
A major concern with Windows users making a transition to Linux is whether their applications and games will run as expected. As you well know, Linux and Windows are two very distinct operating systems with different files, libraries, and software packaging. Sure, you could install a virtual machine or dual boot Linux and Windows, but that often requires huge disk space and may not always be appropriate. Thankfully, you can use an application known as Wine to install and run Windows applications in Linux.
In this guide, you will learn how to install Wine on Linux Mint and run Windows Apps.
How to install Wine on Linux Mint
In this guide, we will install Wine on Linux Mint 20. This method should also work in Linux Mint 19.x versions. At the time of writing this guide, the latest version of Wine is Wine 5.0.3. Follow the steps below to install Wine.
1) Enable 32-bit architecture
The first step is to check the architecture of the system you are running. Obviously, Mint 20 is only available in 64-bit, however for earlier versions, you can confirm the architecture using the command:
$ uname -p

The output above confirms that we are on a 64-bit architecture system. We need to enable 32-bit architecture to proceed with Wine installation. to achieve this, run the command:
$ sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
If you are running a 32-bit system, just skip this step and proceed to the next one.
2) Download and install the Wine repository key
In this step, you need to download and install the repository key. To add the repository key, run the command:

Next, install the key as shown:
$ sudo apt-key add winehq.key

3) Install the cybermax-dexters/sdl2-backport PPA
Next, you need to add the PPA below to provide support for libfaudio0
libraries.
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cybermax-dexter/sdl2-backport
When prompted, hit ENTER to continue.

4) Install Wine on Linux Mint
Thereafter, update the system repositories:
$ sudo apt update
Next, install Wine stable using the command:
$ sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-stable
when prompted, hit ENTER to proceed.

To check the version of Wine installed, run the command:
$ wine --version

4) Configure Wine
So far, we have installed Wine on Linux Mint 20. However, we need to go through a few extra steps. We need to set up Wine so that we can run Windows Apps without an issue. To do this, run the command:
$ winecfg
This creates a .wine directory in your home directory. This is also known as the wine bottle or wine prefix in which a virtual C drive is created. Additionally, the command also allows you to install the Wine Gecko and Wine Mono packages.

Next, click on the install button.

Thereafter, the Wine-Mono package will be downloaded.

Lastly, click OK to wind up the wine configuration.

At this point, Wine is fully installed on our system.
5) Run a Windows application with Wine
In this section, we will try to run and launch the Rufus tool which is a software utility used to create a bootable USB drive. This will be in a .exe format which would run normally in a Windows environment but would throw an error on a Linux machine.
First, download the .exe Rufus file from the Rufus official site. It's a small file of about 1.5MB. One downloaded, navigate to the downloads directory and execute the file as shown with wine command:
$ wine rufus-3-13.exe

On the pop-up window that appears, click 'Yes' to get started. This launches the Rufus Window as shown.

Conclusion
We have successfully managed to install Wine on Linux Mint and shown you how to run a Windows application. Your feedback on this guide is highly welcome.
very helpful guide but some steps are are wrong for users that want to copy and paste into the terminal.
$ sudo add-key apt winehq.key
should be $ sudo apt-key add winehq.key
and
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa://cybermax-dexter/sdl2-backport
should be $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cybermax-dexter/sdl2-backport
then this
sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-stable
didn't work for me and i had to use
sudo apt install --install-recommends wine-stable
Thanks!
Hey Jeremy, thank you for pointing out the typos. I have rectified this accordingly.
I used this on a couple mint installs and it worked great.
On my laptop I had already tried to install it using a different method, and my .exe files weren't automatically opening with wine, they were going to the extract dialog. So I came here and tried this method, since it worked on my other desktops.
When I open winecfg the wine-gecko and wine mono packages don't automatically load.
When I open an .exe file it fails, I assume because these packages aren't installed(?).
Is there a way to install these packages if they don't auto install when I run winecfg?
Could you update the article or create a new one with:
How to install .exe
How to remove .exe
How to start afresh without uninstalling Wine
I think those topics don't get very much attention and are relevant when learning to use Wine
Cheers,
Hi Mike,
Sure. We can add that in our next wine article.
Hello,
entering: wine rufus-3-13.exe
I received this err:module:__wine_process_init L"C:\\windows\\system32\\rufus-3-13.exe"
After trying many things to resolve, I realized that the file name is :
"wine rufus-3.13.exe" not "...3-13.exe"
Just in case that was giving anyone else troubles.
H
how do you run updates on wine? It seems some of my drivers ask for a version that is beyond the present wine bottle version of windows 10 64bit. I am looking for a way to implement an update the so I can proceed with the driver update. Is there a way to do this?
This downloads and installs Wine 5, not 6!