Can I use WINE to run my installed Windows programs?

[CentaurHauler]

I have a dual boot system with Kubuntu 7.10 running. The Windows C: drive is mounted under Kubuntu. Is there any way to point WINE to my installed programs on my Windows drive so that I can run them without installing them again?

I figure it's a long shot, but it would sure be a neat trick.

[opie]

Re: Can I use WINE to run my installed Windows programs?

Even if possible I think it is safer not to do that.
If the application is a simple one you can often simply copy the application and it's subdirectories to your wine Program Files directory.

If you aren't familiar with wine there is a hidden .wine file in your home directory. Within that you will find drive_C/Program Files.
If the application dumps dll files in the windows system directories then you will get error messages in wine that will indicate what it is trying to load and what failing to load. You can then post back here or check for the files in your windows\system directory and copy them to the ./wine/drive_c/windows/system32 directory.

What are you trying to run? There are linux alternatives to most of what you would want to run under windows. It is best, if you are going to run linux at all, to try to convert your tasks over to linux applications rather than being dependent on windows apps.

[CentaurHauler]

Re: Can I use WINE to run my installed Windows programs?

Thanks for the reply - I was hoping to not have to duplicate the files, as it is a waste of disk space. I'll certainly be converting over to Linux-native apps where appropriate, but I have a host of professional graphics and CAD programs, and I'd like to see if they run under WINE, and how well. In time I may find alternatives, but I'm hardly about to go off replcing thousands of $'s worth of software just for the OS.

Another way to look at it is that the apps are worth far more and are much more important than the OS, so I'll run whatever OS I have to. So far I've got all the entertainment, office, and internet apps working, but that is only one type of use for my system. So much for playing - the next step is to see how it works when I'm doing real work!

[b0uncyfr0]

Re: Can I use WINE to run my installed Windows programs?

May i suggest running WinXp or whatever OS in VirtualBox. But if they require 3D acceleration it might be a problem as that isnt very mature yet. Still good enough to play moviez though..:P