Wine asking me to re-run the installer as a normal user, How to fix?

[iSmoke]

I was trying to download and install the WhatsApp desktop app in the system and tried multiple solutions to install it through wine, I am still getting this pop-up every time

i am trying to get any windows software installed.

[Aravisian]

You do not need to use WINE to install WhatsApp on Zorin OS.
You can install directly on Linux:

wget https://github.com/eneshecan/whatsapp-for-linux/releases/download/v1.4.4/whatsapp-for-linux_1.4.4_amd64.deb

sudo apt install ./whatsapp-for-linux_1.4.4_amd64.deb

It also can be installed as a Snap or Flatpak, if you prefer.

On Topic per your actual question; Please read here:
https://forum.winehq.org/viewtopic.php?t=30206

[anon6471198]

Wine cannot run whatsapp and highly sophisticated apps with complex codes, please use the apt app code provided above to install whatsapp on linux. Wine can only run simple windows .exe programs like notepad etc.

[4box]

Hi @iSmoke I'm researching this issue myself.
One possibility I've seen mentioned (although I have not yet tried it, still considering options like VM + Windows, or Android emulator) is to use the Portapps.io repackaging of the Whatsapp Windows installer under Wine.
Portapps - WhatsApp™ portable
GitHub - portapps/whatsapp-portable: 🚀 WhatsApp portable for Windows