Installing and Configuring Windows Emulator (WINE)

Is WINE an excellent Windows compatibility layer?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Not Sure

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0
D

DevynCJohnson

Guest
Many Linux users may find a program for Windows that lacks a Linux version or parody. As numerous Linux users believe, the program will not work on Linux. For the most part, they are wrong. There is a way to run a Windows program in Linux without using virtual machines. However, this trick does not work for some Windows applications, especially the newer programs.

The application that will allow Linux users to run Windows applications on their Linux system is called WINE - "WINdows Emulator" (incorrectly) or "Wine Is Not an Emulator" (proper abbreviation). WINE is made and hosted by WineHQ.org. WINE is a compatibility layer (not an emulator) that, according to WineHQ, "translates Windows API calls into POSIX calls on-the-fly". One thing people need to understand about WINE is that it is a compatibility layer, not an emulator. WINE does not perform any kind of CPU emulation; it literally converts Windows calls to POSIX calls. As a result, many could say the Windows program is running directly in Linux because there is no emulator or virtual machine. The performance of the majority of programs are not negatively effected, so there is no need to worry that WINE will make the Windows program execute slowly. WineHQ has a small list (http://appdb.winehq.org/) of popular Windows applications and video games to show that WINE can handle a variety of Windows programs.

To install WINE, install it using the package manager or type the following commands (with Root privileges).

Code:
add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa -y && apt-get update && apt-get install wine

These commands will install WINE and its dependencies. Once finished, WINE can be configured. Installing Wine from your system's default repos may not work because you may get errors stating that the package is missing or unavailable. The PPA above is the official PPA. Alternately, you could go to http://www.winehq.org/download/ to download and install Wine.

To configure WINE, look in the applications menu for WINE. usually, WINE gets its own submenu - "WINE". Alternatively, users can search for WINE if they are using Unity. Whether the user finds WINE in Unity or other user interfaces, click on "Configure WINE" once found. The configuration window will take some time opening if this is a fresh WINE install. Once open, users can control how WINE behaves. By default, WINE will act like Windows XP, but users can change this to all or almost any Windows version. The next tab over is used for configuring DLL files. The "Graphics" tab controls the look of the Windows applications. The "Desktop Integration" tab allows users to change the theme of Windows applications. The controls under this tab also allow users to configure folder locations. This means when Windows applications need to place data in the documents folder, users can choose what folder will be the Windows document folder. Next, the "Drives" tab contains options for the Windows drives. Users can control what directory will behave like drive C. Obviously, the "Audio" is for audio. Finally, the last tab, "About", contains the license and version information for WINE. At the bottom of the window, users can type the owner and company of WINE like they would for a Windows system. Once all of the settings have been configured, press "Apply" and exit the program.

wine.png


To use a Windows application, right-click an executable and choose to open with WINE or "WINE Windows Program Loader". After the application installs, look for it in the applications menu under "WINE -> Programs".

FlashGet running on WINE in a Ubuntu 13.04 system
flashget.png


If a program were crash, the error would look like this:
wine_error.png


Wine-Apps.org is a site that hosts applications, themes, and dll files for WINE. These are free downloads, and users are welcome to add to this website, as long as the uploaded content is legal and pertains to WINE. A MAC Msstyle, for instance, can be downloaded (http://wine-apps.org/content/show.php/Mac OS X Leopard Msstyle?content=92648). Once finished and uncompressed, users can add this theme by going to the “Desktop Integration” tap in the configuration window.

The gnome-exe-thumbnailer provides better icons for dlls and other Windows files. This thumbnailer can be downloaded here – http://wine-apps.org/content/show.php/gnome-exe-thumbnailer?content=129667. Most users should be able to install this via the system's package manager. Alternatively, users can go here (https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-wine/ archive/ppa/ packages) for the gnome-exe-thumbnailer and other WINE applications. Once installed, users can open Nautilus and see that files pertaining to Windows look nicer.

Overall, WINE is very easy to use. After a program is installed, the program can be accessed like Linux applications. Many Windows programs seamlessly integrate with the Linux system. This allows users to use Windows programs with their favorite Linux operating system without needing a Windows system.

NOTE: I am posting this note due to the number of emails and posts I get about this. I am not implying that WINE is an emulator. True, the title says emulator, but too many people think this is an emulator, so this title gets their attention so that they can be properly taught that WINE is not an emulator. I understand that WINE is not an emulator.
 

Attachments

  • slide.jpg
    slide.jpg
    65.6 KB · Views: 115,576
Last edited:


Very nice tutorial. New users might also benefit from winetricks and Play On Linux also...
 
Wine - Wine Is Not (an) Emulator.

I registered just to point out this silly error, how could you even think it was emulation? Seriously!
 
Wine - Wine Is Not (an) Emulator.

I registered just to point out this silly error, how could you even think it was emulation? Seriously!

Read the second paragraph.

"The application that will allow Linux users to run Windows applications on their Linux system is called WINE - "WINdows Emulator" or "Wine Is Not an Emulator". WINE is made and hosted by WineHQ.org. WINE is a compatibility layer that, according to WineHQ, "translates Windows API calls into POSIX calls on-the-fly"."
 
Read the second paragraph.

"The application that will allow Linux users to run Windows applications on their Linux system is called WINE - "WINdows Emulator" or "Wine Is Not an Emulator". WINE is made and hosted by WineHQ.org. WINE is a compatibility layer that, according to WineHQ, "translates Windows API calls into POSIX calls on-the-fly"."
Yes, but it's always a bad thing when noobs who don't really know what they're talking about try and write informative posts. I found this from Lxer.com and the title was enough to annoy me. "Configuring Windows Emulator (WINE)" seriously.... I ignored the second paragraph because that title was sufficiently bad to get me to register and for this to happen. Please learn about how things work /THEN/ write an article about them, don't try and be informative by quoting WineHQ - people can find that by themselves - and being like "here's a picture of a program working" followed by "here's a picture of one not working!", what is the point, seriously? WineHQ does all of this already.

This article added nothing to "the internet" I am writing this in the hope you learn from this, and any more things I read written by you would be worth me getting passed the title! I didn't expect (nor do I need) a technical walk through but this was truly pointless.

Please consider my anger and lack of hiding it as a favor to you, hopefully next time you'll think "Do I know what I'm talking about? Does this article help anyone, or would it be something they might click, see the title for, rage-register-and-respond, or just press back and try the next link, will it even get a decent search engine rank?" before pressing "post"

Windows Emulator, seriously? That'd be so stupid, and anyone who's not that technically literate, but knows emulation sucks (when it comes to performance) might now think Wine is an emulator, that is a bad thing, there's a lot of FUD flying around (fear, uncertainty, doubt) and one bad/stupid comment can really taint something, I'm not against bad reviews, I'm against general wrong-ness.

Take care!
 
Perhaps you need the lesson in knowing what an Emulator is and ISN"T.

From WineHQ

Wine's not that kind of emulator


When users think of emulators, they think of programs like Dosbox or zsnes. These applications run as virtual machines and are slow, having to emulate each processor instruction. Wine does not do any CPU emulation - hence the name "Wine Is Not an Emulator."

AS noted, WINdows Emulator was the ORIGINAL source for WINE, they LATER changed it.

If things like this get you all wound up and your panties in a wad, maybe you should KNOW What you are talking about. It still is an EMULATOR of sorts, just NOT A CPU emulator.

From Wikipedia

Wine is a compatibility layer. It duplicates functions of Windows by providing alternative implementations of the DLLs that Windows programs call,[4] and a process to substitute for the Windows NT kernel. This method of duplication differs from other methods that might also be considered emulation, where Windows programs run in a virtual machine.[5] Wine is predominantly written using black-box testing reverse-engineering, to avoid copyright issues.[6]
The name Wine initially was an acronym for WINdows Emulator.[7] Its meaning later shifted to the recursive backronym, Wine Is Not an Emulator in order to differentiate the software from other emulators.[8] While the name sometimes appears in the forms WINE and wine, the project developers have agreed to standardize on the form Wine.[9]
The phrase "Wine Is Not an Emulator" is a reference to the fact that no processor code execution emulation occurs when running a Windows app under Wine. "Emulation" usually refers to the execution of compiled code intended for one processor (say, x86) by interpreting/recompiling software running on a different processor (say, PowerPC). Such emulation is almost always much slower than execution of the same code by the processor for which the code was compiled. In Wine, the Windows app's compiled x86 code runs at full native speed on the computer's x86 processor, just as it does when running under Windows. And Windows API calls and services also are not emulated, but rather substituted with Linux equivalents that are compiled for x86 and run at full, native speed.
 
Do I need to rewrite paragraph two and make it more clear that WINE is not an emulator?
 
USB-GPS-stick+Windows programs don't see each other through wine. The only reason I steal have Windows on my HDD. I can give two more cases where an USB device doesn't work with a program through wine
 
Tutorial is OK. Everything went fine until... came the EULA. I can do nothing with this EULA. There is an OK on its end, but I can do nothing with it. So I didn't reach the configuration. What can I do?
 
Tutorial is OK. Everything went fine until... came the EULA. I can do nothing with this EULA. There is an OK on its end, but I can do nothing with it. So I didn't reach the configuration. What can I do?

You mean you see a screen asking you to accept the EULA license, but clicking "Okay" will not do anything? Did you try scrolling to the bottom of the license and then clicking "Okay"?

Yeah, I see that my article does not mention the EULA license. When I installed WINE on my system to make the screenshots, I never saw a EULA license window. Clearly, there is a bug that was missed. Sorry about that. If you cannot get past that EULA window, then there must be a bug associated with that window, because I did not see the EULA window. I know it exists, but when I installed and used WINE, I figured the WINE developers removed that window.

I installed WINE on Ubuntu 13.04 (AMD64). What kind of system are you using?
 
I'm a brand new user of linux mint 15. :D This EULA appeared in terminal, and it was somehow ABOVE terminal, so I couldn' type anything in it. When I wanted to close terminal, it said it was a process running.
Thank you for helping.
 
When the EULA appears, press tab. You should see the <Ok> button highlight. Hit space. Done. I was stumped at the same spot for awhile, there is an answer on the Ubuntu forums.
 
While I think there are bigger things to worry about in the world, ATeal is probably correct about the naming of this thread, in that, if you're going to write these types of articles, it's important that they're factually correct, not your perceived version of correct.

As for the EULA, I wasn't aware that wine is proprietary?
 
While I think there are bigger things to worry about in the world, ATeal is probably correct about the naming of this thread, in that, if you're going to write these types of articles, it's important that they're factually correct, not your perceived version of correct.

As for the EULA, I wasn't aware that wine is proprietary?

How is the article incorrect? I can see what you mean about the title, but considering so many people think WINE is an emulator, the title will catch their attention and then they can be taught properly.
 
The title is incorrect - irrespective of what people think. If you want to write good articles, then you should not just feed into "what people think", but instead post the facts.

If your title was "Installing and Configuring WINE (Windows Compatibility Layer)", it would be just as eye catching, factual and not at all misleading...
 
I have an older AMD processor computer with windows XP and I wish to migrate to linux. Currently it is used mainly for internet surfing and playing wizard 101 by my son. Which linux system would you recommend to use with WINE for the best results to run as close to XP as possible (my husband suffers from issues figuring out changes with regard to computers)
 

Members online


Latest posts

Top