Ubuntu – 32 bit packages in 64 bit ubuntu

12.0432-bit64-bitpackage-management

Can I install the downloaded 32 bit packages to 64 bit OS?

(now using UBUNTU 12.04(32bit) and going to install UBUNTU 12.04(64bit) on another PC.)

Best Answer

Yes, you can. See this question for more detailed instructions, but basically:

Enable partner repositories
Update apt-get
Install 32-bit libraries
Install 32-bit packages of your choice

Sometimes, the package will take care of the dependencies itself (particularly if you're getting it from a PPA) and all you need is for the partner repositories to be enabled.

Note: Most programs these days are available in 64-bit versions. If the program you're looking to install has one available, you should favor it over the 32-bit version, unless there are any known issues that technologically prevent you from using it (ie - it crashes on startup). 64-bit software is better equipped to leverage your hardware than 32-bit is, making it more efficient overall (and potentially allows the developers to add in features that weren't possible in the 32-bit version).

Related Solutions

Ubuntu – How to install 32 Bit Wine on 64 Bit Ubuntu

Things have changed a few times since my original answer. 64bit prefixes versions of Wine are pretty capable these days. I haven't had a pure 32bit version in at least a few years.

Your "Wine prefix" (traditionally at ~/.wine/, but settable via env WINEPREFIX) controls how things will be run for the lifetime of that prefix. If you set up a 32bit prefix, everything will run in 32bit mode in that prefix. Conversely, if you don't do anything and run anything special, you'll create a Wine64 environment.

If you're starting a new prefix (ie on a new install of Ubuntu), you'll need to do a few special things:

# Move the old prefix (if one exists)
# You could rm -rf it if you don't want it.
mv ~/.wine/ ~/oldwine/

# Create prefix with right arch, per
# http://wiki.winehq.org/FAQ#32_bit_wineprefix
WINEARCH=win32 winecfg

And that's it. Unless you're specifying another prefix that doesn't exist yet, you shouldn't need to set WINEARCH again.

The revision history to this answer holds additional information that I don't think is relevant in 2018. This is mostly point and shoot these days.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Ubuntu – How to install 32 Bit Wine on 64 Bit Ubuntu

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