Does Kubuntu 13.10 work with WINE?

[shobuz99]

Hi, and thank you for providing this forum.

I'm not using Kubuntu yet; but I was told by a Ubuntu techie
that Kubuntu is a better OS to run older Windows based apps using WINE.
Is any of that true?

I use an ancient version of Dreamweaver (MX 2004) for web design and maintenance.
I have a Dell Inspiron 1300 laptop with about 1.5 GB RAM and a 40GB HDD.
I know I need a new machine; but until I get one, I'm stuck with this one.
Currently, I'm running Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. Yes, I also know that OS is not supported as of April of 2013.
I want to upgrade to the latest version, but I fear Ubuntu 13.10 will NOT use WINE and/or
will not allow me to install Dreamweaver (MX 2004) for my web design work.

So I've come here simply to ask for advice. Is Kubuntu the best choice or am I really asking the wrong questions here?

Thank you for any and all wisdom. I'm an old geek IBM computer tech, but I can still learn. :-)

Shobuz99

[Snowhog]

From WineHQ.

Category: Main > Productivity > Web Design > Adobe Dreamweaver

[Feathers McGraw]

I was told by a Ubuntu techie
that Kubuntu is a better OS to run older Windows based apps using WINE.
Is any of that true?

AFAIK, Ubuntu and Kubuntu both run WINE as well as each other. In the future, with the whole Mir/Wayland diaplay server thing, there may be a significant difference, but I'll leave it to more experienced members to pick up on that!

So I've come here simply to ask for advice. Is Kubuntu the best choice or am I really asking the wrong questions here?

Kubuntu is awesome...but then that's what you were expecting to hear from Kubuntuforums, right?

I don't see any reason why Kubuntu can't do what you're after. The ubuntu techie you spoke to may have recommended Kubuntu rather than Ubuntu because the UI is so much more familiar to Windows users, and Windows apps run with WINE may "fit in" more.

If you have the space, why not make a separate partition on your hard drive and do a fresh installation of a new version of Kubuntu on there. That way if it doesn't work out you don't lose any data, and if it does you can transfer your old files across (or access them from within the new OS).

Feathers

[shobuz99]

AFAIK, Ubuntu and Kubuntu both run WINE as well as each other. In the future, with the whole Mir/Wayland diaplay server thing, there may be a significant difference, but I'll leave it to more experienced members to pick up on that!



Kubuntu is awesome...but then that's what you were expecting to hear from Kubuntuforums, right?

I don't see any reason why Kubuntu can't do what you're after. The ubuntu techie you spoke to may have recommended Kubuntu rather than Ubuntu because the UI is so much more familiar to Windows users, and Windows apps run with WINE may "fit in" more.

If you have the space, why not make a separate partition on your hard drive and do a fresh installation of a new version of Kubuntu on there. That way if it doesn't work out you don't lose any data, and if it does you can transfer your old files across (or access them from within the new OS).

Feathers

Thank you Feathers for the friendly response. I appreciate it. I will get a an .iso copy of Kubuntu 13.10 and try it, as you suggest.
As long as I can be able to get WINE situated and installed, and install the very old Dreamweaver MX 2004 Web design pkg, and
get it to work without issues, I will be ever grateful. :-)
I'll let you know when I'm finished doing all this.
Would it be permissible to keep this thread open until I come back and tell my experience, after the holidays?

In the mean time, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Winter Solstice celebration and a Merry Christmas, if
you happen to celebrate that day as well. :-)
Thanks again,
Shobuz99

[Feathers McGraw]

Thank you Feathers for the friendly response. I appreciate it. I will get a an .iso copy of Kubuntu 13.10 and try it, as you suggest.
As long as I can be able to get WINE situated and installed, and install the very old Dreamweaver MX 2004 Web design pkg, and
get it to work without issues, I will be ever grateful. :-)
I'll let you know when I'm finished doing all this.
Would it be permissible to keep this thread open until I come back and tell my experience, after the holidays?

In the mean time, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Winter Solstice celebration and a Merry Christmas, if
you happen to celebrate that day as well. :-)
Thanks again,
Shobuz99

Mods here rarely close threads (it only really happens when people are making personal attacks, or discussing something illegal), so that should be fine!

Good luck, enjoy the holidays!

[claydoh]

I would venture to say that the newer wine available in 13.10 or 12.04 LTS is much better than the wine version you have in 10.04.

Having said that, do realize that wine and using it to run Windows applications can be a hit-or-miss proposition despite improvements in the software.

Your Inspiron might run Kubuntu a bit sluggishly with that cpu and ram, but it should run OK once you turn some things off.
If Kubuntu is too slow for your laptop, a great option to try is Lubuntu, which uses the very lightweight LXDE desktop, and will run wonderfully on that hardware. Including Wine.

[Buddlespit]

I have a copy of Micrographix Picture Publisher (cira 1996) running thru wine 1.6 on the wife's Kubuntu 13.10 system. God help me if that program ever stops working for her.

[Feathers McGraw]

Lol

[shobuz99]

Mods here rarely close threads (it only really happens when people are making personal attacks, or discussing something illegal), so that should be fine!

Good luck, enjoy the holidays!

Ok. So I gave it a try. I'm not sure if it's my fault or if Kubuntu just doesn't like my old Dell Inspiron 1300...
I put a Linux formatted drive (otherwise empty) in and booted the Kubuntu 13.10 Live CD.
It started the "Prepare" process and I watched the HDD light and the CD drive light, sluggishly go on for about 15 minutes...
It never went any further. The process seemed to just sit there, while the two little balls spun around and around... I got impatient.
I force powered off, and then reformatted the drive from Ubuntu's "Disk Utility" app.
This time I chose the "Type" as "EXT4", (it was previously NTFS)
and a Partition Type of 0x83 (it was HPFS/NTFS 0x07 previously) and then launched the install again.

Same result: It started the "Prepare" process and I watched the HDD light and the CD drive light, sluggishly go back and forth ...
It never went any further to any of the next steps, such as the Wireless step.

What could I possibly be doing wrong? Is there any "Disk Utility" app contained within the Kubuntu Live CD?
I couldn't find any.
I'm a bit perplexed, at this point..
Any ideas?
Thank you for whatever you can recommend.

Shobuz99

[shobuz99]

I would venture to say that the newer wine available in 13.10 or 12.04 LTS is much better than the wine version you have in 10.04.

Having said that, do realize that wine and using it to run Windows applications can be a hit-or-miss proposition despite improvements in the software.

Your Inspiron might run Kubuntu a bit sluggishly with that cpu and ram, but it should run OK once you turn some things off.
If Kubuntu is too slow for your laptop, a great option to try is Lubuntu, which uses the very lightweight LXDE desktop, and will run wonderfully on that hardware. Including Wine.

Thanks for the information and recommendation, Claydoh. Appreciate it.
I may have a look into it.

Shobuz99

[Malikius]

I am brand new to Kubuntu and am alittle tramatized by learning a new OS. I am a Microsoft man but want to switch over to Linux full time. My question(s) are:
1. I want to use wine but DON'T know how to install software on Kubuntu. I looked for wine in Muon Discover and don't know exactly now to install software.
2. What is Linux's equivalant of an .exe file?
I'm a baby bird, so to speak, here and will need "lots of worms" to nurish my learning
I do appreciate any help now and in the future. Thanks in advance.

[Buddlespit]

I am brand new to Kubuntu and am alittle tramatized by learning a new OS. I am a Microsoft man but want to switch over to Linux full time..

Welcome to Kubuntu!

My question(s) are:
1. I want to use wine but DON'T know how to install software on Kubuntu. I looked for wine in Muon Discover and don't know exactly now to install software.

The easiest way is to google what you want to do with linux and find out what the program is called (in linux). Then open Muon and type in the name of the app you want to install. If the app isn't listed, then come back here and ask someone how to get that particular app. Don't try to cowboy it. Usually, that ends up breaking the system and you have to start all over. Usually ends in frustration.

2. What is Linux's equivalant of an .exe file?

A binary file is the actual program. Most don't have a file extension after the name. Those that do have an extension are scripts, or in Windows-speak, batch files.

I'm a baby bird, so to speak, here and will need "lots of worms" to nurish my learning
I do appreciate any help now and in the future. Thanks in advance.

Welcome, and don't hesitate to ask questions. Even if it takes a day or three, someone will usually answer.

[Feathers McGraw]

Ok. So I gave it a try. I'm not sure if it's my fault or if Kubuntu just doesn't like my old Dell Inspiron 1300...
I put a Linux formatted drive (otherwise empty) in and booted the Kubuntu 13.10 Live CD.
It started the "Prepare" process and I watched the HDD light and the CD drive light, sluggishly go on for about 15 minutes...
It never went any further. The process seemed to just sit there, while the two little balls spun around and around... I got impatient.
I force powered off, and then reformatted the drive from Ubuntu's "Disk Utility" app.
This time I chose the "Type" as "EXT4", (it was previously NTFS)
and a Partition Type of 0x83 (it was HPFS/NTFS 0x07 previously) and then launched the install again.

Same result: It started the "Prepare" process and I watched the HDD light and the CD drive light, sluggishly go back and forth ...
It never went any further to any of the next steps, such as the Wireless step.

What could I possibly be doing wrong? Is there any "Disk Utility" app contained within the Kubuntu Live CD?
I couldn't find any.
I'm a bit perplexed, at this point..
Any ideas?
Thank you for whatever you can recommend.

Shobuz99

Don't worry, it's a steep learning curve... sometimes an installation works perfectly, but for some people with certain computers (myself included) there are a few hiccups along the way.

I'm not quite sure what's happening or why it's taking so long, did you specify any encryption?

Also, you want ext3 or ext4 for the partition where your root filesystem is going to be (NTFS doesn't support Linux file permissions); it's OK to have a NTFS partition for shared data between Linux and Windows though, so that both OS can read and write to it.

I had problems during installation once before because I had a dodgy installation CD, it might be worth burning another CD and starting again just to rule that out.

Yes there is a disk utility, it's called KDE Partition Manager (very similar to GParted if you've used that on Ubuntu?)

Feathers

[shobuz99]

Don't worry, it's a steep learning curve... sometimes an installation works perfectly, but for some people with certain computers (myself included) there are a few hiccups along the way.

I'm not quite sure what's happening or why it's taking so long, did you specify any encryption?

Also, you want ext3 or ext4 for the partition where your root filesystem is going to be (NTFS doesn't support Linux file permissions); it's OK to have a NTFS partition for shared data between Linux and Windows though, so that both OS can read and write to it.

I had problems during installation once before because I had a dodgy installation CD, it might be worth burning another CD and starting again just to rule that out.

Yes there is a disk utility, it's called KDE Partition Manager (very similar to GParted if you've used that on Ubuntu?)

Feathers

Thank you very very much! I will take your suggestions and advice, and apply it asap.
I got some other good news yesterday, that being, the laptop I thought was "toast"
turned out to be ok. All that was needed was a reflow of the solder on the video card. Yay!
Plus, I got a second Laptop, at a very low price (with Windows 7.....well not every deal is perfect :-))
that is much faster and has a much larger HDD!!!
I'm now considering my options; one of which is to reformat the new machine
and maybe I can install Kubuntu 13.10 on it without any issues.
For now though, I want to try your suggestions on the existing machine to see if it will install.
Again, THANK YOU for your help and advice. I will keep you informed, for the record,
so that my experience may help someone else, here.

Happy New Year, Feathers!

Shobu99