Here are my notes for installing Skype on Ubuntu/AMD6:
1. Download 32bit version of Skype from http://www.skype.com/go/getskype-linux-deb
2. Download 32bit version of libqt from http://packages.ubuntu.com/
3. Install Skype
sudo dpkg --force-architecture -i skype_debian-1.3.0.53-1_i386.deb
4. Install 32bit libraries and linux32
sudo apt-get install ia32-libs lib32asound2 lib32ncurses5 ia32-libs-sdl ia32-libs-gtk lib32stdc++6 linux32
5. Install 32bit libqt
sudo dpkg --force-architecture -i libqt3-mt_3.3.6-1ubuntu6.1_i386.deb
6. (Optional) Check if skype still miss libraries
ldd /usr/bin/skype
7. Run skype
linux32 skype&
Special thanks to Inigo Montoya’s post on this same topic. I’ve expanded it with my notes.
Henrik said
I have tryed your guide and one more before that, but all i get is this error:
“skype: error while loading shared libraries: libaudio.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory”
and yes, I have done step 4. Install 32bit libraries and linux32.
Any ideas?
Dave said
Check if you have libaudio.so.2 in /usr/lib32 directory or not. If not, you might want to follow the instructions listed on the following page: http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Edgy
lmm said
Not sure if this is true for [x]Ubuntu’s, but probably. If you already have 64-bit libqt installed, dpkg –force-architecture will clobber the 64-bit version, which will probably cause problems for you.
In regular Debian, say you need to add 32-bit libqt. The “Debian” way is:
$ # Locate the 32-bit .deb and download someplace
$ sudo dpkg -X .deb /emul/ia32-linux
$ sudo ldconfig
From /usr/share/doc/ia32-libs/README.Debian
HTH
Larry.
lmm said
Sorry. That snippet should say:
$# Locate the 32-bit .deb and download someplace
$ sudo dpkg -X 32-bit-deb.deb /emul/ia32-linux
$ sudo ldconfig
Dave said
Thanks for sharing your tip. I was just wondering how to do it the right way after Ubuntu complained about “broken” package after force the install and asked me to run the fix command. Again, thanks for sharing your tip.
More on Skype and AMD64 « Dave’s Blogs said
[...] April 23rd, 2007 This version worked for me. Just download it and extract. No fancy tweaks. [...]
Complete Web Server Setup Guide » Blog Archive » Ubuntu Desktop + Great Graphical Accessories said
[...] Skype 32 bit on a 64 bit AMD machine. [...]
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Ricardo Correa said
Perfect!!! Worked nice.
Ricardo Correa said
Perfect!!! Worked nice.
Thank you
Dave said
Hi Ricardo, Glad to hear that this worked for you too.
Ricardo Correa said
Now I geting the “broken” package message, and all the time I fix it the skype stop working again.
I’ll try the chroot solution.
Thank you any way. It was a good solution for a wile.
Dave said
Hi Ricardo,
Did you try Imm’s tip? (comment #4)
Reader X said
This breaks the few KDE apps I have and then Ubuntu gives me a broken package warning. If i let Synaptic fix the package (qt) then my handful of kapps works but Skype stops working.
There’s some detail wrong about your instructions. Thanks!
Dave said
Hi Reader X,
Did you try Imm’s tip? (comment #4)
simba said
Hi Dave,
Very nice, worked fine. I just havent found the libqt you sad above… I used libqt3-mt_3.3.6-1ubuntu6.2_i386.deb instead and worked fine.
Thanks!
Should you not post it on the ubuntu/Forum? I have looked there before and they dont have anything.
simba
Dave said
Hi Simba,
Good to hear that you were able to get libqt installed.
WordPress and maybe search engines have indexed my blog entries and this entry has been popular. So, I am happy people like you were able to find this blog and benefit from it. You are welcome to link to this blog if you would like to share it with others.
Hansruedi Heeb said
Hi Dave
Thanks for your notes, which work perfectly on my Ubuntu 6.06 64 bit. However (as others noted before) the
sudo dpkg –force-architecture -i libqt3-mt_3.3.6-1ubuntu6.2_i386.deb
leaves the 32-bit QT lib in /usr/lib (where no 32 bit lib should ever be!). This kills all apps that use the 64 bit QT and it leaves skype vulnerable: as soon as you install anything that uses QT the 32-bit lib will be replaced without warning and skype will not work anymore.
To fix this situation, I copied libqt by hand to /usr/lib32 where it belongs. And I made the two required symbolic links:
root@uetli:/usr/lib32# ll *qt*
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 17 2007-06-16 12:23 libqt-mt.so.3 -> libqt-mt.so.3.3.6
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 17 2007-06-16 12:22 libqt-mt.so.3.3 -> libqt-mt.so.3.3.6
-rw-r–r– 1 root root 8275888 2007-06-16 12:21 libqt-mt.so.3.3.6
Then I installed the normal 64-bit libqt using Synaptic and verified that the 32-bit version in /usr/lib gets replaced ceanly and that
linux32 skype
still works.
I am sure there is a better way to do this, but it worked nicely for me.
Hansruedi
Dave said
Hi Hansruedi,
Thanks for sharing your tip. i am sure many will benefit from this as well.
Cappy said
Correct way:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=432295
or
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=474790
Cappy said
That was a pretty short intro from me. I see you did this well before I did my own guide. As others have said, the correct way is to extract all the debians into a directory and then move their usr/lib to your /usr/lib32
On debian systems (NOT ubuntu) instead you just extract straight to /emul/ia32-linux (like lmm said).
Dave said
HI Cappy,
Thank you for your tip!
A second look at Ubuntu 7.10 « Dave’s Blogs said
[...] October 27, 2007 I just installed Ubuntu 7.10 on another machine. I am disappointed to learn that RAID configuration was not available in the desktop installer. It was available in the earlier releases, specifically 7.04 server. Beyond that, I found this page useful for installing Google Earth and Skype, much easier than this way. [...]
Carl-Erik said
Hmmm.. does this get discarded as well? A bit too restrictive?
Carl-Erik said
Hi, Dave. All entries I post with a URL and some hyperlink is discarded. Impossible to write a comment with any useful information…
Skype on 64 bit Ubuntu « Oligofren said
[...] the knowledge of how to do it without breaking your system. Most of what I write is based upon Dave’s Blog, but I have modified it somewhat to reflect changes in Skype and because his original posting can [...]
andre said
Instead of using libqt3, you should use the latest version libqt4 which is endorsed by ubuntu for your ubuntu version. I use Synaptic Package Manager to install and download stuffs.
In Ubuntu 8.04 hardy, libqt4 is the one recommended. lib32 and ia32 are already installed. So the only thing to do is:
1. Install libqt4 using System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager. click search field, type “libqt4″, click search button. Right click “libqt4-core” and mark for installation. Do the same with “libqt4-gui”. Click Apply.
2. Download latest skype for ubuntu mine is 2.0.0.68-1.
sudo dpkg –force-architecture -i skype-debian-yourlatestversion_i386.deb
That’s it. it should work.
Dave said
Hi Andre,
Thank you for sharing your tip.
Mikko Ohtamaa said
More recent how to for Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy and AMD64:
http://learninginlinux.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/skype-on-ubuntu-804-amd64/
Dave said
Hi Mikko,
Thank you for the link.
mathieu said
works out of the box ! did not even need the ‘linux32′ thingy before skype executable
Dave said
Hi Mathieu,
Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s great to know that skype installation is becoming easier.
VaSy said
Thanks for your useful note…
Dave said
you welcome
clovepower said
Easiest thing is to enable the Medibuntu repository as explained here:
http://www.medibuntu.org/
Then Skype can be installed automatically with Synaptic.
Dave said
Hi clovepower,
Thanks for sharing the pointer. Installing Skype certainly has become a lot easier than when I first tried it back in early 2007.
nur_ali said
Thx to everyone who contributed to this blog. Battled with installing Skype on Ubuntu 7.10 64-bit and was losing, almost at the point of giving up then… clovepower’s advice has done the trick for me. Yeehaa.
Thanks again.
Dave said
Hi nur_ali,
You welcome. Good to hear that you were able to install Skype.
Ron said
Thx, this worked like a charm.
Japan Shah said
download skype with installation documentation