Memory management problems in 2.4.16

I installed a 2.4.16 kernel on a 486DX2-50 machine with 8MB memory and 24MB swap and got insurmountable problems.
For instance,

$ diff file1 file2
where both files are, say, 6MB, hangs the machine.
One would expect the machine to go swapping and to hear the disk rattle,
but after a few seconds - silence; and no response when typing in a
second virtual console. The only sign of life I get is answer from a
ping from another machine.

The same machine with a 2.2.20 kernel operates as expected. An strace shows that the last thing that happens, is an mmap of the first file.

Various other commands that need lots of memory exhibit the same behaviour.

It seems to me that something definitely is wrong with the kernel's memory management.

BTW, the kernel is stripped bare bones - no PCI, only IDE, floppy, serial and networking support. Attached the .config file.

Greetings,

Daniel Tuijnman

===
.config file:
#
# Automatically generated by make menuconfig: don't edit #
CONFIG_X86=y
CONFIG_ISA=y
# CONFIG_SBUS is not set
CONFIG_UID16=y

#
# Code maturity level options
#
CONFIG_EXPERIMENTAL=y

#
# Loadable module support
#
CONFIG_MODULES=y
CONFIG_MODVERSIONS=y
CONFIG_KMOD=y

#
# Processor type and features
#
# CONFIG_M386 is not set
CONFIG_M486=y
# CONFIG_M586 is not set
# CONFIG_M586TSC is not set
# CONFIG_M586MMX is not set
# CONFIG_M686 is not set
# CONFIG_MPENTIUMIII is not set
# CONFIG_MPENTIUM4 is not set
# CONFIG_MK6 is not set
# CONFIG_MK7 is not set
# CONFIG_MCRUSOE is not set
# CONFIG_MWINCHIPC6 is not set
# CONFIG_MWINCHIP2 is not set
# CONFIG_MWINCHIP3D is not set
# CONFIG_MCYRIXIII is not set
CONFIG_X86_WP_WORKS_OK=y
CONFIG_X86_INVLPG=y
CONFIG_X86_CMPXCHG=y
CONFIG_X86_XADD=y
CONFIG_X86_BSWAP=y
CONFIG_X86_POPAD_OK=y
# CONFIG_RWSEM_GENERIC_SPINLOCK is not set
CONFIG_RWSEM_XCHGADD_ALGORITHM=y
CONFIG_X86_L1_CACHE_SHIFT=4
CONFIG_X86_USE_STRING_486=y
CONFIG_X86_ALIGNMENT_16=y
# CONFIG_TOSHIBA is not set
# CONFIG_I8K is not set
# CONFIG_MICROCODE is not set
# CONFIG_X86_MSR is not set
# CONFIG_X86_CPUID is not set
CONFIG_NOHIGHMEM=y
# CONFIG_HIGHMEM4G is not set
# CONFIG_HIGHMEM64G is not set
# CONFIG_MATH_EMULATION is not set
# CONFIG_MTRR is not set
# CONFIG_SMP is not set
# CONFIG_X86_UP_APIC is not set
# CONFIG_X86_UP_IOAPIC is not set

#
# General setup
#
CONFIG_NET=y
# CONFIG_PCI is not set
CONFIG_EISA=y
# CONFIG_MCA is not set
# CONFIG_HOTPLUG is not set
# CONFIG_PCMCIA is not set
# CONFIG_HOTPLUG_PCI is not set
CONFIG_SYSVIPC=y
# CONFIG_BSD_PROCESS_ACCT is not set
CONFIG_SYSCTL=y
CONFIG_KCORE_ELF=y
# CONFIG_KCORE_AOUT is not set
# CONFIG_BINFMT_AOUT is not set
CONFIG_BINFMT_ELF=y
CONFIG_BINFMT_MISC=m
# CONFIG_PM is not set
# CONFIG_ACPI is not set
# CONFIG_APM is not set

#
# Memory Technology Devices (MTD)
#
# CONFIG_MTD is not set

#
# Parallel port support
#
# CONFIG_PARPORT is not set

#
# Plug and Play configuration
#
CONFIG_PNP=m
CONFIG_ISAPNP=m

#
# Block devices
#
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_FD=y
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_XD is not set
# CONFIG_PARIDE is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_CPQ_DA is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_CPQ_CISS_DA is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_DAC960 is not set
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_LOOP=m
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_NBD is not set
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_RAM=m
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_RAM_SIZE=4096
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_INITRD is not set

#
# Multi-device support (RAID and LVM)
#
# CONFIG_MD is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_MD is not set
# CONFIG_MD_LINEAR is not set
# CONFIG_MD_RAID0 is not set
# CONFIG_MD_RAID1 is not set
# CONFIG_MD_RAID5 is not set
# CONFIG_MD_MULTIPATH is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_LVM is not set

#
# Networking options
#
CONFIG_PACKET=m
# CONFIG_PACKET_MMAP is not set
CONFIG_NETLINK=y
CONFIG_RTNETLINK=y
# CONFIG_NETLINK_DEV is not set
# CONFIG_NETFILTER is not set
# CONFIG_FILTER is not set
CONFIG_UNIX=m
CONFIG_INET=y
CONFIG_IP_MULTICAST=y
CONFIG_IP_ADVANCED_ROUTER=y
CONFIG_RTNETLINK=y
CONFIG_NETLINK=y
CONFIG_IP_MULTIPLE_TABLES=y
CONFIG_IP_ROUTE_NAT=y
# CONFIG_IP_ROUTE_MULTIPATH is not set
# CONFIG_IP_ROUTE_TOS is not set
# CONFIG_IP_ROUTE_VERBOSE is not set
# CONFIG_IP_ROUTE_LARGE_TABLES is not set
# CONFIG_IP_PNP is not set
CONFIG_NET_IPIP=m
CONFIG_NET_IPGRE=m
CONFIG_NET_IPGRE_BROADCAST=y
# CONFIG_IP_MROUTE is not set
# CONFIG_ARPD is not set
# CONFIG_INET_ECN is not set
# CONFIG_SYN_COOKIES is not set
CONFIG_IPV6=m
CONFIG_KHTTPD=m
# CONFIG_ATM is not set
# CONFIG_VLAN_8021Q is not set
# CONFIG_IPX is not set
# CONFIG_ATALK is not set
# CONFIG_DECNET is not set
# CONFIG_BRIDGE is not set
# CONFIG_X25 is not set
# CONFIG_LAPB is not set
# CONFIG_LLC is not set
# CONFIG_NET_DIVERT is not set
# CONFIG_ECONET is not set
# CONFIG_WAN_ROUTER is not set
# CONFIG_NET_FASTROUTE is not set
# CONFIG_NET_HW_FLOWCONTROL is not set

#
# QoS and/or fair queueing
#
# CONFIG_NET_SCHED is not set

#
# Telephony Support
#
# CONFIG_PHONE is not set
# CONFIG_PHONE_IXJ is not set
# CONFIG_PHONE_IXJ_PCMCIA is not set

#
# ATA/IDE/MFM/RLL support
#
CONFIG_IDE=y

#
# IDE, ATA and ATAPI Block devices
#
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDE=y
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_HD_IDE is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_HD is not set
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEDISK=y
# CONFIG_IDEDISK_MULTI_MODE is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEDISK_VENDOR is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEDISK_FUJITSU is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEDISK_IBM is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEDISK_MAXTOR is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEDISK_QUANTUM is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEDISK_SEAGATE is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEDISK_WD is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_COMMERIAL is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_TIVO is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDECS is not set
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDECD=m
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDETAPE is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEFLOPPY is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDESCSI is not set
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_CMD640=y
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_CMD640_ENHANCED is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_ISAPNP is not set
# CONFIG_IDE_CHIPSETS is not set
# CONFIG_IDEDMA_AUTO is not set
# CONFIG_DMA_NONPCI is not set
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDE_MODES=y
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_ATARAID is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_ATARAID_PDC is not set
# CONFIG_BLK_DEV_ATARAID_HPT is not set

#
# SCSI support
#
# CONFIG_SCSI is not set

#
# Fusion MPT device support
#
# CONFIG_FUSION is not set
# CONFIG_FUSION_BOOT is not set
# CONFIG_FUSION_ISENSE is not set
# CONFIG_FUSION_CTL is not set
# CONFIG_FUSION_LAN is not set

#
# I2O device support
#
# CONFIG_I2O is not set
# CONFIG_I2O_BLOCK is not set
# CONFIG_I2O_LAN is not set
# CONFIG_I2O_SCSI is not set
# CONFIG_I2O_PROC is not set

#
# Network device support
#
CONFIG_NETDEVICES=y

#
# ARCnet devices
#
# CONFIG_ARCNET is not set
CONFIG_DUMMY=m
# CONFIG_BONDING is not set
# CONFIG_EQUALIZER is not set
# CONFIG_TUN is not set
# CONFIG_ETHERTAP is not set
# CONFIG_NET_SB1000 is not set

#
# Ethernet (10 or 100Mbit)
#
CONFIG_NET_ETHERNET=y
# CONFIG_SUNLANCE is not set
# CONFIG_SUNBMAC is not set
# CONFIG_SUNQE is not set
# CONFIG_SUNLANCE is not set
# CONFIG_SUNGEM is not set
CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_3COM=y
# CONFIG_EL1 is not set
# CONFIG_EL2 is not set
# CONFIG_ELPLUS is not set
# CONFIG_EL16 is not set
CONFIG_EL3=m
# CONFIG_3C515 is not set
# CONFIG_ELMC is not set
# CONFIG_ELMC_II is not set
CONFIG_VORTEX=m
# CONFIG_LANCE is not set
# CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_SMC is not set
# CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_RACAL is not set
# CONFIG_AT1700 is not set
# CONFIG_DEPCA is not set
# CONFIG_HP100 is not set
CONFIG_NET_ISA=y
# CONFIG_E2100 is not set
CONFIG_EWRK3=m
# CONFIG_EEXPRESS is not set
# CONFIG_EEXPRESS_PRO is not set
# CONFIG_HPLAN_PLUS is not set
# CONFIG_HPLAN is not set
# CONFIG_LP486E is not set
# CONFIG_ETH16I is not set
CONFIG_NE2000=m
# CONFIG_NET_PCI is not set
# CONFIG_NET_POCKET is not set

#
# Ethernet (1000 Mbit)
#
# CONFIG_ACENIC is not set
# CONFIG_DL2K is not set
# CONFIG_MYRI_SBUS is not set
# CONFIG_NS83820 is not set
# CONFIG_HAMACHI is not set
# CONFIG_YELLOWFIN is not set
# CONFIG_SK98LIN is not set
# CONFIG_FDDI is not set
# CONFIG_HIPPI is not set
# CONFIG_PLIP is not set
CONFIG_PPP=m
# CONFIG_PPP_MULTILINK is not set
# CONFIG_PPP_FILTER is not set
CONFIG_PPP_ASYNC=m
CONFIG_PPP_SYNC_TTY=m
CONFIG_PPP_DEFLATE=m
CONFIG_PPP_BSDCOMP=m
# CONFIG_PPPOE is not set
# CONFIG_SLIP is not set

#
# Wireless LAN (non-hamradio)
#
# CONFIG_NET_RADIO is not set

#
# Token Ring devices
#
# CONFIG_TR is not set
# CONFIG_NET_FC is not set
# CONFIG_RCPCI is not set
# CONFIG_SHAPER is not set

#
# Wan interfaces
#
# CONFIG_WAN is not set

#
# Amateur Radio support
#
# CONFIG_HAMRADIO is not set

#
# IrDA (infrared) support
#
# CONFIG_IRDA is not set

#
# ISDN subsystem
#
CONFIG_ISDN=m
CONFIG_ISDN_PPP=y
CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_VJ=y
CONFIG_ISDN_MPP=y
CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP=m
# CONFIG_ISDN_AUDIO is not set

#
# ISDN feature submodules
#
CONFIG_ISDN_DRV_LOOP=m
CONFIG_ISDN_DIVERSION=m

#
# Passive ISDN cards
#
CONFIG_ISDN_DRV_HISAX=m
CONFIG_HISAX_EURO=y
# CONFIG_DE_AOC is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_NO_SENDCOMPLETE is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_NO_LLC is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_NO_KEYPAD is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_1TR6 is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_NI1 is not set
CONFIG_HISAX_16_0=y
CONFIG_HISAX_16_3=y
# CONFIG_HISAX_TELESPCI is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_S0BOX is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_AVM_A1 is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_FRITZPCI is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_AVM_A1_PCMCIA is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_ELSA is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_IX1MICROR2 is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_DIEHLDIVA is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_ASUSCOM is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_TELEINT is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_HFCS is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_SEDLBAUER is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_SPORTSTER is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_MIC is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_NETJET is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_NETJET_U is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_NICCY is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_ISURF is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_HSTSAPHIR is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_BKM_A4T is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_SCT_QUADRO is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_GAZEL is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_HFC_PCI is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_W6692 is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_HFC_SX is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_DEBUG is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_SEDLBAUER_CS is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_ELSA_CS is not set
# CONFIG_HISAX_ST5481 is not set

#
# Active ISDN cards
#
# CONFIG_ISDN_DRV_ICN is not set
# CONFIG_ISDN_DRV_PCBIT is not set
# CONFIG_ISDN_DRV_SC is not set
# CONFIG_ISDN_DRV_ACT2000 is not set
# CONFIG_ISDN_DRV_EICON is not set
# CONFIG_ISDN_DRV_TPAM is not set
# CONFIG_ISDN_CAPI is not set
# CONFIG_HYSDN is not set
# CONFIG_HYSDN_CAPI is not set

#
# Old CD-ROM drivers (not SCSI, not IDE)
#
# CONFIG_CD_NO_IDESCSI is not set

#
# Input core support
#
# CONFIG_INPUT is not set
# CONFIG_INPUT_KEYBDEV is not set
# CONFIG_INPUT_MOUSEDEV is not set
# CONFIG_INPUT_JOYDEV is not set
# CONFIG_INPUT_EVDEV is not set

#
# Character devices
#
CONFIG_VT=y
CONFIG_VT_CONSOLE=y
CONFIG_SERIAL=y
# CONFIG_SERIAL_CONSOLE is not set
# CONFIG_SERIAL_EXTENDED is not set
# CONFIG_SERIAL_NONSTANDARD is not set
CONFIG_UNIX98_PTYS=y
CONFIG_UNIX98_PTY_COUNT=256

#
# I2C support
#
# CONFIG_I2C is not set

#
# Mice
#
# CONFIG_BUSMOUSE is not set
# CONFIG_MOUSE is not set

#
# Joysticks
#
# CONFIG_INPUT_GAMEPORT is not set
# CONFIG_QIC02_TAPE is not set

#
# Watchdog Cards
#
# CONFIG_WATCHDOG is not set
# CONFIG_INTEL_RNG is not set
# CONFIG_NVRAM is not set
# CONFIG_RTC is not set
# CONFIG_DTLK is not set
# CONFIG_R3964 is not set
# CONFIG_APPLICOM is not set
# CONFIG_SONYPI is not set

#
# Ftape, the floppy tape device driver
#
# CONFIG_FTAPE is not set
# CONFIG_AGP is not set
# CONFIG_DRM is not set
# CONFIG_MWAVE is not set

#
# Multimedia devices
#
# CONFIG_VIDEO_DEV is not set

#
# File systems
#
# CONFIG_QUOTA is not set
# CONFIG_AUTOFS_FS is not set
CONFIG_AUTOFS4_FS=m
# CONFIG_REISERFS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_REISERFS_CHECK is not set
# CONFIG_REISERFS_PROC_INFO is not set
# CONFIG_ADFS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_ADFS_FS_RW is not set
# CONFIG_AFFS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_HFS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_BFS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_EXT3_FS is not set
# CONFIG_JBD is not set
# CONFIG_JBD_DEBUG is not set
# CONFIG_FAT_FS is not set
# CONFIG_MSDOS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_UMSDOS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_VFAT_FS is not set
# CONFIG_EFS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_JFFS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_JFFS2_FS is not set
# CONFIG_CRAMFS is not set
# CONFIG_TMPFS is not set
# CONFIG_RAMFS is not set
CONFIG_ISO9660_FS=m
CONFIG_JOLIET=y
CONFIG_ZISOFS=y
# CONFIG_MINIX_FS is not set
# CONFIG_VXFS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_NTFS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_NTFS_RW is not set
# CONFIG_HPFS_FS is not set
CONFIG_PROC_FS=y
# CONFIG_DEVFS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_DEVFS_MOUNT is not set
# CONFIG_DEVFS_DEBUG is not set
CONFIG_DEVPTS_FS=y
# CONFIG_QNX4FS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_QNX4FS_RW is not set
# CONFIG_ROMFS_FS is not set
CONFIG_EXT2_FS=y
# CONFIG_SYSV_FS is not set
# CONFIG_UDF_FS is not set
# CONFIG_UDF_RW is not set
# CONFIG_UFS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_UFS_FS_WRITE is not set

#
# Network File Systems
#
# CONFIG_CODA_FS is not set
# CONFIG_INTERMEZZO_FS is not set
# CONFIG_NFS_FS is not set
# CONFIG_NFS_V3 is not set
# CONFIG_ROOT_NFS is not set
# CONFIG_NFSD is not set
# CONFIG_NFSD_V3 is not set
# CONFIG_SUNRPC is not set
# CONFIG_LOCKD is not set
# CONFIG_SMB_FS is not set
# CONFIG_NCP_FS is not set
# CONFIG_NCPFS_PACKET_SIGNING is not set
# CONFIG_NCPFS_IOCTL_LOCKING is not set
# CONFIG_NCPFS_STRONG is not set
# CONFIG_NCPFS_NFS_NS is not set
# CONFIG_NCPFS_OS2_NS is not set
# CONFIG_NCPFS_SMALLDOS is not set
# CONFIG_NCPFS_NLS is not set
# CONFIG_NCPFS_EXTRAS is not set
CONFIG_ZISOFS_FS=m
CONFIG_ZLIB_FS_INFLATE=m

#
# Partition Types
#
# CONFIG_PARTITION_ADVANCED is not set
CONFIG_MSDOS_PARTITION=y
# CONFIG_SMB_NLS is not set
CONFIG_NLS=y

#
# Native Language Support
#
CONFIG_NLS_DEFAULT="iso8859-1"
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_437 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_737 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_775 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_850 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_852 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_855 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_857 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_860 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_861 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_862 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_863 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_864 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_865 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_866 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_869 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_936 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_950 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_932 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_949 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_874 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_8 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_CODEPAGE_1251 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_1 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_2 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_3 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_4 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_5 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_6 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_7 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_9 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_13 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_14 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_ISO8859_15 is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_KOI8_R is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_KOI8_U is not set
# CONFIG_NLS_UTF8 is not set

#
# Console drivers
#
CONFIG_VGA_CONSOLE=y
# CONFIG_VIDEO_SELECT is not set
# CONFIG_MDA_CONSOLE is not set

#
# Frame-buffer support
#
# CONFIG_FB is not set

#
# Sound
#
# CONFIG_SOUND is not set

#
# USB support
#
# CONFIG_USB is not set
# CONFIG_USB_UHCI is not set
# CONFIG_USB_UHCI_ALT is not set
# CONFIG_USB_OHCI is not set
# CONFIG_USB_AUDIO is not set
# CONFIG_USB_BLUETOOTH is not set
# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE is not set
# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_DEBUG is not set
# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_DATAFAB is not set
# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_FREECOM is not set
# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_ISD200 is not set
# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_DPCM is not set
# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_HP8200e is not set
# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_SDDR09 is not set
# CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_JUMPSHOT is not set
# CONFIG_USB_ACM is not set
# CONFIG_USB_PRINTER is not set
# CONFIG_USB_DC2XX is not set
# CONFIG_USB_MDC800 is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SCANNER is not set
# CONFIG_USB_MICROTEK is not set
# CONFIG_USB_HPUSBSCSI is not set
# CONFIG_USB_PEGASUS is not set
# CONFIG_USB_KAWETH is not set
# CONFIG_USB_CATC is not set
# CONFIG_USB_CDCETHER is not set
# CONFIG_USB_USBNET is not set
# CONFIG_USB_USS720 is not set

#
# USB Serial Converter support
#
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_GENERIC is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_BELKIN is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_WHITEHEAT is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_DIGI_ACCELEPORT is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_EMPEG is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_FTDI_SIO is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_VISOR is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_IR is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_EDGEPORT is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_KEYSPAN_PDA is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_KEYSPAN is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_MCT_U232 is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_PL2303 is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_CYBERJACK is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_XIRCOM is not set
# CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_OMNINET is not set
# CONFIG_USB_RIO500 is not set

#
# Bluetooth support
#
# CONFIG_BLUEZ is not set

#
# Kernel hacking
#
# CONFIG_DEBUG_KERNEL is not set

I'm not sure, but this may be the same problem as I repeatedly have reported. The last time was earlier today in the "Re: [BUG] Error reading multiple large files" message

--
Roy Sigurd Karlsbakk, MCSE, MCNE, CLS, LCA

Computers are like air conditioners.
They stop working when you open Windows.

[snip]

Well ... maybe *in theory* 2.4.16 should work on a machine with that little RAM but I'd say in practice Linux has simply outgrown your machine. Have you tried any other 2.4 kernels, say, before 2.4.10 when the VM changed? Have you considered going to a garage sale and spending the local equivalent of $25 or $30 US for a more powerful computer?

--
M. Edward "Now if I could get Linux to run on a Tandy 200" Borasky

[email protected]
http://www.borasky-research.net

If they named a street after Picabo Street, would it be called Picabo Street, Street Street or Picabo Street Street?

No I haven't. Was the older VM better, then? Sorry to put it so blunt, but if it can't swap out unneeded data, it is broken.
I've seen here people report having 1GB of memory and still running out of it...

1. I'm setting up this machine to act as a firewall for my cable connection, so why do I need a more powerful computer?

2. My first Linux experience was on a P60 with 8MB of memory, 16MB swap. I ran X and used TeX on my 300p. Ph.D. thesis, and that ran fine. So why should I need more to get less?

I happen to have this machine, it works and is suited for the job. Now please let's not get a bloatware, consumerism-throw away attitude.

Before this starts a flameware, let me make one thing clear: my main point is, there is something wrong when an application, for which there is plenty of (virtual) memory, grinds the whole machine to a standstill.

Greetings,
Daniel Tuijnman

Rubbish, a VM is supposed to improve, not make it impossible to run programs after an upgrade. Keeping Linux working on low memory machines is definately a big issue for the VM I'm developing and I suspect it's near the top of Andrea's list too...

Absolutely agreed, the thing should just work.

If you have the time, you could try my latest -rmap patch, available at:

	http://surriel.com/patches/2.4/2.4.17-rmap-11a

I've done some testing with 'mem=9m' (using a rather fat kernel w/ profiling) and it seems to work decently.

regards,

Rik

"Linux holds advantages over the single-vendor commercial OS"
    -- Microsoft's "Competing with Linux" document

http://www.surriel.com/		http://distro.conectiva.com/

Actually not, but I got curious...

Thanks for pointing me to the right direction, Rik!

And thanks to Roy who pointed me to using vmstat to look at memory usage!

On a freshly booted machine, I ran

# echo "0 0" > /proc/sys/vm/pagetable_cache
# vmstat -n 5 | tee log &
# diff /var/lib/dpkg/avail*

(a 6Mb file of available Debian packages and a backup version of it).

With a 2.4.16 kernel, this gave as result:

procs memory swap io system cpu

 r  b  w   swpd   free   buff  cache  si  so    bi    bo   in    cs  us  sy  id
 0  0  0     36    152    276   2332   0   0    52     3  213    31   8   8  84
 0  0  0     36    444    180   2208   0   0    40     1  186    30   3   4  93
 0  0  0     36    440    180   2212   0   0     0     0  102     4   1   0  99
 0  0  0     36    440    180   2212   0   0     0     0  110    24   0   1  98
 1  0  1     36    100    124   2192   0   0   174     2  455   192   2  24  74

and then the machine hangs: no further output from vmstat...

With a 2.4.17 kernel with Riks patch, this gives:

   procs                      memory    swap          io     system         cpu
 r  b  w   swpd   free   buff  cache  si  so    bi    bo   in    cs  us  sy  id
 0  1  0    852     84    244   2916   1   4   172    15  477    47   9  10  81
 0  0  0    852     84    232   2928   0   0     0     0  103     6   1   0  99
 0  0  0    860    292    212   2784   2   2     3     2  118    23   3   3  94
 0  0  0    860    292    216   2780   0   0     0     0  110    25   0   1  99
 0  1  0   1480     84     60   1852   0 125   430   131 1223    56   2  26  72
 1  0  0   5288     84     68   1212  12 778   873   778 3494   200   0  28  72
 0  1  0   7204     84     64   1232  20 358   392   358 1530    85   2  22  77
 0  1  0   9596     88     68    980   2 538   574   539 2446   152   1  27  72
 1  0  1  11592     84     64   1016  16 362   354   363 1568    70   1  26  74
 1  0  0  11888     84     60    524 164  59   164    59  549    87   2   3  95
 1  0  0  12208     84     56    484 152 164   152   165  729    84   2   3  94
 1  0  0  12244     84     84    500 133 119   154   120  655    92   2   4  94
 2  0  0  12352     84     84    512 130 150   141   150  684    84   2   4  94
 2  0  0  12540     84    128    960  55  93   159    93  606    93   3   5  91
 1  0  0  12204     84    124   1144 124   0   165     0  435    88   2   4  94
 1  0  0  12324     84     88    972 150 102   150   104  610    86   2   3  94
 1  0  0  12516     84     52    828 158 140   158   141  698    89   3   4  93
 1  0  0  12400     84     56    776 168 139   173   140  727    97   2   4  94
 1  0  0  12416     84     52    576 151  78   151    79  561    81   3   3  94
 1  0  0  12204     84     52    516 158   1   158     1  420    79   2   3  95
 1  0  0  12312     84     52    400 138 111   138   112  600    79   1   3  95
 1  0  0  12540     84     52    296 140 121   140   121  623    79   2   4  94
 1  0  0  12496     84     52    240 142 122   143   122  629    78   2   4  94
 1  0  0  12204     84     88    332 130  35   153    35  480    84   2   3  95
 1  0  0  12204     84     64    344 154  72   154    72  554    83   3   3  94
 0  1  0  12756     84     52    320 154 112   154   113  510    78   4   4  92
 1  1  0  12880     84     72    628  97 118   159   119  776    89   2   5  93
 2  0  0  13280     84    132   1032  48 127   140   128  643    87   3   6  91
 0  0  0   2140   2472    136   1420  65  29   152    29  468    65   2   3  95

Then I got curious and compiled a vanilla 2.4.17 kernel. Which gives as result:

   procs                      memory    swap          io     system         cpu
 r  b  w   swpd   free   buff  cache  si  so    bi    bo   in    cs  us  sy  id
 1  0  0   1256    276    404   2556  16  35    84    40  350    42  15  13  72
 0  0  0   1256    260    412   2564   0   0     1     5  113     4   0   1  99
 0  0  0   1256    260    412   2564   0   0     0     0  111    27   1   1  98
 0  2  0   5352    208    148    832  34 869  1389   871 4838   163   1  24  75
 1  0  0  10832    276    140    696  33 1144  1244  1145 5057   127   0  24  75
 1  0  0  12712    172    136    228 330 357   466   357 1817   106   7  10  83
 0  2  0  12632    248     96    228 290 299   294   300 1276    80   8   7  85
 1  0  0  12204    192     96    232 364  97   366    97 1040   108  10   6  84
 2  1  0  12544    172     96    588 194 181   272   181 1003    69   5   8  87
 1  1  0  12840    216    144    756 142 186   220   186  912    67   5   7  88
 1  0  0  12328    316    164    932 198  83   274    84  827    80   8   7  84
 1  0  0  12256    264    152    732 317 200   317   200 1137    94   9   7  85
 1  1  0  12668    200    108    432 290 241   294   244 1175    88   8   6  86
 1  0  0  12204    196     76    252 357 105   359   105 1030   108   9   8  83
 1  0  0   2360   3028     88    784 198 208   311   208 1139    68   5   9  87
 0  0  0   2360   2924     96    856   5   0    18     0  140    15   0   1  98

This works actually faster, and comparable in speed to the 2.20 kernel I was using before. So apparently, the changes between 2.4.16 and 2.4.17 suffice to get the kernel swapping out buffercache. I hope this helps in tuning the VM system in the right direction...

Greetings,
Daniel

Hi!

8MB should be enough. I was running 2.4.0-test7 on 8MB machine with no swap, because it had no disk to swap to.
Pavel

Casualities in World Trade Center: ~3k dead inside the building,
cryptography in U.S.A. and free speech in Czech Republic.

I've been running a few hours of low memory testing with my rmap VM and it's holding up fine. The system is still responsive when the amount of pageable RAM is down to about 400 kB ;))

cheers,

Rik

"Linux holds advantages over the single-vendor commercial OS"
    -- Microsoft's "Competing with Linux" document

http://www.surriel.com/		http://distro.conectiva.com/

And on a PII/400 limited to "mem=64M", a dbench 60 running with XMMS 1.2.6 did not cause any noticeable audio breakup. This is on 2.4.17 + rmap10c + ide.2.4.16.12102001 + Bill's original hashed waitqueues patch. (I should also add that XMMS was not running with realtime priority.) I'll see if I can produce some numbers in a bit.

Dan Chen                 [email protected]
GPG key:   www.unc.edu/~crimsun/pubkey.gpg.asc

Any chance you could include the results of the following:

/usr/sbin/readprofile -m /boot/System.map-uname -r | sort -rn -k1,1 | head cat /proc/interrupts
cat /proc/slabinfo
cat /proc/meminfo

and a few lines of vmstat 10 ?

Thanks,
Bill