ReactOS adds NTFS support for direct system installation

The open-source operating system project ReactOS has achieved a significant milestone by introducing a new NTFS file system driver. This development allows the system to be installed directly onto NTFS partitions and enables the formatting of disks in this format, moving away from the previous requirement of using FAT32 partitions.

While this marks a major step toward compatibility with Windows Server 2003 and modern Windows architectures, the developers caution that the driver is not yet ready for daily use. Currently, the driver lacks a caching mechanism, which impacts performance, and it does not yet support journaling or file system security features such as access rights.

This update is part of a broader transition for ReactOS as it moves from the NT 5 architecture (represented by Windows XP) toward the NT 6 architecture (seen in Windows Vista and later). The project, which aims to replicate the Windows environment and compatibility, is approaching its 30th anniversary in January 2026.