Re: How often is rebooting strictly necessary?

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Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 13:24:15 -0800

Linux Inquirer wrote:
>
> I recently came across this -
>
> Windows 2000 Professional needs to be rebooted in only 7 scenarios -
> [NT 4 had 50]
>
> 1. Changing ISA adapter configuration
> 2. Changing the system font (the USER and Graphics Device Interface
> have to be 3. recreated)
> 4. Adding and removing communication ports (due to possible jumper
> changes)
> 5. Changing the default system locale
> 6. Changing the computer/domain name
> 7. Installing service packs or hotfixes

Whether that's true or not, I can assure you that almost every IHV out there
does a reboot to effect driver changes. Possible exception for USB devices.
There's also a fair number of apps that ask for a reboot, although ISVs have
gotten better about that over the years. To this day almost everyone is
still saying "it is strongly recommended you turn off all your apps before
installing" even though I've never once observed the presence of other
running apps to cause an installation conflict. Virus checkers excepted.

So certainly, in the Windows world there's a bigger problem of "rebooting
culture," regardless of what may be technically possible. Rebooting is
probably an engineering path of least resistance. I wonder what causes that
culture to be so? A particular API? A Microsoft recommendation? I haven't
done enough Windows device driver work to know. When I was doing 3D
graphics device drivers I stayed as far away from the gory boring
installation stuff as possible.

-- 
Cheers,                     www.indiegamedesign.com
Brandon Van Every           Seattle, WA
20% of the world is real.
80% is gobbledygook we make up inside our own heads.

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