system, or your nic, with switching drivers for your disc controller or boot/root file-system driver or something else truely fundamental.
See above? This isn't always possible.
It would be very helpful if you could specify when it's not. Perhaps you are afraid to get refuted? Basically the only drivers you can't upgrade without a complete reboot are those that controls *vital* parts of the system, like filesystem drivers disc controllers and such. However, this would rarely occur since you are much more likely to upgrade the entire kernel than upgrading specific drivers.
Good for you. I have, many times.
Nobody here knows what you consider a "frozen" system. For all we know you could mean a system that no longer heads input from keyboard/mouse.
I'm not arguing particularly against that point. All I'm saying is, in my view its not significantly worse a problem than with any other OS (with the caveat that you have to know what you're doing which I don't think many people do no matter how computer literate they think they are)
Well, you actually are, since you blow off *the* two most frequent causes of problems with windows, of which
neither are present in the other systems by saying there is no significant differnce.
My real beef, like I've said, is the taunts about windows catching up to linux etc on this front. When in fact its a problem that plagues them all to some extent.
See what I and others have written above about what updates forces you to reboot.
Member since:2005-11-14
My real beef, like I've said, is the taunts about windows catching up to linux etc on this front. When in fact its a problem that plagues them all to some extent
You are some powerful zealot.
With the same extent as you, I could say that "every hardware works with Linux to some extent".
I would not be more wrong than you.
Member since:
'Mr Windows fanboy, I suggest you stick to commenting on something you might know something about. '
I'm not a fanboy. I run windows on my desktop and linux, solaris, freebsd and OS X in mixed server and desktop roles. Best tool for the job.
'This doesn't even make sense, you maybe want to rethink your sentence. If you mean without rebooting, well, upgrading a driver that isn't available as a module means you've upgraded or patched your kernel. Of course you have to reboot. Duh.'
ANd what difference is there to installing a driver under windows which requires a reboot?
Bottom line : under windows you have to reboot for drivers
under linux this is still an occurance. It may be slightly rarer but it does happen.
'What? Heard of insmod or modprobe? '
See above? This isn't always possible.
'Now, I can't speak for OSX or FreeBSD, but I don't think I've ever seen a linux system "freeze"'
Good for you. I have, many times.
'Windows DOES tend to fail a lot more often, in my experience. '
I'm not arguing particularly against that point. All I'm saying is, in my view its not significantly worse a problem than with any other OS (with the caveat that you have to know what you're doing which I don't think many people do no matter how computer literate they think they are)
My real beef, like I've said, is the taunts about windows catching up to linux etc on this front. When in fact its a problem that plagues them all to some extent.