Cygwin is a UNIX environment that runs under Microsoft Windows. This is a port of the unix API libraries and many unix commands, including the X Window System. You can try this as an (inferior) alternative to installing Linux. Note that cygwin is NOT linux, and it can't run linux binaries. It just looks and feels a bit like unix, and many (not all) unix applications can be compiled to run under it with no changes.
If you are on the UCF network, a local (and probably stale) cygwin mirror can be found at \\carnot\msdos\cygnus
To install from the local mirror, run
\\carnot\msdos\cygnus\setup.exeand select local directory. (***the rest of this document is untested and is missing some details to be added later)
If you only want the X Window System, and not the whole Cygwin package, click on the arrow circle thingie (there will be a big delay the first time) until it says UNINSTALL, and then expand the X package and click on it there to install just the X binaries and libraries. (Selecting one should select all necessary subcomponents.)
After you have installed (all or part of) Cygwin, to get X working, copy these two files in \\carnot\msdos\cygnus :
X.bat X.lnkinto your c:\cygwin\ directory. If you are using Windows XP, you will also have to either disable the built in software firewall, or add the X protocol (port 6000) to the list of allowed protocols.
If all is well, and you are on the UCF local network, you should then be able to click on the X icon and get a menu of the available Engineering unix servers.
The version of Cygwin I have tried claims to support GLX (OpenGL) but does not. I-DEAS 9 will not work with it unless you tell it not to use OGL. Start it with this command:
ideas9 -d x3d
If you are having trouble starting Cygwin X with putty, you might want to try my helper icon and batch file. Right click on these and save in the C:\cygwin directory. (You might want to copy the icon to your start menu and/or desktop.) You may need to edit one or both of these to match how cygwin is installed on your system.