Neophyte Question: FreeNAS not seeing all my RAM

[Kory Fierstine]

Yesterday I built my FreeNAS box and after getting it up and running, I checked the systems information page and it shows 3.2Gb of RAM (memory) installed. I am using the current stable release 64-bit download of FreeNAS (downloaded yesterday - 9.1.0 I think). My hardware: I have a 2009 Dell CPU (Core2Duo) with 6Gb of RAM installed.

I am fairly sure there is a Dell published limit to installed RAM, but if the BIOS sees and reports 6Gb, why can't FreeNAS use it? Am I missing something?

 

[scurrier]

3.2GB smells a lot like someone who is using the 32 bit version of FreeNAS. Does your system show as x86 or x64?

 

[cyberjock]

Many Core2Duos are on boards that max out at 4GB of RAM. We just had one not even 3 days ago.

And for the record, Core2Duos were obsoleted in 2008 by the introduction of the i-series of CPUs. Core2Duo hit the market in 2006, so your chipset and such is probably 8 years old(not the construction age, but the age of the technology).

 

[scurrier]

http://forums.freenas.org/threads/only-half-of-installed-ram-available.17739/

For reference.

 

[cyberjock]

Doh. I was wrong. 4 days since it was Sunday.

 

[scurrier]

If you're going to be so unforgivably wrong, you might as well be wrong in the noob forum :)

 

[Kory Fierstine]

Thanks. My system is old, but it was essentially free (pulled it out of my basement). I had another newer system and had it running Nas4Free, but in my attempt to get it to use a different NIC, I somehow corrupted the BIOS. So now that machine is doing retirement duty as a door stop.

 

[cyberjock]

FreeNAS isn't really good with "old hand-me-down" hardware at all. If you aren't using something that is circa 2008 or newer(so you can use more than 8GB of RAM) and is server grade(for ECC RAM support) you're taking major risks with your data.