Can Linux run windows applications and games? /nt

[SouthernDem2004]

[The Traveler]

1. Not straight

There is a package named WinForLin that allows you to run windows 98 and apps on top of windows. Worked great. Wonder if they have updated to XP ...

[SouthernDem2004]

2. I checked, They updated it for XP. Sells for $80 :(

[frylock]

3. wine..

Wine is an Open Source implementation of the Windows API on top of X and Unix.

Think of Wine as a compatibility layer for running Windows programs. Wine does not require Microsoft Windows, as it is a completely free alternative implementation of the Windows API consisting of 100% non-Microsoft code, however Wine can optionally use native Windows DLLs if they are available. Wine provides both a development toolkit for porting Windows source code to Unix as well as a program loader, allowing many unmodified Windows programs to run on x86-based Unixes, including Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris.

More information can be read in the articles Why Wine is so important, and Debunking Wine Myths. If you are wondering how well a particular application works in Wine, please examine the Applications Database. For installation instructions and step-by-step help with running Wine, take a look at the User Guide.

Wine is free software. The licensing terms are the GNU Lesser General Public License.

http://www.winehq.com/



2. General Questions about Wine
2.1. What is Wine and what is it supposed to do?

Wine is a program which allows the operation of DOS and MS Windows programs (Windows 3.x and Win32 executables) on UNIX operating systems such as Linux. It consists of a program loader, which loads and executes a Windows binary, and a set of libraries that implements Windows API calls using their UNIX or X11 equivalents. The libraries may also be used for porting Win32 code into native UNIX executables, often without many changes in the source. Wine is free software, and its license (contained in the file LICENSE in each distribution) is the LGPL.

2.2. Does Wine emulate a full computer?

No, as the name says, Wine Is Not a (CPU) Emulator. Wine just provides the Windows API. This means that you will need an x86-compatible processor to run an x86 Windows application, for instance from Intel or AMD. The advantage is that, unlike solutions that rely on CPU emulation, Wine runs applications at full speed. Sometimes a program run under Wine will be slower than when run on a copy of Microsoft Windows, but this is more due to the fact that Microsoft has heavily optimized parts of their code, whereas mostly Wine is not well optimized (yet). Occasionally, an app may run faster under Wine than on Windows. Most apps run at roughly the same speed.

2.3. Are there any alternatives to Wine?

Yes, there are. You can use VMWare to run a Windows installation inside a virtual machine, or use Win4Lin to run a specially adapted Windows version on Linux. Both solutions cost money for both the software itself and a Windows license.

Note that, like Wine, they can only use the hardware platform that the target programs were originally compiled for (see below).

http://www.winehq.com/site/docs/wine-faq/index#GENERAL-QUESTIONS-ABOUT-WINE

[The Traveler]

5. Last time I tried Wine, it sucked

But that has been a while. My Win4Lin install for 98 is rock solid. Haven't tried the latest, tho.

[frylock]

6. i feel ya..

I haven't tried it in probably 3 or 4 years myself, so I can't really speak to it's current level of suckitude.

[The Traveler]

7. Let's face it

Windows sucks. Putting windows on top of Linux is kinda obscene, perverse even.

[billyskank]

10. It still sucks

I mean, respect to it and everything, it tries to do a difficult job. It just doesn't do it so successfully.

[Deja Q]

17. The latest, which now uses Win2k and XP (to a lesser extent) is GREAT

Use a full Win2k CD and not an upgrade or else it'll install from the CD instead of the image copied to the HD! (and don't use a Win2k CD with SP3 integrated, so they say...)

Their older versions that used Win9x were great but beginning to become obsolete thanks to MS shoving 2k/XP-only compatibility in our faces. :D

[Syrinx]

8. I have Wine installed, and only use it for one program

I use it to run Forte Agent. I just can't find a newsreader for Linux that I like as much. Pan is the closest, but I still much prefer Agent. It runs just about perfectly with Wine.

[Greyhound]

4. The best PC Win games have linux versions. n/t

[Syrinx]

9. I'm not really a gamer myself, but...

I think a lot of those games for Linux are actually the Windows versions bundled with customized versions of Wine. I could be wrong though.

[Greyhound]

13. Some are, others are not. UT and Call of Duty, 4 example have released

linux ports. :freak:

[Syrinx]

18. thanks for the info

Good to know!

[billyskank]

11. Your best hope is games that have been ported

so they run natively on Linux. These are few and far between, as you'd expect, but there are some out there. Quite a lot of 1st person shooters get ported. Id software are very helpful in that regard, they tend to port all their games. Probably a combination of the fact that John Carmack is something of a Unix spod, and also their games are written in OpenGL (not Direct3D) which must make the porting quite simple.

[SouthernDem2004]

12. Thanks for the info. Getting tired of MicroSoft./nt

[short bus president]

14. For non-gaming applications, use Crossover Office

from Codeweavers. It's a fancied-up commercial offering based on WINE. The shit is MAGIC, I tell ya. Well worth the cost.

For games, there's Transgaming's Cedega. Not being a gamer, I have no idea how well that works.

[Deja Q]

16. Beware; Macromedia 2004 products corrupt the install...

couldn't erase the program and config directories and reinstall; didn't fix the problem.

When Crossover worked, it was great. But just one faulty app can cause the house of cards to collapse. Plus, their limited support period depressed me too.

Full emulators are better.

[Deja Q]

15. YES. YES. YES!

Natively:

Quake 3
Unreal Tournament
Unreal Tournament 2003
Unreal Tournament 2004
Neverwinter Nights
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Doom 3
Simcity 3000


OR Via emulators, I am ranking these in order from worst to best:

* WINE (free but limited n compatibility)

* Crossover Office (uses WINE - better compatibility but some apps render WINE entirely useless)

* VMWare (full emulator, also the most expensive by far)

* Transgaming Cedega (games only, uses WINE - can cause some havoc depending on the game but it doesn't wipe out anything totally)

* Win4Lin (full emulator, but FAST and stable - better suited to office apps than 3d games, of course... but very good.)

[I Know How To Do it]

19. In a nutshell, not really. WINE is able to do some stuff, but just able

to do it, not do it well.
Or, you can dual boot like I do.
I don't mess with the partitions. One drive for Linux. One drive for XP, one drive that both can access.