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I'm trying to figure out if it's possible to install and run a Windows 8.1 app on Linux(currently using Ubuntu 16.04, but not opposed to installing a different distro). I know that WINE is supposed to be able to run some Windows programs, but being almost brand new to Linux I don't know if WINE works with Windows 8.1. Also, I'm not sure how to go about getting the program in the first place to even attempt that, since it would appear that you cannot download Windows 8.1 apps from the Windows store unless you have a device with Windows 8.1. So, My questions is does WINE work with Windows 8.1 apps, and if so, how do I go about getting the app for it to run? Thanks!

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  • basically Windows Store is for windows only. Wine emulate the old .exe API from Windows. Windows Store uses a much different application format and binary and windows store can't be downloaded manually.
    – Kiwy
    Apr 25, 2018 at 7:48
  • I you really need to run MS-Windows apps, then there is Virtual-box. Install virtual-box, then install MS-Windows 8, then install the app. But be aware, it will suck your freedom.
    – ctrl-alt-delor
    Apr 6, 2019 at 11:13

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Wine does a fine job to run individual Windows programs on Linux and you can find good instructions to use it in Ubuntu's official page on Wine

Qemu provides a good computer emulator which allows to run a separate operating system over your current Linux installation, and is well documented on Ubuntu's official Qemu documentation.

Another commonly used option is to setup virtual machines which are a bit similar to Qemu but instead of emulating everything, they use pass through techniques to access the computer's component's through the host. VirtualBox is a popular solution for this, also documented on Ubuntu's official VirtualBox documentation.

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    Qemu and Virtualbox look like they'd be good solutions, but unless I'm mistaken I'd need a windows 8.1 product key for the virtual machine to set up properly, correct? Also, I still have the problem of getting access to the program from the windows app store on Linux(and if this isn't the right forum for that, please feel free to direct me to the right one. Linux isn't the only thing I'm new to right now. :P ).
    – Potatomaster
    May 14, 2016 at 22:30
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    You do need a product key to install Windows 8 on any machine including VMs. Of course you won't have access to the Windows 8 app store from Linux. That is like going to your Ford retailer for warranty information about your Toyota. But you would get access to it from inside the VM though.
    – Julie Pelletier
    May 14, 2016 at 22:32
  • If you're so stuck on using Windows 8, why did you install Linux?
    – Julie Pelletier
    May 14, 2016 at 22:32
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    Actually it was more along the lines of I have Windows 7 and Linux already installed, and found an app that looks really cool but only runs on Windows 8 and don't have the money to buy a key to upgrade/dual boot at the moment. :P
    – Potatomaster
    May 14, 2016 at 22:39
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    “You do need a product key to install Windows 8 on any machine including VMs” unless you use the 90-days trial versions: developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/vms
    – Andrea Lazzarotto
    Dec 20, 2016 at 22:30

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