OS not using available RAM

float

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Hi,
I'm running Kali 2021.1 (recently upgraded from 2020.4 which was my initial install) on an Acer Swift 5 as a dual boot with Windows 10.
I recently noticed that Kali only sees less than 3 Gb of RAM on the 16 Gb I have on the unit. The 16 Gb of RAM appear in UEFI and are recognized and used by Windows. The 16 Gb of RAM are also recognised when I boot on a Ubuntu live distro. Any idea how I can Get Kali to use all the available memory?

Here is the output of free -h:
total utilisé libre partagé tamp/cache disponible
Mem: 1,6Gi 989Mi 142Mi 133Mi 491Mi 359Mi
Partition d'échange: 976Mi 268Mi 708Mi

Here is the output of dmidecode --type memory:
# dmidecode 3.3
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.2.0 present.

Handle 0x000F, DMI type 16, 23 bytes
Physical Memory Array
Location: System Board Or Motherboard
Use: System Memory
Error Correction Type: None
Maximum Capacity: 16 GB
Error Information Handle: No Error
Number Of Devices: 2

Handle 0x0010, DMI type 17, 84 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x000F
Error Information Handle: No Error
Total Width: 32 bits
Data Width: 32 bits
Size: 8 GB
Form Factor: Row Of Chips
Set: None
Locator: ChannelA-DIMM0
Bank Locator: BANK 0
Type: LPDDR4
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 3200 MT/s
Manufacturer: Samsung
Serial Number: 20000000
Asset Tag: 9876543210
Part Number: K4UBE3D4AA-MGCH
Rank: 2
Configured Memory Speed: 2667 MT/s
Minimum Voltage: 1.5 V
Maximum Voltage: 1.5 V
Configured Voltage: 0.6 V
Memory Technology: DRAM
Memory Operating Mode Capability: Volatile memory
Firmware Version: Not Specified
Module Manufacturer ID: Bank 1, Hex 0xCE
Module Product ID: Unknown
Memory Subsystem Controller Manufacturer ID: Unknown
Memory Subsystem Controller Product ID: Unknown
Non-Volatile Size: None
Volatile Size: 8 GB
Cache Size: None
Logical Size: None

Handle 0x0011, DMI type 17, 84 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x000F
Error Information Handle: No Error
Total Width: 32 bits
Data Width: 32 bits
Size: 8 GB
Form Factor: Row Of Chips
Set: None
Locator: ChannelB-DIMM0
Bank Locator: BANK 2
Type: LPDDR4
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 3200 MT/s
Manufacturer: Samsung
Serial Number: 20000000
Asset Tag: 9876543210
Part Number: K4UBE3D4AA-MGCH
Rank: 2
Configured Memory Speed: 2667 MT/s
Minimum Voltage: 1.5 V
Maximum Voltage: 1.5 V
Configured Voltage: 0.6 V
Memory Technology: DRAM
Memory Operating Mode Capability: Volatile memory
Firmware Version: Not Specified
Module Manufacturer ID: Bank 1, Hex 0xCE
Module Product ID: Unknown
Memory Subsystem Controller Manufacturer ID: Unknown
Memory Subsystem Controller Product ID: Unknown
Non-Volatile Size: None
Volatile Size: 8 GB
Cache Size: None
Logical Size: None

Here is the output of cat /proc/meminfo:
MemTotal: 1662932 kB
MemFree: 107104 kB
MemAvailable: 335728 kB
Buffers: 26432 kB
Cached: 450428 kB
SwapCached: 26352 kB
Active: 370776 kB
Inactive: 921376 kB
Active(anon): 157820 kB
Inactive(anon): 792572 kB
Active(file): 212956 kB
Inactive(file): 128804 kB
Unevictable: 21500 kB
Mlocked: 96 kB
SwapTotal: 1000444 kB
SwapFree: 725500 kB
Dirty: 64 kB
Writeback: 0 kB
AnonPages: 815632 kB
Mapped: 281948 kB
Shmem: 136912 kB
KReclaimable: 33524 kB
Slab: 96016 kB
SReclaimable: 33524 kB
SUnreclaim: 62492 kB
KernelStack: 10992 kB
PageTables: 17880 kB
NFS_Unstable: 0 kB
Bounce: 0 kB
WritebackTmp: 0 kB
CommitLimit: 1831908 kB
Committed_AS: 4237856 kB
VmallocTotal: 34359738367 kB
VmallocUsed: 33656 kB
VmallocChunk: 0 kB
Percpu: 5888 kB
HardwareCorrupted: 0 kB
AnonHugePages: 112640 kB
ShmemHugePages: 0 kB
ShmemPmdMapped: 0 kB
FileHugePages: 0 kB
FilePmdMapped: 0 kB
HugePages_Total: 0
HugePages_Free: 0
HugePages_Rsvd: 0
HugePages_Surp: 0
Hugepagesize: 2048 kB
Hugetlb: 0 kB
DirectMap4k: 183680 kB
DirectMap2M: 1544192 kB
DirectMap1G: 0 kB

Here is the output of egrep "model name|address" /proc/cpuinfo:
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU @ 1.00GHz
address sizes : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU @ 1.00GHz
address sizes : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU @ 1.00GHz
address sizes : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU @ 1.00GHz
address sizes : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU @ 1.00GHz
address sizes : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU @ 1.00GHz
address sizes : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU @ 1.00GHz
address sizes : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU @ 1.00GHz
address sizes : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual

Would very much appreciate some help.
Thanks !
 


What's the output of:

Code:
free -h

(Make sure you've got a bunch of stuff open at the time. Crack open two or three browsers, load 50 tabs, and stream something in HD at YouTube.)
 
I recently noticed that Kali only sees less than 3 Gb of RAM on the 16 Gb I have on the unit
This is entirely normal. Any OS will use only the resources it needs, the rest is available and will be used when needed. In any case, you could try doing some heavy task; intensive gaming, decoding/encoding video/audio, compiling software as these demand more resources, then you can check whether Kali makes use of the available RAM, other than that and if you're just doing regular stuff, there's nothing you should be worried about. :)

EDIT: Sorry, I read "uses" but you wrote "sees" my bad. That's weird indeed. Do you mean that Kali doesn't recognize the correct amount of RAM? How many DMI modules does the machine have? Is it 1 16 GB module or 2 modules 8 GB each? More? Are they all compatible with each other?
 
Last edited:
Hi guys,
Thanks for picking this one up.
@KGIII: I opened several tabs and ran several videos simultaneously and the display started freezing for 10 to 12 seconds over and over. This is what I get with free -h:
total utilisé libre partagé tamp/cache disponible
Mem: 1,6Gi 1,1Gi 165Mi 140Mi 312Mi 179Mi
Partition d'échange: 976Mi 930Mi 46Mi

@Tolkem: No, Kali does not recognize the correct amount of RAM. I have two RAM modules in the laptop (2x 8Gb). They are soldered so I'm pretty sure they are compatible. You should have the details in the the output of 'dmidecode --type memory' I posted in my initial message (do you have access to it?).
You also have details about what Kali 'sees' in the 'cat /proc/meminfo' output I also posted.
Also, my 16Gb of RAM are properly seen when I boot with a Ubuntu live USB stick. So apparently, it's really just Kali.

Anything else I can give you ?
 
This is what I get with free -h:

From the looks of that, all but 165 MB of RAM are in use. So, you're using all the RAM. If you have all the RAM occupied at once, the CPU won't be able to page data in and out of RAM. So, something called OOM (Out Of Memory) will step in to free up RAM.
 
Also, my 16Gb of RAM are properly seen when I boot with a Ubuntu live USB stick. So apparently, it's really just Kali.
Is kali 32bit or 64bit? 32bit OSes can't see past 3 GB, I think you installed a 32bit Kali. Check whether that's the case.
 
I recently noticed that Kali only sees less than 3 Gb of RAM on the 16 Gb I have on the unit.
Are you using the 64 bit version of Kali?
 
Oh, wait...

Brain fart for my last reply.

Good catch, folks.
 
The OS version was actually the first thing I checked and I am indeed running a 64 bit version.
This is the output of uname -r

and uname -m

Any ideas?

MemTotal: 1662932 kB
MemFree: 107104 kB
You system only seems to see 1.66G(1662932 kb)
Have you tried running a memtest? Most distributions when you live boot offer the option to live boot or to run "Memtest86+ (RAM test).
 
Hi,
Memtest came out clean (see below).
But there's more. I booted on a Kali Linux 2020.4 live USB drive. And using this system version, my 16 Gb of RAM are recognized. So it seems Kali 2020.4 (5.9.0-kali1-amd64) works with my full RAM, but not my currently installed Kali 2021.1 (5.10.0-kali5-amd64).
Any ideas how to fix this?

IMG_4320.jpg
 
OK. But I still need to get my system working properly. As mentioned earlier, my initial install was Kali 2020.4, later upgraded to 2021.1. Is there any way I can downgrade the system back to 2020.4, managing dependencies along the way?
 
To clarify, I went into the grub menu on bootup and the only kernels I have available to boot into are 5.10.0-kali3-amd64 and 5.10.0-kali5-amd64. Both have the same memory issue. So it seems I have to reinstall 5.10.0-kali3-amd64 to have it available to boot into. Hence my question about reverting the system back to 2020.4.
 
OK. But I still need to get my system working properly. As mentioned earlier, my initial install was Kali 2020.4, later upgraded to 2021.1. Is there any way I can downgrade the system back to 2020.4, managing dependencies along the way?
Either restore from a backup or you could try this.
 
G'day @float and welcome to linux.org :)

I am curious -

Did you install the 2021 Kali after removing 2020, or did you just upgrade to 2021 from within 2020, eg with


Code:
kali@kali:~$ sudo apt update
kali@kali:~$
kali@kali:~$ sudo apt full-upgrade -y

Cheers

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
 
Hi, I upgraded from 2020.4 with apt upgrade.

Guys, there's more. Just to be sure, I booted on a Kali 2021.1 live usb drive and the system sees the 16 Gb of RAM. So Kali 2021.1 doesn't seem to be the issue after all.
To summerize:
I have Kali 2021.1 installed on my laptop (upgraded from 2020.4).
The system doesn't see the 16 Gb of RAM on the laptop. It only recognizes less than 3 Gb.
The system is 64 bits (verified).
Memtest check showed RAM is OK.
Booting on Kali 2021.1 as a live distro works fine and the 16 Gb of RAM are recognized.
So it seems the problem lies within my configuration.
Not quite sure what to look for, though.
Any ideas ?
 
Booting on Kali 2021.1 as a live distro works fine and the 16 Gb of RAM are recognized.
So it seems the problem lies within my configuration.
Not quite sure what to look for, though.
Any ideas ?
Reinstall using Kali 2021.1 .iso, since booting from a USB does confirm that the problem is your actual install. I think this is easier than trying to track down the root of the problem, which could be the upgrade process from 2020.4. Backup your important data, settings and reinstall, that's what I'd do.
 
If I reinstall using the Kali iso, will I get an option that will reinstall only the OS and keep all installed programs, config files and user files in place ? Or will I get a fresh Kali install where I need to reinstall all my stuff ?
 
If I reinstall using the Kali iso, will I get an option that will reinstall only the OS and keep all installed programs, config files and user files in place ? Or will I get a fresh Kali install where I need to reinstall all my stuff ?
You'll get a new fresh install, so yes, you'll have to reinstall everything again. I think timeshift can help here. According to what I've read, you can restore your actual setup from a timeshift saved snapshot; personal settings and programs, however, since you don't know what the problem in your actual installation is, I'm not sure that's a good idea because like I said, the problem seems to be there and by restoring from that, you could restore the problem as well. @wizardfromoz has much more experience using timeshift than I do, so he might give you a better, informed answer. But IMHO, you'll be better off with a new, fresh install, yeah I know it's a pain, but sometimes it's the best option if you want everything to work correctly. Save your personal settings; all of your dot files; files and folders in $HOME, including the hidden ones, you can do that by making a tar file of your $HOME and then just save it to a USB, so you can use them in your new install.
 

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