this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2024
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Several windows programs won't work with Wine. Would running a Windows VM be a better option? (lemmy.ca)
submitted 2 months ago by Showroom7561@lemmy.ca to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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In my persistence to fit Linux in my life, I'm curious if some "must have" Windows software will work better if I just ran a Windows VM within Linux.

None of the software I need to work is needed to work continuously. They are basically programs that I fire up when needed, for a few minutes, then exited.

Wine will install them, but not run them, so I'm hoping a VM is the answer as I'm not interested in dual-booting to run a few Windows programs occasionally.

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[–] TheAgeOfSuperboredom@lemmy.ca 11 points 2 months ago (2 children)

The software will likely work, but keep in mind that you'll have to add VM startup time when you want to use the software. I have occasionally seen software behave strangely in a VM as well, so best to just try it.

Can you share the software you went to use? Maybe there's a good Linux alternative or someone knows how to get it working in wine.

[–] bruce965@lemmy.ml 14 points 2 months ago (1 children)

VM startup time can be skipped by saving state instead of shutting it down every time.

I would say the worst issue using a VM is with programs that need the GPU (e.g. CAD softwares or games), and software with aggressive DRM.

[–] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Can you share the software you went to use? Maybe there’s a good Linux alternative or someone knows how to get it working in wine.

These are all paid programs that don't have viable alternatives and/or I actually need to use them.

A few off the top of my head:

  • Excire Foto
  • Jpegmini Pro
  • Garmin Basecamp
  • Garmin Express
  • several paid video editing/photo editing apps; I've tried alternatives, but they aren't nearly as intuitive.
  • Reolink camera software.
  • ACP Ups software.

I do my best to find alternatives to other software, and prefer to use self-hosted solutions, but the ones above aren't really easy to replace, so I'd rather just run them in a VM.

I've use VMs in windows to run Linux, so I'm aware of the performance hit and possible startup times (but I use snapshots for quick access). I'm not too concerned about that for any of these programs, since I'm only using them from time-to-time.

[–] Corngood@lemmy.ml 15 points 2 months ago

Have you checked these all on winehq? It would be nice for them to be reported with logs if they haven't already.

Garmin Express for example is on there with some discussion here: https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=40213

It might not help in the short term, but even just having logs for more broken programs could be useful for the wine project.