[Wine] Re: Re : noob question :)

[Jim]

Sylvain Petreolle wrote:
> Wine changes dozens of files to run properly.
> Last week a user couldnt login anymore his Windows  XP after doing that.
> 


By default, Wine doesn't change files on your Windows partition.  In fact, unless you explicitly tell it to use something other than ~/.wine/drive_c it won't.

The FAQ topic "Can I run applications directly off of a Windows installation without reinstalling them?" could have saved this individual.  It recommends that you "leave your Windows installation alone."

Unless you understand some specifics about how Wine works and how your application works, it's sound advice to do just that.  Leave your Windows installation alone.

The only justifiable exception I've found is centered around sharing data files for which the application itself cannot be configured to look elsewhere for.  In this case symlinking the data or using a synchronization script may work.  This however implies some understanding of how the application stores data.  Even in this scenario, it's still likely best to install the application twice (once in Windows, once in Wine, and in two locations).