Installing, configuring and using WINE

[mutzsow]

Hello dear PC(Linux OS)user,

This should help if you are new with WINE, but it just show the basics.

First of all, WINE is the abbreviation of "WINE Is Not an Emulator", 'cause WINE is just translating the Windows API's for Linux and execute them directly under Linux. Therefore WINE does not need any additional Windowsdrivers or an Windowsinstallation and of course no Windowslicence, too.
It uses the graphic-, sound-, network- etc. drivers of Linux.

It is installable with Synaptic or you can use one of the RPM's I have linked below or you compile it for yourself.
After the installation you must configure WINE, to do that use the command "winecfg" or when you had installed it via Synaptic you will find a entry in "more applications -> emulators -> wine -> configurator

Once started winecfg you are at the applications tab, here you can define which Windowsversion WINE should use for your apps. I would give each application their own settings, 'cause some apps just run with Win95 and so on.

Then go to tab Devices and have a look which devices WINE already found. Mostly there are all devices mounted during the WINE-installation. So is "/" which is in Windowsletters "z:\" but normally you wont have Windowsapplications installed in "/" (I never wanted too) therefore you can delete "z:\".
If you already installed an app that has generated a desktopicon and you delete "z:\" you must customize the shortcut. If one of your optical devices is left then try to use it under WINE with a medium inside, if it is already not found type in the same path where it is mounted in Linux.

Then go on with the Graphicstab, here I did positive experiences with the following settings.

DirectX-Apps can catch mouse ; active
Allow Windowmanager to decorate windows ; active
Allow Windowmanager to control windows ; active
Emulate virtual Desktop ; I can't guess standardsettings for this, 'cause I don't know what you want to do with WINE. If you want the Fullscreen-mode then leave this point inactive, if you want a Window then activate it and type in your desired resolution.

If your Graphicscard support Vertex Shader you just set it to Hardware, this also does apply to Pixel Shader just let them active. You can try to deactivate them if you are getting problems with the shader.

If the font size in translated apps is to small/big you can adjust the dpi value with the Desktopresolution-bar or type the wanted dpi value.

Within the Tab Desktop-Integration I have never changed a thing, but feel free to play with it

Let's go on with the Audiotab, here I can recommend the ALSA driver with an AC97 Onboardsoundchip. With some apps the OSS- or JACK- drivers are working better but mostly the sounds have a small delay without ALSA.
Set the Hardwareacceleration for DirectSound to Full, the sample rate to 48000 and bits per sample to 16.
Test the sound with the Button "Test Sound"
I recommend to just activate one driver at a time, sometimes there is no sound if you let all active but there is sound if you only activate one.

So were through with the configurator.
For hints about settings for several apps take a look at the AppDB.

Please post your experiences as well so we get a wide field of apps, OS and WINEversions.

Here are some general hints.
WINE does not need any rootrights unless you're doing something I never did with WINE but in general you don't need them.

Sometimes apps only install with the shell, sometimes it only works with a double click to the *.exe.
Sometimes apps just want to get installed with a certain Windowsversion, but before you try hard and long to find the best settings take a look at the AppDB.

WINE also uses some parameters you can add to your commandline.

If you want to start a Windowsapp directly in your shell go to the right directory and type "wine name_of.exe"

If an app asks for a Windowsreboot then just type "wineboot" and your faked Windows will reboots within 5 seconds

If you need to eject an optical device type "wine eject x:" for ejecting the optical device known by WINE as x or "wine eject -a" for ejecting all optical devices known by WINE.

"wineconsole cmd" starts a DOS-Shell

"winemine" starts Minesweeper

Some instructions are just looking like this.
With "wine frozenthrone.exe -opengl" you force WC3FT to use an OpenGL rendering. It's much faster than D3D if the app/engine support OpenGL. (For WC3FT I get now 120fps with OpenGL and no more 27fps with D3D)
This also works with "wine name_of.exe -dx8" or " -dx9"

If some videos are troubling your amusement try "wine name_of.exe -novideo"

When you need access to the registry simply type "wine regedit"

WINE creates a Folder in your Home directory
/home/"username"/.wine/
In here you have access to your WINE-devices, Windowsregistry etc.
All the Plugins you can install are also found in here.

The mostly known plug-in for WINE should be winetricks and it's the only one I wrote an explanation for.
With winetricks it's easily possible to install DX9, MS CoreFonts, Video/Audio Codecs and much other stuff. It's not directly integrated in WINE, 'cause for the usage of DX9 and much more you need a valid Windowslicense but wintricks or other plugins are never asking for any valid or nonvalid key.
Do not post bugs without to advise that you're using winetricks or other plugins. A normal WINE and a WINE with plugins are very variable in their behaves.
Winetricks can be installed with this line
"wget http://www.kegel.com/wine/winetricks"
Start it with "sh winetricks" and a window with installable applications/tools appear or install apps directly with "sh winetricks packagename". For example "sh winetricks directx9" installs DX9.
Winetricks also adds a folder at /home/"username"/.winetrickscache, you will find the executables of the apps you have installed with winetricks in here.

If the newest version is not within the repositories and you wanted to be up to date or you need a downgrade you can use the SUSE rpm's. They are working fine so far as I can see.
But configure WINE with the PCLOS packages first, a new SUSE WINE under PCLOS does mostly not work at all and some software cant be installed. Use the repo WINE for that.

You can install the packages with "rpm -i package_name.rpm" but before you have to uninstall the packages libwine and wine.
To uninstall the SUSE rpm's please use Synaptic.
A "rpm -e package_name.rpm" tells me that the package is not installed but Synaptic is uninstalling it.

Just some links that could be interesting for you
Holarse
LinuxGamers
Loki
Happypenguin
Linuxgames

WINE commands
deutsch
english

Greetings
mutzsow
(candle with hare *BURKS*)

deutsche Version dieses Tips

[Gagarin Gambit]

Good tip.

I don't know if the latest wine version automatically adds shortcuts of your installed applications in the start menu. If not:

- Right click on the Kmenu button and select "menu editor".
- Find (or create) the submenu where you want to add the shortcut, right click and select "new item".
- Write the shortcut name.
- After "command" type:
env WINEPREFIX="/home/[username]/.wine" wine "C:\[application location]"
- After "work path" type:
home/[username]/.wine/dosdevices/c:/[application folder]
- Left click on the (empty) icon on the top right to select the icon of your choice.
- Save and exit the menu editor.
The application folder is the path of the folder where the application is located, excluding the "/home/[username]/.wine/drive_c/" part of the path, e.g. /home/[username]/.wine/dosdevices/c:/Program Files.
The application location is the path of the application itself, again excluding "/home/[username]/.wine/drive_c/",  e.g. C:\Program Files\Myapplication.exe. Note that here we're using a backslash (\).

If this doesn't work (it usually does), you can type a command as if you where trying to use the application inside Konqueror, for example
kfmclient exec /home/[username]/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Myapplication.exe.

You can use the same command/work path to create a desktop icon.

[nick_n_ii]

New to this site and WINE as well.

But looks like you covered alot of info I've been looking for.

Thanks for all that info..

[nick_n_ii]

What WINE do I look for when I down load it?

[mutzsow]

Hi and thanx,

do you mean the download via Synaptic? Then you could mean the libwine package. That's just the libraries that WINE needs to work fine.

I dont know if it helps but here is a german version of this tip available, too.