[Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 (rev. 3.0)] Ubuntu 12.04 LTS lshw sees 12gb RAM but system only using 8gb

[Doug Morse]

Gigabyte replaced my dead GA-870A-UD3 motherboard with a GA-970A-UD3. However, "free" and cat /proc/meminfo only show 8GB of RAM:
cat /proc/meminfo
MemTotal: 8155016 kB
MemFree: 253264 kB
...

However, lshw does see all 12gb:
lshw | grep -m 1 -A 50 "*-memory"
     *-memory
          description: System Memory
          physical id: 2c
          slot: System board or motherboard
          size: 12GiB
        *-bank:0
             description: DIMM DDR3 Synchronous 667 MHz (1.5 ns)
             product: F3-10666CL9-4
             vendor: Undefined
             physical id: 0
             serial: 00000000
             slot: Node0_Dimm0
             size: 4GiB
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 667MHz (1.5ns)
        *-bank:1
             description: DIMM DDR3 Synchronous 667 MHz (1.5 ns)
             product: F3-10666CL9-4
             vendor: Undefined
             physical id: 1
             serial: 00000000
             slot: Node0_Dimm1
             size: 4GiB
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 667MHz (1.5ns)
        *-bank:2
             description: DIMM DDR3 Synchronous 667 MHz (1.5 ns)
             product: F3-10666CL9-2
             vendor: Undefined
             physical id: 2
             serial: 00000000
             slot: Node0_Dimm2
             size: 2GiB
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 667MHz (1.5ns)
        *-bank:3
             description: DIMM DDR3 Synchronous 667 MHz (1.5 ns)
             product: F3-10666CL9-2
             vendor: Undefined
             physical id: 3
             serial: 00000000
             slot: Node0_Dimm3
             size: 2GiB
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 667MHz (1.5ns)

Upstream URL http://marc.info/?l=linux-mm&m=140105784328583&w=2 .

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: linux-image-3.2.0-63-generic 3.2.0-63.94
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-63.94-generic 3.2.57
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-63-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx
AlsaVersion: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.24.
ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu17.6
Architecture: amd64
ArecordDevices:
 **** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
 card 0: SB [HDA ATI SB], device 0: VT2020 Analog [VT2020 Analog]
   Subdevices: 2/2
   Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
   Subdevice #1: subdevice #1
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC2: morse 2845 F.... pulseaudio
 /dev/snd/controlC1: morse 2845 F.... pulseaudio
 /dev/snd/controlC0: morse 2845 F.... pulseaudio
CRDA: Error: command ['iw', 'reg', 'get'] failed with exit code 1: nl80211 not found.
Card0.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:0 'SB'/'HDA ATI SB at 0xfeb00000 irq 16'
   Mixer name : 'VIA VT2020'
   Components : 'HDA:11060441,1458a014,00100100'
   Controls : 48
   Simple ctrls : 24
Card1.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:1 'Generic'/'HD-Audio Generic at 0xfea40000 irq 76'
   Mixer name : 'ATI R6xx HDMI'
   Components : 'HDA:1002aa01,00aa0100,00100200'
   Controls : 6
   Simple ctrls : 1
Card1.Amixer.values:
 Simple mixer control 'IEC958',0
   Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined penum
   Playback channels: Mono
   Mono: Playback [on]
Card2.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:2 'Generic_1'/'HD-Audio Generic at 0xfe640000 irq 77'
   Mixer name : 'ATI R6xx HDMI'
   Components : 'HDA:1002aa01,00aa0100,00100200'
   Controls : 6
   Simple ctrls : 1
Card2.Amixer.values:
 Simple mixer control 'IEC958',0
   Capabilities: pswitch pswitch-joined penum
   Playback channels: Mono
   Mono: Playback [on]
Date: Wed May 21 16:34:53 2014
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=f938a5e5-3e60-4030-9402-a8ff0adf64c6
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Release amd64 (20110427.1)
IwConfig:
 lo no wireless extensions.

 eth0 no wireless extensions.
MachineType: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. To be filled by O.E.M.
MarkForUpload: True
ProcEnviron:
 TERM=xterm-color
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcFB: 0 VESA VGA
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.2.0-63-generic root=UUID=45c2a972-2497-11e2-88ea-50e549361dd3 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
PulseList: Error: command ['pacmd', 'list'] failed with exit code 1: No PulseAudio daemon running, or not running as session daemon.
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-3.2.0-63-generic N/A
 linux-backports-modules-3.2.0-63-generic N/A
 linux-firmware 1.79.14
RfKill:
 0: hci0: Bluetooth
  Soft blocked: yes
  Hard blocked: no
SourcePackage: linux
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to precise on 2012-05-06 (745 days ago)
dmi.bios.date: 01/28/2013
dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
dmi.bios.version: FC
dmi.board.asset.tag: To be filled by O.E.M.
dmi.board.name: 970A-UD3
dmi.board.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
dmi.board.version: x.x
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.chassis.type: 3
dmi.chassis.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
dmi.chassis.version: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvrFC:bd01/28/2013:svnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:pnTobefilledbyO.E.M.:pvrTobefilledbyO.E.M.:rvnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:rn970A-UD3:rvrx.x:cvnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:ct3:cvrToBeFilledByO.E.M.:
dmi.product.name: To be filled by O.E.M.
dmi.product.version: To be filled by O.E.M.
dmi.sys.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.

[Doug Morse (dm-dougmorse)]

Oops, I should have also mentioned:

Of course, all 12gb were being recognized before the motherboard (MB) replacement. No kernel updates or any other kind of updates were applied during the 2-3 day period between when I installed the new MB and noticed the lacking 4gb of RAM.

I did force a kernel reinstall (i.e., "dpkg --reinstall install ...") but that did not correct the problem.

At least two kernel updates have been applied since reinstalling the MB (which occurred about 4-5 weeks ago). No updates seems to have corrected the problem, either.

[Brad Figg (brad-figg)]

This change was made by a bot.

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Doug Morse, thank you for reporting this and helping make Ubuntu better. Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Could you please confirm this issue exists with the latest development release of Ubuntu? ISO images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/ . If the issue remains, please just make a comment to this.

[Doug Morse (dm-dougmorse)]

Hi Christopher,

Yes, apparently it does. Kindly see the attached screenshot, which again shows 12gb using 'lshw' but 'free' and 'cat /proc/meminfo' show only 8gb. This is from having booted the iso file 'utopic-desktop-amd64+mac.iso' (downloaded yesterday) by installing grml-rescueboot and placing the .iso file in /boot/grml and rebooting the system.

Thanks,
Doug

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Doug Morse, this would appear to be a reporting issue of the proc file system displaying the wrong information, verus the reporting tools from procps reporting against proc (ex. free). Hence, could you please test the latest upstream kernel available (not the daily folder) following https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds ? It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please comment on which kernel version specifically you tested. If this bug is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following tags:
kernel-fixed-upstream
kernel-fixed-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

where VERSION-NUMBER is the version number of the kernel you tested. For example:
kernel-fixed-upstream-3.15-rc6

This can be done by clicking on the yellow circle with a black pencil icon next to the word Tags located at the bottom of the bug description. As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

If the mainline kernel does not fix this bug, please add the following tags:
kernel-bug-exists-upstream
kernel-bug-exists-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

Once testing of the upstream kernel is complete, please mark this bug's Status as Confirmed. Please let us know your results. Thank you for your understanding.

[Doug Morse (dm-dougmorse)]

Hi Christopher,

I'm a bit confused. Don't you mean a reporting discrepancy between 'lshw' vs. '/proc' and procps tools like 'free'. BOTH 'free' and 'cat /proc/meminfo' show the WRONG info, whereas 'lshw' shows the correct info.

Just to be clear, I'm rather confident that this is not a reporting issue, but an actually failure of the kernel to detect and use all 12GB at boot.

Line 182 of 'dmesg' reads:

[ 0.000000] Memory: 8137408k/9699328k available (6591k kernel code, 1334588k absent, 227332k reserved, 6614k data, 924k init)

I've attached the first 250 lines of 'dmesg' to this post, for context, should you need it.

So, given this, I presume you nevertheless would like me to try the upstream kernel, correct?

Thanks,
Doug

[Doug Morse (dm-dougmorse)]

Oops, forgort the dmesg.txt attachment, now attached here.

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Doug Morse, the upstream kernel would need to be tested.

[Doug Morse (dm-dougmorse)]

Hi Christopher,

OK, great, thanks! And done (see results below). Unfortunatley, the problem is to be found in the upstream kernel as well. :(

I'll change the tags as you direct momentarily.

What happens next?

Thanks,
Doug

----- BEGIN: RESULTS FROM UPSTREAM KERNEL TEST -----

root@s3:~# uname -a
Linux s3.ikrg.com 3.15.0-031500rc6-generic #201405211835 SMP Wed May 21 22:35:54 UTC 2014 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
root@s3:~# free
             total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 8152924 3270440 4882484 0 118556 1012852
-/+ buffers/cache: 2139032 6013892
Swap: 6143996 0 6143996
root@s3:~# cat /proc/meminfo | head -5
MemTotal: 8152924 kB
MemFree: 4879804 kB
MemAvailable: 5863828 kB
Buffers: 118596 kB
Cached: 1013300 kB
root@s3:~# lshw | grep -m 1 -A 50 "*-memory"
     *-memory
          description: System Memory
          physical id: 2c
          slot: System board or motherboard
          size: 12GiB
        *-bank:0
             description: DIMM DDR3 Synchronous 667 MHz (1.5 ns)
             product: F3-10666CL9-4
             vendor: Undefined
             physical id: 0
             serial: 00000000
             slot: Node0_Dimm0
             size: 4GiB
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 667MHz (1.5ns)
        *-bank:1
             description: DIMM DDR3 Synchronous 667 MHz (1.5 ns)
             product: F3-10666CL9-4
             vendor: Undefined
             physical id: 1
             serial: 00000000
             slot: Node0_Dimm1
             size: 4GiB
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 667MHz (1.5ns)
        *-bank:2
             description: DIMM DDR3 Synchronous 667 MHz (1.5 ns)
             product: F3-10666CL9-2
             vendor: Undefined
             physical id: 2
             serial: 00000000
             slot: Node0_Dimm2
             size: 2GiB
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 667MHz (1.5ns)
        *-bank:3
             description: DIMM DDR3 Synchronous 667 MHz (1.5 ns)
             product: F3-10666CL9-2
             vendor: Undefined
             physical id: 3
             serial: 00000000
             slot: Node0_Dimm3
             size: 2GiB
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 667MHz (1.5ns)
     *-pci:0
          description: Host bridge
          product: RD890 PCI to PCI bridge (external gfx0 port B)
          vendor: Hynix Semiconductor (Hyundai Electronics)
          physical id: 100
          bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0

----- END: RESULTS FROM UPSTREAM KERNEL TEST -----

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Doug Morse, the issue you are reporting is an upstream one. Could you please report this problem through the appropriate channel by following the instructions _verbatim_ at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Upstream/kernel ?

Please provide a direct URL to your e-mail to the mailing list once you have made it so that it may be tracked.

Thank you for your understanding.

[Doug Morse (dm-dougmorse)]

Kernel bug report emailed to <email address hidden>.

I will report back with a Kernel Bug Tracker (https://bugzilla.kernel.org/) report URL once I have one.

Thanks.

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Doug Morse, I would hold off on submitting to bugzilla unless invited by someone on the mailing list to do this. This is due to how bugzilla is largely ignored in favor of the mailing list.

[Doug Morse (dm-dougmorse)]

Hi Christopher,

Makes sense.

Here is the requested URL for the upstream kernel bug report in their email list archives (linux-mm):

http://marc.info/?l=linux-mm&m=140105784328583&w=2

The file 'kernel-bug-report.txt' I attached in my previous post contains the exact same information.

Thanks,
Doug