How To Install Wine on 64 Bit Ubuntu: Troubleshooting Unmet Dependencies Error

In this guide, we will walk you through the process of installing Wine on a 64-bit Ubuntu system and also provide solutions to troubleshoot the common ‘unmet dependencies’ error.

Introduction

Wine is a free and open-source compatibility layer that allows users to run Windows applications on Unix-like operating systems, such as Linux, MacOS, & BSD. Instead of simulating internal Windows logic like a virtual machine or emulator, Wine translates Windows API calls into POSIX calls on-the-fly, eliminating the performance and memory penalties of other methods.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure that you have a running Ubuntu 64-bit system and have administrative (sudo) privileges.

Step 1: Update Package Lists

First, we need to update the package lists for upgrades and new package installations. Open the terminal and run the following command:

sudo apt-get update

This command fetches the package information from all configured sources – the URLs for these sources are listed in your system’s /etc/apt/sources.list file.

Step 2: Fix Broken Packages (if any)

If you encounter any broken packages, they need to be fixed before proceeding with the Wine installation. Run the following command:

sudo apt-get install -f

The -f or --fix-broken option attempts to correct a system with broken dependencies in place.

After that, clean up unnecessary packages with:

sudo apt-get autoremove

The autoremove option removes packages that were automatically installed to satisfy dependencies for other packages and are now no longer needed.

Step 3: Add Wine PPA Repository

Next, we add the Wine PPA (Personal Package Archive) repository. This repository contains the latest versions of Wine. Run the following command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa

Step 4: Update Package Lists Again

Now, update the package lists again to fetch the latest packages from the newly added Wine repository:

sudo apt-get update

Step 5: Install Wine

Finally, install Wine by running the following command:

sudo apt-get install wine1.5

Troubleshooting Unmet Dependencies Error

If you encounter an ‘unmet dependencies’ error while installing Wine, it could be due to missing or conflicting packages. Here are some solutions:

Solution 1: Update Package Lists

Run sudo apt-get update to update the package lists and then try installing Wine again.

Solution 2: Fix Broken Packages

Check if you have any held broken packages by running sudo apt-mark showhold. If there are any, you can try fixing them by running sudo apt-get install -f and then sudo apt-get autoremove.

Solution 3: Install Recommended Packages

If you recently upgraded your system or installed it from scratch, make sure you have installed all the recommended packages. You can do this by running sudo apt-get install wine1.5 and following the prompts to install the recommended packages.

If none of the above solutions work, you may need to provide more information about your system and the specific error messages you are encountering.

Conclusion

In this guide, we walked through the process of installing Wine on a 64-bit Ubuntu system and provided solutions to troubleshoot the common ‘unmet dependencies’ error. We hope this guide was helpful and you are now able to run your favorite Windows applications on your Ubuntu system. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask.