Unable to run 32 bit assembly programs on 64 bit ubuntu Nasm / ld

I am on Ubuntu 12.10 64 bit.

I am trying to compile and run a simple hello world program with nasm. The program is 32 bit and I want to run it in 32 bit mode under my 64 bit system. I believe I have all compatibility libraries installed.

I try these commands.

Code:

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$ nasm -f elf -g -F stabs easyprint.asm
$ ld -o easyprint easyprint.o
ld: i386 architecture of input file `easyprint.o' is incompatible with i386:x86-64 output

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Of course, I can compile the assembly program as 64 bit and it works.

Code:

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$ nasm -f elf64 -g -F stabs easyprint.asm
$ ld -o easyprint easyprint.o
$ ./easyprint
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

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But I would rather run it in 32 bit mode. I know you can compile it for 32 mode with gcc -m32, but I don't want to use GCC to compile it and I don't need access to any of the C functions.

I know this problem has probably been asked a million times, but for some reason hours of googling haven't helped me. Thanks in advance.

you need to add
-m elf_i386

the the ld call
you need to have a 32 bit linker available (libc6:i386 in newer ubuntus)