I have an exe program for Paint Shop Pro version 4 which doesn't need installation under Windows. It is a licensed copy which did not come with an installer. In Windows, I just copy it into a directory and double-click on it to run it. No installation required.
Is there some way to get Wine to recogize and run this program? The trial versions of the program available on the internet use an installer, but they have nag screens and expire after 30 days. Back when the program was first released, purchasing a license got you what I have now - a licensed copy which doesn't use an installer. I tried installing a trial version with Wine, then replacing the program files with my licensed copy, but Wine continued to run the trial version somehow.
Any ideas?
Can Wine run an exe program that doesn't need installation?
Re: Can Wine run an exe program that doesn't need installati
Isn't installer for trial version an .exe too? Why install trial version and try to hack it if you have licensed version? That does not not make sense to me... You did not said what prevented you from just running the .exe you want.
I recommend to remove or delete your Wine prefix (for example, by running: mv ~/.wine ~/.wine.backup), and just try to run .exe file you want to run (if your file manager is not configured for running .exe file, just run any terminal emulator, cd to the directory with the .exe file, and run it like "wine programname.exe"). If you still have a problem, make sure you are using latest Wine version (at least 1.7.22) and post your terminal output.
I recommend to remove or delete your Wine prefix (for example, by running: mv ~/.wine ~/.wine.backup), and just try to run .exe file you want to run (if your file manager is not configured for running .exe file, just run any terminal emulator, cd to the directory with the .exe file, and run it like "wine programname.exe"). If you still have a problem, make sure you are using latest Wine version (at least 1.7.22) and post your terminal output.
Re: Can Wine run an exe program that doesn't need installati
Yes, but wine has no trouble with it because it contains an installer. The licensed exe does not have an installer, so wine does not work with it. Apparently the installer provides something that the licensed version alone does not.Isn't installer for trial version an .exe too?
Because the licensed version doesn't run when I double click it. The hack was intended to work around the lack of installer. I was hoping that once a working trial version of the program was installed and running, I could replace the trial version files with the licensed version files, knowing that the trial version installer provided everything needed to run the program.Why install trial version and try to hack it if you have licensed version?
Sorry I wasn't more explicit. If I double click on the licensed exe, it doesn't run. Nothing (visible) happens. However, if I double click on the trial exe, wine installs it and runs it fine.You did not said what prevented you from just running the .exe you want.
I was using version 1.6.2 because that's the latest stable version in the Ubuntu repository. The wine website warns that the 1.7.x versions are beta versions which may have issues. Based on your recommendation, I went ahead and installed 1.7.22, but I still have the same problem.make sure you are using latest Wine version (at least 1.7.22)
Here is the terminal output:just run any terminal emulator, cd to the directory with the .exe file, and run it like "wine programname.exe...and post your terminal output
fixme:ole:RemUnknown_QueryInterface No interface for iid {00000019-0000-0000-c000-000000000046}
err:ole:CoReleaseMarshalData IMarshal::ReleaseMarshalData failed with error 0x8001011d
Unfortunately, I'm not knowledgeable enough to understand what that means or what I can do to fix it.
Re: Can Wine run an exe program that doesn't need installati
The tests in the AppDB for PSP 4.x are all old, but one thing they all have in common is that they mention an installer and say that it works. http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.p ... =&iId=2742
It makes sense that software that requires a paid license would have an installer; without some mechanism to enforce the license, there is nothing to prevent people who haven't paid from freely copying and using it. So my guess would be that either a) you did have an installer at one point, but lost it, and are now trying to simply run the executable that was installed in Windows, or b) your "licensed" copy is pirated. Either way, what you are doing is not supported.
It makes sense that software that requires a paid license would have an installer; without some mechanism to enforce the license, there is nothing to prevent people who haven't paid from freely copying and using it. So my guess would be that either a) you did have an installer at one point, but lost it, and are now trying to simply run the executable that was installed in Windows, or b) your "licensed" copy is pirated. Either way, what you are doing is not supported.
Re: Can Wine run an exe program that doesn't need installati
Both of your guesses are incorrect. I personally purchased the program, as it stands, directly from JASC. It is one of multiple programs that I purchased directly from JASC, and it has always worked fine in Windows without installation. The test results in the app database do not indicate whether the testers used trial versions or licensed versions for their testing, and three of the test entries make no mention of an installer. So you can't reasonably conclude anything about my situation from those test results. Keep in mind that this software was produced in 1997, when a lot of programs did not require installation, and long before strict license validation procedures were incorporated into software packages. Even Microsoft had no mechanism in place to prevent the copying and distribution of its license keys back then.
My original question was whether Wine will work with a Windows app (exe program) that does not require installation. That's a perfectly legitimate question, and it certainly applies to more than just the single instance that I have been using as an example. Regardless of anyone's opinion of the validity of my example, an honest answer to the original question would still be appropriate.
My original question was whether Wine will work with a Windows app (exe program) that does not require installation. That's a perfectly legitimate question, and it certainly applies to more than just the single instance that I have been using as an example. Regardless of anyone's opinion of the validity of my example, an honest answer to the original question would still be appropriate.
Re: Can Wine run an exe program that doesn't need installati
Answer to your original question "Can Wine run an exe program that doesn't need installation" is "It should, if the program originally came without an installer". But as I understand, in your case it terminates early without opening its GUI, with very short terminal output. If your program originally came without an installer and it works in clean installation of Windows but does not work in clean Wine prefix, this is a bug in Wine, you can report it here: http://bugs.winehq.org/ . But before reporting a bug there is one more thing you could try: since your program is very old, try to choose in winecfg Windows version supported by your program.
Re: Can Wine run an exe program that doesn't need installati
All the test reports in the AppDB checked "Yes" for "Installs?"; if there was no installer, they would have checked "N/A" in answer to that question. But you are correct that it is not clear whether they are reporting on the trial or full version.
It's true that back then license keys were freely copyable, but paid software did have them, and didn't work without them. The way it typically worked with shareware was that after purchasing a license, the vendor would provide you with a key to enter at the nag screen to get rid of it. The trial installer may have also downloaded a different executable at that time, but the important part is that it recorded information needed to unlock the executable either in the registry or in a file somewhere on disk, and the downloaded executable would not work without that. Is that how it worked when you originally purchased PSP 4? You haven't mentioned anything about entering a license key as part of your attempts to run it in Wine.
If you can simply copy the executable to a Windows install that does not have PSP already installed on it and it works, then as L. Rahyen says, you should file a bug.
It's true that back then license keys were freely copyable, but paid software did have them, and didn't work without them. The way it typically worked with shareware was that after purchasing a license, the vendor would provide you with a key to enter at the nag screen to get rid of it. The trial installer may have also downloaded a different executable at that time, but the important part is that it recorded information needed to unlock the executable either in the registry or in a file somewhere on disk, and the downloaded executable would not work without that. Is that how it worked when you originally purchased PSP 4? You haven't mentioned anything about entering a license key as part of your attempts to run it in Wine.
If you can simply copy the executable to a Windows install that does not have PSP already installed on it and it works, then as L. Rahyen says, you should file a bug.
Re: Can Wine run an exe program that doesn't need installati
Looking into your suggestions, I ran the installer for the trial version again and observed the following:
There is no place in the trial version to enter a registration key. It starts up with two buttons - Order PSP or Start PSP. It also says how many days are left on the trial. That number does not reset when the trial version is uninstalled and later reinstalled, so clearly the trial version is keeping that info somewhere (most likely in the registry). That would explain why the trial version uses an installer. Clicking the Start button would then enable you to start using the program (for the duration of the trial period).
The Order button refers you to their website so you could purchase the licensed version, which was then delivered to you in the form I have it - a separate program with no installer. This is supported by the fact that I can copy the licensed version onto a Windows system which has never seen the installer or any other previous version of the program, and the program then runs just fine without ever being able to find a valid license key the registry or anywhere else. It just knows that it's a licensed version. I have done this successfully on Win XP, Win 7, and Win 8.x.
Also, the licensed version of the program includes a readme file which says "This is a licensed version...Do not distribute". Clearly that file does not come with the trial version of the program, and it would have to be delivered separately along with the licensed version. You wouldn't have any such file if you just entered a registration key into the trial program. Back in those days, nothing was downloaded automatically by the software, and you didn't need internet connectivity to install and validate it.
Finally, I checked wineconfig. It's set to Win XP, although, as I noted above, the program works in all versions of Windows up through 8.1. Since wine runs the trial version as configured, it should run the licensed version as well.
Thanks for suggestions and feedback.
There is no place in the trial version to enter a registration key. It starts up with two buttons - Order PSP or Start PSP. It also says how many days are left on the trial. That number does not reset when the trial version is uninstalled and later reinstalled, so clearly the trial version is keeping that info somewhere (most likely in the registry). That would explain why the trial version uses an installer. Clicking the Start button would then enable you to start using the program (for the duration of the trial period).
The Order button refers you to their website so you could purchase the licensed version, which was then delivered to you in the form I have it - a separate program with no installer. This is supported by the fact that I can copy the licensed version onto a Windows system which has never seen the installer or any other previous version of the program, and the program then runs just fine without ever being able to find a valid license key the registry or anywhere else. It just knows that it's a licensed version. I have done this successfully on Win XP, Win 7, and Win 8.x.
Also, the licensed version of the program includes a readme file which says "This is a licensed version...Do not distribute". Clearly that file does not come with the trial version of the program, and it would have to be delivered separately along with the licensed version. You wouldn't have any such file if you just entered a registration key into the trial program. Back in those days, nothing was downloaded automatically by the software, and you didn't need internet connectivity to install and validate it.
Finally, I checked wineconfig. It's set to Win XP, although, as I noted above, the program works in all versions of Windows up through 8.1. Since wine runs the trial version as configured, it should run the licensed version as well.
Thanks for suggestions and feedback.
Re: Can Wine run an exe program that doesn't need installati
Not necessarily. They are two different executables. Did you even try setting the Windows version to 95 or 98?DXR wrote:
Finally, I checked wineconfig. It's set to Win XP, although, as I noted above, the program works in all versions of Windows up through 8.1. Since wine runs the trial version as configured, it should run the licensed version as well.
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Circlotron
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Re: Can Wine run an exe program that doesn't need installati
Some software does behave strangely on Wine. For example I use a chip programmer that needs to be installed as Win98 but then runs fine as XP. Definitely try starting with older Windows versions.
