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Rexter
Libertas, Aequitas, Veritas
join:2002-11-17
cloud 9

Rexter

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Ubuntu 14.04 3.2GB ram limitation

I have an Inspiron 530 with a core 2 duo, 6 GB of RAM, and running Ubuntu 14.04 64bit. The BIOS sees all 6GB of ram, but Ubuntu only sees 3.2GB. What's going on here? I've done a bunch of Google searches, and the best answer I've found was that I might have better luck using the 32bit PAE kernel. Is this the only solution to my problem? Is there an easy way to swap out the kernel, or would I have to reinstall the whole system?

nwrickert
Mod
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL

nwrickert

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said by Rexter:

I have an Inspiron 530 with a core 2 duo, 6 GB of RAM, and running Ubuntu 14.04 64bit. The BIOS sees all 6GB of ram, but Ubuntu only sees 3.2GB.

This does not seem right.

The 3G limitation (approx) is for 32bit systems. Are you sure that you are running a 64-bit kernel? Check the output of

uname -a

With a 64-bit kernel, you should be seeing all of the memory. Of course, some of it will be in use.

Exodus
Your Daddy
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join:2001-11-26
Earth

Exodus to Rexter

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Yeah, I'm going to go with nwrickert and say that you have a 32bit kernel and didn't actually set up 64bit.

NeoGeo64
Premium Member
join:2001-09-22
Leesburg, GA

NeoGeo64

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You have to make sure you downloaded the 64bit version and that you have a 64 bit processor installed. Once you got that, you're good to go and should never have this problem again!

Rexter
Libertas, Aequitas, Veritas
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uname -a

Linux Inspiron-530 3.13.0-43-generic #72-Ubuntu SMP Mon Dec 8 19:35:06 UTC 2014 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

free

total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 3338504 3255204 83300 20064 1348 92824
-/+ buffers/cache: 3161032 177472
Swap: 12582908 769616 11813292
Rexter

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Could it be that the Core 2 Duo is not a true 64bit processor?
Rexter

Rexter to Exodus

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Even with 32bit OS with PAE, shouldn't it be seeing all the ram anyways?

EUS
Kill cancer
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join:2002-09-10
canada

2 edits

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Core 2 Duo are 64bit chips.

nwrickert
Mod
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL

1 recommendation

nwrickert to Rexter

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to Rexter
said by Rexter:

Even with 32bit OS with PAE, shouldn't it be seeing all the ram anyways?

Yes, it should.

Maybe there's a problem with how Ubuntu is building their kernels. Or maybe something else is going on. Perhaps some of the memory is being claimed by the video card, and is then not available to the main processor.

Selenia
Gentoo Convert
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join:2006-09-22
Fort Smith, AR

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Selenia to Rexter

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said by Rexter:

Could it be that the Core 2 Duo is not a true 64bit processor?

Core2Duo is 64 bit. I am running 64 bit Gentoo on one right now

Edit: But I did have to turn on a BIOS feature called "memory hole remapping" that was disabled by default for all of its 8GB of RAM to be detected in the BIOS and the OS, otherwise it showed 3.xxGB. Does the BIOS show all your RAM?

Rexter
Libertas, Aequitas, Veritas
join:2002-11-17
cloud 9

Rexter

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Click for full size
Yes BIOS sees:

Mem installed 6144
Mem available 6143
667MHz
Dual Channel

Ubuntu sees, Attached above.
Rexter

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2.8GB for graphics? Ouch!

Actually this machine has a PCIe graphics card with dedicated memory.

Very strange isn't it?

Wily_One
Premium Member
join:2002-11-24
San Jose, CA

Wily_One

Premium Member

That 8500 can't have more than 512MB. Yes something strange is going on.

Bill_MI
Bill In Michigan
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Bill_MI to Rexter

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I happen to be looking at Ubuntu-Mate 14.04 but in a 4GB Pentium D box. Identical kernel.

bill@umate-1404:~$ uname -a
Linux umate-1404 3.13.0-43-generic #72-Ubuntu SMP Mon Dec 8 19:35:06 UTC 2014 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
 
bill@umate-1404:~$ free
             total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:       3596532     783288    2813244      13916      58552     338712
-/+ buffers/cache:     386024    3210508
Swap:      7096504          0    7096504
 
Interesting I show more total.

What does a live boot show?

Sr Tech
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join:2003-01-19
Meriden, CT

Sr Tech to Rexter

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You bios shows the memory so the OS should see it. Is this a laptop or desktop? Sounds like a desktop unit, if it was a laptop I could possibly see memory hard coded to the video card.

Does it have an on board video card as well? Maybe check the bios to see if memory is being allocated to an on board video or else where?

I was trying to find a manual online that shows the bios settings but no luck.

Bry
join:2008-12-31
Canada

Bry to Rexter

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Even if the system is 64-bit, there may be chipset limitations preventing the use of memory above 4GB physical. Intel had several early chipsets that supported 64-bit processors, but did not support the 36-bit (..or higher) physical address space.

A BIOS can enumerate the amount of RAM modules installed, but are not actually mapped into the address space by the DRAM controller. This is because the sizes are probed over a 2-wire bus (SMBus) which reads a small 128 byte ROM (SPD). This could be why you see the 6GB displayed.

Of course, as others have suggested, there could be other reasons.. integrated graphics may usurp some memory, or some compatibility setting in the BIOS might be enabled. It's hard to say with any certainty. To rule out a Linux bug, try booting another operating system like *BSD.

-Bry.

Rexter
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Yea, it's actually a 256MB card.
Rexter

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As the host name suggests, it's a Dell Inspiron 530 desktop. It has a 256MB PCIe graphics card installed running two monitors. The CMOS settings are sparse with no memory allocation setting other than the PCI graphics, up to 128MB. But these options are greyed out since I am using the PCIe card.
Rexter

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So doing some more Google searches, I am getting a lot of mixed information. Some people are saying the 530 can only take 4GB of ram, others are saying, no Dell sold a 530 with 6. There is chat about two possible different mother boards in the 530, neither of witch I seem to have. I found where someone was saying the if you want more than 4GB of ram you need BIOS 1.0.12 or above.

I have 1.0.3, and Dell has latest version available 1.0.18:

»www.dell.com/support/hom ··· oryId=BI

I figure it's worth a shot. How would I go about getting this BIOS updated with Ubuntu since it's an EXE file?

rolfp
no-shill zone
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join:2011-03-27
Oakland, CA

rolfp

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said by Rexter:

How would I go about getting this BIOS updated with Ubuntu since it's an EXE file?

There's a "non-Windows" installation instruction at the bottom of your BIOS page...
Run the BIOS update utility from DOS or DRMK environment (Non-Windows users)

NOTE: You will need to provide a bootable DOS or DRMK USB Memory Key. This executable file does not create the DOS or DRMK system files.

Copy the file 530_1018.EXE to a bootable USB Memory Key.

Boot from the USB Memory Key to the DOS or DRMK prompt.

Run the file by typing Y:\530_1018.EXE (where y is the drive letter where the executable is located).

Selenia
Gentoo Convert
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join:2006-09-22
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Selenia to Bry

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said by Bry:

To rule out a Ubuntu bug, try booting another operating system like *BSD.

-Bry.

Fixed it for you. I am running Gentoo on such a chip with 8GB RAM and Debian before that.

Rexter
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Any info on how to create a DOS or DRMK bootable USB?

rolfp
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rolfp

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I do that so seldom that it's a google project each time, not something that comes off the top of my head.

nwrickert
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nwrickert to Rexter

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said by Rexter:

Any info on how to create a DOS or DRMK bootable USB?

If you have a Windows box around, then use "rufus". (Google for the download site). It can create a freedos bootable system on your USB drive.

Rexter
Libertas, Aequitas, Veritas
join:2002-11-17
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Rexter

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Do you think I can use rufus from a VM?
I'm going to give it a try.

Pjr
Don't Panic
join:2005-12-11
UK

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Updating the BIOS sounds a little extreme.

What do the following report?
dmesg -l err
dmesg -l warn
 

Did you check to see if a live CD, different OS or re-installation reports the same amount of RAM?

When did you discover this problem? Any major updates (ie an updated kernel) before the problem appeared? (/var/log/apt* or /var/log/aptitude* may be of interest).
Did previous versions of Ubuntu have the same problem?

I'm sorry for all the silly questions but I think there are still things to consider before updating the BIOS.

Edit: Just a thought: have you run Memtest?

Rexter
Libertas, Aequitas, Veritas
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Rexter

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Yes, I ran memtest over night, came up clean. I can't remember if memtest saw all 6GB or not.

I discovered the problem when I added 2GB of ram to the existing 4. I thought it was a little strange that I was seeing only 3.2GB when I had 4GB installed, but I didn't spend much time thinking about it, since it wasn't so extreme.

Yes, a live CD only saw 3.2 as well.

Problem is now solved, see my next post....
Rexter

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Click for full size
Picture #1
Click for full size
Picture #2
Click for full size
Picture #3
Click for full size
Picture #4
Let me tell you about my little adventure. I had a Ultimate Boot CD lying around, so I figured I'd try that. I put the bios EXE on a flash drive, and booted into FreeDOS from UBCD, allowing default boot setting. Then I ran the exe from the flash drive. Picture #1 is what happened! At this point the USB keyboard was also disabled, so my only choice was going to be a hard power cycle. I left it like this for 3 hours or so, to make sure it finished doing whatever it was going to be able to finish. Nothing changed, so figuring that I may have bricked my computer, I reluctantly did the power cycle. To my pleasure, the post screen came up with the old 1.0.3 BIOS, and it booted normally. Next I booted with UBCD and tried to enable the ACPIUSB feature, for FreeDOS. It would initialize the USB interfaces, but would stop at "scanning devices" never going any further. So I rebooted with UBCD into LZDOS, default settings, and ran the bios EXE file again. As shown in picture #2, this time it was successful. Picture 3 shows the 1.0.18 BIOS installed, and in Picture #4 shows that Ubuntu now sees 5.8GB ram.

What a chore!

rolfp
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rolfp

Premium Member

Good story, happy ending, two thumbs up! Used to be able to do this from a floppy but I think the BIOS got too big. I love hearing the floppy drive churn and watching the DOS screens report something so powerful as changing the BIOS. Good job getting it sorted.