[Dapman02]

I know that after about 2 years of running linux I should know this, but how do I double check that I'm running a 64 bit version of ubuntu.
I ask because I currently am testing to see if a motherboard I found supports 4gb of ram, but only 2.9 gigs is showing in the system monitor

[Enablingwolf]

Open the terminal.
Applications | Accessories | Terminal

once that is open. Simply type in

uname -a

uname by itself will give what you got. The -a switch adds --all information
Alternate will be:

Code:

uname --all

If you show anything with 64 in it. You have a 64bit kernel. It is pretty easy to read and understand.

Here is my Ubuntu uname -a print:
2.6.28-13-generic #45-Ubuntu SMP Tue Jun 30 22:12:12 UTC 2009 x86_64 GNU/Linux

The man for uname:

Code:

  -a, --all                print all information, in the following order,
                             except omit -p and -i if unknown:
  -s, --kernel-name        print the kernel name
  -n, --nodename           print the network node hostname
  -r, --kernel-release     print the kernel release
  -v, --kernel-version     print the kernel version
  -m, --machine            print the machine hardware name
  -p, --processor          print the processor type or "unknown"
  -i, --hardware-platform  print the hardware platform or "unknown"
  -o, --operating-system   print the operating system
      --help     display this help and exit
      --version  output version information and exit

[Dapman02]

Alright, thanks man. I am running 64 bit
looks like that is another thing I have to upgrade.

[Enablingwolf]

Do an inplace upgrade. Unless you have a need for more than the mainstream 64bit kernel.

Same thing... Open the terminal. Except, here is a hint. Double click(may have to triple) the stuff inside the code tag and copy it to the terminal You will forget what you did really fast if you do not type it though.

Code:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

Here is what you just did.

You took ownership. Told the OS to use the package manager to get latest stuff(apt-get) on your selected repo. Then to update. Except this time after the double ampersands was to tell it to upgrade. Pretty much the double & is letting the machine know to continue afterwards... It is like using the piping symbol. { | } <-- pipe :

[splat]

re: the && and |

I just wanted to clarify the point a little, since to a newb they might not realize that && and | really are different and function different. && lets you combine multiple lines of commands in to one line

Code:

$ sudo apt-get update
<does it's stuff, finishes>
$ sudo apt-get upgrade
<does it's stuff, finishes>

becomes:

Code:

$ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
<does lots of stuff, finishes>

notice that 'sudo' is required twice because the stuff before && and the stuff after && are treated as their own discrete commands.

the pipe | lets you take the output of one command and pass it thru another, frequently used with 'grep', 'more', 'less', and 'tail' but can be used with others.

Code:

$ dmesg
<spits out a bunch of stuff, a lot scrolls out of screen before you can read it>

can be more useful if piped thru less:

Code:

$ dmesg | less
<allows you to scroll thru the output and quit when you have the info you need>

Code:

$ less Xorg.log.1 | grep EE
<only shows the lines with EE in them>

[pharoer]

uname will not show if you run 64 bit, it only shows you run a 64 bit kernel. The userland can still be 32 bit.

dpkg --print-architecture will tell you what you run tho.

i386 or amd64

[Enablingwolf]

What version of Ubuntu has a 64bit kernel and 32bit userland?

The uname is as simple as it gets and easy to remember. Since most will either be installing amd64 or i386 in Ubuntu installs.

Thanks splat, for going further in depth on the pipe versus the double ampersand. I was a bit lazy and did not go much past the very basics of it. When folks have an understanding of what stuff does and the meanings. It makes it much easier to understand later on.