virtualbox.org

Newbie here running 3.2.8 r64453 (Windows 7) and recently upgraded from 2.5GB of RAM to 4GB on my laptop. Vbox is still showing just 2.5GB of total system memory in Settings.

bob@ubuntu:~$ uname -a
Linux ubuntu 2.6.32-25-generic-pae #44-Ubuntu SMP Fri Sep 17 21:57:48 UTC 2010 i686 GNU/Linux

bob@ubuntu:~$ free -m
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 4012 1106 2905 0 176 586
-/+ buffers/cache: 343 3668
Swap: 0 0 0

What do I need to do to have Vbox see the newly installed total memory?

Thanks for the help

VirtualBox (32 bit) will not allow you to have more than 50% of the hosts RAM and is set to that as MAX in the guest settings. Usually 1500MB but that varies a little between VBox versions.

Perryg wrote:VirtualBox (32 bit) will not allow you to have more than 50% of the hosts RAM and is set to that as MAX in the guest settings. Usually 1500MB but that varies a little between VBox versions.

Thanks for the reply. I had to install the linux-pae components to allow my ubuntu system to see the 4.012GB memory after the upgrade. What I'm wondering is why the system memory in Vbox is still being reported as 2560 rather than 4012. I'd like to bump it up for my Win7 VM.

Here's a link to my Vbox settings screen cap:

http://s767.photobucket.com/albums/xx31 ... ttings.png

I had this same problem after upgrading RAM in another laptop running XP in a VM and had to run a terminal command (that I kept in my notes):

sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup

I don't want to mess up my Vbox installation/VM by just arbitrarily running this command. If, however, that is necessary, that's fine.

Thanks again

You can always run that command without worry. It won't change the amount of memory shown though AFAIK.

You're running a 32 bit Host. This means that the 2,5 GB RAM is a set limit for compatibility reasons. If you want to allocate more RAM, get a 64 bit Host. But do remember that setting 75% of your system RAM to a VM will cause VB to disable the OK button in the settings to prevent out of memory errors of the Host. So essentially, you won't get anywhere like Perry said. Unless you buff up your RAM some more, if at all possible.

Perryg wrote:You can always run that command without worry. It won't change the amount of memory shown though AFAIK.

Actually, it did change the amount of RAM reported on my other laptop after I removed and reinstalled Vbox. Perhaps I should save the VDI file, remove Vbox, reinstall (since I now run the PAE kernel) and see if the settings menu shows the full amount of system RAM.

Thanks

I'm helping a friend at work with a W7 host, Ubuntu guest. Isn't there another way of refreshing and updating the correct amount of physical RAM installed? His W7 host has 8G installed, VBox control panel only is showing that 4G is available. Both the host and guest are 32bit.

Rich

Not with 32-bit.
If you have pae enabled (host and guest) you can use the CLI commands of VBoxManage to increase it I think but what's the point?

Perryg wrote:Not with 32-bit.
If you have pae enabled (host and guest) you can use the CLI commands of VBoxManage to increase it I think but what's the point?

I'm not sure if pae is enabled on the guest. I would think(yeah, I'm thinkin' again) that something like physical memory would be detected and reported in the control panel correctly just as it would in the host BIOS. The point? Just looking for an easier method of having the RAM reported instead of removing and installing VBox.

Rich

The 4GB available in the GUI is hard coded for 32-bit. You can as I said use VBoxManage to increase it over 4GB but you want to be sure of what you are doing.

Maybe this is a difference between having a Linux Host/Windows Guest and Windows Host/Linux Guest. My Debian desktop (Linux host/Windows Guest) shows the correct physical RAM in the VBox control panel in the second attachment. 3Gb is installed.

My friend's laptop (Windows 7 host/Linux guest) shows the correct amount of physical RAM in the Windows system control panel, however in the Vbox control panel it does not, (the first attachment). He's gone with his laptop, so at the time of writing this, I can not verify this, but I would suspect that as the slider is moved to the right to increase the guest memory, at 75% Vbox would prompt a warning that you are at 75% of total memory. When it is actually only at 37.5%.

I have 8Gb on my Linux host at my home. I'm pretty sure that on the Vbox control panel, it shows 8Gb, and if I wanted to, I could put the slider near 8Gb.