Installing on to Wine from disk

[mike0liver]

Is it possible to install a Windows program from its original installation disk to Ubuntu 10.04 LTS using Wine? I know not every Windows application will run but I also know many will.

I've tried several applications but get various error messages every time. I am not a tecchie and find the instructions on installing Windows software on the Ubuntu Wine website very confusing.

Can anyone help, please?

Mike

[dimesio]

Is it possible to install a Windows program from its original installation disk to Ubuntu 10.04 LTS using Wine?

Yes, of course. Follow the instructions here: http://wiki.winehq.org/FAQ#head-f351523 ... 8da63be66f

Make sure you are using Wine 1.2 or later; older versions are no longer supported. If you run into problems with a specific app, post console output.

[mike0liver]

Thanks - I'll follow the instructions and see where they lead me - they do look fairly comprehensive and easy to follow.

If I get into difficulties, I'll be back like a shot - thanks for your help.

Mike

[mike0liver]

I tried all the things you suggested but without any joy. I list the terminal output below:

Archive: /media/STARS/setup.exe
[/media/STARS/setup.exe]
End-of-central-directory signature not found. Either this file is not
a zipfile, or it constitutes one disk of a multi-part archive. In the
latter case the central directory and zipfile comment will be found on
the last disk(s) of this archive.
zipinfo: cannot find zipfile directory in one of /media/STARS/setup.exe or
/media/STARS/setup.exe.zip, and cannot find /media/STARS/setup.exe.ZIP, period."

Then a warning message:

"The file '/media/STARS/setup.exe' is not marked as executable. If this was downloaded or copied form an untrusted source, it may be dangerous to run. For more details, read about the executable bit."

Then I tried the Terminal input:

"mike@mike-laptop:~$ cd ~/Desktop
mike@mike-laptop:~/Desktop$ wine Setup.exe
wine: cannot find L"C:\\windows\\system32\\Setup.exe"
mike@mike-laptop:~/Desktop$

mike@mike-laptop:~/Desktop$ wine start setup.exe
fixme:exec:SHELL_execute flags ignored: 0x00000100
wine: cannot find L"C:\\windows\\system32\\setup.exe"
Application could not be started, or no application associated with the specified file.
ShellExecuteEx failed: File not found

mike@mike-laptop:~$ wine start 'D:\setup.exe'
fixme:exec:SHELL_execute flags ignored: 0x00000100

mike@mike-laptop:~$ wine start /unix /media/cdrom/ setup.exe
fixme:exec:SHELL_execute flags ignored: 0x00000100
Application could not be started, or no application associated with the specified file.
ShellExecuteEx failed: Success"

I also checked the version of Wine that I am running - it is 1.1.42.
I then went to WineHQ website to download version 1.20 but, when I clicked on the Ubuntu vesion I'm using (10.04 LTS), I was warned that the Wine download for this was a Beta version and unreliable and that I might be better off staying with the version that came with my Ubuntu package.

There then followed a list of instructions in tecchie-ese that were confusing, so I did not download the 1.20 version.

I also tried updating my system with the Update Manager but this didn't pick up any Wine updates.

I am now in the same position as when I started and can not install Windows applications via Wine. If there's anyhing further you can do to help (in plain English if possible, please) I'd be very grateful.

Regards, Mike

[dimesio]

I also checked the version of Wine that I am running - it is 1.1.42.
I then went to WineHQ website to download version 1.20 but, when I clicked on the Ubuntu vesion I'm using (10.04 LTS), I was warned that the Wine download for this was a Beta version and unreliable and that I might be better off staying with the version that came with my Ubuntu package.

That warning is for packages for the development branch (1.3.x). 1.2 is the current stable release; 1.1.42 is an old development release, and no longer supported. If you want help here, upgrade to 1.2 or later.

[mike0liver]

I think I've sorted things out. If you go to the Download facility, you are directed to icons for the various OS types for downloading by clicking on the Ubuntu V10.04 button, you are taken to a page which bears the warning about Wine being a Beta version. There is no option to load any particular Wine version other than this potentially unstable one.

However, right at the foot of the page are some instructions for updating via the Terminal command line. This, however, refers to version 1.3 - still no option for 1.2! By following the indicated steps on the terminal but changing 1.3 to 1.2, I seem to have upgraded to 1.2 but this seems a very odd way of doing things.

I hope, now, I shall be able to install from my Windows disks.

Thank you for your assistance - if I still have problems, I hope I can request further help.

Regards, Mike

[mike0liver]

I regret to say that, having checked I now have Wine V1.20 installed, I have run through the installation procedures as before with identical results.

I used to have an earlier version of Ubuntu (8.14, I think) and had no problem of this type - I could install Windows applications from disk but now it is a big problem. I hope I don't have to go back to the old OS - I prefer 10.04 but I have several Windows applications I need to run.

Is it possible to copy files into the dummy C:\ drive and try to run them from there?

Regards,

Mike

[mike0liver]

Progress! I tried the following command line: "cd ~/Desktop" and then "wine D:\\Setup.exe" and installation commenced. Things seem to be proceeding correctly on my Laptop as I write (using my Windows PC).

Hopefully, this might help other users. I'll confirm if everything goes well and this thread can be closed.

Thank you for your assistance.

Regards,

Mike

[dimesio]

I regret to say that, having checked I now have Wine V1.20 installed, I have run through the installation procedures as before with identical results.

Your original question was about installing from the install cd, but your post with terminal output shows you trying to run setup.exe from the desktop. Which is it--an install cd, or a setup file on your desktop? You have to cd to the actual location of setup.exe. If it's an install cd, make sure that drive is mapped in winecfg.

"The file '/media/STARS/setup.exe' is not marked as executable. If this was downloaded or copied form an untrusted source, it may be dangerous to run. For more details, read about the executable bit."

That's a known problem with Ubuntu 10.04. Search the Ubuntu forum for how to fix it.

Is it possible to copy files into the dummy C:\ drive and try to run them from there?

That will only work with apps that don't make any registry changes or install any files outside the program directory.

[mike0liver]

This is the instruction on the link you provided in your first posting: "Double-click on the installer, just like in Windows!". My CD drive provided an icon on the desktop which seemed the obvious thing to access installation and certainly provided access to the setup.exe installer icon on the disk - which I duly double-clicked. I don't know what to term it technically - it is a setup icon on a disk within the CD drive icon on the desktop.

As I believe I said, I am not that technical and have not had a great deal of experience with Linux. The Terminal command line is something of a mystery to me; I'm used to an OS (Windows XP) which doesn't require that aspect of running software. However, I feel that Linux is the future for me - it will just take time to get to grips with the way it works.

As a matter of interest, I have attempted to install a Windows game called "Sid Meier's Colonization". Everything seemed to go well and I now have an icon to launch the game on my desktop, However, when I double-click on it I get a "Serious Error" warning asking me to report the error to the Wine bugs website which I will happily do. I suspect this may have something to do with the DirectX requirements of the game. I'll try something less demanding and see if that works.

Again, thank you for your assistance.

Regards,

Mike

[dimesio]

As a matter of interest, I have attempted to install a Windows game called "Sid Meier's Colonization". Everything seemed to go well and I now have an icon to launch the game on my desktop, However, when I double-click on it I get a "Serious Error" warning asking me to report the error to the Wine bugs website which I will happily do. I suspect this may have something to do with the DirectX requirements of the game. I'll try something less demanding and see if that works.

Don't bother to report it; it's known bug affecting all the Civ 4 games: http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6856

The workaround is to install native msxml3 (some people have also reported needing msxml4). It also needs native d3dx9_28 and d3dx9_36. You can install all this with winetricks. http://wiki.winehq.org/winetricks