How to Use more than 3GB RAM on 32-bit Ubuntu
Currently It seems that the current 32 bit editions of Ubuntu can only take advantage of 3GB (sometimes a little more) of physical memory. Desktops and gaming rigs using 6 and 8 GB of RAM are ubiquitous now.I am having a ubuntu desktop with 5GB RAM and i want to use all the available memory for gaming.
Procedure to follow
You need to install the following packages and restart your PC
sudo apt-get install linux-restricted-modules-server
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-server
sudo apt-get install linux-image-server linux-server
That's it after rebooting you should be able to see all the memory available in your system.
It’s time for people to just invest in a 64-bit system and use a 64-bit Linux.
x86_64 is here. i686 is on the way out. Get with the times, people.
PAE is no longer the best option.
Yes however the 64 bit versions that i have used are still a bit unstable. For instance, RDP doesn’t always connect, Firefox randomly closes, etc. Perhaps it is my older hw, but nonetheless it still isn’t all that stable.
“Yes however the 64 bit versions that i have used are still a bit unstable. For instance, RDP doesn’t always connect, Firefox randomly closes, etc. Perhaps it is my older hw, but nonetheless it still isn’t all that stable.”
Its your hardware, not Linux. Myself, all my friends, everyone else I know who runs 64-bit says that it runs better than 32-bit, and nothing crashes.
So the instability has nothing oto do with your Linux’s support for 64-bit support, since it has EXCELLENT 64-support.
Remember, just because YOU Have a problem doesn’t mean the rest of the universe does or means that suddenly 64-bit support in Linux is lackluster. It helps especially to use dmesg and go on Google and not assume it’s because its 64-bit that its failing.
Damn n00b.
Thanks for this tip!
Are there any performance implications for reading/writing memory — relative to using the 64-bit OS?
Is there much overhead for “faking” 64-bit memory addresses on a 32-bit OS?
“Remember, just because YOU Have a problem doesn’t mean the rest of the universe does or means that suddenly 64-bit support in Linux is lackluster. It helps especially to use dmesg and go on Google and not assume it’s because its 64-bit that its failing.
Damn n00b.” then you are not better than a noob.
Remember, just because YOU DON’T Have a problem doesn’t mean the rest of the universe DOESN’T
Excellent tip on getting 32 bit ubuntu to see more then 3.2gigs of ram (I’ve got 12 gigs of ram in my i7 machine) and now Jaunty sees all the lot (I just installed the server version first & then downloaded the ubuntu-desktop after), why I’m still using 32bit & not 64bit. Is because I’ve got a few d.a.w applications what are just 32bit (I know I could wrap them to work under 64bit) but then the Linux vst plugins don’t work as there 64bit 🙁 already tried at a friends before installing jaunty on to my machine. I’ve book marked Ubuntu geek for tips like this cheers
Just get with the times? Just upgrade to 64 bit? Obviously you don’t have a family to support so you can spend on all the latest and greatest. I have several computers, but run Ubuntu 9.04 on my Toshiba Satellite with a centrino duo processor, which just btw is 32 bit, and I can’t justify the expense of upgrading my laptop over my childrens needs. Thanks for all the great tips, especially this one as I have been wanting to upgrade my memory, but as for the joker who has no idea what expenses are yet, get a life, get a wife, and then see after the kids arrive how well you keep up with the latest tech.
“Just get with the times? Just upgrade to 64 bit? Obviously you don’t have a family to support so you can spend on all the latest and greatest.”
Seriously, get with the times. 64-bit x86 isn’t so bleeding edge as you might think. Pretty much any PC manufactured within the last 3 years has an x86_64 CPU in it unless its a netbook or so incredibly budget its not worth buying. We’re in the 64-bit transition now. Just like when we went from 16 to 32 a little over 15 years ago in the x86 world.
Another few years and you won’t even find a lot of software developed with 32-bit in mind. Linux will likely still support it… for another five years just because its open source nature allows it that luxury.
Also, yes, I do have a family, yet I can still afford to buy a $300 computer manufactured within the last couple years, and I bet I have less money than you.
“I have several computers, but run Ubuntu 9.04 on my Toshiba Satellite with a centrino duo processor, which just btw is 32 bit, and I can’t justify the expense of upgrading my laptop over my childrens needs.”
If you can afford a LAPTOP with a DUAL-CORE processor that has MORE than 3 GiB of RAM, you’re not that poor. All three of those things taken together equals expensive laptop even at the entry level. You can afford a cheap $300 64-bit desktop if you can afford the laptop you claim to have.
So yes, if you can afford to upgrade your laptop like you want to, you can afford to spend a little extra and get a better machine. Don’t make assumptions about people just because they can afford to get a decent computer.
PAE’s obsolete. Get over it. In another few years you’re going to be EXPECTED, even in Linux land, to have a 64-bit machine. Quit acting like 64-bit is bleeding edge or that expensive to get into, as neither is the case. If I could afford a 64-bit machine working a low-paying job three years ago and this year, you can afford $300 to buy a 64-bit desktop. Software solutions to get something you should have just by getting a decent computer every few years are just stupid.
So yes.
Get with the times, get a new computer. PAE’s a terrible solution for the long term, as 64-bit isn’t just about the damn memory.
32 … 64 … who cares? Important is that is working and in the end is whatever makes everyone happy.
It will still be a couple of years until the 32 will be obsolete and in this time you can run your 32s to the ground as you should. Nothing wrong with them. Why would you waist money on something new when you already have something that works very well! When it becomes obsolete people will upgrade anyway.
Thank you for the steps in making this work!
Love the bickering kids. For those of you actually interested in the answer to the question and not comparing genitalia, thanks.
I’m fairly new to linux, and not feeling quite brave enough to try 64 bit yet. My new machine (the first I’ll ever build myself) will have 8gb ram and I wanted to know my best options before I give newegg lots of money.
For the record, talking trash on the internet is silly. I don’t care who any of you are really… I just want the information. For the ‘regular folk’ who trash back at trolls, you’re wasting your time as well as mine. I don’t know many people who listen when you say “you’re wrong”, but those who do certainly don’t troll.
PS I did learn what I came here for, so thank you.
@AntiZero – Call me a troll all you like, x86_64 obsoleted PAE a long time ago. If you plan on getting more than 3 GiB of RAM, just use a 64-bit operating system. Bravery has nothing to do with it, 64-bit Linux is perfectly stable as 32-bit.
32-bit is ALREADY obsolete. Most computers sold in the last three years are x86_64 machines. Pretty much the only place you’ll find 32-bit x86 on a new unit today is on netbooks.
The only “downside” to 64-bit is some proprietary apps not having 64-bit alternatives, but that’s getting increasingly rare.
A LOT of people FUD x86_64, despite the fact its very plainly superceded i686.
Also, I don’t generally recommend Ubuntu unless you’re just now learning Linux. Ubuntu’s quality is in the tank compared to most other Linux distributions.
I’ve been running Ubuntu 64-bit on my wife’s computer for the past 4 years or so and I have never had a smooth upgrade to a new release. Every release results in a problem that takes a huge amount of my time to fix. I haven’t had flash running on either Firefox or Chrome for the past year. I have followed every instruction to rectify this situation; nothing worked.
The reason I’m on this thread is because I’m in the process of switching that machine to 32-bit. I made the mistake of upgrading to Ubuntu 11.04 (hoping it would fix the Flash problem) over the weekend and spent most of Sunday unsuccessfully trying to get Thunderbird to work.
64-bit may be the current standard, but I don’t think Ubuntu has got it quite right yet.
Update:
I decided to try a reinstall of Ubuntu 11.04 64-bit on my wife’s machine. I figured it would be a shame to not use all of its 4gb of RAM.
I downloaded the “alternate” install cd, backed up /home folders and ran the install using the existing partitions and allowing formatting only on the swap partition.
It worked. She now has network connection on startup (that wasn’t working either) as well as thunderbird and flash support.
Looks like I won’t need to downgrade to 32-bit after all.