Wine won't launch any apps returns error 0009:err:module:__wine_process_init failed to load L"Z:\\path\to\executable", error c000012f

I have tried purging, removing folders and reinstalling. Always same error. Ubuntu 19.10 AMD R7 360 Intel Core i7 Wine Staging 5.3

I have not used any sudo commands with wine. Folders are not locked from user in any way.

Solution 1:

That error code would be returned in at least one scenario: invalid/corrupt executable.

Here, I reproduce it with EICAR — which is invalid Win32 PE; rather, it's a DOS COM file:

$ echo 'X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*' > eicar-standard-antivirus-test-file
$
$ file eicar-standard-antivirus-test-file
eicar-standard-antivirus-test-file: EICAR virus test files
$ 
$ wine ./eicar-standard-antivirus-test-file
0034:err:module:__wine_process_init L"C:\\windows\\system32\\winemenubuilder.exe" not found
002c:err:wineboot:process_run_key Error running cmd L"C:\\windows\\system32\\winemenubuilder.exe -a -r" (126).
00a4:fixme:ntdll:server_ioctl_file Unsupported ioctl 24000 (device=2 access=1 func=0 method=0)
00ac:fixme:ntdll:server_ioctl_file Unsupported ioctl 24000 (device=2 access=1 func=0 method=0)
00ac:fixme:ntdll:server_ioctl_file Unsupported ioctl 24000 (device=2 access=1 func=0 method=0)
00ac:fixme:ntdll:server_ioctl_file Unsupported ioctl 24000 (device=2 access=1 func=0 method=0)
0024:err:module:__wine_process_init failed to load L"Z:\\home\\ulidtko\\eicar-standard-antivirus-test-file", error c000012f

You can tell Wine to log much more verbosely — read man 1 wine.

With the EICAR example, env WINEDEBUG=warn+all wine ./eicar-standard-antivirus-test-file would output plenty of complaints in header byte mismatches and invalid sizes, ending with invalid ELF header (which I guess was meant to say invalid PE header).

There of course might be (and probably are) other scenarios where error c000012f would be emitted... but this is definitely one of them. Hope it helps.