Member Avatar for mariko

I downloaded the latest WINE and I know it works because I downloaded two windows only compatible programs and they work. But now I'm trying to download and execute the .exe file for an awesome online game. It executes the file and a window pops up with the agreement terms. After I agree and hit next, a loader window appears but nothing loads. Thanks in advance.

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Short expert summary tied to the thread

’s installer behavior (EULA appears, then the progress window stalls) is a classic symptom when the game client requires a Windows kernel-mode anti-cheat. Shaiya is one of the titles historically bundled with nProtect / GameGuard, and GameGuard installs kernel-level components that generally won’t initialize under Wine. (en.wikipedia.org)

What that means technically
Wine implements Windows APIs in user space and does not run Windows kernel drivers the same way a real Windows kernel does. Anti-cheat packages that rely on kernel drivers or rootkit-style hooks therefore commonly fail or crash under Wine; Wine’s own bug reports and release notes show repeated issues around nProtect-style drivers. If the installer is invoking a kernel driver early in the update/launcher process the client will hang. (mirrors.sau.edu.cn)

Practical troubleshooting (do these in order)

  1. Capture the installer log to see where it stops:

    WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-shaiya WINEARCH=win32 WINEDEBUG=warn+all wine ShaiyaSetup.exe &> ~/shaiya-install.log

    Look in the log for kernel-driver names or repeated failures. (mirrors.sau.edu.cn)

  2. Try a clean 32‑bit prefix and install common prerequisites (via winetricks) if logs show missing DLLs:

    WINEARCH=win32 WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-shaiya winecfg
WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-shaiya winetricks dotnet20 vcrun2008 d3dx9

  3. Check community installers: Lutris has a Shaiya entry and community scripts that sometimes automate needed tweaks. If those scripts still fail, it’s more evidence of an anti‑cheat blocking the process. (lutris.net)

If it really is GameGuard
Because GameGuard operates at kernel level, the reliable workarounds are outside Wine: run the game in a real Windows environment (VM with a full Windows guest, or dual‑boot). Community tooling (PlayOnLinux/Lutris) sometimes accepts an already‑installed Windows client by copying or linking the installed folder into the Wine prefix — that method can help for games whose launcher only needs data files, but it won’t help if the anti‑cheat driver must run. (playonlinux.com)

Bottom line
Follow the log-first steps above to confirm whether GameGuard is the blocker. If logs show kernel-driver initialization or GameGuard errors, plan for a VM or a Windows boot (Wine/Lutris are unlikely to make that anti‑cheat work reliably).

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for JasonHippy

It would help if you told us the name of the 'awesome online game'! {rolls eyes}

Have you taken a look at the winehq website to see what it says about the 'awesome online game'?
Winehq lists a lot of windows programs that work with Wine and reports each programs compatibility/stability and also gives information on how to get trickier windows programs to work. (see http://appdb.winehq.org)

It also lists programs that don't work.
If your 'awesome game' is that popular, it should be listed somewhere on winehq. If you're really lucky it might even be one of the apps that works really well on Wine!

Member Avatar for mariko

My awesome game is Shaiya. And it is awesome. *sniff* I'm sorry for not listing it. I checked out WineHQ and it's good to know that it can work but the problems addressed on the site are for people farther into the process than I am. However, there was a link posted from someone with a similar problem. I'll post more when I learn more. Thanks!

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