CrossOver Support - Community Forums

We have been discussing the issue in another thread. Ultimately, the discussion went in a different direction and got a bit off-topic. It's going to be difficult to read through all of it. For this reason, above all, I'd like to summarize the subject here. I'd also like to know who else supports the idea.

The issue:

• Crossover installation on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS is a pain via .bin file.

• Crossover installation on Ubuntu 12.10 and higher is a pain via .deb file.

• Crossover is missing libs and other things on all (?) Ubuntu versions.

• Crossover hangs during the installation via USC on Ubuntu 13.10 64-bit, which can cause other issues if you force a reboot of the machine.

• Crossover deletes installed apps and some other things on 12.04 64-bit when trying to install one of the many missing libs - libgsm.

• Crossover is outdated on all Ubuntu versions. Steam, one of the officially supported apps, is broken on older versions of Crossover. This alone is a showstopper and a good reason to update.

How it should be: Easy, accessible and updated!

• Crossover 13.x and future updates during the lifetime of currently available and future Ubuntu LTS releases via USC. In this case, we are looking at a five year timeframe of support from Codeweavers. If this isn't possible, at least support Crossover until the next LTS is available for download. A new LTS is released every two years.

• Crossover 13.x and future updates during the lifetime of currently available and future Ubuntu normal releases via USC. In this case, we are looking at a nine month timeframe of support from Codeweavers.

• If you have to prioritize, go with LTS. Not only is LTS important for enterprise users, but it is also the default/standard installation on mainstream computers coming from Dell, HP, Lenovo and others. Even Valve focuses on the LTS of Ubuntu for Steam.

• The above should be an automated process for updates and the installation itself via USC - no manual lib and dependency hunting whatsoever should be required.

• The above should not cause conflict or delete any other programs on your system.

• The above goes for 32- and 64-bit Ubuntu installations.

Final words:

Can it be done? The situation regarding Ubuntu + outdated Crossover has been going on for several months. Ppl who bought and are effectively still buying Crossover via USC are screwed right now. This goes for 12.04 LTS and the normal versions that follow it. Crossover has more or less the same issue on all Ubuntu releases. It's a big deal having to think about command lines to manually install missing libs on something that is suppose to be more user friendly than vanilla Wine and PlayOnLinux. Some folks won't be able to install Crossover at all. Personally, I just want to see, click, buy, download and run it. That's the least - the minimum - that I expect from a commercial product I paid for. Basic functionality has to be there. Needless to say that Crossover is a great, underrated product and it runs very good on my Nvidia hardware, but it's too complicated to install and use on Ubuntu.

Additional ideas for future releases on Ubuntu:

In addition to the above, I suggest to promote Crossover via USC and also via: www.ubuntu.com/desktop/features

A partnership with Canonical would help both sides to make their product more attractive and accessible to users switching from other operating systems. It's a win-win situation for both parties. I'm sure you guys can find a nice deal for both sides. This is how I imagine such a thing:

Crossover on Ubuntu.com:

Crossover on USC:

Yes, I am aware of the ugly copy and paste work of mine. You get the idea.

Thanks,
Alex

Hey Alex,

I just wanted to let you know that there is an ongoing discussion on the advocate forums between a few of us (advocates) and Codeweavers staff. An immediate result of that discussion was this wiki page:

http://www.codeweavers.com/support/wiki/linux/faq/Ubuntu/PrecisePangolin

and a better download page, with clearer download options:

http://www.codeweavers.com/products/crossover-linux/download/

I'm not sure yet where we stand on the whole dependency issue yet.

I made an offer to test packages on a few distros, hunt down all the extra required packages and forward that info to Codeweavers. I intended to do this during the next beta cycle but since I needed to set up VMs and get the hang of the workflow, I've already done a test run which included Ubuntu 12.04, 13.10, 14.04 and Debian 7.3. I used the bin file for 12.04 and the .deb for the rest.

Two interesting things:
1) package names across the whole debian family seem to be the same which gets us to the 2nd interesting thing
2) for Ubuntu 13.10, 14.04 and Debian 7.3 the same command line can be used to install the remainder of missing deps after the CX deb package was installed.

If one omits libgsm form the apt-get install line, actually, the command will take care of the missing deps in 12.04 too. But one has to install the packs that are mentioned on the wiki page which concerns this distro and which I linked to earlier in this post.

I've forwarded my findings to Codeweavers via the ticket system.

This gives me a head start for future beta cycles since I already have the list of required packages.

• Crossover deletes installed apps and some other things on 12.04
  64-bit when trying to install one of the many missing libs - libgsm.

Actually this is incorrect. It's not CrossOver doing this but Ubuntu's package management system because the 32bit version of libgsm seems broken. I'll try to see if there's already a bug report on Launchpad for this.
If not, I'll fill one. No idea whether it'll get fixed or not.

Cheers,
Silviu

LE: Created a bug report for libgsm here:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libgsm/+bug/1270629

It's probably better if it gets a "confirmed" status. For this you need to login to Launchpad (or create and account) and say that it affects you too:

Sup Silviu,

first of all - a big thanks to you guys for looking into the issue and actually creating guides for us 12.04 users. I'll be heading home in a few hours and then I'll look into the links you posted. Also, I'll add my voice to the launchpad bug report that you linked above. I should have an account for it, if not, I'll create one. Tbh, I have never used launchpad to report bugs before. It's good you took care of it. Usually I just ask around on askubuntu.com or forward any bug reports Ubuntu wants from me when something crashes. Thankfully, the last part is a rare thing on LTS - at least in my experience.

Muchas gracias for listening to the feedback! I'll report back tonight. 😏

Alex

Hello again,

I came back a bit later last night, so I was only able to add my vote via launchpad last night before going to ZzzZz. Its status is on confirmed now. A few minutes ago I took the time to take a look at the updated Ubuntu wiki page and at the improved download section. Now that right is a good start in the right direction. Kudos to the ppl involved!

"The caveat with the .bin installer is that it will install whether the libraries CrossOver needs to run are present or not. CrossOver currently needs the following packages to be present in order to work as expected: ..."

The packages needed after this message... I didn't even know there were so many. Good work hunting them all down. Actually, I will uninstall and reinstall Crossover 13.0.1 via the method provided by the new wiki page. I'll get back to you guys in order to provide some basic user-feedback on how it went and if there were any issues. Before I do so, I have a few questions though.

Questions & feedback:

• Is it still necessary run this command via terminal before installing the packages and libs mentioned in the new Ubuntu wiki page? sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 ; sudo apt-get update Or do the commands provided on the new wiki page take care of everything for Ubuntu 12.04 and 13.10 64-bit?

• The guide refers to a 64-bit installation of Ubuntu. Are there any plans to provide a version for 32-bit users? Granted, under Ubuntu 32-bit there are far less libs missing, but it could still be helpful.

• The guide focuses on users with the following error: "Dependency is not satisfiable: dpkg (>= 1.16.5)" <- I recommend making it a bit more clear that the guide is also meant for new installations of Crossover 13.x via .bin file on 12.04 systems. So if a new user comes along and downloads the .bin file for 12.04, the person checking out the support section will know that the currently available guide on that page is also the recommended way of installing a fresh copy of Crossover 13.x on 12.04 64-bit.

That's it so far. Keep up the good work! Please continue keep me updated on this subject. I'd like to know how things work out and if you guys come up with a way to update Crossover via USC or if you find a way to provide a terminal-free and automated process for the package and lib situation. Feel free to contact me if you need any help testing or verifying anything.

Thanks,
Alex

Alexander Tornow wrote:

Questions & feedback:

• Is it still necessary run this command via terminal before
  installing the packages and libs mentioned in the new Ubuntu wiki
  page? sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 ; sudo apt-get update Or do the commands provided on the new wiki
  page take care of everything for Ubuntu 12.04 and 13.10 64-bit?

Nope, see this note:

Deprecated, for use with CrossOver 12.5 and older

I think it's still required for Debian 7 though.

Alexander Tornow wrote:

"[i]The caveat with the .bin installer is that it will install
whether the libraries CrossOver needs to run are present or not.
CrossOver currently needs the following packages to be present in
order to work as expected: ...[/i]"

The packages needed after this message... I didn't even know there
were so many. Good work hunting them all down. Actually, I will
uninstall and reinstall Crossover 13.0.1 via the method provided by
the new wiki page. I'll get back to you guys in order to provide
some basic user-feedback on how it went and if there were any
issues. Before I do so, I have a few questions though.

Questions & feedback:

Thank you! The package research wasn't really difficult, it was more putting it all in one place. It's one of those things one tends to forget people need. My sincerest apologies that we did not think to do this sooner. And more so, thank you for the feedback, thank you so, so much. It allows me to see what we have from a user prospective more clearly.

Alexander Tornow wrote:

• Is it still necessary run this command via terminal before
  installing the packages and libs mentioned in the new Ubuntu wiki
  page? sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 ; sudo apt-get update Or do the commands provided on the new wiki
  page take care of everything for Ubuntu 12.04 and 13.10 64-bit?

Good point! I have added this to the article and made it so that new users can jump to the installation section.

Alexander Tornow wrote:

• The guide refers to a 64-bit installation of Ubuntu. Are there any
  plans to provide a version for 32-bit users? Granted, under Ubuntu
  32-bit there are far less libs missing, but it could still be
  helpful.

I would tend to add that information to the article and just have one for all Ubuntu users. I have adjusted some of the wording.

Alexander Tornow wrote:

• The guide focuses on users with the following error: "Dependency
  is not satisfiable: dpkg (>= 1.16.5)" <- I recommend making it a bit
  more clear that the guide is also meant for new installations of
  Crossover 13.x via .bin file on 12.04 systems. So if a new user
  comes along and downloads the .bin file for 12.04, the person
  checking out the support section will know that the currently
  available guide on that page is also the recommended way of
  installing a fresh copy of Crossover 13.x on 12.04 64-bit.

Done... I think. Please let me know if it is not clear enough.

Alexander Tornow wrote:

That's it so far. Keep up the good work! Please continue keep me
updated on this subject. I'd like to know how things work out and if
you guys come up with a way to update Crossover via USC or if you
find a way to provide a terminal-free and automated process for the
package and lib situation. Feel free to contact me if you need any
help testing or verifying anything.

We'll keep everyone updated as we move along. We have plans to get back to the USC but it is not as quick to fix as creating a decent wiki page. If/when we have something to test, we'll ask!

Sup guys,

@Silviu:

Ah, I see. You are referring to this link, right? -> http://www.codeweavers.com/support/wiki/linux/faq/ubuntu_satisfy_dependencies

But I was referring to this link: http://www.codeweavers.com/support/wiki/linux/linuxtutorial/install

The second link doesn't show the notification that this method is deprecated and that it's only meant for Crossover 12.5 and below. It also doesn't inform the user for which Ubuntu version that command is meant for. Or maybe I'm missing something? It's a bit confusing. Also, if my mind serves me right, the last time I installed Crossover 13.x via the .deb file on Ubuntu 13.10, it brought up the USC to install it, and then it actually recommended running that command before installing the .deb.

@Mr. Wills:

You're welcome. It's only human to forget some things here and there, especially when you support so many apples (with bite marks) and oranges out there, eh? What's important is the fact that you guys are reacting and working on it. /epicvoice-on That's what it is about, that's what makes you shimmer in a golden shine. /epicvoice-off

Thanks for editing the wiki page. I'll take another close look at the wiki page and get back to you tomorrow. I might have one or two ideas floating around in my huge head. Oh and about Crossover and USC.. just in case it isn't possible via USC; maybe you guys could offer a special/seperate PPA for the time being, until this issue is resolved? I think vanilla Wine and PoL offer a PPA so their users can stay up to date with the latest stable and the latest development version of their magic.

Kk, that's it for today. My body needs some sleep now.

Thanks,
Alex

Sup guys,

sorry for taking so long to reply. I have been a bit busy lately, but I do have some feedback to provide. I took the time to test the new guide for Ubuntu 12.04.3 64-bit LTS found here. Everything worked out just fine. I used a fresh and updated installation of Ubuntu 12.04.3 64-bit for the test.

Some more detailed info:

Number 1

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

It seems Silviu is correct and the information posted here isn't needed for 12.04.3 64-bit LTS. Using the command above just spits out this error: dpkg: Error: unknown Option --add-architecture

Number 2

apt-get install liblcms2-2:i386 libx11-xcb1:i386 libasound2:i386 libc6:i386 libcomerr2:i386 libcups2:i386 libdbus-1-3:i386 libexpat1:i386 libffi6:i386 libfreetype6:i386 libgcc1:i386 libgcrypt11:i386 libgnutls26:i386 libgpg-error0:i386 libgssapi-krb5-2:i386 libice6:i386 libk5crypto3:i386 libkeyutils1:i386 libkrb5-3:i386 libkrb5support0:i386 libp11-kit0:i386 libpciaccess0:i386 libpng12-0:i386 libsm6:i386 libstdc++6:i386 libtasn1-3:i386 libuuid1:i386 libx11-6:i386 libxau6:i386 libxcb-glx0:i386 libxcb1:i386 libxdamage1:i386 libxdmcp6:i386 libxext6:i386 libxrandr2:i386 libxrender1:i386 libxxf86vm1:i386 zlib1g:i386

This command works just fine as well. Good job! In fact, two or three packages were actually missing, but were downloaded and installed without a problem. Nothing was deleted or replaced. The packages missing were:

• liblcms2-2:i386
• libxrandr2:i386
• I didn't write down the third one.

Number 3

apt-get install libfontconfig1:i386 lib32nss-mdns libxslt1.1:i386 libxcursor1:i386 libxcomposite1:i386 libtiff4:i386 libosmesa6:i386 libopenal1:i386 libmpg123-0:i386 libldap-2.4-2:i386 libgstreamer0.10-0:i386 libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0:i386 libxinerama1:i386 libxi6:i386 libv4l-0:i386 libsane:i386

Installing those packages worked just fine.

Afterwards I did a quick ~/cxoffice/bin/cxdiag to check for missing libs. There are indeed a few libs missing, but those are no big deal and it's actually safer to not include those just yet. Missing libs are:

alex@alex-SATELLITE-L750:~$ ~/cxoffice/bin/cxdiag
[MissingLibCapi20]
"Level"="Suggest"
"Title"="Missing 32bit libcapi20.so.3 library"
"Description"="Provides support for some ISDN cards. Very few applications need this."

[MissingLibGsm]
"Level"="Suggest"
"Title"="Missing 32bit libgsm.so.1 library"
"Description"="Lets Windows applications use the GSM codec for audio compression and decompression."

[MissingLibHal]
"Level"="Suggest"
"Title"="Missing 32bit libhal.so.1 library"
"Description"="This may be needed for Windows applications to automatically detect CD-ROM and USB key insertion."

Number 4. Suggestion (for the time being):

• Remove "sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386" from the new 12.04 wiki-page (it doesn't work).

• Add "sudo" infront of the other commands on the wiki-page. That's easier for a newcomer to copy and paste.

• Make a new tuto video for Ubuntu 12.04.3 LTS users and link to it via the new wiki-page. Sorta like this video, but focused on Ubuntu 12.04.3 64-bit LTS users. It might be easier for some ppl to see what they're supposed to do.

Verdict: I tested all of the above natively on three different computers. It worked just fine. I also helped a friend install Crossover 13 on his Ubuntu 12.04.3 64-bit machine. Even though he doesn't know how to use the terminal and its commands, I was able to teach him how to do it - just in case he has to do it on his own. It's a good workaround for the time being. I am also translating the information found on the new wiki-page to the German and Spanish language. This way my DCU league mates can use Crossover 13 to play DCU (and other games) on Ubuntu.

Thanks,
Alex