Emulation...

[Jakob667]

Hi all

Yes, I hate Windows as well.

Aren't there any sort of emulator which I can use to run windows on linux, but fast enough to play games in that windows. You could use nlite to strip windows to a bare minimum, just enough to run games, or something?

This is, like many other people, the only problem I have with Linux.


Just an crazy idea, any comments?

Regards

[techieMoe]

Yes, there's an entire section of the forum dedicated to this. There are three interrelated pieces of software that are quite popular:

WINE is a free, open-source piece of software that runs as a sort of "compatibility layer" allowing you to run some MS Windows software at least decently. There are no guarantees.

Cedega is a non-free commercial product based on WINE that is specifically designed to allow you to play MS Windows games in Linux. Again, no guarantees as to what will or won't work on your system. It's a monthly fee, with a minimum 3-month subscription for $15USD.

CrossOver is a commercial product also based on WINE that is designed to let you run office and productivity applications designed for MS Windows in Linux.

Here is the section of the forum dedicated to all things WINE.

[Roxoff]

Also go to the manufacturers website for each game you play - there may be a downloadable Linux native binary package that you can use (provided you have the original windows CD). You'd be surprised at how many modern games provide this service...

[Jakob667]

Thx for the advice!

I know of all those except Crossover. None of them will do what I want.

I was just wondering.

Regards

[techieMoe]

Also go to the manufacturers website for each game you play - there may be a downloadable Linux native binary package that you can use (provided you have the original windows CD). You'd be surprised at how many modern games provide this service...

Just a small list of games that do have Linux versions:

Id Software:
Doom 1, 2, 3
Quake 1, 2, 3, 4
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Enemy Territory

Bioware:
Neverwinter Nights

Epic:
Unreal Tournament GOTY, 2003, 2004

Introversion:
Darwinia

[techieMoe]

I know of all those except Crossover. None of them will do what I want.

What do you want?

[Jakob667]

Basically I want what doesn't exist. Have you used Virtual PC for Windows? I want something like that. In Windows, Virtual PC emulates an S3 trio (I think) and an creative snd card, etc. The emulator uses it's own "harware". I'm not good at explaining things.

I basically want a virtual pc for Linux, but faster and something that will use my hardware. So, in other words, I could then theoretically run Windows in Linux, install my games and play them through the emulator in Linux.

As I said I'm no good at explaining...

Regards

[techieMoe]

Basically I want what doesn't exist. Have you used Virtual PC for Windows? I want something like that. In Windows, Virtual PC emulates an S3 trio (I think) and an creative snd card, etc. The emulator uses it's own "harware". I'm not good at explaining things.

VMWare works in Linux. That's essentially what you're describing here: a full-fledged hardware emulator. The problem with those is that their performance isn't good enough for most resource-intensive applications or any 3D-accelerated games.

I basically want a virtual pc for Linux, but faster and something that will use my hardware. So, in other words, I could then theoretically run Windows in Linux, install my games and play them through the emulator in Linux.

I don't understand how Cedega doesn't allow you to do this. Must you run the entire Windows OS?

[Jakob667]

Never tried VMware before. Um, Cedega is all good and well, but it's not free and I'm not guaranteed that every game will work 100%. That's why I wanted a emulator like VMware, but only faster. Then I could emulate windows. If I have windows emulated and running at full or maybe 70% speed, I could install any game and the chances of it working will be very high.

Regards

[d38dm8nw81k1ng]

you only have to pay for cedega once. (for 3 months: $15), but some people say its worth it