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[quote][i]Originally posted by amorris[/i]
[br]After putting up with origin running with crossover office (which is still quite buggy), I've finally found a better alternative to running Origin in Linux.  It takes a bit of work, but in my opinion, it's definitively worth it.  The basic idea is, through virtualization, install a copy of windows that can run alongside Linux.  Then, inside this virtual Windows, you can install Origin.  From Origin's point of view, it's running in windows XP, and there are absolutely no bugs that I can find.  There is a slight performance hit, but from my limited testing, the speed is still noticeably better than when origin runs in crossover office/wine.

With a bit more effort, you can actually get to the point where you can start origin by the click of a button, and it will run as if it was a local application installed within linux itself.

It's quite convoluted to get this working right, and so now that you are warned, here are the general steps that I followed.

1.  Install vmware server.  You can download it for free (yes, completely free), here: 
[url]http://www.vmware.com/download/server/[/url]

2.  You'll need to install windows XP (actually, windows 2000 or windows server 2003 might work better--more later) inside of vmware.  For this, you need a valid installation disk and key. For the vmware server and winXP installation, there's a good guide for ubuntu users here: 
[urlhttp://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=183209][/url]

3. Once you've gotten windows booted up make sure that you install the vmware tools.  To do so, just right click on your windows tab in the vmware environment.

4. Next, you need to make your virtual machine (guest operating system) talk to your linux operating system (otherwise known as the host) so that you can transfer files back and forth.  It took me a really long time to figure this out: for all practical purposes, your virtual machine is like a completely separate computer.  To communicate between the host and guest, you need to setup networking just like you'd do with any other 2 physical computers that you want to link together.

To network between windows and linux, you need to install samba.  The method to do so will vary from one distribution to another (it might even already be installed).

5. Next, you have to configure the network.  This is done by editing the samba configuration file.  On my ubuntu machine, this file is found in /etc/samba/smb.conf .  Make a copy of the default smb.conf.  In the default file, there's lots of options.  A very good place to get info about samba is: 
[url]http://us3.samba.org/samba/docs/man/Samba-HOWTO-Collection/index.html
[/url]

For the purpose of demonstration, my smb.conf is ridiculously simple:

[code] 
[global]
workgroup = <INSERT WORKGROUP NAME HERE>
netbios name = <YOUR COMPUTER'S NAME>

[homes]
comment = Home Directories
create mode = 0600
directory mode = 0755
valid users = %S
read only = No
browseable = No
[/code]

This file allows a windows computer to connect to the linux one, and will make the user's home directory available for reading and writing.    For this to work, you have to have the same users and passwords in both windows and in "samba".  To add a user to samba, just type (at the command line, in super user mode):

[code] smbpasswd -a <USERNAME> [/code]

6. Once you get the network working, you can map a network drive from within your virtual windows.  You can set it up so that the drive will always reconnect at logon.

7.  At this point you install origin inside your virtual machine, just like you would on any windows machine.  After this step is done, you'll have a fully functional origin "running" on your linux machine (albeit inside a windows XP environment).  It will look something like so:

[[img]/ftp/forum_and_kbase/Images/Screenshot-Desktop.jpg[/img]

As you can see, this isn't the best option because origin is running within the virtual windows which is very constraining.  If you want to achieve the results pictured below, follow step 8.

[img]/ftp/forum_and_kbase/Images/Screenshot-Desktop2.jpg[/img]

8. To be able to run origin in the "seamless" mode (as shown above), you have to follow the steps outlined here: [url]http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=224212&highlight=seamless+RDP+howto[/url]
These instructions are for ubuntu, but the basics should be same for every distribution.  Basically, you extract the special seamless rdesktop (found here: [url]http://howtoforums.net/downloads/seamlessrdp.zip[/url]) to your virtual windows machine (say into a folder called c:\seamlessrdp).  
to run origin, you need to ensure that
a) you are logged out of your windows virtual machine (but the login screen is still showing)
b) fast user switching is enabled in the windows virtual machine
c) remote terminal is enabled in the windows virtual machine, and that outside users are allowed to connect to windows through remote terminal.

then to start origin, from a terminal window in your linux box, type: 
 [code] rdesktop -rsound -p "your password" -A -s "<path to seamlessrdpshell.exe>\seamlessrdpshell.exe <path to origin75.exe>\origin75.exe" <windows ip> [/code]

To get the right windows ip, open a command prompt (start->run->cmd) and type "ipconfig".  In my case, my command to start origin is:

[code] rdesktop -rsound -p "my password" -A -s "c:\seamlessrdp\seamlessrdpshell.exe C:\Origin\origin75.exe" 192.168.1.101[/code]

Another note: for this to work, my linux login is the same as my windows login name.

Once this works, you can make a custom launcher button, and start origin by simply pressing that button (after the vmware windows was started).

PHEW!  This post turned out a lot longer than I anticipated...  I surely have made mistakes and there are lots of omissions.  My intention was to set anyone that wanted to do this on the right track. It took me a few days to figure this out, but in the end, I think that it was well worth the effort.

[/quote]

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T O P I C R E V I E W

amorris

Posted - 12/01/2006 : 2:44:12 PM

After putting up with origin running with crossover office (which is still quite buggy), I've finally found a better alternative to running Origin in Linux. It takes a bit of work, but in my opinion, it's definitively worth it. The basic idea is, through virtualization, install a copy of windows that can run alongside Linux. Then, inside this virtual Windows, you can install Origin. From Origin's point of view, it's running in windows XP, and there are absolutely no bugs that I can find. There is a slight performance hit, but from my limited testing, the speed is still noticeably better than when origin runs in crossover office/wine.

With a bit more effort, you can actually get to the point where you can start origin by the click of a button, and it will run as if it was a local application installed within linux itself.

It's quite convoluted to get this working right, and so now that you are warned, here are the general steps that I followed.

1. Install vmware server. You can download it for free (yes, completely free), here:
http://www.vmware.com/download/server/

2. You'll need to install windows XP (actually, windows 2000 or windows server 2003 might work better--more later) inside of vmware. For this, you need a valid installation disk and key. For the vmware server and winXP installation, there's a good guide for ubuntu users here:
[urlhttp://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=183209]http://us3.samba.org/samba/docs/man/Samba-HOWTO-Collection/index.html br /

For the purpose of demonstration, my smb.conf is ridiculously simple:

 
[global]
workgroup = <INSERT WORKGROUP NAME HERE>
netbios name = <YOUR COMPUTER'S NAME>

[homes]
comment = Home Directories
create mode = 0600
directory mode = 0755
valid users = %S
read only = No
browseable = No

This file allows a windows computer to connect to the linux one, and will make the user's home directory available for reading and writing. For this to work, you have to have the same users and passwords in both windows and in "samba". To add a user to samba, just type (at the command line, in super user mode):

 smbpasswd -a <USERNAME>

It will then ask you to make a password. You should make the user and password the same as on you vmware virtual windows. A word of warning: I really don't know what I'm doing with samba. This config file probably isn't the best one, and probably provides for pretty lax security.

6. Once you get the network working, you can map a network drive from within your virtual windows. You can set it up so that the drive will always reconnect at logon.

7. At this point you install origin inside your virtual machine, just like you would on any windows machine. After this step is done, you'll have a fully functional origin "running" on your linux machine (albeit inside a windows XP environment). It will look something like so:

[

As you can see, this isn't the best option because origin is running within the virtual windows which is very constraining. If you want to achieve the results pictured below, follow step 8.

8. To be able to run origin in the "seamless" mode (as shown above), you have to follow the steps outlined here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=224212&highlight=seamless RDP howto
These instructions are for ubuntu, but the basics should be same for every distribution. Basically, you extract the special seamless rdesktop (found here: http://howtoforums.net/downloads/seamlessrdp.zip) to your virtual windows machine (say into a folder called c:\seamlessrdp).
to run origin, you need to ensure that
a) you are logged out of your windows virtual machine (but the login screen is still showing)
b) fast user switching is enabled in the windows virtual machine
c) remote terminal is enabled in the windows virtual machine, and that outside users are allowed to connect to windows through remote terminal.

then to start origin, from a terminal window in your linux box, type:

 rdesktop -rsound -p "your password" -A -s "<path to seamlessrdpshell.exe>\seamlessrdpshell.exe <path to origin75.exe>\origin75.exe" <windows ip>

To get the right windows ip, open a command prompt (start->run->cmd) and type "ipconfig". In my case, my command to start origin is:

 rdesktop -rsound -p "my password" -A -s "c:\seamlessrdp\seamlessrdpshell.exe C:\Origin\origin75.exe" 192.168.1.101

Another note: for this to work, my linux login is the same as my windows login name.

Once this works, you can make a custom launcher button, and start origin by simply pressing that button (after the vmware windows was started).

PHEW! This post turned out a lot longer than I anticipated... I surely have made mistakes and there are lots of omissions. My intention was to set anyone that wanted to do this on the right track. It took me a few days to figure this out, but in the end, I think that it was well worth the effort.

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