Skype on 64-bit Ubuntu Feisty Fawn via i386 chroot (and Gizmo Project too)

Colin Charles

18 years ago

Most of the software I use is open source software. However, some software I use is just plain free software that has no source associated with it (like Skype and Gizmo Project). I took the challenge of wanting to run a 64-bit desktop, and I guess there are problems, but thats the beauty of Linux – you’ll want to fix said problems.

Google is always helpful – I found the Cedega wiki on how to setup a clean 32-bit chroot with debbootstrap. I improvised a little. I now have Skype running.

Setting up a 32-bit chroot on your 64-bit Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install dchroot debootstrap
sudo mkdir /chroot (/chroot is arbitrary. You can call it /feisty32 or /hoary32 or whatever you please depending on your requirements.)
echo "feisty /chroot" > /etc/dchroot.conf
sudo debootstrap --arch i386 feisty /chroot http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu
sudo chroot /chroot
dpkg-reconfigure locales (I chose en_AU, you probably want to chose whatever else you use)

Edit /chroot/etc/apt/sources.list and make it so that its:

deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu feisty main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu feisty-security main restricted universe multiverse

Now, perform the apt-get update; apt-get upgrade routine
Out of the chroot, there are some interesting files to copy into the chroot:

sudo cp /etc/passwd /chroot/etc/
sudo cp /etc/shadow /chroot/etc/
sudo cp /etcgroup /chroot/etc/
sudo cp /etc/sudoers /chroot/etc/
sudo cp /etc/hosts /chroot/etc/

Now, edit /etc/fstab and make the following additions (at the bottom of the file, is OK):

/home   /chroot/home    none    bind 0 0

/tmp    /chroot/tmp     none    bind 0 0

/dev    /chroot/dev     none    bind 0 0

/proc   /chroot/proc    none    bind 0 0

sudo mount -a

Now create /usr/local/bin/do_dchroot and add the following. After that, make sure its executable (sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/do_dchroot).

#!/bin/sh

/usr/bin/dchroot -d "`echo $0 | sed 's|^.*/||'` $*"

That’s it. You’ve now got a 32-bit chroot environment, and can install any 32-bit apps you please.

Installing Skype
First up, go download the .deb file from Skype. Then:

dchroot -d
dpkg -i skype.deb (Now, it will complain about missing debs. Then, I ran sudo apt-get install libstdc++5 libqt3-m. It will complain, so just do a sudo apt-get -f install.)
Excellent, Skype is now installed. Exit the chroot.
sudo ln -s /usr/local/bin/do_dchroot /usr/local/bin/skype
Now, run Skype!

I did this similarly for Gizmo Project. Sound works a charm (thanks to /dev being mounted). The applications seem to run just fine.

Technorati Tags: skype, 64bit, 32bit, chroot, gizmo, debian, ubuntu

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