Teamviewer – package architecture (i386) does not match system (amd64)

The teamviewer installation error “package architecture (i386) does not match system (amd64)” is observed on when attempting an install on 64 bit versions of either Debian or Ubuntu. This article details how to solve this quickly and easily.

This comes from using a “multiarch” or “multiple-architecture” installer as opposed to one which has been expressly compiled for wither i386 or amd64 architectures; from the Debian site:

“Multiarch is the term being used to refer to the capability of a system to install and run applications of multiple different binary targets on the same system. For example running a i386-linux-gnu application on an amd64-linux-gnu system.”

Symptoms:

The error is observed once an install is attempted with:

sudo dpkg -i teamviewer_linux.deb

Solution

Download

The latest teamviewer package for linux can always be downloaded using the following:

wget http://www.teamviewer.com/download/teamviewer_linux.deb

Download linux teamviewer installer

Add i386 Architecture to dpkg

The following command will add the i386 directives to dpkg:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

Add i386 architecture to dpkg

Update Sources

We now need to update our sources so that the system knows about the new i386 packages:

sudo apt-get update

Update Package Sources

Install Teamviewer

We can now go ahead and try to install Teamviewer again. This will partially work but some of its dependencies will be unfulfilled, shown with the errors “dependency problems – leaving unconfigured” – we will address this in the next step.

sudo dpkg -i teamviewer_linux.deb

Run Teamviewer installer again

Fix Unfulfilled Dependencies

Running the apt-get with the “-f” or “–fix-broken” switch will resolve any missing dependencies for installed programs:

sudo apt-get install -f

Resolve Unfulfilled Dependencies

Start Teamviewer!

Open Teamviewer From the Menu:

From the applications menu, navigate to Internet and Teamviewer should be available for selection:

Accept the EULA ..
And Away We Go!

 

Quick Reference: apt-get

apt-get is the command-line tool for handling packages for Debian Linux which is use to:

  • Install/manage individual packages
  • Upgrade packages
  • Apply security patch(s)
  • Keep Debian system up to date
  • Download source .deb files
  • Has many GUI and other utilities as front-ends

Here is quick cheat sheet you will find handy while using apt-get at shell prompt:

Syntax Description Example(s)
apt-get install {package} Install the new package. If package is installed then try to upgrade to latest version apt-get install zip
apt-get install lsof samba mysql-client
apt-get install {package} -f Install the new package and fix any broken dependencies. “-f” equates to “–fix-broken” apt-get install -f zip
apt-get install -f lsof samba mysql-client
apt-get remove {package} Remove/Delete an installed package except configuration files apt-get remove zip
apt-get –purge remove {package} Remove/Delete everything including configuration files apt-get –purge remove mysql-server
apt-get update
apt-get upgrade
Resynchronize the package index files and Upgrade the Debian Linux system including security update (Internet access required) apt-get update
apt-get upgrade
apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade
Usually use to upgrade to Debian distribution. For example Woody to Sarge upgrade. ‘dist-upgrade’ in addition to performing the function of upgrade, also intelligently handles changing dependencies with new versions of packages; apt-get has a “smart” conflict resolution system, and it will attempt to upgrade the most important packages at the expense of less important ones if necessary. apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade

{package} – Replace with actual package name

The full man page for apt-get can be found here: http://ss64.com/bash/apt-get.html

Debian Jessie – su, sudo and Wheel Group

Allow Users to su With the Wheel Group or sudo

Users in Jessie are not allowed to su by default and the Wheel group (whose members are allowed to su) is not created by default. Should this be a requirement, follow the steps here to set it up:

Restrict ‘su’ execution

Login as root and uncomment the line below in /etc/pam.d/su, by removing the leading ‘#’.

#auth       required pam_wheel.so

This means that no user can execute su anymore and is the most secure configuration.

Create the Wheel Group

Create the group wheel with root privileges:

# groupadd wheel

Add User to Wheel Group

# usermod -aG wheel <user>

<user> can now execute su.

Optionally (and Insecurely) Trust Users in Wheel

This will put users in the wheel group directly into root without prompting for a password. Edit the /etc/pam.d/su file again and uncomment the following line:

#auth       sufficient pam_wheel.so trust
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