I don't think that Linux is more stable than Windows 7

[asifnaz]

I am writing these words from an Ubuntu machine so I am not trolling . I have tried both Linux/ubuntu/debian/fedora etc and Windows 7 on different machines (both which come windows pre-installed and costume built)

Windows 7 is way more stable than distros I mention (IMHO)

I use Linux for its philosophy not it is better or more stable

I never have virus or malware on on windows even I dont use an antivirus

your opinion..?

[Colo2]

Think of Windows as a solid granite wall. If it works, it works, but if something goes wrong, the whole wall is useless and could be knocked down. Linux is like a brick wall, if something goes wrong, that brick can be removed, replaced and put back in without effecting the rest of the wall.

As for stability, the core of Linux is very very stable. Bear in mind that the GUI, all the graphical servers and desktop environments that you are referring to play a very small part in the Linux system.

Going back to my original example, whenever you listen to sound on Ubuntu, its coming from a sound server, whenever you see something, its coming from the X server... More to go wrong? Maybe! But it can always be fixed With Windows, you'll find you'll be putting the Windows disc back into your CD drive before you know it!

[zombifier25]

Recurring in 3... 2... 1...

I agree with you about stability. When I use Windows there is this "unified" feeling across it. Ubuntu picks up parts from here and there, most of them are provided by the community. Ubuntu does not suffer from viruses like Windows, but a smart person will have his Windows system just as secure.

But the reason I think Ubuntu is awesome is that while Ubuntu is not as stable as Windows, it is easier to fix, and it's way more fun to use. That's why we get on a computer everyday.

[Bachstelze]

costume built

With a mask and everything?

[roelforg]

Recurring in 3... 2... 1...

I agree with you about stability. When I use Windows there is this "unified" feeling across it. Ubuntu picks up parts from here and there, most of them are provided by the community. Ubuntu does not suffer from viruses like Windows, but a smart person will have his Windows system just as secure.

But the reason I think Ubuntu is awesome is that while Ubuntu is not as stable as Windows, it is easier to fix, and it's way more fun to use. That's why we get on a computer everyday.

+(infinity sign)

My machines running ubuntu may have some quirks (my laptop, for one, won't kill the power if i remove/insert the charger during shutdown), but they're fun to work on.
Most of the instability on my systems is caused by me mucking around inside the systems because i like to do so and because i know i can fix it as long as i don't erase the partition.

[MadmanRB]

Well admittedly Windows 7 is actually pretty solid, perhaps the most solid version since Win2K.
I say stuff like Unity, gnome shell and the like are growing pains as Linux is very solid in its own right.
It just depends on what you want to do with it, but I will say that yes linux currently doesnt seem as solid as Win7 (in its current status) but it is much easier to repair.

[TheFu]

Windows 7 is way more stable than distros I mention (IMHO)

That may be true today, but historically Windows has not be anywhere near as stable as Linux for most people that get it running.

For the 1st year I had Windows 7, it wouldn't stay running more than 7-10 days at a time. Linux routinely stays up until I reboot it (due to a new kernel) - often 60+ days. In the old days around 2001, I had a Linux system up over 400 days without a reboot. Back then, Windows2000 wouldn't stay up more than a month at a time.

Stability is good news for everyone regardless of OS even if the end users don't make use of the added stability.

Just for fun, here's a quick 'uptime' list (I patch weekly):

• up 75 days, 17:57,
• up 28 days, 16 min,
• up 5 days, 17:22,
• up 6 days, 13 min,
• up 6 days, 1:01,
• up 2:37,
• up 5 days, 20:28,
• up 6 days, 9 min,
• up 9 days, 23:09,
• up 94 days, 16:30,

These are different Ubuntu desktop/server machines with many running inside either KVM or Xen or VirtualBox virtual machine environments. Some are 8.04, 10.04 and a few are 12.04. I don't do non-LTS releases.

A few windows7 PCs here have been

• up 10 days, 18:50 min. (laptop)
• up 16 days, 01:42 min. (7 media center running inside a VM)

I don't expect either to crash before I reboot to make a monthly image backup. Stability is good.

If you are seeing stability issues, perhaps there is something wrong with the hardware? I think that MS-Windows will put up with HW failures that Linux will fail over. Linux GUI environments also reduce system stability. X/Windows definitely does IME. A server that I don't run X/Windows on will stay up until I reboot it (over90+ days), but if I login on the head and use X/windows without any regard, it will crash in 7-14 days. The same box, same kernel, same base programs - just running GUI programs on X/Windows makes it crash. BTW the machine with 94 days uptime - that is the server of which I speak.

Just an opinion.

[Copper Bezel]

Yeah, the core OS components (the server parts) are crazy stable, and every instability I've ever had traced back to a hardware driver, the desktop environment, or (and this is redundant, but worth singling out) a video card issue. The whole desktop OS counted as one thing, I think Windows 7 is about as stable as Ubuntu. Individual apps are of course only about as stable as the Windows equivalents (although Linux is still better at handling nonresponsive programs.)

Windows also still has the problem of the all-encompassing explorer.exe, which makes it more likely to ignore input when an individual (built-in) app is doing something. It's not exactly a stability issue, and it can be circumvented (particularly by just not using the shipped file manager, browser, and media player) but it does have a similar effect (a nonresponsive desktop, if usually temporarily.)

In general, yes, the advantages to desktop Linux, when they're tangibles at all, don't seem to be in stability per se.

[QIII]

Windows 7 is a very solid product and Microsoft really nailed it.

My difficulty is not with the OS, but with the business and industry practices of its purveyor.

[wojox]

With a mask and everything?

I get all R2-D2 with mine.