Void Linux Replaces systemd With runit and XBPS
The roundup pitches Void Linux as "one of the fastest-booting OSes you can use." That claim needs care. What the project documents is its design, not boot times. Void's handbook calls it an independent, rolling-release distribution built from scratch rather than forked from another distro, and says it favours stability over the newest software. Two components set it apart: runit handles init and service supervision, and XBPS is Void's own package manager. The handbook says XBPS checks updates so that libraries aren't swapped for incompatible versions that would break dependencies. Void also fully supports musl libc as an alternative to glibc. The project says runit is what makes that possible, because systemd would rule it out.
MakeUseOf credits runit with "lightning-fast boot times." Void's documentation makes a smaller claim. It says the runit choice leaves a small code base that is easier to audit, gives every service a clean process environment, and provides reliable per-service logging. No comparable benchmark was available showing that Void boots faster than systemd-based distros on the same hardware, so treat the speed claim as the writer's impression.
The roundup also gets one XBPS detail wrong. It says XBPS "helps you build software directly from sources." Void's manual page describes XBPS as a binary package system, built from scratch, whose main tools are xbps-install, xbps-remove and xbps-query. Building from source is handled separately by the void-packages template collection and its xbps-src tool. Keep them apart in your head. XBPS installs and manages binary packages, and the source-build tooling is a separate piece.
Managing services on Void works differently from systemd. The handbook shows services being controlled with sv up, sv down, sv restart and sv status. To enable a service, you create a symlink from its directory in /etc/sv/ into /var/service/, and removing that link disables it. An empty down file in a service directory stops it starting at boot while leaving it under runit's management. Anyone used to systemctl will need to learn this model.
MakeUseOf also calls Void's documentation "sparse." That's a matter of opinion. The Void Handbook is maintained online and can be installed locally through the void-docs package. The broader warning still holds: Void is a poor first distro for someone who has just left Windows.
Q4OS Installs Linux From Inside Windows
For WindowsForum readers, Q4OS has the most practical selling point on the list. The official Q4OS site describes a Windows installer that you run as a setup wizard from within Windows, installing Q4OS as easily as an ordinary application. The project stresses that this is not virtualisation: although installed within Windows, the Q4OS kernel takes full control of the hardware, which it calls far more efficient than a virtual machine.
Q4OS is built on Debian, which the project cites as the source of its stability. It pushes two desktop options. KDE Plasma is the default, and Trinity is offered as a separate download. The project says mainstream distributions don't support Trinity at all. Q4OS also has a "dual desktop" setup: Plasma and Trinity can be installed side by side without interfering with each other, and you choose one at the login screen. MakeUseOf describes this as having two different operating systems on one machine.
MakeUseOf's framing as a throwback to Windows 98 and XP is the writer's own reading of the look. The project itself promotes a Lookswitcher tool, available from its software centre, that installs a few original desktop themes and switches between them in one click. It also describes Q4OS as light enough for less powerful hardware, and says it supports 32-bit x86 and ARM as well as the usual 64-bit builds.
The project is actively maintained. Its news feed lists Q4OS 6.9 "Andromeda" on September 16, 2026, the Q4OS Imager tool in July 2026, and an ARM edition of Q4OS 6 in December 2025.
The in-Windows installer lowers the barrier to trying Linux, but it still changes how the PC boots. Back up anything important before you run it, as you would before any dual-boot setup.
Daphile Turns a Spare PC Into a Headless Music Server
Daphile is the most specialised pick. It isn't really a desktop distro. It's an appliance-style operating system that runs a dedicated, headless PC as a music server and player, controlled entirely from a web interface on another device such as a phone, tablet or laptop. MakeUseOf is right that it isn't a simple media-centre distro. Setup happens through that same web interface: you boot the PC from Daphile media, then browse to the address shown on its screen and pick an install target.
The audio specifications MakeUseOf repeats are the project's own figures: bit-perfect playback of PCM up to 384 kHz/24-bit, native DSD playback up to DSD512, gapless playback, plug-and-play USB DAC support with automatic device configuration, and several players at once. There's also a mode that plays music from system RAM. MakeUseOf says the mode is meant to cut system noise during playback. No independent audio measurements back any of these figures. What you actually get also depends on your DAC and your source files: a DAC that tops out below DSD512 won't gain that ability from Daphile.
The trade-off is simple. Daphile only makes sense if you're willing to give a whole PC to music playback. If you are, it's a clear use for an old machine that would otherwise go to recycling.
NixOS Describes the Whole System in Configuration Files
NixOS is the biggest conceptual change on the list, and MakeUseOf rightly calls it the most radical departure from traditional distros. With declarative configuration, you write down the state you want your system in — packages, services, users and other settings — and the nixos-rebuild command builds that state. You don't change the system step by step with individual install commands.
Each rebuild creates a new system generation. Earlier generations can be chosen from the boot menu or restored with a rollback command. This is what makes NixOS good for experimenting: if a driver change or package update goes wrong, you boot the previous generation. Because the configuration is plain text, you can keep it in Git and rebuild the same system on another machine. This is the reproducibility MakeUseOf highlights.
Two of the roundup's claims need qualifying. First, the system isn't necessarily defined "in a single configuration file." A standard install splits settings between configuration.nix and a generated hardware-configuration.nix, and larger setups are often split across modules. Second, "rollbacks are instant and don't break any functionality" oversells it. A rollback returns you to an earlier generation only while that generation still exists, and old generations can be deleted when the Nix store is garbage-collected to free space. Rollbacks also don't replace backups. They restore system configuration, not your personal files.
SystemRescue Is the Distro Windows Admins Can Use Today
SystemRescue is the one distro on this list that a Windows-only shop can use without committing to Linux at all. The project describes it as a Linux system rescue toolkit available as a bootable medium for administrating or repairing your system and data after a crash. It can be used for both Linux and windows computers, and on desktops as well as servers. It requires no installation as it can be booted from a CD/DVD drive or USB stick, but it can be installed on the hard disk if you wish. The project's getting-started book notes that its packages are provided exactly as packaged by Arch Linux.
MakeUseOf's list of tools holds up against the project's own. The SystemRescue homepage lists GParted; FSArchiver; ddrescue, which attempts to make a copy of a block device that has hardware errors; and Ntfs3g, which enables read/write access to MS Windows NTFS partitions. TestDisk is also included, as a tool to check and undelete partition, supports reiserfs, ntfs, fat32, ext3/ext4 and many others. So is Memtest, which the project calls the first thing to test after a crash or unexplained problems. On filesystems, the claim is also accurate: the kernel supports all important file systems (ext4, xfs, btrfs, vfat, ntfs), as well as network filesystems such as Samba and NFS.
The free book from the SystemRescue project covers tasks Windows support staff actually deal with. Its later chapters show how to recover data files from a computer on which the operating system is broken, how to clone disks, how to backup and restore disk contents using images files, how to use chroot to fix Linux systems and how to reset a forgotten local Windows password. The project is upfront about the skill level: You need decent computer skills, and you should not be afraid to use command-line interfaces.
Preparing and using a SystemRescue drive
The official quick-start guide sets out a short workflow:
- Download the SystemRescue ISO from the project. Once you have downloaded the ISO image file, check the checksum.
- Write the ISO to bootable media, either a USB stick or an optical disc.
- Boot the problem PC from that media. The system starts at a console.
- If you'd rather use graphical tools, you can start the graphical environment by typing startx. The desktop gives you GParted, text editors, a browser and terminals.
- Connect to the network if you need to copy data off the machine. The project says networking lets you make a backup over the network, download files, work remotely using ssh or access files that are shared on a Unix server (with NFS) or on a MS Windows system (with Samba). In the graphical environment, the most convenient way to configure your network is to use the Network-Manager service. It provides a very user friendly graphical tool to configure the network.
One point about order before you touch a sick disk. If the drive may be physically failing, copy or image it with ddrescue before running any repair that writes to it, and double-check which device is the source and which is the destination. Having the tools doesn't guarantee recovery. Data that has been overwritten, or a drive in serious hardware failure, may be beyond what any live USB can fix.
What this means for you
Match the distro to the job. The roundup's title makes it sound like a list of overlooked daily drivers, but most readers will get the most from the two picks that work alongside Windows.
- Build a SystemRescue USB now, before you need it: verify the ISO checksum, write it to a spare stick, and test that it boots on your hardware.
- Try Q4OS if you want Linux on a Windows PC without repartitioning up front. Its installer runs from inside Windows, but back up first because it changes the boot setup.
- Choose NixOS if you want your whole system configuration in version control with bootable rollback generations. Keep separate backups of your personal data, and remember that garbage collection removes old generations.
- Consider Void Linux if you specifically want runit, XBPS and a rolling release from an independent project. Don't pick it on the promise of faster boots, which is anecdotal.
- Give Daphile a spare PC only if you're setting up a dedicated, web-controlled music server. Treat its DSD512 and 384 kHz/24-bit figures as the ceiling, which your DAC may not reach.
Of the five, SystemRescue and Q4OS matter most to Windows readers because they fit around the Windows PCs readers already have and don't ask anyone to switch. Q4OS 6.9 "Andromeda" shipped earlier this month, and SystemRescue keeps a Windows-password-reset and data-recovery toolkit a single boot away. Those two are worth setting up now, before a Windows PC fails to boot. Void, NixOS and Daphile are for readers who already know they want what each one does.