As a new user of Zorin 17.3 Pro in prep for the Win 10 EOL in Oct, I have not had much luck installing Windows apps. Only got one to install so far (Total Commander) and it doesn't see the network, so I can't map network drives - have to go to Linux for that.
-MS OneDrive app for Windows fails (error 0x800706c5) also, I think, for lack of network access
-Apple iCloud app for Windows installs but doesn't work (switched to Linux version)
-balena-Etcher for Windows failed, had to use a Linux version
-TurboTax and Macrium Reflect both failed because the pre-install of .NET Framework failed
I saw here that someone else failed with Quicken (another Intuit app) because of .Net Framework. I also read a little about installing "dotnet" for Ubuntu, so I ran "sudo apt install dotnet-sdk-8.0" but it made no difference when I tried to re-install TurboTax.
I have two questions at this time:
Is the Wine environment blocked form seeing the local network (such that apps that need network access will fail to install)?
Is there a trick to getting .NET Framework 4.x.x to install (or are apps that need it going to fail to install)?
I'm unsure of the answer to the first questiob but dotnet-sdk-8.0 will actually install the .NET Core 8.0 SDK and runtime, not the .NET Framework. For .NET Framework support, you would want to install the Mono runtime.
But that said, those will really only work for .NET applications running natively on Linux, not those running under Wine. Turbotax is notoriously difficult to get running under Wine. You can see how compatible it is here:
The same database is a good place to look up other applications. To be honest, I would install Windows under a VM instead and run the applications within that.
With the caveat that I personally almost entirely use WINE in the form of launching via Steam or Bottles:
I use network applications all the time. They're games, sure, but they actively use the network. You did specify local network, which I haven't tried to do, but OneDrive doesn't go local, so it sounds like you've had no luck with any networked application. Correct me if that's wrong, by all means.
Again, caveat that I do this through Bottles or Steam, but I have used things that rely on .net framework, particularly launchers for games. I know that in Bottles you can skip the "normal" .NET installer by going into the bottle's settings and downloading it as a dependency. Things that expect .NET may launch the installer anyway, but the installer should find it and not go through the whole process.
With regards to having to use Linux versions of various applications, where possible I recommend you do so anyway. WINE is great. It's not perfect, but the things it accomplishes are incredible--but applications that interact with filesystems or lower level OS behavior are going to have issues more frequently. Balena Etcher and given its purpose, likely Macrium Reflect, are such examples. That said, basically everyone here will recommend you drop Balena in favor of Ventoy or other similar tools anyway.
As another user suggested, you might try a VM to run Intuit software, but if your goal is to avoid moving to Win11 at Win10's EOL, it's likely a permanent move, and the best recommendation anyone can give will be to embrace Linux-based replacements. https://alternativeto.net/ is a useful resource in finding some of those.
I am appreciative of the responses I have received and I agree that running a Linux version instead of Windows is the way to go. Using a VM to run a full blown version of Win 10 doesn't solve the EOL issue with security updates and I only use my Win 10 box when I absolutely have to run something that won't run on one of my Raspberry Pi boxes or Chromebooks, so a VM seems like overkill.
I heard of Wine years ago when it first came on the scene but have never heard of Bottles or Steam. Bottles is part this Zorin OS so I have started to read up on it and will start experimenting with it; thanks for your recommendation.
I also started looking at the Wine Forum, as mentioned above, and find many postings of trouble with .NET Framework. So maybe that "Dependency" option in Bottles for the different versions of Dotnet will come in handy in the future.
As a retired Network Engineer, my suite of applications always tends towards "utilities" and not Office apps or games. Unfortunately, utilities tend to want direct access to the hardware/network and Wine isn't going to allow that it seems.
I still like the Zorin OS even through Wine didn't turn out to be a big selling point for me.
Also a Win10 -> Zorin OS experimenter for the same reasons as yourself. Been here done Wine experimentation, well not Onedrive, have a feeling that's impossible on any form of Wine right now, I suspect we need to wait for Zorin 18 which will be built on Ubuntu 24 which supports Onedrive natively, for now I'm simply using Onedrive web interface which is a workaround to some degree.
Anyhow, I have quite the success with Windoze apps using Bottles, the trick was to choose Applications as the type of Bottle sandbox, then add the following dependencies:
YouTube channels show Notepadd++ but that hasn't any dependencies and is easy to get running, however it's a good start.
I've had success with installing reasonable complex apps/dependencies using Bottles, and it's sand boxed which is useful, allowing isolated Windows environments.
One last tip, if you're finding drop and drag fails in uploading to Onedrive, issues with notifications being intermittent and/or latency issues, try logon with Zorin on Xorg option (See my long thread about mouse/latency for details).
Thank you very much, LeaUK, for the dependencies tips for Bottles. I will try them on my next Win app install.
As for OneDrive, I found two ways to go. Since I have installed Chrome from the Zorin Software Store, when I go to the OneDrive web page, I can install the Google PWA (which I call a Pop-out app) and then put that on my Desktop. I also did PWA's for Google Drive, YouTube & YouTube Music, Google Messages, Google Voice, Proton Mail, and WatchNews-Pro.
The other alternative that I did was install from the Software Store, Microsoft Office 365WebDesktop app and upon login, it also opens OneDrive. Cheers
Thanks for the OneDrive O365 tips, tbh I hadn't even realised there was a browser 'install' / PWA option in the first place, I'm simply using via tabbed traditional online Web access. I might give 365WebDesktop a go, although I'm happy with Brave and online services for now. Although I look forward to native OneDrive in Ubuntu 24 / Zorin 18 finger's crossed.