I have to use AutoCAD in school. What should I do? (piefed.social)

submitted 3 days ago by XiELEd@piefed.social to c/linux4noobs@programming.dev

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In two days I would need AutoCAD installed for my course. It is common knowledge that AutoCAD doesn't work on Linux, even with Wine. I've been looking around for threads but it seems like knowledge and experience with this is fragmented. Also, I would prefer not using the web version as the WiFi is spotty in my university.

For example, would AutoCAD even work on a VM? I heard that some apps won't even run on a VM.

Is Windows capable of deleting my Linux partition from within a VM? I apologize for my lack of experience regarding this matter.

What VM is better to use? I think I would prefer one that saves files, I think.

Should I even bother with a VM or should I just use an old laptop? Do note that my old laptop is a budget laptop and I don't know how demanding AutoCAD can be.

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[-] IpsumLauren@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

I'd start with installing VirtualBox and create a Windows 10 VM on it (you can get the official ISOs from the Microsoft site itself). Sometimes you can even get it to activate if your laptop has a license on its firmware. Windows cannot touch your partitions from inside the VM, and if you can't get AutoCAD to work on it you can just delete the VM and try other methods.

this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2026

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