I know ReactOS is not Linux or even Unix-like, but it's open source so I'll give it a go:

I am trying ReactOS (3.17) in Qemu (with KVM, using a .img rather than a .qcow2). The initial install works fine; I place the bootloader on VBR only.

ReactOS reboots.

Then the second installer runs, and that apparently works well, but when I reboot I get a blue screen with a bunch of white meaningless text on it.

I rebooted again into the Emergency Management mode and I see in the error log stuff about a "hive error".

I tried re-installing, putting the bootloader on BOTH MBR and VBR, I reboot and do the second install, and then reboot again - this time, without even getting out of the bootloader screen, I get an error about the hive not existing.

Has anyone seen this before? anyone know what a hive is? Anyone think I should just give up and run the app I am trying to get to work in Wine instead?

The "hive" in question is a "registry hive", a part of the Windows registry database (which is partitioned into "hives").

The error message seems to imply that the registry is inaccessible. This is most likely due to a missing or malfunctioning disk controller driver. File system corruption is another possibility, but very unlikely on a freshly installed system.

ReactOS doesn't seem to have a problem with the PIIX3 emulation in VirtualBox on my PC, but perhaps there's some subtle incompatibility with the IDE controller emulation in Qemu?

1 members found this post helpful.

Interesting, thanks for the info. Maybe I'll try a version back to see if it's just a regression. I don't know if I want to bother with virtualbox, so if this doesn't work, I'll probably just try Wine. I was just checking in on ReactOS out of idle curiosity.

Cheers.