a little task for someone...

[mattboyslim]

...who knows what theyre doing!

so ive been trying to use linux exclusively with the intention of installing it solely on my pc when i am finally comfortable with it. Things are going ok but i came across a new problem today and im not sure if its even possible to overcome it.

My son wanted to look at some new scalextric designs so i went to the scalextric site www.scalextric.com/design and downloaded the track designer. This was where the problem started...

The setup file was an .exe file so i managed to download wine (eventually) and things started going ok but then the track designer asked me to install DirectX which i know is a windows program and so wont work on linux, and this is where i have hit a wall!

I have actually rebooted in windows and run the designer with no probs but it is difficulties like this that are stopping me moving to linux completely.

Can anyone who knows what theyre doing have a go at installing and using the track designer to see if it is possible and let me know?

It would be HUGELY appreciated because i love how fast linux runs and would like to use it exclusively if possible

[oshunluvr]

There are a couple of possible solutions to your issue: You can try and run this program using WINE (a Windows software implementation layer - google it) or you can install Windows in a virtual machine (VirtualBox is easy to use and works well) and run your needed Windows programs that way. There are potential problems to both options: WINE doesn't work for every program, but simple ones usually work fine. VirtualBox installations of Win7-8 need some RAM to work well enough to be very usable and not all (heavy graphics stuff) program work well.

Ultimately, you're going to have to decide if the benefits of Linux outweigh those of Windows for you and yours, realizing you may not get to run every piece of Windows software you come across.

One final solution - and one often chosen by those in your situation - is to dual boot. There;s no reason you can't keep Windows on your machine for stuff like your son's games and scalextric program and boot to Linux for all the other stuff.

[MrSteve]

you can install directx from the windows CD/DVD from within the wine program
or you can download directx from here
http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/downl...ils.aspx?id=35

and run the .exe file for directx from within the wine programme ...

[mattboyslim]

Thanks for the reply mate, just out of curiosity if I dual boot. Is there a lighter version of Windows that I can use for these situations?

[mattboyslim]

I was off the opinion that having windows and Linux on one system would slow the machine down... Is that not the case?

[mattboyslim]

I see, that's solved that one then... I'll just set up my laptop with both systems. I have a 1tb hard drive so the 2 partitions should be sizeable enough

[mattboyslim]

I was thinking about taking it back to factory settings as it's gotten super slow and all my important info is saved on google drive. I could then install Linux too. Is there a guide you can recommend for doing this so I don't have too much trouble with jealous installers? Appreciate your time by the way

[oshunluvr]

You should be able to leave the windows install alone and just resize (shrink) the partition it's on. Once you have the free space you need for linux, install there. Again: being linux you have options. You can likely use the Windows boot menu to boot or install grub (works fine here) or use another third party tool. I assume you have UEFI - Steve Riley recommends (and has written a detailed how-to) the rEFInd boot manager.

Basic steps are:
1. Shrink Windows and verify it boots OK. This includes de-fragging and re-booting it a couple times to be sure all is well.
2. Read all about installing dual-boot to a Windows machine on the net.
3. Pick a boot manager (Windows, grub, or rEFInd).
4. Install Linux - carefully and only to the empty drive space.
5. Update boot manager.
Done.

Search the forum and the 'net. There are dozens if not 100's how-to's with the steps fully written out for you. Any Ubuntu guide will work with Kubuntu too.

[mattboyslim]

Thanks for all the advice on this one... I sorted a dual boot with kubuntu 14.04 and win 8.1 over the weekend and it all seems to be running smoothly