5 ms·

Windows NT 3.x had graphics and printer drivers in user-mode for stability reasons. Windows NT 4 moved them to Ring 0 to speed-up graphics applications.

• IntelMiner 2y ago
  Then almost immediately took them back out after realizing this was a bad idea
  • chrisfinazzo 2y ago
    I presume this reversal happened during NT's main support window?
    • deaddodo 2y ago
      Well, by "immediate" they mean: "was user space through Win2k, went to kernel space in XP to match 9x performance, reversed in Vista". So...one generation, and about 7 years later.
      • Narishma 2y ago
        They were moved into kernel space in NT 4.
  • hernandipietro 2y ago
    Right. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5468462 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5468462