How do I enable dual core?

[ubernoob]

I have AMD Athlon X2 3800+ (64-bit), but only one of the cores are enabled in ubuntu. Does anyone know how i can enable both of them?

[Pablo_Escobar]

You need to install SMP kernel and run Your system with it.
What type of Ubuntu You're using - 32bit or 64bit ??

[ubernoob]

I have installed the 64-bit ubuntu.

I found among alot of other stuff:
linux-image-2.6.12-9-amd64-k8-smp (2.6.12-9-23)
linux-headers-2.6.12-9-amd64-k8-smp

It seems to me that this is the newest kernel. Should i install this one, or is it better with an older more stable kernel? Or is this stable?

And can i just install the kernel from Synaptic, then everything works?

[Pablo_Escobar]

Good news, just install the newest SMP kernel through synaptic.
DO NOT TOUCH THE STANDARD ONE !!
When it's installed -> reboot -> at boot choose the SMP kernel -> try if it's all good. If not, at boot choose the old kernel.

[ubernoob]

Thank you very much! That worked surprisingly well! :)

[blroth]

Please tell me which SMP kernel listed in Synaptic is the newest one to install as opposed to "the standard one" which you said not to install? Thanks!

[ubernoob]

No, he meant that you shouldn't touch it, like in not uninstall it. You might need the standard one in case you fail to install the smp kernel.

But you are free to install the standard smp-kernel. :)

[wishyjr]

hiya! can you tell me if you installed the complete kernel? or one of the images.

thanks

Nvm, i just did it anyway and it works fine! cheers1

also, further to this is there a way i can assign certain applications to a certain processor? i.e. VMware to my secondary cpu?

[ubernoob]

i installed the image and the headers. I don't know what you mean by complete kernel. But as far as i know, the image is the complete kernel. I need the headers to install other stuff. E.g. vmware and nvidia drivers.

[wishyjr]

its ok i got it sorted, there was an option in synapticwhich was called 'whole kernel' so i was a bit confused for about 5mins then after marking it for installation it used both the image and the headers as dependenciesd anyway :)

so.. do you know how/if you can assign certain apps to a certain cpu?

[bks]

Okay, I have been searching synaptic for an smp kernel, but I can't find one. What key words do I use or what am I looking for, exactly?

[enchantedsky]

You are funny. You know you're replying to a message that's 3 years old right? This is no longer a problem in Ubuntu.....dual-core processors are fully supported now. You can tell by going into System ----> Administration -----> System Monitor and seeing a graph of your dual-core processor work

[jspiers]

Thanks for that. I too was wondering whether I needed to do anything to activate dual core support. It seems like many processes only use one core, so I guess what I need to find is multithreaded apps. Is there anything else to do to maximize usage of my dual core cpu?