> My Debian Linux 2.0 cannot use more than 460MB sawp :( There is a similar thread going on on linux-kernel that may be apropos to your situation.
Basically, what it comes down to is that the way a (stock) Linux kernel lays out memory, it is unable to address more than approximately 960MB of memory (I would assume RAM + SWAP, in your case). I am not sure if the 2.0 series of kernels has any ability to work around this problem, but the 2.1 series certainly does. In /usr/src/linux/include/asm-i386/page.h, you will find the following comment and constant definition: /* * This handles the memory map.. We could make this a config * option, but too many people screw it up, and too few need * it. * * A __PAGE_OFFSET of 0xC0000000 means that the kernel has * a virtual address space of one gigabyte, which limits the * amount of physical memory you can use to about 950MB. If * you want to use more physical memory, change this define. * * For example, if you have 2GB worth of physical memory, you * could change this define to 0x70000000, which gives the * kernel slightly more than 2GB of virtual memory (enough to * map all your physical memory + a bit extra for various * io-memory mappings) * * IF YOU CHANGE THIS, PLEASE ALSO CHANGE * * arch/i386/vmlinux.lds * * which has the same constant encoded.. */ #define __PAGE_OFFSET (0xC0000000) -Jon Burchmore
