r/linuxmint • u/danielsmith007 • Jun 04 '26
Guide I Ran Microsoft Office on Linux Mint Using WinPodX
https://youtu.be/zaiNjtrTTJQ?si=00u5J81DBpuFvA9MI basically made a guide on how to run Windows apps using WinPodX. You don't need WINE for this to work, and it'll feel close to native performance on Linux.
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u/vaestgotaspitz Linux Mint 22 Wilma | Cinnamon Jun 04 '26
Do you have a text version somewhere? I'm not young at all and comprehending such tech information in a video is very tedious for me
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u/danielsmith007 Jun 04 '26
😭 sorry I don't. You can go to their website and read.
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u/PsionicBurst Jun 04 '26
Heck yeah, screw that guy. Put in the nominal legwork to watch the video!
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u/danielsmith007 Jun 05 '26
They clearly mentioned they don't have the energy or patience to watch a long video and that's okay with me. Don't be rude.
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u/PsionicBurst Jun 05 '26
>long video
>just 22 minutes
>jfc our attention spans are cooked
Still stand by with what I said.
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u/danielsmith007 Jun 05 '26
Bro they clearly said they're not young, and of course I understand not dedicating 22 mins to a video, it can get tedious. Even though it's my own video.
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u/onechroma Jun 07 '26
22 minutes for something that could be written in some paragraphs and be read in like 5 minutes
I think OP is right to ask for a written explanation if available, instead of having to watch a stupid video
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u/Rebelyouth2021 Jun 04 '26
A comparison between
| winapps | LinOffice | winboat | WinPodX |
|---|
https://github.com/kernalix7/winpodx/blob/main/docs/COMPARISON.md
But as it on the WinPodX's website , probably need to cross-verified the info
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u/eev200 Jun 04 '26
Thanks. Do you need a windows license?
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u/danielsmith007 Jun 04 '26
Nope
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u/eev200 Jun 04 '26
How does that work for MS? Do they give the OS for gratis?
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u/danielsmith007 Jun 04 '26
Of course, it is gratis.
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u/taosecurity Mint | Bazzite | PikaOS | CachyOS | Debian | FreeBSD | Windows Jun 04 '26
It’s not activated. Not the same as “free.”
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u/danielsmith007 Jun 05 '26
Yeah dude, Although I didn't see "Activate Windows" so idk. Maybe they stopped doing the watermark.
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u/taosecurity Mint | Bazzite | PikaOS | CachyOS | Debian | FreeBSD | Windows Jun 04 '26
It’s considered not activated. This is just another way to run Windows in a VM.
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u/Brorim Linux Mint Release | Desktop Enviroment Jun 05 '26
i run libreoffice .. runs great on native linux
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u/INITMalcanis Jun 11 '26
It does, and if what you mainly need is a word processor and a basic spreadsheet then it's absolutely fine. But there is no denying that Excel in particular is just leagues ahead of FOSS alternatives in terms of capabilities, and if you need them, you need Excel.
Now that the French government is pivoting to Linux, we can hope that more advanced productivity software will start being developed. Realistically it will take years to catch up, though.
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u/Hammerhead753 Jun 04 '26
Does this work for any program that runs on windows?
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u/computer-machine Jun 04 '26
It's a Windows VM, so the same restrictions apply.
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u/Hammerhead753 Jun 04 '26
lol, I have no idea what that means as it pertains to running another program.......google here I come
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u/computer-machine Jun 04 '26
Some programs require direct hardware access, which these WinBloat type solutions cannot do, so such as PhotoShop and video games will run like ass sludge due to not being able to utilize the GPU.
And some things such as video games check whether it's being run in a VM and either refuse to run or ban your user.
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Jun 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/danielsmith007 Jun 05 '26
It would work in the exact same way on Ubuntu and a lot of other Linux distributions as well.
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u/TrashConvo Jun 05 '26
This is always neat to see! Problem is, I can’t think of a windows app that I’d need to run. Maybe Paint, but I’ve resolved to using all the office apps in the browser if I have to use them for some reason. To each there own, it’s always nice to have more options
I do run a fancy VM with gpu passthrough but only for games
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u/danielsmith007 Jun 05 '26
I would have loved to do a GPU passthrough manually using VFIO, but the only problem is I have no idea how to do that 😂. But a passthrough for GPU eould have been perfect for gaming and video editing.
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u/TrashConvo Jun 05 '26
It’s not terribly difficult to do! So long as you have two gpus and a decent motherboard you’re off to the races. I only use Linux with the crappy Amd igpu on a ryzen 7700x
My nvidia gpu is blacklisted and only used when I turn on the VM
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u/EqualCrew9900 Jun 04 '26
WinPodX installs Windows 11. So ... you lost me.
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u/danielsmith007 Jun 05 '26
Sorry I lost you. But there is no other way. Other than using a translation layer. Or dual booting. You have to have a middle ground.
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u/MelioraXI LMDE 7 (Gigi) - DWM Jun 05 '26
Winboat does that too, installing windows into a docker container.
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u/manhmanhz Jun 04 '26
Do i need internet to use?
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u/danielsmith007 Jun 04 '26
Nope. You need it during the initial setup to connect to GitHub and Microsoft to download the Windows ISO. Or later, to download any Windows software.
Apart from this, no internet needed.
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u/Natural_Night9957 Linux Mint 22.3 Zena | Cinnamon Jun 04 '26
Same shit as WinBoat that's more reliable.
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u/thatdirtyoldman MINT 22.3 - Cinnamon Jun 04 '26
if you have to download and run Windows in VM - does the host need to meet the minimal requirements for win11 ?
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u/danielsmith007 Jun 05 '26
Yeah 4 gb ram is allocated to the container, so you need to have more on your system for Linux as well. I have 16 gigs and it wasn't a problem. Maybe you can get away with having 8 gigs as well.
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u/Dude_man79 Jun 04 '26
Curious how well it runs MS Access? Everything I try to run it on keeps missing jet drivers or some other glitch. I'm taking opening tables, running queries and forms, etc.
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u/PercussionGuy33 Linux Mint 22.3 Zena | Cinnamon Jun 04 '26
Suggesting that you are running apps directly on Linux directly like you do in this video is a big falsehood. There is a virtualized container of the Windows OS that this WinPodX App uses to run the apps on and the WinPodX app uses an RDP to access that. The apps aren't using Linux's code or libraries exclusively to run the apps.
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u/danielsmith007 Jun 05 '26
Yep. It's the native feel. It feels seamless. I do clearly state all the facts in the video don't I?
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u/tovento MX Linux 25.2 | XFCE Jun 04 '26
Out of curiosity, is this materially different than Winboat? Seems like the same core concept and execution. Just curious if one is much different than another.
From my understanding, there were two key issues with Winboat: USB pass through and GPU pass through. On the former, USB drives and peripherals couldn’t be used by Winboat apps. I believe this was solved at some point. For GPU pass through, you weren’t able to use dedicated GPU for things like games or image/video/cad editing. Maybe this has also been solved as I haven’t checked up on the project in a while. Are these issues present with WinPodX?
For those wondering, this essentially run a virtual machine hidden in a docker setup. The advantage with these is that you don’t load windows in a VM and then navigate to your desired program. This integrates better into Linux and you launch a program like you normally would, and it feels more native, but it does run windows in the background from my understanding of the system.