Do you want to run Windows programs on Linux Mint 22 Wilma? If so, you can use PlayOnLinux 4.3.4. First of all, let me state that this software is free software that provides an interface to the Wine infrastructure.
Plus, it allows you to run Windows applications on your Linux system. In this article, I will tell you how to install PlayOnLinux and how to run a program.
How to Set Up PlayOnLinux 4.3.4 to Run Windows-Compatible Software on Linux Mint 22 Wilma
PlayOnLinux is free software that provides an interface to the Wine infrastructure developed for Linux distributions. By installing this software on your Linux computer, you can run all applications in the software database.
Thanks to PlayOnLinux, you can continue to use the commonly used software on your Windows and Linux computers.
For example, users usually do their work or documents with the Microsoft Office program. Since this software from Microsoft only supports Windows systems, it cannot be installed on a Linux system like Linux Mint.
In such cases, you can freely use the PlayOnLinux software. But in some cases, you may not be able to run new versions of Office or other software.
How to Download and Install PlayOnLinux
There are different methods of installing PlayOnLinux on your computer. The first is to use a single line of code (sudo apt install playonlinux) in the terminal or install the application from the software center.
The second method is to download the deb extension package from the PlayOnLinux official website and install it manually.
Step 1
First, open the terminal on your Linux Mint computer and execute the “sudo apt update” command to update the package list, then type your root password and press Enter.
sudo apt update
Step 2
Make sure to refresh your system’s software sources. Then open the terminal and enter the following command to download the PlayOnLinux.deb file.
sudo wget https://www.playonlinux.com/script_files/PlayOnLinux/4.3.4/PlayOnLinux_4.3.4.deb
Step 3
To install the deb package, execute the command “sudo dpkg -i PlayOnLinux_4.3.4.deb” in the terminal. If you see that the dependent packages are not installed, as in the image below, you should install those packages as well.
sudo dpkg -i PlayOnLinux_4.3.4.deb
Step 4
If you need to install the necessary packages for PlayOnLinux, execute the “sudo apt install -f” command in the terminal.
sudo apt install -f
Step 5
Press Y and Enter to guarantee the installation of additional packages of 1,223 MB (1.2 GB) on your system.
Step 6
After installing PlayOnLinux, execute the “playonlinux –version” command in the terminal to check its version. You can also use the “playonlinux” command to run the program.
playonlinux --version
playonlinux
Step 7
After running the program, you can check the version and related information from the Help / About section.
How to Install and Configure Wine
In order for the PlayOnLinux software to run smoothly on your Linux host computer, you need to install the Wine package by choosing one of the x86 or x64 versions according to the architecture type.
Suppose the applications you run on your computer are 32-bit by installing the latest version of the Wine package from the Wine Versions (x86) tab. In that case, you can choose the version you downloaded manually instead of the Wine version, which the program automatically determines on your system during the installation stages of the programs with the EXE extension.
One of the most common PlayOnLinux errors is that the Wine package is not correctly detected on your system. That’s why we recommend installing the Wine package via POL.
Step 1
After running PlayOnLinux, click Tools / Manage Wine Versions from the tool menu.
In the PlayOnLinux Wine Versions Manager window, click the x86 tab and, select the current version from the versions listed on the left panel, and click the > button.
Step 2
When the Wine 7.11 installation wizard opens, click Next.
Step 3
Wait while the Wine 7.11 x86 version is downloaded to your computer.
Step 4
After installing the Wine software from the POL interface, you can check it from the Installed Wine Versions section.
How to Install a Windows Program
After installing PlayOnLinux on Linux Mint, you can now install and use a Windows-compatible EXE or MSI extension program on your computer.
One of the programs you can use in Linux Mint is Bandicam video recording software. Open the terminal on your system and download the Bandicam program via the wget command.
wget https://dl.bandicam.com/old/BDCAMSETUP_ENG_5_1_1_1837.EXE
Step 1
After downloading the Bandicam.exe program, click Install a program from the Actions section of the PlayOnLinux interface.
Step 2
If the application you want to install is not available in the PlayOnLinux database, click Install a non-listed program.
Step 3
When PlayOnLinux Wizard opens, click Next after reading the relevant information for the installation steps.
Step 4
In the next step, in the window that states that this software is not related to WineHQ, click Next.
Step 5
You will see the manual installation window open. Now, please hit the “Next” button to continue here.
Step 6
If you are installing a program for the first time with PlayOnLinux, choose “Install a program in a new virtual drive” and continue.
If you are going to edit a program you have installed, continue with the Edit or update an existing application option.
Step 7
Type the name of the program you will install in the relevant text box and click Next.
Step 8
At this stage, you have downloaded the necessary Wine package. Also, tick the “Use Another Wine Version” option and continue by clicking Next.
Step 9
For x86 applications, select the version of Wine 7.11 you have installed and continue.
Step 10
If the program you will install is 32-bit or 64-bit, you need to specify the virtual drive type. Since we will install the 32-bit version of the Bandicam program, we chose a 32-bit Windows installation for this window.
Step 11
Wait while creating the virtual drive for Bandicam and configuring Wine. At this stage, install the Mono package necessary for the NET Framework applications to work correctly.
Step 12
Click the Browse button to select the EXE program you downloaded to your computer. Select the EXE file you saved in Downloads and open it.
Step 13
When the installation wizard opens, select the language in which you want to use the program and click OK.
Step 14
Click Next in the window informing you that you need to close all your running applications while starting the installation.
Step 15
Accept the license agreement of the video recording software.
Step 16
After editing the components of the video program, click Next.
Step 17
Do not change the location where you will install Bandicam, and click Next.
Step 18
When you have completed the installation, click Finish to close the wizard.
Step 19
Check the bdcam.exe file to create a desktop shortcut for Bandicam and click Next.
Step 20
Type Bandicam for the shortcut of the program and click Next.
Step 21
In order not to create another shortcut, check the I don’t want to make another shortcut option and click Next.
Step 22
When you double-click the shortcut created on the desktop of your Linux Mint system, click Bandicam again in the window that opens and run it.
When you run the Bandicam screen recorder program, you can now start recording your work on your system.
How to Uninstall the Installed Windows Program
Using POL, you can easily remove an application or game that you have installed on your Linux computer from the program’s interface.
Step 1
Mark the program you want to remove from the POL interface and click the Remove button from the tool menu.
Step 2
When the POL Uninstaller window opens, click Next to continue uninstalling Bandicam.
Step 3
Click Yes to delete the virtual drive of the Bandicam program.
Step 4
After successfully uninstalling the Windows program via PlayOnLinux, click Next and close the wizard.
How to Uninstall PlayOnLinux from Linux Mint PC
If you no longer want to run a Windows program or game on your Linux computer, you can uninstall PlayOnLinux from Linux Mint.
Steps:
Step 1
To altogether remove PlayOnLinux from your system, execute the “sudo apt purge –auto-remove playonlinux” command in the terminal.
sudo apt purge --auto-remove playonlinux
Step 2
Press Y and Enter to confirm deleting all dependent packages to be removed from your system.
Step 3
After uninstalling the software, execute the “sudo apt autoremove && sudo apt autoclean” command to clean up all the unnecessary packages left on your system.
sudo apt autoremove && sudo apt autoclean
Video
Installing Old Versions
Conclusion
In conclusion, PlayOnLinux is a powerful tool for your Linux Mint PC. Thus, Linux users can quickly run Windows-compatible programs. Also, you can easily install this software by following the details I have explained to you in this article.
In short, after installing and configuring this software, you can install your Windows software on your Linux Mint OS. In addition, you can access various applications and games available on Windows.