Install Virtual DJ on Ubuntu [WORKED!]

Virtual DJ’ is also one of the leading MS Windows based music mixing software and many DJ hardware devices (such as those from ‘Pioneer’) include built-in support for ‘Virtual DJ’. But as a GNU/Linux user, the problem with ‘Virtual DJ’ is that it runs on Windows and Mac OS X only.

So I decided to see if it could be run on Ubuntu 13.10using ‘Wine’ (a tool that lets you run some of MS Windows software on GNU/Linux), and as you can see from the below screenshot, despite few small issues, I was quite successful in doing so.

I decided to write a simple ‘how to’ guide hoping that someone else might also find it useful. So, without any further delays, let us begin the ‘process’  .

What we need to do …

It is quite simple. First we need to install ‘Wine’ on Ubuntu (I am running 13.10 but the same instructions should work on other versions as well) & then we will install ‘Virtual DJ’ for Windows setup using it &, … that is it!.

1. Installing ‘Wine’ …

Open up the Terminal emulator and enter the below commands.

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

sudo aNpt-get update

If you want the latest stable release of ‘Wine’ which is currently 1.6, then enter the below command.

sudo apt-get install wine1.6

If you want the latest unstable builds (which I do not recommend), then enter the below one instead.

sudo apt-get install wine1.7

On a newly installed Ubuntu machine, ‘Wine’ needs to download around 240-250MB of data, so it might take a little while to download. While installing a downloaded package (Microsoft’s proprietary fonts), you will have to ‘agree’ its EULA terms, & you can use the ‘Tab’ key and the ‘Arrow keys’ on your keyboard for selecting the correct buttons (shown below).

The rest is pretty much automatic.

2. Installing ‘Virtual DJ’ …

Download ‘Virtual DJ’ 7.4.1 for Windows from this page. Once it finishes downloading, go to the downloaded location and double click on the ‘Virtual DJ’ setup file. Before executing the installer, ‘Wine’ will configure its settings first (only happens when you open it for the first time).

Then it will open-up the installer, just like on Windows.

One thing to note is that, when you come to choosing installation method and you if chose ‘Typical’, then wait for few seconds for the ‘Install’ step to appear (shown below).

When all is done, click on the ‘Finish’ button and now you should see a ‘Virtual DJ Home Free’ shortcut icon on your Ubuntu desktop. This is pretty much it, now you should be able to run it by simply double clicking on it.

The Issues …

As mentioned in the beginning, I am not a DJ and thus, I can not go into heavy details. But, except for few minor issues, pretty much all the other features that ‘Virtual DJ’ present you with on Windows, worked on Ubuntu also! (including ‘Sound Setup’, Skins, effects, audio recording etc).

Issue 1 …

The only major issue is related to Window management. If you try to maximize ‘Virtual DJ’ and then unmaximize it (also happens if you try to minimize it) then the whole desktop gets stuck. The only fix is to open Terminal emulator (by pressing ‘Ctrl’ + ‘Shift’ + ‘T’ keys) and restart the display manager by using the below command.

sudo restart lightdm

Although the desktop can be recovered through it, you will lose all the opened application windows and their data. If you however can avoid using the ‘Minimize’ & ‘Maximize’ buttons, you should be fine.

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Optional …

You can somewhat fix this by using ‘Winetricks’ utility that comes with ‘Wine’.

After opening it (shown above), choose: ‘Select the default wineprefix‘ -> ‘OK‘ -> ‘Change Settings‘ -> ‘OK‘ -> ‘windowmanagermanaged=no Prevent window manager from controlling windows‘ -> ‘OK.  Now close the ‘Winetricks’ window (two windows that pop-up, one after the other).

After this, whenever you minimize ‘Virtual DJ’ it will be located around the bottom left-corner of the ‘Application Launcher’ (on ‘Trash’ but you can move the icon) and you can restore it by clicking on its icon.

It’s ugly, but hey, better than nothing  …

This does not solve it completely as the desktop gets stuck if you click on the ‘Maximize’ button, but you can recover it by: 1. unmaximize ‘Virtual DJ’, 2. minimizing it, 3. then bringing it to front again (it is weird, but it works).

BIG THANKS TO : http://www.hecticgeek.com/2014/02/virtual-dj-7-4-ubuntu-13-10/