Wine setup
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Installing Wine from Synaptic
Installing Wine can be as simple as selecting it in Synaptic. It is in the default repositories, though the version is often a lot older.
If you want a more up to date version of Wine, it is often better to check the Package Sharing section of MepisLovers (for a community made deb), or install the newest Wine debs from WineHQ.
Installing Wine from Community deb file
One possible source for a more up to date version of Wine is the Mepis Lovers Package Sharing section. If there is a more up to date deb file posted, you can install for Mepis 6.x or 7.x using following method.
- First uninstall any old versions of Wine you may have installed (via Synaptic).
- Next download the Wine deb file from the link provided in the package sharing section of Mepis Lovers
- Once you've downloaded, click on the deb file - it will open in kpackage.
- Choose install. Provide root password when prompted. After installation, close kpackage.
- To check the install, open a konsole and type winecfg. If installed successfully, a window will start with the Wine configuration utility.
Installing the newest WINE debs from wineHQ
You can get latest WINE version from the WineHQ sources rather than from the default repos (this will ensure you have the latest version):
- Open a root konsole
- Add the signing key, for security:
wget -q http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/387EE263.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -
- Add the repository:
- If you are running MEPIS 7.x, copy and paste in this command:
wget http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/sources.list.d/etch.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq.list
- If you are running MEPIS 6.x, copy and paste in this command:
wget http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/sources.list.d/dapper.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq.list
- Close konsole and then open Synaptic
- Refresh sources, by clicking on the Reload button.
- Search for wine. There may be a list of files called 'wine' or containing the word 'wine'. Scroll down until you find the wine file (hint – it's only called wine). Highlight it. Now choose (from top menu) Package > Force Version. A window will open with a drop down box. Choose the latest version (hint – it should show winehq somewhere in the version information. Click apply to install.
- After installation, close Synaptic, and from a konsole, type: winecfg. If installed successfully, a window will start with the Wine configuration utility.
Configuring and Using WINE
After you have installed WINE you will need to configure it by entering the command
winecfg
winecfg sets up a folder in your home directory called ".wine/" which contains some configuration files and a virtual "C drive". This GUI program will also allow you to make some additional tweaks, such as mapping additional drive letters, configuring video and audio options, or selecting the version of windows to emulate (all of which can be done on a per-program basis).
Once you have done this, you can start a Windows program like this:
1. Put program install CD in your drive
2. Right click CD icon in your desktop and select "mount"
3. Once CD mounted, click the icon and you should get a konqueror window with /media/cdrom already in the main pane - displaying the contents of the CD. Have a look and locate the normal install file for windows (often "install.exe" or "setup.exe")
4. F4 in Konqueror will start a konsole (terminal) window in the /media/cdrom directory
5. Type
wine progname.exe
where progname is the install file name. Make sure you have uppercase / lowercase correct, and include the extension ".exe" or ".bat" etc.
6. With luck, the installer should start just as if windows was operating.
For a more detailed explanation of how to install programs, run, and uninstall programs using Wine (as well as creating desktop short-cuts), go to the How_To_Use_Wine page
Tips and Tweaks
winetricks
winetricks is a script written by Dan Kegel which can help you install a variety of free and non-free software to help wine function better. Download the script by right-clicking on the link and selecting "save link as...". Then run it in a console with the command:
sh winetricks
This will give you a list of things you can install with winetricks.
Install Microsoft fonts
Get the Microsoft core fonts, otherwise Wine windows might be unreadable. It's in the repositories, just install the package msttcorefonts. Since you are there install fontforge package too.
You can also install corefonts through winetricks:
sh winetricks corefonts
Install Windows installer
Now, you want to install Windows installer. Installer 2 will do fine if you install it under the Windows 98 emulation. Note that you may only install this if you have a valid license of Windows. Get it from here:
If you run that in Wine and nothing happens, run winecfg and make sure you've set it to emulate Windows 98 by default. The installer won't run if you're in 2000 or XP mode.
You can also install it using winetricks with the command:
sh winetricks msi2
ies4linux
Another approach to installing IE is to download ies4linux. This simple script automatically installs IE on your machine under WINE (you need to have WINE installed first). To get it, enter the following commands into a (non-root) konsole:
wget http://www.tatanka.com.br/ies4linux/downloads/ies4linux-latest.tar.gz tar zxvf ies4linux-latest.tar.gz cd ies4linux-* ./ies4linux
Other
- Remember that WINE configurations are per-user, which means that if you set up WINE and install Windows software as one user, the programs will not be available to other users. They will need to set up WINE and install the programs individually.
- With all due respect to the Wine developers, do not expect miracles from Wine. A lot of Windows programs work really well under Wine, however it pays to check the Winehq compatibility database before trying to install a program. This site often has pointers on how to install certain programs, dlls or patches required, and if it runs well / erratically / or not at all under the Wine environment.
- Don't be surprised if you experience erratic behavior, failure to start, or failure to install. And don't expect immediate compatibility with the latest Windows games / programs. Wine often works best with older (more established) and more popular Windows applications.
- If you have Windows installed on a second partition, and mount that partition and try to run programs installed there with WINE, it generally does not work. You usually need to reinstall the programs in WINE so that the proper registry entries and DLL files can be present in the WINE install.
Links
Categories: MEPIS hacks | Software | Windows compatibility | 6.5 | 7.0
