Can Linux Run Microsoft Windows Programs?
WINE, a MS Windows emulator for Linux, is still not ready for generaldistribution. If you want to contribute to its development, look for
the status reports in the comp.emulators.ms-windows.wine newsgroup.
There is also a FAQ, compiled by P. David Gardner, at
ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/docs/faqs/Wine-FAQ/.
In the meantime, if you need to run MS Windows programs, the best
bet--seriously--is to reboot. LILO, the Linux boot loader, can boot
one of several operating systems from a menu. See the LILO
documentation for details.
Also, LOADLIN.EXE (a DOS program to load a Linux, or other OS, kernel
is one way to make Linux co-exist with DOS. LOADLIN.EXE is
particularly handy when you want to install Linux on a 3rd or 4th
drive on a system (or when you're adding a SCSI drive to a system with
an existing IDE).
In these cases, it is common for LILO's boot loader to be unable to
find or load the kernel on the "other" drive. So you just create a
C:\LINUX directory (or whatever), put LOADLIN.EXE in it with a copy of
your kernel, and use that.
LOADLIN.EXE is a VCPI compliant program. Win95 will want to, "shutdown
into DOS mode," to run it (as it would with certain other DOS
protected-mode programs).
Earlier versions of LOADLIN.EXE sometimes required a package called
REALBIOS.COM, which required a boot procedure on an (almost) blank
floppy to map the interrupt vectors (prior to the loading of any
software drivers). (Current versions don't seem to ship with it, and
don't seem to need it).
[Jim Dennis]
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