SuSE Support Database

Title: Linux on computers with more than 64 MByte RAM

---

Mainpage ---- Searchform ---- History ---- Versions ---- Categories ---- Contents
Deutsch ---

Linux on computers with more than 64 MByte RAM

Applicable to
S.u.S.E. version:all
Kernel version: all

Symptom:

You install Linux on a computer with more than 64 MByte main memory. System information tools like top however show you only 64 MByte RAM.

Cause:

The PC-BIOS is limited in the available RAM's description to 64 MByte. Linux keeps the information of the BIOS's available memory and in this way cannot automatically detect more than 64 MByte.

Solution:

There is a kernel parameter, mem, with whose help one can inform the kernel how many RAM is really located in the computer.

Example:

You have a computer with 96 MByte RAM. Please declare as kernel parameter either at the LILO bootprompt, at the loadlin start, or in the file /etc/lilo.conf:

mem=96M
The statement can be given in M (Megabyte) or in K (Kilobyte).

Important:

Be exact with the memory size's statement! If you declare e.g. 1024M as memory size, but you have only installed 128 MByte, the Linux kernel will believe you about the 1 GByte RAM and will quietly crash.

---

Keywords: 64MB, RAM, MEMORY, MAIN MEMORY, WORKING MEMORY, EDO

---

Feedback welcome: Send Mail to smaddin@suse.de (Please give the following subject: SDB-maddin_memory1)

---

Mainpage ---- Searchform ---- History ---- Versions ---- Categories ---- Contents
Deutsch ---

SDB-maddin_memory1, Copyright SuSE GmbH, Nuremberg, Germany - Version:
Impressum - Last generated: 24. Feb 1999 15:09:43 by maddin with sdb_gen 1.00.0