Odd behavior when using (not drinking!) WINE

[Pete Vander Giessen]

On Sun, Jan 10, 2010 at 9:08 AM, Art Spencer <spencer.art at gmail.com> wrote:
> I have Ubuntu 9.10 and XP in a dual boot configuration, and would like
> to switch to Ubuntu exclusively when I can.  Right now, I have Hardwood
> Solitaire III (my wife can't live without it) installed using Wine, and it
> works but. . .
> When I start the game, the screen goes black except for the very top of
> the screen, where I can see a narrow strip of the opening screen of the
> game.

Hi Art,

I'm not familiar with that particular game and that particular
problem.  You might find a specific solution by going to
appdb.winehq.com, and doing a search for Hardwood Solitaire III.

A general solution might go thusly:
1)  Go to Applications -> Wine -> Configure Wine
2)  Click the Graphics tab
3)  Check the box next to "emulate a virtual desktop", and click [OK]

This will run the program in a little self contained window.
Oftentimes, Windows programs will behave better in this window.  At
the very least, it prevents them from mucking up the entirety of your
display, which makes troubleshooting easier.

If you have a high resolution monitor, and the Wine window is too
small, try repeating the steps above, but change the Desktop Size to
1024x764, or larger.  I run my Ubuntu at 1920x1080 ("HD resolution"),
and run Wine games at 1280x960, for example.

Alternate approach:  take a look through the Ubuntu Software Center,
and install some of the solitaire variants to try out.  Somebody may
have put something together that looks or plays a lot like Hardwood
Solitaire, and you may be able to just go with an Ubuntu native
solution.

Regards,

~PeteVG

" ... the original aphorism being 'In comparison with the ancients, we
stand like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants.' The image was a
commonplace by the time Newton used it, his one contribution being to
erase any sense that he himself might be a dwarf."

~ Lewis Hyde