Microsoft Windows/Office Setup and Activation on Linux
Update 2024-01-09: Virtualbox 7.0.12 builds with some patches, see this thread on LinuxQuestions. For the end user using SBo, please wait until Heinz updates the Virtualbox-related SlackBuilds.
So first, a disclaimer: The methods I list in this article are solely for educational purposes, and if you need the software legally, buy a license, or use free (or better, FOSS) counterparts.
I was listening to a local podcast the other day, and the sponsor of that episode is a company that sells extension cables and whatnot. As they were talking about the product, a question arose: when would we want to buy extension cables? If we aren’t in need of it, we wouldn’t even think about it. The only moment people really want to buy them, is when they need the extension cables, but none of them are available. As a result they utilized this for pushing the holiday discount for the cables.
In software, just like extension cables, there are some things I miss only when I need them. One of them is a working Windows virtual machine setup. I’ve avoided Windows- or Mac-only software for most of my university work, but sadly when I deal with classes from the business and administration departments, I’ve had less success. Time after time I encounter pieces of software that only have Windows and/or Mac OS versions. In those cases, having a Windows VM is pretty handy. (I had to edit Access databases for schoolwork, and clearly the easiest way to do that is with Microsoft Access. That prompted this article.)
If you’re using Linux, or more specifically, Slackware, here’s what I chose to install, and how I installed them.
The Actual Tutorial Part
Preparation
- Download and install Virtualbox. For Slackware users, that means
going to the SlackBuild manager of your choice to install
virtualbox-kernelandvirtualbox. - Slackware-specific: Read the
READMEandREADME.Slackwarefiles, and do as they say before you start installing. This is important, especially adding the startup/shutdown routines, so that virtual machines would work. - Start Virtualbox to make sure it’s installed correctly.
Download Parts
In this part, we are downloading Windows 10 LTSC, the Long Term Servicing Channel, to install less bloat in the first place. The Office version I chose is Office 2016, but feel free to download any later or earlier versions, though install procedures may differ.
- Go to the Windows LTSC Download page on massgrave.dev to download Windows 10 LTSC in the language of your choice.
- Go to the “Office MSI VL” link on this page to download Office 2016 in the language of your choice. (If you want to download later or earlier versions, the website has instructions on how to install and activate them.)
Installation
- Open Virtualbox and add a new virtual machine. I’m not going into the details since the interface is self-explanatory, but if you’re new to virtual machines, I’d recommend allocating 40GB of disk space, and 4GB or above for RAM.
- [IMPORTANT] If you’re using Virtualbox 6.1.44,
there’s a bug inhibiting mouse activity after going fullscreen, so after
you finish setting up:
- Go to Settings → User Interface
- Uncheck “Show in Full-screen/Seamless”
- Start the machine, and select the Windows 10 LTSC ISO file in the popup.
- Run1 through the installer. For maximal comfortness, disable Internet access for the virtual machine by going to the bottom right → right-click on the “two screens” icon → click on “Connect Network Adapter”.
- After installing, you may want to backup the virtual hard disk in
case something goes wrong. Here’s how you do it:
- Power off the virtual machine.
- Go to Settings → Storage and select the one with a hard disk icon.
- Under “Information” in the right panel, there’s the location. Go to the location, duplicate the file and give it another name.
Office Installation
- Copy the downloaded Office ISO to the machine. There are several
methods:
- Install Virtualbox Additions by clicking on the relevant option in Virtualbox’s “Devices” menu, and following the instructions on-screen. Then set up a shared folder in the settings.
- For Linux users, open Powershell and use
scpto copy the file. Or just use option 1.
- Double-click on the copied ISO file. This mounts it, and it appears in the left pane of Windows Explorer.
- Click on the mounted CD, and double click on the installer (the one with the Office icon). Follow the instructions on-screen.
Optimization
Here we’ll use a tool by Chris Titus to optimize our setup. This part is optional but if you want a better experience, here’s your chance.
- Remember to re-enable Internet access if you’ve disabled it in previous steps.
- Run the tool as per the instructions on the page.
- Do note that the command is the equivalent of
curl | shon Linux, so if the site starts showing the slightest bit of malice, skip this part and find better tools. Also contact me so that I could update this article.
- Do note that the command is the equivalent of
- After the tool opens, apply tweaks as you please. I personally removed Edge and set up a delay in feature updates.
The tool installs winget, a command-line package manager
for Windows. If you’ve used package managers on Linux, it should feel
familiar. I installed SumatraPDF, VLC, Librewolf and 7-Zip since they
are essential to replace Edge functionality.
Activation
The tool we’ll use here is named “Microsoft Activation Scripts”, and it’s the single easiest way to activate Windows and Office I’ve ever seen. Kudos to the dev(s).
- Follow the instructions to launch MAS from its homepage. Again, the warning for Chris Titus’s tool applies here.
- After the program starts, activate Windows and Office with the on-screen prompts. It really is that easy.
Final Touches
- If you haven’t installed Virtualbox Additions, install it. The resize-with-window function is worth it alone.
- Back up the virtual hard disk once more. That way, you can swap in this backup disk if anything goes seriously wrong and is not recoverable within the virtual machine.
– ltlnx 2024-01-05
Read suffer.↩︎