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Running Windows Programs from Linux
 Running Windows Programs from Linux
Please note
that this page is being revised to include NEW WINE help.
Today you can
run many Windows software from Linux native using Wine. In the mean time, as we finish
our own edits, please look up some very helpful WINE sites including: http://www.wine-reviews.net/ and
http://frankscorner.org/.
Beginners, you may also benefit from this new article: Windows to Linux: A Hand Holding Guide
This page brought you by the folks at Really Linux.
For those with
dual boot systems, this simple introductory article shows you a way to run a few of your basic
Windows programs from Linux. But there is much more and so please come back to re-read the revised article. This Tip is Rated Intermediate.
Free
Tool for running Windows Programs in Linux called WINE
WINE
is available for free download from the project website you can access by clicking here. (For Windows users, you should make sure to get in your
download the
three files needed for running WINE properly: winerpm, updated wine.conf,
user.dat file.)
A lot of work and
many hours of effort have paid off, and Linux users actually can
download and install a free emulator that runs many Windows
programs without any issue under Linux.
In some cases, you
do still need Windows installed on the same machine, since otherwise,
there is no way to "install" your Windows
software that sometimes may require a specific Windows install utility to run. Currently WINE is
tuned for Windows98 and Windows 2000 programs.
Using WINE to Run Windows
Programs
If
you've followed the very first step above and downloaded and
installed WINE on your Linux machine, then you are ready to try
running your Windows program!
- Check to see
that the WINE program is truly installed by typing the
command: locate wine You should see a
list of files with WINE.
- Be sure you
have properly mounted your Windows drive. If you don't
know how then click here for
brief help.
- Edit the file
/etc/wine.conf by changing the line under [Drive
C] to read exactly: Path=/mnt/win
- Save the
edited wine.conf file and then make sure you also copy
the file user.dat to your Windows directory c:/windows/profiles/
- If you plan
on running a game or other program that uses your midi
then Linux midi-sequencer needs to be installed
- Now type: cd "/mnt/win/Program
Files/Accessories" then type: wine ./calc.exe
- This will run
Windows Calculator on your Linux! You can load any other
programs by using similar commands, adjusting
for directory names and file names as needed.
A few tips.
First of all disregard all of
the detailed error information that may be displayed while you
run Wine. Only on occasion do these error messages help you
troubleshoot why a program does not run under WINE. Second, many programs will not
run properly under WINE unless your LINUX has been configured for
sound and graphics. There are lots of details to this we can not
explain breifly here. You can contact us or read up on details
from your Linux installation guide. Finally, remember that you need to type the
commands exactly as they appear, for instance when using long
directory names you need to have begin and end "
marks. When you try to run a program you should include the
leading ./ infront of the executable program
name.
WINE Doesn't
Run What You Need
As
always, you get what you pay for! In the case of WINE you get a
very good simple emulator for free. No it won't be able to run
your latest version of Microsoft Office XP! In fact, if you're
looking for commercial software that allows this then we highly
recommend you check out both VMWare and also Win4Lin websites. These companies
have made a lot of progress for folks like you!
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