Hello everyone!
I'm new to this mailinglist so please tellme if you think i'm "out of
topoic".
I've have trouble with the following issue:
On two x86 machines, one AMD k62 and a Pentium the Bios dont wont to
detect properly a 512 MB PC133 DIMM, the K62 based it dont detect it at
all, and on the PII it detect it as a 128MB DIMM.
I suspect that's the BIOS that "sucks", not the HW, i supose that the HW
is capable to deal with 512MB DIMM's, so my question to you
"kernel-gurus", is there any posibility to configure the Linux kernel to
bypass the BIOS and actually use my 512MB ?
Thanks!
/Benny
Benny Sjostrand wrote:
> Hello everyone!
Hello
> so my question to you "kernel-gurus", is there any posibility
> to configure the Linux kernel to bypass the BIOS and actually
> use my 512MB ?
You don't need to be a "kernel-guru" to answer this question.
The list of kernel boot parameters is in
linux/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt
There, you can find:
mem=nn[KMG] [KNL,BOOT] force use of a specific amount of
memory; to be used when the kernel is not able
to see the whole system memory or for test.
So append mem=512M in your kernel command line. If you use lilo add
append = "mem=512M" in your lilo.conf file (and rerun lilo).
--
** Gael Le Mignot "Kilobug", Ing3 EPITA - http://kilobug.free.fr **
Home Mail : [email protected] Work Mail : [email protected]
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"Software is like sex it's better when it's free.", Linus Torvalds
Hey Benny,
This is a chipset problem. Chipsets support up to x CAS (column) lines
and y RAS (row) lines, and depending on your DIMM memory module layout
and configuration, you 512MB DIMM will be detected as a different sized
module.
Eg. The venerable Intel 440BX (PII) chipset supports a max of 256MB per
slot. Ah well.
Since it's a chipset (ie hardware) issue, it's not possible to work
around this problem - you need a newer chipset. Sorry.
Dan
____________________
Daniel J Blueman
> I'm new to this mailinglist so please tellme if you think i'm "out of
> topoic".
>
> I've have trouble with the following issue:
> On two x86 machines, one AMD k62 and a Pentium the Bios dont wont to
> detect properly a 512 MB PC133 DIMM, the K62 based it dont
> detect it at
> all, and on the PII it detect it as a 128MB DIMM.
> I suspect that's the BIOS that "sucks", not the HW, i supose
> that the HW
> is capable to deal with 512MB DIMM's, so my question to you
> "kernel-gurus", is there any posibility to configure the
> Linux kernel to
> bypass the BIOS and actually use my 512MB ?
>
> Thanks!
>
> /Benny
On Sat, 2 Feb 2002, Daniel J Blueman wrote:
> Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2002 21:25:44 -0000
> From: Daniel J Blueman <[email protected]>
> To: 'Benny Sjostrand' <[email protected]>, [email protected]
> Subject: RE: 512 Mb DIMM not detected by the BIOS!
>
> Hey Benny,
>
> This is a chipset problem. Chipsets support up to x CAS (column) lines
> and y RAS (row) lines, and depending on your DIMM memory module layout
> and configuration, you 512MB DIMM will be detected as a different sized
> module.
>
> Eg. The venerable Intel 440BX (PII) chipset supports a max of 256MB per
> slot. Ah well.
>
I had similar problem - on an Intel 440BX based motherboard (ABIT BX-133
RAID) the 256MB DIMMs I originally got were only 'half-detected' (e.g. I
got only 128MB from each one); These DIMMs were working OK on some
VIA-based systems; after changing them to a different type (both old and
new were ECC DIMMs from Kingston, just different type) they are working
OK.
I it could be of any help, I can find the part numbers/names of my DIMMs.
> Since it's a chipset (ie hardware) issue, it's not possible to work
> around this problem - you need a newer chipset. Sorry.
Or maybe another DIMM type - at least I was able to successfully use 256MB
DIMMs of appropriate type.
I also don't think kernel tricks would not get back the lost memory here.
>
> Dan
>
> ____________________
> Daniel J Blueman
>
> > I'm new to this mailinglist so please tellme if you think i'm "out of
> > topoic".
> >
> > I've have trouble with the following issue:
> > On two x86 machines, one AMD k62 and a Pentium the Bios dont wont to
> > detect properly a 512 MB PC133 DIMM, the K62 based it dont
> > detect it at
> > all, and on the PII it detect it as a 128MB DIMM.
> > I suspect that's the BIOS that "sucks", not the HW, i supose
> > that the HW
> > is capable to deal with 512MB DIMM's, so my question to you
> > "kernel-gurus", is there any posibility to configure the
> > Linux kernel to
> > bypass the BIOS and actually use my 512MB ?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > /Benny
On Mon, Feb 04, 2002 at 12:17:10PM +0100, Wojtek Pilorz wrote:
> > This is a chipset problem. Chipsets support up to x CAS (column) lines
> > and y RAS (row) lines, and depending on your DIMM memory module layout
> > and configuration, you 512MB DIMM will be detected as a different sized
> > module.
> >
> > Eg. The venerable Intel 440BX (PII) chipset supports a max of 256MB per
> > slot. Ah well.
> >
>
> I had similar problem - on an Intel 440BX based motherboard (ABIT BX-133
> RAID) the 256MB DIMMs I originally got were only 'half-detected' (e.g. I
> got only 128MB from each one); These DIMMs were working OK on some
> VIA-based systems; after changing them to a different type (both old and
> new were ECC DIMMs from Kingston, just different type) they are working
> OK.
>
> I it could be of any help, I can find the part numbers/names of my DIMMs.
>
> > Since it's a chipset (ie hardware) issue, it's not possible to work
> > around this problem - you need a newer chipset. Sorry.
> Or maybe another DIMM type - at least I was able to successfully use 256MB
> DIMMs of appropriate type.
Double Sided 256MB Dimms are required, single sided dimms rarely work on
BX-based boards.
--
Cliff Albert | RIPE: CA3348-RIPE | http://www.oisec.net
[email protected] | 6BONE: CA2-6BONE | icq 18461740
On Tue, 5 Feb 2002, Cliff Albert wrote:
> On Mon, Feb 04, 2002 at 12:17:10PM +0100, Wojtek Pilorz wrote:
> > > Since it's a chipset (ie hardware) issue, it's not possible to work
> > > around this problem - you need a newer chipset. Sorry.
> > Or maybe another DIMM type - at least I was able to successfully use 256MB
> > DIMMs of appropriate type.
>
> Double Sided 256MB Dimms are required, single sided dimms rarely work on
> BX-based boards.
I have to agree that requiring the correct part for memory is not
usually considered a "hardware issue" as most people see it.
I believe the VIA chipsets have similar features, the last m/b I
installed said it supported 4 DIMMs, up to 3GB. So a 1GB part will work,
but if you put in four only three operate (I didn't have four to try).
--
bill davidsen <[email protected]>
CTO, TMR Associates, Inc
Doing interesting things with little computers since 1979.
"Daniel J Blueman" <[email protected]> writes:
> Hey Benny,
>
> This is a chipset problem. Chipsets support up to x CAS (column) lines
> and y RAS (row) lines, and depending on your DIMM memory module layout
> and configuration, you 512MB DIMM will be detected as a different sized
> module.
>
> Eg. The venerable Intel 440BX (PII) chipset supports a max of 256MB per
> slot. Ah well.
>
> Since it's a chipset (ie hardware) issue, it's not possible to work
> around this problem - you need a newer chipset. Sorry.
Additionally memory is generally and practically a setup once thing in
every chipset I have looked at. Even if the chipsets supports it
would be very difficult ``fix'' this afterwards.
Eric