In such case is my answer:
- try and play around with several linux (via ventoy etc.). what you do so far. good.
- install a second HDD (or SSD). spend a bit money (500GB HDD from a defect notebook should be cheap)
- install linux on that second HDD/SSD (keep the other HDD/SSD with Win for your gaming)
- .. the installer on the second HDD/SSD should recognize Win during install and you will have 2 menue entry at boot; one Linux and one Win

1 members found this post helpful.

I need a program for my work that scans my paperwork it's installation is web-based, how can I get this to work in wine?

https://websphere.landstaronline.com...directscan.htm

The following prerequisites are required:

Windows Installer 3.1
.NET Framework 3.5 SP1

Any help in getting this to work will get me to switch
Thank you

Tom, what you're asking is off-topic for this discussion thread (even though the title might apply to you too).

As per the LQ rules, you should start a new thread for discussing your issue.

When you do so, be sure to provide more details than you currently have, (and a more specific title than this thread would be good too).

Overall feeling of mint is nice and clean. reminds me of windows but its faster and less cluttered. I tried Ubuntu before but prefer mint because it just feels great. Also the store to get apps is very simple.

Yes I was thinking of keeping my 1tb drive for linux. I also have a ssd and 2tb drive. Should I use ssd for linux or windows ?

Format install do not look back and never ask for help and say windows this or that. Learn Linux use slackware. anything else you learn apt-get yum pacman etc.
thats my advice I did that in 1997 and it stuck.
I learn dum I mean rpm yum learned apt-get break my private builds then I just stuck to simple stuff. like open a file configure it boom your done or read ton of help to navigate a program that uses anther program to write a couple of letters.
If it is for browsing then anything will do. I would try puppy linux on a cdrom then your cooking.

Slackware is my favorite. All the rest are clones.

Games is the only thing stopping me as not everything is compatible. such as box game pass app

Buy a console designed for gaming the pc gaming thing is all hype.
Most game consoles can use the top stuff.
Got nothing against gaming so go play with your games bro. Ton of systems designed for the gaming experience.
I embed chromium into gaming. I have no use for most of my work. but hey.
get a good Xbox or a PS5 and play they are designed around it.
Xbox does steam not an issue. man go play fing games.

To my way of thinking: "the operating system is the horse, not the cart." And so, it's okay to have both "an Arabian stallion" and "an old gray mare."

Virtual-machine technology – my favorite is VirtualBox – gives you the chance to have the best of both worlds at the same time. For instance, you could install [Linux], then install VirtualBox (it runs on everything ...), then install [Windows] on that. Or, the other way around. And you can freely share information between the two.

What matters to me is: "the cart, and the chest-of-gold that's riding around in it." With today's modern microprocessors and their built-in support for virtualization, you now have plenty of options that a dozen-or-so years ago you would not have been able to consider. "Fuhgeddabout" dual booting, and don't spend a terrible amount of time with Wine. Technology has moved on at its usual breakneck pace.

As mentioned, the virtual world is the way to go for ease and being able to use both systems at the same time. I also have one app (a medical program) that only runs on windows so I keep my laptop dual boot, but all my other machines run linux only with VMs for whatever else is needed.

For performance reasons only, it makes sense when gaming to have windows on the hardware and dual boot to be able to use linux when not in the gaming world. For any other purpose it would make more sense to use linux on the hardware and put windows in the VM.

And my best advice is to NEVER EVER ACCEPT A BLANKET "use this distribution becuase it is best" recommendation. Even from ME!

Anyone giving such advice is sold on what is best for THEM, but it is unlikely to be best for YOU! Taking a look might be a good thing, but better advice will come form those who will give you several options based upon what information you provided and allow you to make your own intelligent selections based upon your real use and values.

Virtualization is a great way to go, but do understand that Microsoft licensing detection is easily corrupted and assumes hardware that does not change. It is very easy to break on real hardware, even easier on virtual hardware. Virtualizing Linux, which does not have that part, works a treat. Virtualizing Windows may or may not serve you well.

I agree VM is a great tool but only install mac and windows on it to compile code. Never for another type of work. I really struggle with the UI thank Gosh most of the time I am on console.
I just know one thing. The stable rock is Linux for me.
Big reason you do not see a ton of games in Linux and this was explained by Linus . You keep moving the GLIBC you keep moving the GCC.
just no way to build what you want. Even with dockers snaps etc. It is compatibility.
All super large projects build there own libraries to build against. Blender for one.
It is a super huge deal. I maintain 43 libraries for one project.
Look at chromium 90,000 pages of code. 90,000 objects to link.
You really think that team wants another GLIBC or GCC. No so they created a build system so large impossible for 90,000 people to keep up.

You can build all static you want. Then one day some one upgrades harfbuzz or a gtk. Now I have to pull more and more work into get the games to work.
The build System on Chromium is so large there is no way to secure it.
This is why many make fun of slackware 14.2 being so old most of my work is done in it.

All static libraries etc etc. This is the main reason why Linux and gaming do not make it.
If you build a system around it Like Steam OS did then your getting closer.
Any one that wants to build a linux distro for gaming right now is the worst time.
It will be broke everyday.
do to Vulkan and xwayland etc etc.
Steam had a great Idea with ubuntu 14.04 should have stayed there. Now they are trying to do it with all flavors it just breaks stuff.

While there is some truth in that (a LOT actually) there are game designers moving entirely to development on Linux and then PORTING to Windows and consoles. It is a much better platform for development, and easy to port from compared with the other options. I run several native Linux games, and a few of them have been around since before there was a Steam engine: for ANYTHING. They still run and run well, but you do not get the latest accelerated graphics: and there is where the biggest sticker is. The latest graphic engines track the latests graphic hardware, and that target is fast moving.

Yes, you DO get great native games in Linux. But the dependencies limit the distribution targets. THIS is where virtualization really shines, because I can freely run a dozen different distributions, each optimized for a specific game, on pretty average hardware (with a GOOD, but not cutting edge video system), and it still performs well and looks pretty good. Also, several of the games are free: built BY this community FOR this community!

FYI, @wpeckham, I have had absolutely no problems installing a duly-purchased copy of Microsoft Windows in a VM. The same is true of Linux. (Apple's proprietary and hardware-specific "MacOS / OSX" is of course entirely a different story.)

After all, "in the cloud™" today basically means one of three things: a virtual machine, a container host, or a "tenant" scenario such as "[Sales]Force.com." Today, a system's operating environment is far more likely to be "virtual" than "hard silicon." Efficient hardware support for this is now a feature of every modern microprocessor.

Oh absolutely! I have never had a problem installing and running Windows server or desktop (enterprise). The problem comes when something about the storage changes, or the virtual drivers update, or any of a dozen other things and the license monitor suddenly decides it is now an unlicensed copy and you need to reauthorize it. If you have an enterprise activation that may be fairly quick, if not or you have a home version it may mean a call to Microsoft. Home versions get a limited number of activations, and they want you to pay for a new license. None of that is a stopper, but should be something you KNOW about before investing too much time and trouble.