Which Linux Distro is Best for Wine Installation?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the best Linux distribution for installing Wine, a software that allows Windows applications to run on Linux. Participants share their experiences with various distros, including Red Hat, Debian, SuSE, and Mandrake, while addressing installation challenges and alternatives to Wine.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express frustration with installing Wine on various distributions, specifically mentioning Red Hat, Slack, Mandrake, and SuSE.
  • One participant recommends Fedora or SuSE, highlighting the effectiveness of YaST for installation.
  • Another suggests using Crossover Office as a paid alternative to Wine, claiming it works better for running Windows applications on Linux.
  • A participant shares their positive experience with Debian, stating that it is easy to install and maintain, especially with its package management system.
  • Concerns are raised about the stability of Debian's package versions, with a suggestion to use the "unstable" branch for more current software.
  • One participant questions the nature of the installation failures, suggesting that issues may arise from connectivity problems with YaST.
  • Gentoo is mentioned as a potential option, though noted for its lengthy installation process.
  • Several participants express varying preferences for different distributions, including Red Hat, Mandrake, and Debian, indicating a range of opinions on the best choice for Wine installation.
  • There is a light-hearted mention of FreeBSD as an alternative option.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on which Linux distribution is best for Wine installation, with multiple competing views and experiences shared throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note specific challenges related to installation processes, such as dependency issues and connectivity problems, but these remain unresolved. The discussion reflects a variety of user experiences and preferences without definitive conclusions.

klusener
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for those with linux, which one do you like the best?

the problem for me is that i simply can't install wine in any of these distros, i have tried installing it in redhat, slack, mandrake, and suse, and failed every single time... :cry:
 
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Try Fedora (Redhat) or SuSE. SuSE is a very professional distribution, and YaST is second to none in my opinion. I suggest doing full installs if you have the disk space, of course. Doing a full install should give you a relatively decent version of Wine.
 
Don't use wine. Instead use Crossover office. It is based on wine, but made to actually work. It does cost money but well worth it if you need to run windows apps in linux.
 
I use Debian. People say it's difficult to install, but that's probably just because it doesn't have a pretty graphical installer. If you can hit 'ENTER,' you can install Debian. It should be even easier to install now with the upcoming "Sarge" release.

Once you have Debian installed, it is extremely easy to maintain and install new software. On Debian, you can install Wine as easily as typing "apt-get install wine". The packaging system will then automatically downloading the appropriate binaries from the Debian archive and install them. It will also resolve any dependencies and install those packages as well. No manual searching for files to download is needed. Additionally, you can update all of the installed packages on your system in one step by doing an "apt-get upgrade".

One complaint about Debian is that the packages available aren't current enough or up-to-date. This only applies to the "stable" version, which can be quite a bit behind the bleeding edge, since Debian's release cycle is long. To have the most current software, use the "unstable" branch of Debian -- the label refers to its constantly being updated.

I hope you'll give Debian a try. It's worth the effort to get it running, just for the packaging system.
 
klusener said:
for those with linux, which one do you like the best?

the problem for me is that i simply can't install wine in any of these distros, i have tried installing it in redhat, slack, mandrake, and suse, and failed every single time... :cry:

Just curious, how did Suse fail to install wine? Sometimes Yast fails because it loses connection to the ftp server; however, Yast should not fail outright.

You could give Gentoo a try. Takes about 24-48 hours to do a stage1 install but it's worth it in my opinion. Debian is second in my book with slack a close third. All three have top notch installation tools BTW. Never had a problem with apt-get personall and I've only had a few problems with portage and Slackware's package tool.

Debian isn't 'that' hard to install and I can almost guarantee trouble free operation even if you use the unstable tree.

Finally, are you sure the installation is failing or are you having problems using wine after installation?
 
Work: Red hat all the way... Well for our BIND servers anyway

Home use: Mandrake and Red Hat
 
Speaking of Susi... Quite possiably we will be rolling out with E-directory running on Susi very soon... Novell products on a Liunx Platform will be very good!
 
Mandrake has my attention right now, they got it when a friend of mines drive kept crashing because of a problem in Redhat. I suspect that I might try Debian or Suse in the near future.
 
comedy freebsd option ;)
 

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