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Raspberry basics: Project 11b

Project name: Install .NET Framework 4.7 on Raspberry PI 3 model B board

Tags: Raspberry, Raspberry PI 3 model B board, ExaGear Desktop, Wine, .NET Framework 4.7

In this project, you need these parts :

1.Raspberry PI 3 model B 1 pc

2. Micro SD card and SD card adapter 1 pc

3. Micro USB power supply (2.1 A, max 2.5 A) 1 pc

4. USB keyboard 1 pc

5. USB mouse 1 pc

6. TV or PC monitor 1 pc

General

We will learn how to install .NET Framework 4.7 on Raspberry PI 3 model B board.

Understanding the Wine

Wine (originally an acronym for "Wine Is Not an Emulator") is a compatibility layer capable of running Windows applications on several POSIX-compliant 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 and allowing you to cleanly integrate Windows applications into your desktop.

Wine is a compatibility layer that allows running Windows applications on Linux systems (www.winehq.org).

Windows apps are mostly compiled for x86 CPU architecture and they won’t run on ARM-based Raspberry Pi with Wine. ExaGear Desktop can solve the problem. It provides x86 Linux environment on your ARM device making it possible to run x86 Windows apps with Wine.

Another complexity comes from Raspberry Pi specificity with user/kernel virtual memory split. You should build Wine for 2G/2G split systems (by default it is configured for 3G/1G). We did it and added the right version of Wine to default repositories of ExaGear’s guest x86 system. 

Understanding the .NET Framework 4.5

.NET Framework is a software framework developed by Microsoft. It includes a large class library and provides language interoperability (each language can use code written in other languages) across several programming languages. Because of these features .NET is very widespread and a lot of Windows applications use it. Wine has a helper script called winetricks that allows you to install MS Dotnet Framework. 

Some software developers need their ARM devices like Raspberry Pi with .NET Framework software on it. But it is not so easy to realise. Raspberry Pi devices are usually used with Linux-based operating systems like Raspbian or Ubuntu. There are a lot of Windows applications which unfortunately haven’t been ported to Linux yet. So they can not be installed on Raspberry Pi. However you cn use Wine to run them. In this project we will you how to install the modern version of .NET Framework 4.7 on Raspberry Pi and add Dot net compatibility to Wine.

Understanding the Raspberry PI 3 model B

The Raspberry Pi 3 is the third-generation Raspberry Pi. It replaced the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B in February 2016.

Specification:

• Quad Core 1.2GHz Broadcom BCM2837 64bit CPU
• 1GB RAM
• BCM43438 wireless LAN and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) on board
• 40-pin extended GPIO
• 4 USB 2 ports
• 4 Pole stereo output and composite video port
• Full size HDMI
• CSI camera port for connecting a Raspberry Pi camera
• DSI display port for connecting a Raspberry Pi touchscreen display
• Micro SD port for loading your operating system and storing data
• Upgraded switched Micro USB power source up to 2.5A

Signals and connections of the Raspberry PI 3 model B

Step by Step instruction

We recommend using a high-performance SD card for increased stability as well as plugging your device into an external display to see the default application booting up.

1. Installing ExaGear Desktop

We assume that you have Windows 10 installed on your PC and Raspbian OS installed on your Raspberry PI 3 board.

1. Insert your micro SD card with Raspbian OS to Raspberry Pi 3 board.
2. Connect the TV or PC monitor Display port (HDMI Port) to your Raspberry PI 3 board HDMI Port (HDMI cable required).
3. Make sure that your monitor or TV is turned on, and that you have selected the right input (e.g. HDMI 1,  etc).
4. Plug in your USB mouse and USB keyboard to Raspberry PI 3 board USB ports.
5. Get connected. Connect an Ethernet cable to 10/100 LAN port of Raspberry Pi 3 or plug in WiFi adapter (see the list of supported here) to USB port of Raspberry Pi 3.
6. Connect Micro USB power supply to Raspberry PI 3 board micro USB input.
7. The Raspberry PI desktop will start up.
8. Open Terminal window and type the command: sudo apt-get update
9. 
10. Then type the command: sudo apt-get install exagear-desktop to install ExaGear Desktop. Press Y button on the keyboard when you see the message Do you want to continue?Y/n
11. 
    

2. Launch guest x86 system

1. Enter the guest x86 system using the following command: exagear. A graphical windows will pop up and offer you to activate the trial of ExaGear Desktop. 
2. 
   
3. Enter your first name and last name, email address and press Activate Trial button.
4. 
5. You will see the message - You successfully go trial. Press Close button. You will be forwarded into the guest x86 system in the terminal. You can check that you are in x86 environment by running the command: arch
6. It is recommended to update apt-get repositories on the first launch of the guest system: sudo apt-get update
7. 
   
8. Type the command to restart your Raspberry Pi 3: sudo reboot

3. Installing Wine

1. The Raspberry PI desktop will start up. Open Terminal window and enter the guest x86 system using the following command: exagear
2. It is recommended to update apt-get repositories on the first launch of the guest system: sudo apt-get update
3. 
   
4. Type this command to install Wine inside the guest system: sudo apt-get install wine
5. Package manager will offer you to install a bunch of packages. Agree and start the installation.
6. After installation type the command: wine --version to check the version installed.

4. Installing the .NET Framework

1. Install the following tools by typing the commands: 
2. sudo apt-get install cabextract
3. wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Winetricks/winetricks/master/src/winetricks
   
4. chmod +x winetricks
5. On Ubuntu you can install Winetricks using the sudo apt-get install winetricks command.
6. Install .NET Framework version 4.0 using winetricks:
7. ./winetricks dotnet40
8. You will see the Microsoft .NET Framework setup dialog window. Now follow the prompts and start installation. Note that winetricks first installs .NET Framework version 2.0, then version 3.0 and finishes with installation of the version 4.0. Also winetricks checks and uninstalls Mono before installing Microsoft .NET Framework because Microsoft .NET Framework doesn’t work well with Mono in the same Wine environment.
9. Wine can mimic different Windows versions for each application. For .NET Framework version 4.7 it is requred to set up Windows 7. Configure Wine by typing the command: winecfg
10. Select Windows 7 value from the drop down list of Windows version field on the Applications tab in the Wine configuration window.
11. Configure Wine window size. By default, the Wine window has a fixed size that is not convenient. You can configure Wine to be able to run .NET Framework 4.7 in a separate window with adjustable size. Open the Graphics tab in Wine configuration window and uncheck Emulate a virtual desktop checkbox. 
12. Press Apply and then Ok buttons.
13. Download and install .NET Framework version 4.7 on Raspberry Pi using Wine. You can both use this link for downloading or simply type the command in the terminal: wget http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/a/4/ba4a7e71-2906-4b2d-a0e1-80cf16844f5f/dotnetfx47_full_x86_x64.exe
    
14. wine dotnetfx45_full_x86_x64.exe
15. Follow the promts and get Microsoft .NET Framework installed on your Raspberry Pi.
16. Congrats!!!Now you can close guest x86 terminal and run .NET Framework 4.7 from the Raspbian start menu.
17. Go to Raspberry icon-> Wine->Programs->you will see your program listed here.
18. Wine Application Database contains information on application compatibility with Wine as well as tips and tricks on Wine configuration for a particular application.

Summary

We have learnt how to install .NET Framework 4.7 on Raspberry PI 3 model B board

Library

• No libraries needed in this project

Sketch

• No sketches needed in this project