Cannot run 32-bit apps on 64-bit Linux

Question

I have a very minimal install of Ubuntu 8.04 64-bit.

When I try to run some 32-bit programs, such as my jhead program, I get the message No such file or directory.

I figured it may be a library problem, but when I do:

ldd jhead

instead of a list of libraries it needs, I just get the message not a dynamic application. Same for another old 32-bit app I use.

So it would appear some very important components for running 32 bit apps are not installed. But how do I even determine what these are?

Answer 1

You will need to install the 32bit library package

ia32-libs - ia32 shared libraries for use on amd64 and ia64 systems

go and execute

sudo aptitude install ia32-libs

Answer 2

Doing ldd ./ might help to see which library dependancies are succesfully resolved.