Wine flavoured irc
Over the last week, I have been making it a general policy to use my linux (Ubuntu) over my windows (XP) install.
Thanks to some dedicated people out there, most of the stuff that I like to use in my windows system have an equivalent in linux - or have been linux apps in the first place which were then ported to windows. One of the apps that I like to use is mIRC. Unfortunately, I don’t like any of the linux equivalents. Hence, (with help from Anshul) I went on to Wine and dine irc to welcome it to a linux environment.
Here’s how:
- Step 1 is really simple - install WINE. Get the download here [winehq.com]. Ubuntu users, simply type “sudo apt-get install wine” (without quotes) at the command prompt.
- Here’s the good thing about irc - it has no registry entires. So copying the folder to linux works just fine. Here’s how that goes. Copy the mIRC folder (typically c:\program files\mirc) to ~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/mirc.
- That’s it. To run IRC, all you need to do is navigate to ~/.wine/drive_c/program files/mirc and run wine mirc.exe. Lazy people, like me can simply create an application launcher (also known as a shortcut) that runs this command : wine ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/mirc/mirc.exe . (I am not 100% sure that I got the Program Files syntax correctly. Check before you use this as the correct syntax).
- For all those of you who want to run a server script, the process is the same. The easiest way to do this is install the server script (Sysreset or UPP) in your windows install. These days, most server scripts include the mIRC installer as well. Ok - here I am assuming you know how to set up servers. If you are new to this as well, there are a lot of tutorials that can guide you through the process - and in fact, most channels and servers have custom tutorials of the configuration required.
- The rest of the process is common. Copy the directory - in the case of Sysreset, the folder is usually c:\program files\sysreset. That will go into ~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/sysreset. The command to launch the application remains the same (i.e wine mirc.exe).
- For all those of you who run a server to share/distribute files, there are a couple of extra steps. Fserve’s typically require a path that serves as the root directory. These values will change from the windows install. If you have done a new Sysreset/UPP install in windows and not configured any servers before copying now is the time to do it! This part of the article simply tells you how to set the new path
- Run sysreset -> file server manager -> dcc triggers and click on the trigger that needs a new path set. Click on the option that allows you to set the root path. In case of Ubuntu, the new path will be /media/hdax/ where x varies depending on the number of partitions that are present. Typically, hda1 is the C drive, hda5 the D drive and so on. -OR-
- Run winecfg. Click on the drives tab and click ADD. Click on the newly added drive and browse to the path that maps to this drive - this is similar to mapping a windows network drive. Then, use this path as your root path in the Fserve as described above.
- Make sure your paths are properly set, otherwise Sysreset will not launch the server. If all is done correctly, irc will start up with server(s) blazing. If not, check the path and then make sure that you check the box that says “Enable Server”.
- That’s it! If transfers do not take place, make sure that the ports that need to be open (usually 1026/7) and those specific to the channel requirement are open.
- Happy chatting!
Well, here is my first article (don’t know if there will be any more) on migrating from Windows to Linux. Still new to this, so if anything is confusing, or you have any questions, just drop me a line in the comments and I’ll reply when I get the chance. Enjoy 
