Why does Windows crash so much?

[Nemesis77]

The reason why Windows crashes so much (altrough it has been getting better) is primarily because the GUI is in the kernel. If something goes wrong, the entire system hangs/crashes. In Unix/Linux GUI and Kernel are separate. If something goes wrong, you can just kill the GUI and then restart it, but the system keeps on running. And the fact that GUI is separate from the kernel makes it possible for the GUI to advance independently from the kernel, making it really stable as well.

Also, Win9x-series was a chaotic mixture on 16 and 32bit code, which added to the problems. W2K and XP are alot better in that respect.

Those two are first reasons that come to mind.

 

[Amused]

I have a computer running 98SE. The only BSODs I've had have been driver or software conflicts. Once I iron those out, it's very stable. The only problem is the dwindling resources. Then I just make sure to reboot every few days, and it's fine.

ME, on the other hand, required a reboot daily or more. So I trashed it and went back to 98SE

 

[Zwingle]

The OS doesn't suck.....it is the companies that make software to run on Windows taht suck.....they don't make their programs so that they play well together......I agree, it is amazing that with all the software that we install that anything works. Windows does a remarkable job at keeping things working as best it could.

 

[Nemesis77]

Blaming the software-makers is easy, but you would be blaming the wrong thing. True, there are crappy software out there, that can crash and take the OS with it. But the OS is not supposed to behave like that. Linux (and UNIX in general) has alot of software, yet they don't cause the system to crash. Is the software hangs, you just kill it, and keep on working. If you have crappy video-drivers, that cause the GUI or X to hang, you just kill them, replace the drivers, fire up the GUI, and keep on working. The OS itself never crashes because of crappy software. It's not supposed to crash. If Windows crashes because of buggy software, then the blame lies in the basic design of Windows.

 

[StageLeft]

Win 9X is crap. Win ME is the WORST operating system I've ever used. I found it even crappier for stability than win98. Win2k is the only way to go. It's rock-solid. I've been a big fan for two years and never complain about stability anymore.

XP is the future but for me it doesn't work properly so I'm waiting for a service pack to come out before trying it again.

 

[ShadowHunter]

It doesn't crash for me at all.....my XP setup is solid like a Chevy........*sings* Ohhhhh like a rock *guitar music*

 

[CraigRT]

I never had real stability issues with 9x.. my computer would go 1-2 weeks uptime in 98 SE with no problems and I'd just reboot cause i knew it would run better afterwards... Never used ME cause of the horror stories, but should be just as stable as 98 when configured right on a good stable PC.

I love win2k, it's rock!

 

[Descartes]

<< win9x is nothing but layers of duct tape wrapped around windows 3x. I am surprised it runs at all. >>



Yet another obtuse individual who knows absolutely *nothing* about Windows architecture. Win3x was 16-bit, Win9x is 32-bit. Win3x was an operating environment, Win9x was a true operating system. Developing for Win3x was an absolute horror (to me anyway) due to it's segmented memory architecture. Don't blame Microsoft/Windows for the fact that you can't maintain a stable system. I've been running Windows for many, many years, and very infrequently does it crash, and I put my systems through hell.

 

[iamshady]

Look at my sig, greenfirs had it right...

 

[Moonbeam]

This thread reminded me to look for updates. I found DirectX 8.1, but my machine hung 3 times downloading. Had to close and open IE to get it to work.

 

[Adul]

98se can be stable with some work,but I can stress the os much more then normal users so I been a user of nt/win2k/XP for years now. Stability is just wonderful from those OS. not perfect, but very stable.

 

[Bluga]

Windows 2000 Advanced server crashed 6 times here within a year.

Not to mention the Nimda viruses.