Win4Lin User's Guide

Chapter 1 -- Getting Started with Win4Lin

(User's Guide Table of Contents) (Chapter Table of Contents)
Previous Chapter - About This Guide     Next Chapter - Installing Windows

Introduction

Win4Lin is an add-on to the Linux operating system that provides the capability to run DOS, Windows, and Linux applications simultaneously on your PC.

With Win4Lin, you install the Microsoft® Windows operating system from the standard CD-ROM installation media and then install and use off-the-shelf Windows applications in a multiuser, multitasking environment.

Linux is the master operating system that controls the physical hardware and file systems on your PC, while Win4Lin provides a complete virtual PC environment for the Windows operating systems. Windows applications execute in this environment as they would on a standard PC, with Linux providing the needed protection and resource arbitration underneath. Each user has their own private installation of Windows to work with, so on multi-user systems, the way one user uses or mis-uses Windows will not adversely affect any other users or the underlying Linux system.

Note:
Win4Lin requires the use of a standard X Windows display. All the standard requirements for running normal X Windows client applications are thus also required by Win4Lin. For instance, the DISPLAY environment variable must be set properly and an xterm or similar terminal emulator window must be used to execute commands. On some systems icons are either available or can be created to execute the commands documented in this guide.


Beginning Win4Lin sessions

NOTE: Before you can use Win4Lin, Window needs to be installed into Win4Lin.

See Chapter 2, ``Installing Windows'' for instructions on installating Windows. Once Windows is installed, users can start up Windows sessions (and DOS session too) by following these simple steps:


Running Windows

To start a new Windows session inside a new window on your Desktop execute the following command:

Running Windows in full-screen (fwin)

If your display supports multiple virtual console screens, then you can start a Windows session in a full-screen configuration. This dedicates that console screen for your Windows session.

To do this, execute the following command:

This command can be run from any prompt, and it finds an unused console screen and uses that for your Windows session.

You then can adjust the resolution setting of Windows to match the resolution of the virtual console display, so that the entire screen is used for your Windows session.

Note: You can bring the Win4Lin menu and status bars into view with the Show Menu key, which is by default <Shift><F12>. (When the Windows frame covers most or all of the display then the menu and status bars will cover up a part of Windows.) To hide them again, select the Hide Menu option from the Window menu. The menu bar is mostly useful for accessing the Help item, which give you access to this user's guide and other Win4Lin information. The use of the menu bar is covered later in this chapter.

Running DOS

The command "/bin/dos &"   is used to start a new DOS session inside a new window on your Desktop.


NOTE: If you are using Win4Lin from a remote X terminal or workstation, see ``Appendix B, Using remote X terminals'' for a discussion of important differences between using Win4Lin on the console X server and on remote X servers.

You can now use the Win4Lin environment just as you would use a standard computer running Windows or DOS. See Chapter 3, ``Working in the Win4Lin environment'' for details.

Most common DOS commands work exactly as they do on a conventional DOS computer. For the few restrictions, see ``Restricted DOS commands'' in Chapter 3. You can also install and use most off-the-shelf Windows applications by simply following the application's manufacturer's installation instructions. Section ``Installing applications'' in Chapter 3 provides some tips.


CAUTION: You cannot run multiple simultaneous Windows sessions at one time from a single copy of Windows.

Ending Win4Lin sessions

To end a Windows session, use the standard Windows method. (Start button > Shutdown) Note that the Windows options to shut down or restart your computer result in shutting down or restarting only your current Windows session, not the whole computer.

To end a DOS session properly, type the following at your DOS prompt:

If, for some reason, a DOS or a Windows session doesn't shut down, you may have to kill it. Before you do this, try to exit any applications you are running in the session. Killing a DOS or a Windows session results in the loss of any unsaved data.

To kill a session use the "kill" button on the window manager frame (usually a big X). Another method is to choose Exit from the Window menu on the Win4Lin window menu bar. If you are using Win4Lin without a window manager (i.e. with fwin) you will have to use this. (If the menu bar is not visible, you can bring it up by entering the Show Menu key combination, which is by default <Shift><F12>.)


WARNING: Do not use kill -9 to kill a DOS or Windows session. If you do so you might not be able to start a new session for yourself until the computer is rebooted.

Win4Lin Setup

Even though running DOS and Windows under Win4Lin is very much like running on a stand-alone PC, there are differences in the environment due to the underlying presence of Linux. Hardware devices, memory, and file systems have to be shared by Linux, DOS and Windows sessions, and this creates a need for an additional configuration layer, which Win4Lin provides through the Win4Lin Setup graphical utility. The command "winsetup &"   is used to start the Win4Lin Setup utility.

This utility is the starting point for performing system-wide or individual Win4Lin user configuration. On-line help is provided along the way via "Help" buttons, so you can simply use Win4Lin Setup to see what you can do. You can also read Chapter 4, ``Configuring DOS and Windows sessions'' and Chapter 5, ``Win4Lin resource administration'' for more information.

If you are not working in the Desktop environment, Win4Lin provides a command-line interface for configuring your DOS and Windows sessions and for administering resources. See Chapter 6, ``Using Win4Lin from the command line'' for information.

Controlling the Win4Lin window

When you start a Win4Lin session on your X Desktop, you can move the window, close it, or iconify it just like any other Desktop window.

Note: although you can do some resizing operations using your Linux Window manager, the results may not be what you expect. In general, for resizing Windows sessions, you should use the Windows display properties "Settings" panel.

You can control various other aspects the Win4Lin session from the special menus available from the Win4Lin menu bar. (If the menu bar is not visible, you can bring it up by entering the Show Menu key combination, which is by default <Shift><F12>.)

The menus on the menu bar are:

Window

The Window menu provides the following options:

Zoom
Zoom is not available on Linux. ("Zoom" is the taking over of the real display hardware.)

Hide Menu
Hides the Win4Lin menu and status bars.

To bring the menu and status bars back into view, use the Show Menu key, which is by default <Shift><F12>. (You can redefine this key if the default is not convenient or conflicts with your application. See Show Menu key tune option below.)

Refresh
Redraws the window.

Exit
Ends your session immediately; any unsaved data is lost. Remember that Exit is the last-resort method for ending a session. When possible, you should always end a DOS session by typing quit at the DOS prompt. To end a Windows session you should always close all open applications and then exit Windows.

Options menu

The Options menu provides these options:

Mouse Focus to DOS
Dedicates your mouse to the DOS program running in the DOS window. This only applies when using DOS.

When Mouse Focus to DOS is selected, the mouse cannot be used outside of the DOS window. You also cannot use the mouse to move or resize the DOS window.

To return the mouse to Desktop use, use the Show Menu key, which is by default <Shift><F12>. (You can redefine this key if the default is not convenient or conflicts with your application. See Show Menu key tune option below.)

DOS Fonts
Allows you to pick the size of the font you want to use for DOS sessions:

Automatic
Chooses an appropriate font size based on the resolution of your Desktop display.

Small
Selects the 6x13 DOS font.

Medium
Selects the 8x14 DOS font.

Tune
Displays the Tune menu, which provides the following options:

Autozoom
Causes your session to zoom automatically whenever zooming is required by the application you are running. (Zooming is not available on Linux systems.)

Autofreeze
Causes your session to suspend if the input focus is switched to another window on the Desktop.

Use Private Colormap
Sets the colors for your Desktop, including your DOS window, to the sixteen standard text colors. You may need to do this if the text in your DOS window is hard to see or the colors in your DOS applications seem strange.

Show Menu Key
Displays a Key Properties dialog box that allows you to view or change the Show Menu key setting. (The Show Menu key causes the menu to be shown if it is hidden and unfocuses the mouse if it is focused to DOS.)

Unzoom Key
Displays a Key Properties dialog box that allows you to view or change the Unzoom key setting. (The Unzoom key undoes the effect of the Zoom selection in the Window menu.)

Clicking OK accepts the settings you have selected; clicking Cancel abandons your changes.

Help menu

The Help menu provides online information on various topics.


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