WiTP on Linux

[JWE]

Enuf with Microsoft. I'm switching op systems. Will WiTP run under Linux?

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: JWE

Enuf with Microsoft. I'm switching op systems. Will WiTP run under Linux?

i've never heard of anyone doing it... [:(]

[DuckofTindalos]

Wonder if there's such a thing as a Windows emulator for Linux...?

Would be pretty ironic...[:D]

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Wonder if there's such a thing as a Windows emulator for Linux...?

Would be pretty ironic...[:D]

i think there are those kernal systems, but they don't work very well for Windows.

My thought is running to Mac, and running the Windows emulator/partition just for WITP, etc. You can efficiently run Linux and other OS through kernals, i think.

[JWE]

Hi rt, Hi Terminus,

Oh well. My company has decided death to Microsoft. I enthusiastically concurr. It would be unfortunate if I had to maintain a personal XP installation just to run Witp. I'll try to load and run it on my top system. I think we are going with Bantu. If it works, I'll let everybody know. If it doesn't, I'll let folks know as well.

JWE

[JWE]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Wonder if there's such a thing as a Windows emulator for Linux...?

Would be pretty ironic...[:D]

i think there are those kernal systems, but they don't work very well for Windows.

My thought is running to Mac, and running the Windows emulator/partition just for WITP, etc. You can efficiently run Linux and other OS through kernals, i think.

Ohh, cough, choke, we have a couple servers and 3 RAID arrays, as well as a bunch of Sun workstations. Afraid we can't just go to Macs. We gotta regen.

JWE

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: JWE

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Wonder if there's such a thing as a Windows emulator for Linux...?

Would be pretty ironic...[:D]

i think there are those kernal systems, but they don't work very well for Windows.

My thought is running to Mac, and running the Windows emulator/partition just for WITP, etc. You can efficiently run Linux and other OS through kernals, i think.

Ohh, cough, choke, we have a couple servers and 3 RAID arrays, as well as a bunch of Sun workstations. Afraid we can't just go to Macs. We gotta regen.

JWE

The stuff i was thinking about was stuff like VMware, which allows virtualization - ability to run the different operating systems as a virtual machines.

Let me know how the Linux thing works out.

[Andrew Brown]

ORIGINAL: JWE
Enuf with Microsoft. I'm switching op systems. Will WiTP run under Linux?

I run Linux now, except for when I need to run WitP, so I have been looking at this myself. There are two possibilities that I am aware of:
[ol]
[*]Wine: I have tried this, but WitP will not run using Wine in its deafult config. Anything that uses DirectX can apparently be difficult to get going using Wine. It MAY be possible to run WitP using Wine if you play around with its configuration, but I have yet to try it. The editors do work, however.
[*]A virtual machine: There are severl virtual machine (VM) apps for Linux. Doing it this way you can set up a Windows VM uner Linux, in which you can run Windows apps. This should definitely work, but I have yet to set it up - it is my next project. You will need a Windows CD to "install" into the VM, and probably a lot of memory. Note that apparently Microsoft have configured Windows Vista so that it refuses to run in a VM, but using Windows XP (or W2K, which I will be using) will work OK. VMware make excellent VM software which is now available for use in Linux (for free).
[/ol]
There is no Windows emulator for Linux (that I am aware of at least). There are DOS emulators.

When I do get VMware set up and running WitP under Linux I will let you know.

Andrew

[rtrapasso]

There is no Windows emulator for Linux (that I am aware of at least). There are DOS emulators.

Ran a search and got several hits to do this - not emulators per se, but rather virtualizations... i have no idea how well they work, but someone said they do work... and one person claimed Linux works better on Windows than vice versa .

Here is a site:
http://www.tuxs.org/dslwin.htm

i have no idea if this works or not... i haven't tried experimenting (yet)

[JWE]

ORIGINAL: Andrew Brown

ORIGINAL: JWE
Enuf with Microsoft. I'm switching op systems. Will WiTP run under Linux?

I run Linux now, except for when I need to run WitP, so I have been looking at this myself. There are two possibilities that I am aware of:
[ol]
[*]Wine: I have tried this, but WitP will not run using Wine in its deafult config. Anything that uses DirectX can apparently be difficult to get going using Wine. It MAY be possible to run WitP using Wine if you play around with its configuration, but I have yet to try it. The editors do work, however.
[*]A virtual machine: There are severl virtual machine (VM) apps for Linux. Doing it this way you can set up a Windows VM uner Linux, in which you can run Windows apps. This should definitely work, but I have yet to set it up - it is my next project. You will need a Windows CD to "install" into the VM, and probably a lot of memory. Note that apparently Microsoft have configured Windows Vista so that it refuses to run in a VM, but using Windows XP (or W2K, which I will be using) will work OK. VMware make excellent VM software which is now available for use in Linux (for free).
[/ol]
There is no Windows emulator for Linux (that I am aware of at least). There are DOS emulators.

When I do get VMware set up and running WitP under Linux I will let you know.

Andrew

Andrew, do you think the simplist solution is just make an XP partition somewhere and run from that? I would hate like heck to give those arrogant snots a hook, but I will for WiTP's sake.

JWE

[Andrew Brown]

ORIGINAL: JWE
Andrew, do you think the simplist solution is just make an XP partition somewhere and run from that? I would hate like heck to give those arrogant snots a hook, but I will for WiTP's sake.

My PC is currently set up as dual-boot, with a Windows partition, a Linux partition, and a separate data partition for sharing common data between them, although this is not really needed now that Linux can reliably read AND write to NTFS partitions. I still prefer to have a separate data partition though, as it makes reinstalling either OS a lot easier. Windows will not read Linux partitions, but you can get third party Windows apps to help with that.

Having to reboot the PC just to run WitP is a pain, though, which is why I will be installing a VM to run it.

If you are going to set up a PC as dual boot, then I suggest partitioning the PC first, then installing Windows, then installing Linux last. It has been my experience that Windows is not very co-operative with other resident operating systems that are already installed. Most Linux installs , on the other hand, will usually detect Windows and set up a dual boot installation for you.

As always, back up all of your data before trying this though...

[JWE]

ORIGINAL: Andrew Brown

ORIGINAL: JWE
Andrew, do you think the simplist solution is just make an XP partition somewhere and run from that? I would hate like heck to give those arrogant snots a hook, but I will for WiTP's sake.

My PC is currently set up as dual-boot, with a Windows partition, a Linux partition, and a separate data partition for sharing common data between them, although this is not really needed now that Linux can reliably read AND write to NTFS partitions. I still prefer to have a separate data partition though, as it makes reinstalling either OS a lot easier. Windows will not read Linux partitions, but you can get third party Windows apps to help with that.

Having to reboot the PC just to run WitP is a pain, though, which is why I will be installing a VM to run it.

If you are going to set up a PC as dual boot, then I suggest partitioning the PC first, then installing Windows, then installing Linux last. It has been my experience that Windows is not very co-operative with other resident operating systems that are already installed. Most Linux installs , on the other hand, will usually detect Windows and set up a dual boot installation for you.

As always, back up all of your data before trying this though...

Understand. I'll try it on the bedroom desktop. Give me a day or so to get throuth the teething issues and I'll report.

JWE

[KG_Brandenburger]

I'm running WitP just fine on my Intel-based MacBook Pro. I'm using Boot Camp with an XP partition. I tried Parallels, but had some problems (I could scroll up and down, but not side to side). The XP partition is skinned to look like OSX in Mac.

Bill

[Reg]

You might like to have a look at this article. LinuxWorld.com.au It looks like you still run a genuine Windows OS but you do it inside a Linux environment saving you the need to run a separate partition.

Win4Lin is a commercial product that's been around a while but I haven't seen it in action so I have no idea how well it works. (Note the quote below doesn't mention DirectX, the usual fly in the ointment....)

LinuxWorld.com.au 15/04/2000

Win4Lin actually runs Windows. It creates the illusion that it is running in a standard PC environment. In reality, this environment is controlled absolutely by Win4Lin and by Linux itself. Win4Lin runs under the X Windows System and creates the same 'Windows-feel' that many users in moving into Unix graphical interfaces.

It installs Windows for the user, stripping away anything unnecessary now that it is running on top of Linux. It also allows you to install other software programs through the usual means.

Since it is actually Windows running, many programs written for Windows will not notice the different environment. Word processing, spreadsheets, even compilers will run with Win4Lin. This means that users need not migrate all office suite documents over to the corresponding Linux based ones, until they are happy with the new environment or until they find a more suitable way do accomplish the same task under Linux.

Win4Lin will also run Winsock TCP/IP. This means that all Internet clients which run under Windows will run on top of Linux with Win4Lin.

Edit: Looks like the above was an archived article from 2000. However the program is still around at the Win4Lin Homepage

[Reg]

http://www.win4lin.com/index.php/content/view/61/98

Win4Lin 9x Desktop and Terminal Server

Run your favorite Windows applications on Linux in the fastest Windows 95/98/ME environment available. You can now take advantage of running two operating systems simultaneously. The stability, security, and administrative capabilities of Linux are now partnered with the vast number of Windows applications that you have come to depend on.

Win4Lin 9x enables Linux users to run the Windows operating system programs concurrently with their existing Linux operating system without additional hardware or the need to dual boot. This configuration dramatically improves productivity and saves you money by reducing hardware and OS license upgrade costs.

• DirectX applications are supported in 2D mode.

http://www.win4lin.com/index.php/content/view/64/125/

Win4Lin Pro Desktop runs Windows 2000/XP applications as intended, without the need to patch the host operating system (e.g. no need to patch the Linux kernel).

• Win4Lin Pro Desktop runs as a well-behaved Linux process sharing Linux memory and file system without surrendering control to the Windows guest operating system.
• Because of the Linux highly stable architecture, PCs are no longer at the mercy of Windows viruses and other malware.
• A system failure or security flaw in Windows is now limited to only the virtual sandbox which contained these unavoidable Windows problems. The inevitable Windows malfunction is now insulated from causing system-wide failures.
• Win4Lin Pro allows you to run your favorite Windows applications on the Linux operating system in Windows 2000/XP, this allows you to take advantage of the secure Linux environment and still continue to use your Windows applications.
• The stability, security, and administrative capabilities of Linux are now partnered with the vast number of Windows applications on which you have come to depend allowing you to have the best of both worlds.

Note: Running Windows applicatons using Win4Lin Pro Desktop requires a valid Windows license.

Now if you can believe the sales pitch, this looks pretty good.

[Reg]

It can be done!!

What you are looking at is WITP running on a virtual Windows 98 machine using VMWare Server on a Windows XP host. There is a Linux version of VMWare Server (and Player) so there is no reason a Linux host shouldn't be able to run the same virtual machine.

(Can someone test this, my Linux box is a bit slow to run VMWare Server so I had to use my XP machine)

The only issues I have noticed so far is that WITP will only run in windowed mode as virtual DirectX seems to have a problem with full screen (it fails the full screen 'dxdiag' tests too) and those ghost airplanes (another DirectX issue I'll bet). Edit: Interesting, ships and explosions aren't affected by ghosting, only airplane tops (which use alpha bitmap masks!!).

Speed seems OK on my 3GHz machine. Note the virtual hard drive file size requirements in window I put over the top. Only 200MB of this is Win98 (shame you can't cut it down to a kernal like DSL (Damn Small Linux). The Bugzilla VM is only 9MB and it has the Linux kernal, an Apache Web server, a MySQL database server and everything else it needs to make quite an impressive application.

All in all this seems to be a viable way to run WITP under Linux if you don't want a dual boot Windows partition (Note that you will still need a copy of Windows).

Have Fun!!!

[Reg]

A couple of tips I found out the hard way.

VMWare Server available free from www.vmware.com
(You just have to give their marketing department your life story, grandmother's maiden name etc)

VMWare Player allows you to run virtual machines submitted by other people. The VMWare site has heaps to download.

It takes about 5 minutes to create a new VM with server. It's pretty self explanatory and the wizard does most of it for you. I gave my VM 400MB of memory (out of 1GB of real memory) and a maximum 3GB hard drive (WITP will require a minimum of 1.2GB). You then boot off a CD or floppy and just install the OS software like a brand new physical machine.

***Important*** Once you have your OS up and running you need to install VMWare Tools. This is under the 'VM' item on the Server menu bar. If you don't do this you will be stuck with a 16 colour 640x480 display!!!!! Install the custom video driver as per displayed instructions.

After this install the rest of your software and you are ready to go.

Hard wasn't it??

Have fun,

[JWE]

ORIGINAL: Reg
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Have fun,

Thanks all, lots of good stuff.

Decided to go with a dual boot, since I gotta keep a Microsoft license in any case. Seems more practicable what with DirectX compatability and memory management. Added a 40G D drive that has XP on an NTSF partition and a boot drive switch. Can keep all the WiTP stuff in its own little home. Having fun now.

JWE

[Reg]

Quote: Andrew Brown 15Dec07
from: Operating Systems

Hi Reg,

The last time I tried to run WitP using Wine it didn't work. That was a while ago but I doubt that it is any better now. I now run WitP using VMware (on Linux) which works fine.

Andrew

[Oldguard1970]

Guys,
&nbsp;
I am one of the early users of computers.&nbsp; My cheap ($19)&nbsp;watch seems to have more computer power than the first home computer ($3500) I purchased.
&nbsp;
I vividly remember the trouble of trying to get a system to remain stable.&nbsp;&nbsp; I remember being afraid to add ANYTHING once I had finally gotten the system to work.&nbsp;&nbsp; I remember having to study every manual for every program and building cheat sheets and templates to try to remember the key codes.
&nbsp;
Frankly, I do not understand all of the fuss about Microsoft.&nbsp; It has made my life massively better.&nbsp;&nbsp;Do I&nbsp;want more?&nbsp; Sure I do.&nbsp; Happily, that happens.&nbsp; Things keep getting better.&nbsp;&nbsp;Is everything perfect?&nbsp; Nope, but I do not expect perfection.&nbsp; I just want to enjoy the fine system that works so much better than the old ones and gets better with every patch.
&nbsp;
If something comes along to do a better job than Microsoft, I'll be happy to switch.&nbsp; So far, all of the alternatives seem to bring plenty of headaches with them.
&nbsp;
Thanks for being eager to try something new.&nbsp; If it works better, I am sure many of us will be delighted.&nbsp;