Running HR Block
2017 Tax Software in Ubuntu Linux
Using CodeWeavers
Crossover
2017 US taxes are
due to be filed by midnight on April 18, 2018. It will surprise no
one that a lot of people have waited to the last minute to start
filing.
At 9:30 PM, I got a
call from a young relative who needed to do his taxes for the first
time ever. He is a Linux enthusiast, and does not have a Windows or
Apple/Mac computer. I thought I would try installing HR Block 2017
Tax Software on the Linux side of my laptop.
1) Obtain and
install Codeweavers Crossover for Linux
This software allows
you to run many Windows apps in Linux--
2) Download the
HR Block Windows tax software package.
This year, its
available from www.hrblock.com/2017/DELUXEWIN
You will need an
activation code, which should be provided when you buy the package.
The default download
location is /home/yourname/Downloads/
The app’s name is
something like HRBlock_Deluxe.exe
3) Start
CrossOver
4) Click
[Install Windows Software]
5) Select an
Application to Install
At this writing,
HRBlock Tax software is not on the extensive list of programs
verified to work. No problem--
Scroll to the bottom
of the list
Click on “Other
Application”
6) Select an
Installer
Select “Choose an
Installer File”
Go to
/home/yourname/Downloads
Choose
HRBlock_Deluxe.exe (or whatever the name of your tax package
installer is)
7) Click the
down arrow on “Will install a new Windows XP Bottle”
Use the down arrow
to choose a compatible Windows OS version for your tax package.
I chose Win 7
Suggest you name the
new bottle something like HRBlockWin7
8) Click
[Proceed]
Follow the Win
prompts, and enter your activation code when asked.
9) Ignore or
investigate error codes
You will get a box
of error codes at the end of the installation. If you are a
programmer you will find them fascinating, otherwise just click [OK]
at the bottom.
10) Run HRBlock
from Crossover
Start CrossOver if
not started already.
HRBlock appears in
the list of installed Windows Programs.
If you are
proficient with Linux, you may be able to install HRBlock with
Wine—But this method worked well for me!
CrossOver Mac This Blog commenting sites list is very helpful. Thanks for publishing this interesting and helpful blog.
ReplyDeleteWINE I have installed is up to version 7.1 now. Honestly HRBlock 2021 installs fine though at one point has odd error popup that isnt looking like usual WINE error. And installed, I start up the program, the fonts look fine it acts fine, wants me to enter activation code. I enter it, but it just tells me to "enter activation code" like I didnt type anything in the box? I can skip the activation and start a tax return but ??? Oh and now I have reinstalled it couple times and it now skips the activation screen, which I assume means it thinks I am now activated?? Assume this is some kind of registry thing? I have win10 available so may out of curiosity try running it in both and see what it does.
ReplyDeleteYou say you used codeweavers, so suppose it may have some bugs worked out that straight WINE doesnt. This would seem a really minor bug and in the activation part only.
Honestly I mostly keep win10 around just to do yearly taxes. Seems MS is discontinuing support for win10 in 2025. I really dont want to mess trying to install win11 just for taxes like I did win10 when tax software refused to run on XP. Computer I have win10 on probably too old. So hopefully WINE and HRBLOCK progress to where they cooperate all the way.
CodeWeavers Crossover is a commercially-developed version of WINE. For me, it seems to work better than WINE for various applications, and if I get stuck on something, Codeweavers has a forum that is helpful for solving problems. The price of their software is very reasonable too!
ReplyDelete