DroppieSep 3, 2025
As it's now Sept, the month agreed [reluctantly] by dad earlier this year for the penguinisation of his win10 pooter, i'm trying to steel myself for The Big Day [or week?]. All along, one of the several complications of this project has been the need for dad to keep using some of his fav legacy windoze pgms. Try as i might, i could not find Linux substitutes for them, nor use them via Wine, nor find online equivalents. Thus i plan, once the penguinisation itself is done, as part of all the subsequent tweaking & finessing, to create a win10 VM, in which will be his "special" pgms .. all offline ofc.

However, in the past week i stumbled across a possibility i'd not considered, & about which i know almost nothing. #Containerisation, one type of which is something called #Docker, which i've heard of vaguely for years but never investigated as i assumed it was a higher level thing for Devs & Sys Admins, not a clueless plonker, apparently in recent years gained an ability to run windoze in linux, not only linux in linux & linux in windoze, as in its earlier years.

So now i'm scrabbling to try & research/learn about this, re if it is viable, & might be a better alternative to the VM i'd intended. One thing i've just read is

https://ops4devs.info/container-technologies/docker-windows-on-linux-running-windows-containers-seamlessly/

OMZ what garbage! I found it nearly incomprehensible, all sizzle & no sausage, chock a block full of management-consultant buzzwords, but entirely lacking in ANY guidance about HOW to bloody well DO it. Also, it was discombobulating how often it jumped between windoze & linux as its host systems... tis supposed to be about windoze dockers on linux, so wtf does it keep referring to docker on windoze? Is it nothing but AI slop?


#EndOf10 #dadspooterproject
Docker Windows On Linux: Running Windows Containers Seamlessly » Ops4Devs.info

Discover how to leverage Docker to run Windows containers on Linux seamlessly. This guide demystifies the architecture, shares best practices, and equips developers with actionable insights for optimizing cross-platform applications.

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Show threadpetrosSep 3, 2025

@MsDropbear42

https://linuxvox.com/blog/docker-windows-on-linux/

"Running Windows containers on a Linux host is not a direct process. Since Linux and Windows have different kernel architectures, a virtualization layer is required. This is typically achieved using a Windows Server virtual machine running on the Linux host. Docker can then manage the Windows containers within this virtual machine."

Well, I don't think that is what you want.

What are the programs your dad wants to keep?

Docker Windows Containers on Linux: A Comprehensive Guide

Docker has revolutionized the way we develop, deploy, and manage applications. While Docker is commonly associated with Linux containers, Docker also supports Windows containers. Running Windows containers on a Linux host might seem counter - intuitive at first, but it can be useful in scenarios where you need to integrate Windows - based services into a predominantly Linux - based infrastructure. This blog post will delve into the fundamental concepts, usage methods, common practices, and best practices of running Docker Windows containers on a Linux system.

linuxvox
Show threadDroppieSep 3, 2025
@petros Thank you! Yes, even allowing for my gross ignorance of container tech 😮🤯😱, so far i was leaning towards "OMZ, this is waaaaaaaay too crazy for me, get me outta here!" ... so your remark certainly helps, heehee. 👍

There's a couple of pgms. I can't atm think of the others, but his "most important" one 🙄🤦‍♀️is a greetings card one, by Hallmark Cards or somebody similar. For decades he's insisted on making cards for family & friends birthdays, births, engagements, weddings, deaths, nosepickings, stubbed toes, bruised elbows... ok sure, some of those might not be true 🤭😇 IMO these stopped being relevant many many years ago, but there's absolutely no telling him any different --- he wants to do these, so he's bloody well gonna do them, & we can all just shutup & "enjoy" them. Sigh.

#EndOf10 #dadspooterproject
Show threadpetros

@MsDropbear42 Is Windows XP good enough for that one?

One can run that one in a VM..

Sep 3, 2025 at 8:18amWeb
Show threadDroppieSep 3, 2025
@petros No, it needs win10 or 11. I have already verified by doing it... creating a win10 VM & installing that pgm in it. So i'll be creating a similar unregistered no-network win10 VM in his soon-to-be-Linux pc.

Years ago when he ran XP he had an older version of the pgm. I doubt he could find the floppy disks 😱 now, but i'm not even gonna bother him about that -- his current pgm has better features, he's used to it, & as i know i can create a win10 VM, this seems the simplest way to go [given it seems Docker ain't an option / alternative].
Show threadDroppieSep 3, 2025
@petros OMZ, maybe the idea is not yet dead after all 😮

If you have time, read this article, but especially watch its enclosed video.

https://www.geeky-gadgets.com/running-windows-in-a-docker-container/

I still have many questions to resolve, but atm anyway, this looks pretty amazing! I have been comfortable for many years with creating & running VMs, but this container tech is brand new to me & seems quite remarkable 🤯

#EndOf10 #dadspooterproject #docker
How to run Windows in a Docker container

Learn how to run a full installation of Microsoft Windows within a Docker container to access Windows applications from Mac or Linux PCs with

Geeky Gadgets
Show threadpetrosSep 3, 2025
@MsDropbear42 Sold :-)