Trying to switch to 32 bit Wine from 64 bit Wine.......help?

[AlternateSteve90]

Hello there, folks. I'm new to the forums, but a Wine User (albeit somewhat of a novice one, probably) for about 2 years now, and there's a dilemma I'd like some help in solving(I'm currently using version 1.6.2 of Wine, btw).

Recently, I downloaded a couple of free games that I'd been wanting to try(namely, BeamNG Drive, and Bugbear's Next Car Game, or rather, the demo), and although they work okay in Windows 8.1, they're both pretty darned slow(and I've got 8 GB of memory as well, and a Radeon 9500 video card, which is supposed to be a fairly good model). I've never had nearly as many speed issues with Ubuntu as I've had with Windows(even Seven was a bit laggy at times), so I thought I'd try both of them on Wine on Ubuntu 14.04. Unfortunately, I ran into some problems; basically, neither of these games would actually start, even though I did get as far as the pre-start configuration screen for one of them.

I came across a couple pieces of advice on BeamNG's forums, on how to get the game to work in Wine, and it involved getting Wine to create a 32-bit prefix; after some difficulty(including a botched execution: I actually have two 32-bit Wine folders, but only one with the 64-bit stuff removed), I was able to get that done. But now I need to switch from the original 64-bit installation to the 32-bit one, if I want to be able to make this work, and I am having a great amount of trouble figuring out how to actually get this done.

I really don't have anywhere else to go, and I sure as heck don't want to have to switch back-and-forth between Ubuntu and Windows 8.1 just to get 15 minutes worth of playtime. So any help would really be appreciated.

[dimesio]

I actually have two 32-bit Wine folders, but only one with the 64-bit stuff removed)

I don't know what you did to create those two wineprefixes, but if one has 64 bit stuff in it, it is not a 32 bit wineprefix, and the fact that you think it is suggests you don't really know what you did, and your other wineprefix might not really be 32 bit, either.

Follow these instructions for creating a 32 bit wineprefix: http://wiki.winehq.org/FAQ#32_bit_wineprefix. Once you've created the wineprefix, install your game to it. It is not possible to switch the architecture of an existing wineprefix.

[AlternateSteve90]

I actually have two 32-bit Wine folders, but only one with the 64-bit stuff removed)

I don't know what you did to create those two wineprefixes, but if one has 64 bit stuff in it, it is not a 32 bit wineprefix, and the fact that you think it is suggests you don't really know what you did, and your other wineprefix might not really be 32 bit, either.

I do have a screenshot of that one setup, though. Notice the absence of the x64 folder?



So it seems like this attempt was actually successful, though maybe I'm missing something?

And, yes, I did also go to the Wine FAQ earlier as well.

Follow these instructions for creating a 32 bit wineprefix: http://wiki.winehq.org/FAQ#32_bit_wineprefix. Once you've created the wineprefix, install your game to it. It is not possible to switch the architecture of an existing wineprefix.

Well, what I'd actually meant, was, how do I get Wine, the program, to boot out of the 32-bit Wineprefix that had already been created(the one in the screenshot), instead of the original 64-bit prefix?

I sincerely apologize for the lack of clarity. I was still tired when I wrote this post up, and I've never been much of a wordsmith anyway.

[dimesio]

Specify the wineprefix when you run the installer. http://wiki.winehq.org/FAQ#wineprefix

[AlternateSteve90]

Specify the wineprefix when you run the installer. http://wiki.winehq.org/FAQ#wineprefix

Okay, will try that soon.

[AlternateSteve90]

Specify the wineprefix when you run the installer. http://wiki.winehq.org/FAQ#wineprefix

Okay, so, I tried this at least *twice* last night. Unfortunately, Wine still won't load the new prefix; it keeps going back to the original.

[ZombieRedShirt]

AlternateSteve90, you need to use it like this.

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export WINEPREFIX=/path/to/prefix/
wine /path/to/windows/program.exe/

This all needs to be done in a terminal to keep wine using that prefix. You can also use a script to run a program in another prefix or using another version of wine. You could also use programs like q4 wine, which allow you to choose a wine version or prefix before running the windows program.

[dimesio]

There was a missing carriage return in the FAQ instructions. I've added it back.

[AlternateSteve90]

AlternateSteve90, you need to use it like this.

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export WINEPREFIX=/path/to/prefix/
wine /path/to/windows/program.exe/

This all needs to be done in a terminal to keep wine using that prefix. You can also use a script to run a program in another prefix or using another version of wine. You could also use programs like q4 wine, which allow you to choose a wine version or prefix before running the windows program.

Unfortunately, I'm sorry to report that I couldn't get that to work, either. I even have a screenshot to prove it:



So, what now? I did the best I could to follow the directions, unless, perhaps, I may have missed or not understood something.....which is possible. But this is honestly getting a tad frustrating. I'll continue looking for solutions in the meantime. Perhaps YouTube might help?

[ZombieRedShirt]

So, what now? I did the best I could to follow the directions, unless, perhaps, I may have missed or not understood something.....which is possible. But this is honestly getting a tad frustrating. I'll continue looking for solutions in the meantime. Perhaps YouTube might help?

Sorry, I wasn't terribly clear, was I? The "export wineprefix" line and the "wine /path/to/file" lines must be entered one after another. For instance, enter the first line, hit enter, then the next one. Not all on one line.

[dimesio]

If you use export, it needs to be on two lines. If you don't, it all goes on one line.

[oiaohm]

I wish people would read the FAQ

http://wiki.winehq.org/FAQ#head-3b297df ... b8edc21619
ZombieRedShirt example.

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export WINEPREFIX=/path/to/prefix/
wine /path/to/windows/program.exe/

This is completely do not do. There is a bug in the user guide of wine that suggest that what ZombieRedShirt suggested works(yes it sometimes works and sometimes does not). Issue is the start command is required to setup the information Windows applications require when running in different paths.

It is in fact recommend to use Windows style path not a Unix one. Why a full windows style path include the right drive letter. Some applications get very upset when they were installed on Z: and due to odd error get told they are now on C: or some other drive letter somewhere. Odd bug now and again has happened with desktop shortcuts and overlapping wine virtual drives. Yes preventable bug by using Windows path.

AlternateSteve90 rule 1 check the FAQ. If some ones directions are counter to the FAQ they are most likely wrong including if they are in the user guide. Most current information on usage is in the FAQ.

[ZombieRedShirt]

olaohm, I don't know why I didn't think of specifying that the user should cd to the program location before executing, that's pretty basic. My code should have gone like this.

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export /path/to/prefix
cd /to/program/folder
wine program-name.exe

I've always done this myself, I should have thought to include the cd step. However, I've never used that wine start command, I certainly wouldn't say it sidesteps any bugs that I know of. Unless I was using a full path, which I don't as a rule.