FAQs on running Windows programs on a Mac

Q. What is Crossover and why do I need to install it to run Netica?

A. CrossOver is a commercialized version of Wine. Think of Wine as a compatibility layer for running Windows programs. Wine is not a Windows emulator (hence the name, Wine Is Not an Emulator). The development on a MacOSX version of Netica has been paused since so many of our Mac clients are now using the Windows version of Netica on their Intel based Macs (using third party software), and they seem satisfied with that.

Q. Why am I downloading a trial version of Crossover?

A. The original open-source version of Wine can be complicated to install and is written by volunteers, hence there is no user support. Codeweavers offers a 30 day full featured version of Crossover, so you can try it out and get support along the way. Once you’re satisfied with its performance on your Mac, you can purchase it for $39.95. All purchases of CrossOver are used to directly fund the developers working on Wine. So CrossOver is both a great way to get support in using Wine and to support the Wine Project. That’s a small price to pay compared to your other options for running Windows-based programs on your Mac.

Q. Will this download pollute my Mac?

A. No! Crossover is not an emulation product (in other words, you are not actually installing Windows on your Mac). Wine is a re-implementation of the Win32 API, consisting of 100% non-Microsoft code, allowing applications to run as if natively on the target OS.

Q. Can I easily get rid of Crossover if I decide I don’t want it on my machine?

A. Yes! To erase all traces of Crossover, follow these steps:

First you should drop your CrossOver bundle into the trash and empty it. This may first require you to stop the CrossOver CD Helper. To stop it manually, run the Activity Monitor (usually found in your Applications/Utilities folder). Select CrossOver CD Helper in Activity Monitor and click Quit Process to stop it.

User-specific CrossOver files are located in your home folder, under the Library/Application Support/CrossOver hierarchy. Trash that folder and its contents for each user of CrossOver on your system. Then, to be truly comprehensive, remove the preferences files located in Library/Preferences/ called com.codeweavers.CrossOver.plist.

Finally, if you have any published bottles or CrossOver has been run using your system's administrator account, you may have files in /Library/Application Support/CrossOver on your startup drive. These may also be removed.

Q. I’m having trouble with installing Crossover, help!

A. Go through the steps of the official Installation Guide. If you’re still having trouble, check out their FAQ page.

Q. Is there a way to get Wine on my machine for free?

A. If you are comfortable with a more technical approach to getting Wine on your machine, you can try out the free Wine Binary Downloads, as well as the Recommended Packages for building Wine on 32bit.

If you have any questions that are not answered here, feel free to send an email to our support team.