Installing windows programs from a CD

[blackarib]

Hi, is it possible with wine to install a windows program from its install CD or do you need to just run a binary from somewhere, it is just that I wan't to run a CAD program (proDesktop) and I doubt it will run wel with just its binaries, it probably has a lot of supporting libraries etc, thanks for helping.

[techieMoe]

Yes, you can install MS Windows software from the CD using WINE, but whether or not it will actually work depends on the software. All you need to do is insert the install CD, navigate to it in the command line:

cd /mnt/cdrom

Then look for the "INSTALL.EXE" or "SETUP.EXE" file. Run it using wine from the command line:

wine INSTALL.EXE

It may or may not work, but that's how you try it.

[blackarib]

OK, I have got it installed OK but when I try to create a new design or open an existing one I get the following error:

The command has been aborted. It was not possible to create the graphics window. A common cause is that your display settings are incorrect. The application requires 65536 colours or greater. See the settings page of the display icon in the control panel.

Any ideas? My display is set to millions of colours and 1024x768 resolution so I don't think that is the problem. Do you have to configure wine for the correct screen? I have noticed that program windows appear darker in wine than they would in windows if this is a clue. Thanks for your time.

[techieMoe]

The command has been aborted. It was not possible to create the graphics window. A common cause is that your display settings are incorrect. The application requires 65536 colours or greater. See the settings page of the display icon in the control panel.

This means it's looking for a 32-bit color display (the default on Linux is usually 24-bit). The reason is complicated, but basically there is no such thing as 32-bit color. MS Windows to the best of my knowledge uses padded 24-bit color (adding 8 zeroes to the end of their bits).

Any ideas? My display is set to millions of colours and 1024x768 resolution so I don't think that is the problem.

There is no "millions of colors" option in Linux. Your window manager probably just says that and sets your default depth to 24bpp, rather than what the application is looking for which is 32bpp. I've had this problem using Morrowind with WINE.

I don't remember what I did to fix it, but it's not as simple as setting "Default Depth 32" in your /etc/X11/xorg.conf or /etc/X11/XF86Config-4... At least I don't think it is. I honestly never cared enough to really play with it. You may be on to something with configuring WINE. Take a look at some WINE FAQs and the wine.conf file. If nothing else you could probably play it in windowed mode.

I have noticed that program windows appear darker in wine than they would in windows if this is a clue. Thanks for your time.

I've never noticed this, but that's probably a gamma setting that needs to be adjusted. A long time ago I used to have to reset my gamma every time I played a game because when I exited out my desktop was too light. Don't know if any of this helps, but as I don't emulate games very much I haven't done an awful lot of WINE tweaking.

[blackarib]

What do you mean I could play with it in windowed mode? What is windowed mode? Thanks

[techieMoe]

What do you mean I could play with it in windowed mode? What is windowed mode? Thanks

Windowed-mode (as opposed to full-screen mode) will open whatever you're trying to run in a window like any other application rather than try to hijack your entire screen. For instance if you have a 1024x768 monitor you can open a window in 800x600 (or even 1024x768 but you still wouldn't be able to see anything else). I don't know if this will allow you to circumvent the color depth problem though.

You can specify windowed mode by uncommenting a line in your wine.conf. It's in there, I just don't remember the exact line.

[VashOnFS]

techieMoe, would you PLEASE help me understand this? What is a command line? Is the Run Command thing or a shell? Secondly, do I need to open WINE before I do this, or not? Thirdly, whenever I type in cd /mnt/cdrom all I get is the error message "Could not run the specified command!". Do I need to install WINE ever though it came with my Linux or what?

I have tried this both in a shell, logged in as a root user and on the Run Command window. NOTHING SEEMS TO WORK! Im getting desperate.

[techieMoe]

techieMoe, would you PLEASE help me understand this? What is a command line?

The command line (and by that I mean console) is the underlying operating system of Linux. What you see when you log in with all your pretty icons and such is just a graphical interface to that. You can pull up a console window by opening up your programs menu and launching Xterm, Konsole, GTerm, or maybe in your menus it could simply be called Terminal. This opens what's called a "shell". The most popular shell in Linux is BASH.

This gives you a prompt (somewhat similar to the MS-DOS prompt if you've ever seen that). You can do everything at this prompt that you can do by clicking icons, you just have to know the correct commands. Here is an "Intro to Command Line Linux" that should get you started with the basic commands.

Is the Run Command thing or a shell?

Not really. The "Run" command is just a text box that sends whatever command you type in to the operating system to execute. Although this is similar to a console (or shell) it doesn't give you the output that you would get if you ran these commands from within a real shell.

Secondly, do I need to open WINE before I do this, or not?

Wine isn't a program that can be run by itself. It's an interpreter, so you have to tell it what program you want it to interpret or it will simply exit when you try and run it. For instance, if the program I want to run is "Solitaire.exe", I would launch it with WINE (from a shell) using:

wine Solitaire.exe

Thirdly, whenever I type in cd /mnt/cdrom all I get is the error message "Could not run the specified command!". Do I need to install WINE ever though it came with my Linux or what?

This has nothing to do with WINE. Your distribution (what distro is it by the way?) may not have a /mnt/cdrom directory, so trying to change to that directory (that's what 'cd' means) would obviously give an error. Try cd /mnt/ first and see if that works. Also, you cannot enter a cd command from a "Run" dialog. That simply doesn't work. You must be in a shell to do this.

I have tried this both in a shell, logged in as a root user and on the Run Command window. NOTHING SEEMS TO WORK! Im getting desperate.

In the words of Douglas Adams: DON'T PANIC. There's always a fix. It may not always be elegant, but I've never personally pooched a system so bad it was unrecoverable. Besides, what you're trying to do here (if I understand correctly) is run a program designed for Microsoft Windows on an operating system for which it was not designed, so you're going to have to expect some things to not work right out of the box. Hang in there.

[VashOnFS]

Thanks for the thorough reply, I am running SuSE 9.0 Prof. but I am soon to be running SuSE 9.3 Prof.

Gotta love the Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy...

I tried the wine Solitaire.exe from a shell, it said wine cannot find Solitaire.exe. Should I type in the Path?

I WAS in a shell when I did the /mnt/cdrom thing. I have recently figured out the whole /mnt thing, so thats working ok. Would plain old WINE be able to install and run StarCraft? Or would I need Cedega or WineX? I got into the Starcraft file and found the Install.exe file, now what?

[techieMoe]

I tried the wine Solitaire.exe from a shell, it said wine cannot find Solitaire.exe. Should I type in the Path?

Yes, unless you're executing wine from within the directory that you have the "solitaire.exe" file. I just used that as an example by the way; if you don't have solitaire.exe it won't magically run it and make coffee for you.

I WAS in a shell when I did the /mnt/cdrom thing. I have recently figured out the whole /mnt thing, so thats working ok. Would plain old WINE be able to install and run StarCraft? Or would I need Cedega or WineX? I got into the Starcraft file and found the Install.exe file, now what?

I've been able to run StarCraft in plain WINE. It's one of the only games I've been able to run in it as a matter of fact. For newer games that need 3D acceleration or rely heavily on DirectX, your best bet is Cedega.

You should just be able to navigate to the spot on the CD where the "install.exe" file is and type:

wine install.exe