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zero-restart OS

an OS that you never have to restart
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This is an old moan that "switch on and play" reminded me of. Why can't someone write an OS that you never have to restart, regardless of how many devices you add, remove or upgrade, and how many bits of software you install or deinstall ?
bumhat, Sep 09 2002

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       Because it would interfere with the whole space-time-user model continuum thing. I mean, try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light every time you didn't have to reboot. Well, that's what would happen.
bristolz, Sep 09 2002
  

       Uh...good answer, [bristolz]. Yeah, that's the ticket! Big explosion. KA-GUI !
half, Sep 09 2002
  

       WIBNI.....
Mr Burns, Sep 09 2002
  

       [Thank god, I am not alone.] "Ok, that's bad? Uh huh. Right, important safety tip, thanks Egon..."
General Washington, Sep 09 2002
  

       [GW]: I'm still fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing.
angel, Sep 10 2002
  

       Oooh yeah, adding *devices* to a running, powered-up computer - I just have to do that right now. Oh, and remind me to lick the power supply too.
pmillerchip, Sep 10 2002
  

       This isn't a WIBNI - it's more of a WCSDI (Why Can't Someone Do It) moan, in that it's technically feasible. I can add and remove USB devices (sometimes) without shutting down, so I find it dumb that I can't install (for example) Norton Systemworks without having to restart the damn thing. In fact, I find it dumb that I have to install something like Norton Systemworks at all. Now, where's that power supply...
bumhat, Sep 10 2002
  

       // Why can't someone write an OS that you never have to restart ? //   

       Entropy.
8th of 7, Sep 10 2002
  

       They've pretty much covered this (at least in the sense I think you mean) in the latest version of windoze. Just log off and back in. In earlier versions I just used to refresh the device manager for a pretty similar effect - eliminated most restarts.
yamahito, Sep 10 2002
  

       Of course, I wouldn't try adding RAM while the machine is running.
bristolz, Sep 10 2002
  

       bristolz: // I wouldn't try adding RAM while the machine is running //   

       Actually, quite a few devices - like the high capacity switches used by Telcos - allow hot-plugging of CPU and memory cards. And they work. But they're not exactly cheap.
8th of 7, Sep 10 2002
  

       Speaking of not restarting, is there a way when dual booting to switch between os's without having to restart? I heard it could be done with BootMagic, so I got it, but to no avail. Maybe I'm missing something. Any helpful hints from you power supply lickers? ;o) Thanks in advance! -ApocylipticInterface
ApocylipticInterface, Jun 09 2003
  

       use a cluster. you'll never have to restart the whole thing at once. is that good enough?
ironfroggy, Jun 09 2003
  

       The reason you cant hot pug things like PCI cards and RAM and IDE devices is due to the way the motherboards work, not the OS. The BIOS wont regognize the enw devices and most of the time the system will hang, and theres nothing any os can do about it.
BlaKmaJiK, Sep 14 2003
  

       There have been servers for years featuring "PCI Hot-Plug" which allows PCI card insertion/removal without powering down the server - just the slot.   

       There's no reason this couldn't be introduced to the PC world.   

       However, there are issues with OS ability to deal with driver state-changes during PCI hot-plug events, which sometimes necessitate rebooting.
jacksheet, Jan 28 2004
  

       http://www.qnx.com/products/index.html   

       It may not be exactly what you've described, but this OS approaches the same idea. It is supposedly really fault-tolerant so that you won't have to reboot because of errors or crashes. This OS is used for Industrial equipment and other applications that can't afford to crash or hang at all.   

       I think QNX's record uptime is 13 years. QNX may not necessarily be the best destop OS because of a lack of software, but I'm sure you can come up with the basics (Word processor, Internet/email, Antivirus, media player, etc.) if you look hard enough.
Number9, Jan 28 2004
  
      
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