CrustyWindows:About: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:44, 7 August 2023

Crusty Windows (also called bootleg Windows), known as говносборки (lit. "shit assembly") in Russian, are illegally modified builds of the Microsoft Windows operating system, typically developed by eccentric individuals who wish to see their favorite OS and franchises collide or just want to include every driver and program in existence in their OS installs. Many of these bootlegs are severely unstable, barely install at all, have nonsensical themes and wallpapers, are hysterically poorly made, or are just simply impossible to find because nobody in their right mind downloaded them.

Crusty Windows come in a wide variety of languages, most commonly in English, Arabic, and Russian, and so far, at least one has been created in every continent (except Antarctica) - from the good ol' USA, to the exotic lands of the Great Wall, to the first traditional wonder of the ancient world, or even the land where maple syrup is consumed every day - there is always a Windows bootleg that represents someone out there.

While most bootlegs of Windows are free, a few cost money - for example, Radiant OS 11, which requires a TeamOS VIP subscription to download.

History

The Beginning

The first bootleg that was created for Windows was a transformation pack called BedOS, released in early 2000. This OS required an existing install of Windows 95 or Windows 98 to function, and had releases in both Russian and English. It laid the foundations for many bootleg creators, as it added a custom theme, icons, and several additional drivers and programs, as well as removing some bloat from the existing install. It was a very important OS for kicking off the Russian bootleg scene and thus the Windows bootleg scene as a whole.

Several different versions of BedOS were released, including 2.0 (pictured, on the right), 72214-1 (the first English version), and 3.0, themed after Mac OS X.

The name of the OS is a pun, as when romanized, the name would be "BadOS". It is also one of the very few bootlegs distributed as shareware.

The second earliest bootleg known to exist is one based on Windows XP before it was even released, known as Whistler Build 2531. Based on a Release Candidate 2 Build of XP, this bootleg also features many things seen commonly, such as additional backgrounds, registry tweaks, cracked activation, and more. Hilariously, this ISO seems to have been created out of spite towards the beta scene of the time, who were known for hoarding betas and being picky about quality.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 [[File:TeamOSPC.png|thumb|200px|The TeamOS computer. It knows if you seed after you download.]]
-'''Crusty Windows''' (also called '''bootleg Windows''', '''modified Windows''', or '''customized Windows''') are illegally modified and (usually awful) variations of the Microsoft Windows operating system, typically developed by eccentric individuals who wish to see their [[Windows 7 Angry Birds Edition|favorite OS and franchises collide]] or just want to include [[Chip Windows XP 2009|every driver and program in existence in their OS installs]]. Many of these bootlegs [[Windows Conan XP|are severely unstable]], [[Windows Dog XP|barely install at all]], [[Windows 7 FaceBooK Edition 2012|have nonsensical themes and wallpapers]], are [[Windos 7|hysterically poorly made]], or are just simply [[Windows 7 Android Rockz!|impossible to find because nobody in their right mind downloaded them]].
+'''Crusty Windows''' (also called '''bootleg Windows'''), known as '''говносборки''' (lit. "shit assembly") in Russian, are illegally modified builds of the Microsoft Windows operating system, typically developed by eccentric individuals who wish to see their [[Windows 7 Angry Birds Edition|favorite OS and franchises collide]] or just want to include [[Chip Windows XP 2009|every driver and program in existence in their OS installs]]. Many of these bootlegs [[Windows Conan XP|are severely unstable]], [[Windows Dog XP|barely install at all]], [[Windows 7 FaceBooK Edition 2012|have nonsensical themes and wallpapers]], are [[Windos 7|hysterically poorly made]], or are just simply [[Windows 7 Android Rockz!|impossible to find because nobody in their right mind downloaded them]].
-Crusty Windows come in a variety of languages, most commonly in English, Arabic, and Russian. According to a local in Russia, they are known as "'''говносборки'''". However, bootlegs come from a wide variety of countries and cultures, and so far, at least one has been created in every continent (except Antarctica) - from the [[Windows XP Destroyed Edition|good ol' USA]], to [[Tomato Garden XP 3.0|the exotic lands of the Great Wall]], to the [[Windows Mac OS XP|first traditional wonder of the ancient world]], or even [[Windows 8.1 Canada Edition|the land where maple syrup is consumed every day]] - there is always a Windows bootleg that represents someone out there.
+Crusty Windows come in a wide variety of languages, most commonly in English, Arabic, and Russian, and so far, at least one has been created in every continent (except Antarctica) - from the [[Windows XP Destroyed Edition|good ol' USA]], to [[Tomato Garden XP 3.0|the exotic lands of the Great Wall]], to the [[Windows Mac OS XP|first traditional wonder of the ancient world]], or even [[Windows 8.1 Canada Edition|the land where maple syrup is consumed every day]] - there is always a Windows bootleg that represents someone out there.
-While most bootlegs of Windows are free, some of them require payment - some, such as [[Windows 7 Natalite Edition]], can go up to US$50.
+While most bootlegs of Windows are free, a few cost money - for example, [[Radiant OS 11]], which requires a TeamOS VIP subscription to download.
 == History ==
-=== Beginning years ===
+=== The Beginning ===
 [[File:BedOS.jpg|thumb|200px|BedOS Desktop]]
+The first bootleg that was created for Windows was a [[transformation pack]] called [[BedOS]], released in early 2000. This OS required an existing install of Windows 95 or Windows 98 to function, and had releases in both Russian and English. It laid the foundations for many bootleg creators, as it added a custom theme, icons, and several additional drivers and programs, as well as removing some bloat from the existing install. It was a very important OS for kicking off the Russian bootleg scene and thus the Windows bootleg scene as a whole.
-The first bootleg variation of Windows was likely [[BedOS]], which was released in 2000 (though bootlegs of [[:Category:Bootlegs based on MS-DOS|MS-DOS]] are known to have existed before this.)
+Several different versions of BedOS were released, including 2.0 (pictured, on the right), 72214-1 (the first English version), and 3.0, themed after Mac OS X.
-This OS had a Russian and English release, but required an existing Windows 95 or Windows 98 install, making it more akin to a [[Draft:Transformation pack|transformation pack]] rather than a standalone OS. Still, this OS laid the foundations seen in modern bootlegs - adding a custom theme, custom icons, additional drivers and programs, as well as removing some programs. It was a very important OS for kicking off the Russian bootleg scene and thus the bootleg scene as a whole.
-Several different versions of BedOS exist - 2.0 (pictured), 72214-1 (English version), and 3.0, which is themed after Mac OSX. The name of the OS is a bit of a joke, as when romanized, the name would be "BadOS". It is also one of the very few bootlegs that is distributed as shareware.
+The name of the OS is a pun, as when romanized, the name would be "BadOS". It is also one of the very few bootlegs distributed as shareware.
+The second earliest bootleg known to exist is one based on Windows XP before it was even released, known as [[Whistler Build 2531]]. Based on a Release Candidate 2 Build of XP, this bootleg also features many things seen commonly, such as additional backgrounds, registry tweaks, cracked activation, and more. Hilariously, this ISO seems to have been created out of spite towards the beta scene of the time, who were known for hoarding betas and being picky about quality.
-[[File:Whistler Build 2531 Desktop.png|thumb|200px|The default desktop of Whistler Build 2531]]
+=== nLite Era ===
-The second bootleg, and the first one distributed in an ISO format, was one based on XP before it was even released - [[Whistler Build 2531]]. This bootleg is based on a Release Candidate 2 build of XP and was likely a joke done out of spite to troll the beta scene of the time. This build would include many common things we see in bootlegs today, such as additional backgrounds, registry tweaks, cracked activation, and more.
-=== Pre-nLite era (2001-2006) ===
-=== Post-nLite era (2006) ===
-=== Windows Vista era ===
-=== Windows 7 era ===
-=== Modern era ===