ReactOS can now be installed directly onto an NTFS partition. The open-source Windows-compatible operating system announced the milestone on X on Oct. 17, 2026, after its NTFS driver matured to the point that it can install and run ReactOS and format NTFS volumes, Phoronix reported that day.

Until now, ReactOS required users to keep a FAT32 partition for installations. Ars Technica , which covered the news on Oct. 19, said the change closes a gap in development of nearly a decade. Read-only NTFS support arrived in 2016, and the FreeLoader bootloader learned to boot from NTFS in 2022, but the OS itself still couldn't be installed there.

Still alpha software

The ReactOS team was upfront about what's missing.…