HOWTO: Install disc-dependent Windows games and software

This is my first howto, so please bear with me and if there are any suggestions for revisions, feel free to let me know!

In this instructional, I will demonstrate how to run Windows games and software that are disc-dependent (require disc in drive to run). The basis of this project requires WINE (http://www.winehq.org), of which I will not go in great depth of how to install/run, but I will touch on it briefly. It also requires an SD card (1-2GB recommended, as one cd can be up to 700mb). Finally, you must have another computer with a CD/DVD drive to make a .iso (disc image) and an SD card reader (You will need to copy the ISO to the SD). For generating an ISO, these instructions will use a program that is for Windows, but there are ISO makers available for Mac as well.

Preparing:
As I noted in the introduction, the HOWTO as a whole assumes that you have a basic understanding of Linux and the Wine emulator as a whole. You will need to have the Aspire One XFCE "advanced system" running for my instructions to work correctly. If you currently have the basic factory-default GUI enabled, please read this HOWTO (http://tinyurl.com/7ywhof) and meet me back here in a few .

Alright, now, before you waste any of your precious 8 gigs of your SSD, I recommend if you have crucial Windows programs that you want to run, check out the WineAppDB to verify that the program actually runs under Wine. You can find that out here- http://appdb.winehq.org .

Next off, installing Wine. Although there is no lack of ways to install programs in Linux, the easiest way is to simply right click on your desktop (once again, assuming the XFCE desktop is enabled and the right click menu is enabled, check at the top for help...), go to "System", and click on "Add/Remove Software". Enter your administrative password, click the "search" tab, and search for "wine". Look for plain old "WINE", as it will install the rest (wine-capi, wine-ldap, etc) if needed. Make sure it is the newest version, which as of today is 1.1.9-2.

Making Disc Image:
Now, to make the disc image. As mentioned, I will be providing instructions for a Windows computer with an optical (cd/dvd) drive. Download the LCISOCreator (http://www.lucersoft.com/files/free/LCISOCreator.zip) and run LCISOCreator.exe. With the cd of your program in the drive, choose it, and click Create ISO. Once the ISO file is created, copy it to an SD card and move back to your Aspire One. Take note of what the SD card is named, as we will be needing it later.

Installing and Running Windows Program:
Next off, we'll mount the disc image so it appears to Wine as an ordinary old optical drive. To do this, open the terminal (alt+F2, type in "terminal", and hit run). Then enter the following:

Code:

sudo mkdir /mnt/wine

This creates a folder that Wine will later look for to run from a disc. Next, we need to "mount" the ISO file as if we inserting that cd into the computer. With the SD card inserted in the RIGHT side, type:

Code:

sudo mount -o loop /media/[SD CARD NAME]/[ISO FILE].iso /mnt/wine

As you hopefully have figured, substitute SD CARD NAME and ISO FILE with your information. If you don't remember these details, type "cd /media" then "dir" to see all of the media that is currently inserted. You can then use "cd /[SD CARD NAME]" then "dir" to see everything that is on your SD card. It is important to note that restarting your computer unmounts the ISO file. You must remount the iso through the "mount -o" process to run the program after starting your Aspire One.

With that completed, we now need to configure Wine to run cds from that directory. In the terminal, type "winecfg". It can also be accessed from the menu through "Other>Wine Configuration". Go to the "Drives" tab, and assure you have Drive C as "../drive_c", Drive D as "../mnt/wine/" and one drive (E would be logical) set to "/". Click "Apply", and you should be good to go. (Other changes may need to be made to make programs run functionally, but that is a per-program basis).

To finally install your program, open the terminal once again, and type "cd /mnt/wine". Type "dir" to get a full list of files, and find the Windows executable. It may be setup.exe, autorun.exe, or simply [Program Name].exe. Type "wine [executable name].exe". If everything is set up as it should be, the program installer should launch in Wine, and carry you through the process.

Once finally installed, you can find the program by going to "Other>Program Name" in the menu. If for some reason your program doesn't run as it should, I would like to reiterate that the WineAppDB (http://appdb.winehq.org) is a goldmine of information about specific Windows applications in Wine.

Finally, before I leave you to enjoy your software, I would encourage you to respect copyrights of others in your software usage. Although there are ISOs widely available to torrent, I give you these instructions for use of your personally-owned Windows programs.

Enjoy, and once again, if you have any difficulty, or if there is an error in my instructions (after all, I do still consider myself a linux noob) :roll: , fire away.

 

Hi

Wonder if you can help please. I have done everything as you said and it works fine up to when you load the .exe with wine.
My ISO of Office doesn't appear to have an exe file in it.

it has a autorun.inf, one file with a .nfo ending and then simply

frontpage2003
onenote2003
project2003
visio2003
office11

none of which have .exe after them.

I'm lost and any help would be gratefully received.

Ta

 

Sorry maverick, my guide isn't quite what you are looking for. This is for disc-dependent games and other software that needs a cd in a drive to run. Office just installs, and doesn't need a cd from there.

As far as no executables in the iso, I'm not quite sure. From what I understand Office can be quite messed up through Wine anyhow :roll:

You might want to take a look at Crossover Office (http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxlinux/) which I've heard runs Office better than Wine does.

Sorry I couldn't be more help to you .