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I love working on my linux notebook every day, but sometimes I’m stuck when I need to run an application that only available for windows. Fortunately there is an application that capable to emulate windows environment within a Linux operating system. To run a windows application on top of linux operating system we need Crossover Linux software that provides windows environment. The Crossover Linux software is not free, but you can download a demo and try it out.

Installing CrossOver Professional

Once you have downloaded the file (install-crossover-pro-7.0.0.sh) open a terminal window go to the directory where you have downloaded install-crossover-pro-7.0.0.sh and execute the following command.

$ sh install-crossover-pro-7.0.0.sh

The following window will appear. Accept the License by clicking OK.

Once you have clicked OK the installation window will open. Enter the desired installation path and click “Begin Installation” to start the installation.

After a few seconds crossover professional will be installed on your machine. If you have the registration code you can enter it by following the steps below (Registering CrossOver Professional) or if you are using this software in trial mode skip to the next section to start installing windows software.

Registering CrossOver Professional

Click Applications and select “Register and unlock this demo” under the CrossOver menu.

You will be presented with the Product Registration Window. Once you have entered your registration details your copy of CrossOver will be upgraded.

Using CrossOver Professional

Now, we’ll see how to install Windows software using Linux CrossOver Pro. Start the installation by clicking Applications->CrossOver->Install Windows Software.

As you can see in the snapshot below you can either select the software listed or you can choose to install unsupported software. I am going to install an unsupported free windows software called Xvid converter.

Select Install unsupported software and click the Next button.

Select the installation file of Xvid Converter and click Next.

Run through the regular installation process.

Make sure that you select a different directory, preferably one in your home directory. In my case it is Z:\home\vivek\untitled folder\Xvid Converter

That’s it, you have finished installing the application! You can launch by going to Applications-> Windows Applications-> Xvid Converter-> Xvid Converter.

The following screenshot shows you Xvid Converter in action:

Now you can experiment by installing different applications. If you want to uninstall any of the applications you have installed using CrossOver, go to Applications->CrossOver->Configuration.

Select the bottle in which you installed your application and click Repair/Remove. Your application will be uninstalled.

Note: We tested this application on Ubuntu 8.10.

Conclusion

Although a good number of applications are supported and can be installed, not all windows based applications can be ported to Linux using Linux CrossOver Pro. For example I couldn’t install Adobe DreamWeaver CS4 using Linux CrossOver Pro. It’s still a great product that helps you transition to using Linux.

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Download Crossover Linux Trial from codeweavers.com

Posted on November 7th, 2008   Tags: · crossover, emulator, Linux, Ubuntu, windows