Running out of memory

[Guest qq290677797]

Hi all, I need some help here. I used to fly PMDG without any problem but the problem came out just a few days ago. I'm using XP 32 bits and G-Skill DDRII 1000 2GB*2 with 4GB virtual memory. Each time I start to fly PMDG, the FSX will show out "Your computer is running out of memory..." after about 10 to 30 minutes. I have tested by the default aircrafts, this problem won't come out when I'm flying a default aircraft. At the begining, I thought the complicated scenery cause it but it's not actually after my computer ran "out of memory" again when I was cruising at high altitude with over 20 FPS...I also check the Windows Task Manager, it shows less than 2.00 GB memory in used while I was flying PMDG.Here is the conclusion:1. I'm using Windows XP SP3 32bits;2. I have 4GB memory and also 4GB virtual memory;3. The problem exists only when I'm flying PMDG no matter how many FPS I get;4. When the memory "runs out", Windows Task Manager shows there are only less than 2GB memory in used.P.S Some of my friends already had this problem a long time ago. I think I'm lucky that I suffered it a few days ago.

[Guest Mower]

It's a known problem with FSX in W32, regardless of the amount of RAM you have. I spent months trying to fix it and gave up, moving instead to Vista 64 whereby the cursed OOM errors have entirely disappeared.

[Airbrakes 0]

You could try a couple of things:Go to Start, then Run - type PREFETCH and hit enter. Select all the items in the window and delete them.Under the Accesories/System Tools menu run the disk cleaner and clean all of your drives.Delete any unused internet files using the Tools - Internet Options.Empty the Recycle bin.Finally Defrag the system.That should free up some space.EDIT: You might also want to consider buying a new internal hard drive. You can get at least a 40 gig for around 30 dollars. Put windows in one drive and put MSFS and all of your addons in the other drive ( they can eat up alot of memory ).

[Tabs 2,790]

Deleting the contents of the prefetch folder as a performance tweak is a myth and will actually slow your system down until it rebuilds the information it needs for application launch caching.It's #3 on this list of the top 10 Windows tweak myths I saw last week. Mark Russinovich from MS and Sysinternals says it's a myth and he probably knows more about Windows than just about anyone alive, so I'll trust him.http://lifehacker.com/5033518/debunking-co...-tweaking-myths

[Airbrakes 0]

Thanks for the catch.

[Guest D17S]

1) First set your page file to autosize. Let XP handle that. However this "virtual memory" has nothing to do with your problem. 2) Make sure you are running FSX SP2 or Acceleration. 3) Now, ya gotta set "The 3G Switch" for the op system. The op system keeps a kinda scratch pad that forecasts your - projected - physical ram usage. A 32bit program will say it has "run out of memory" if this scratch pad forecasts you - Might need - greater than 2Gs of physical ram. You have NoT run out of memory. It's only that this scratch pad thinks you Might run out of physical memory Yes, it's a really stupid scratch pad, but here we are. The 3G switch moves this scratch pad limit to 3Gs. A 64bit operating system takes this scratch pad limit to 4Gs (for 32bit programs). Note to mgmt: Here is the example we were talking about. A 32bit op system with 4Gs of physical ram . . . but without the 3G switch set. OOM City.

[Guest SkullxBones]

Once you have your 3GB switch set, you might also want to try AlacrityPC. I have been using it without any problems. Follow the links.http://www.fsinsider.com/tips/Pages/Perfor...estigating.aspxJeff P.

[3-2-1-Now 126]

It's got nothing to do with wating 2Gb of physical memory - it is purely to do with it wanting 2Gb of memory.A 32-bit app, with the OS in 2/2 memory model can't access more than 2Gb of memory. You can however have 3 apps using 1.99Gb of memory and things will be fine (albeit a bit slow).The /3GB switch is a hack that tells windows to allocate 3Gb to the user memory area, and 1Gb to the Kernel. This is totally independent of how much RAM (physical or virtual) you have in your system.It's a hack, and causes other problems.The basic problem with FSX is it is very memory intensive, and so doesn't allow much room for anything added on top of it.All your add-ons run inside the FSX memory space, so the 2Gb limit starts to look very small indeed.The only real fix is for MS to re-write FS so it uses less memory. It's so bloated now we're starting to see the limitations.Start by not using 32-bit textures - for every object using a texture, 32-bit textures are copied in memory. DX Textures are in memory once, and re-used per object. If your graphics card runs out of video memory, it will fall back on system memory. Not only do things get slow, but it starts to consume massive amounts of memory needlessly.I convert any textures I find that are 32-bit to DXT3 or DXT1 as appropriate. I might lose a tiny tiny little bit of detail, but so what - I don't encounter OOMEs because of it.Best regards,Robin.

[Guest D17S]

Actually, shutting down processes won't help. This VS stuff can allocate 2 or (3, with the 3G switch) to - Each - program or process. For instance if a user had 20 processes running, VS can allocate 20 x 2Gs or 40Gs of VS. If any one of these programs or processes ticks VS over its 2G allocation, an OOM will occur. Physical memory is not a factor, nor is the number of processes running.Physical memory's connection to all this is that is will cause VS to run higher. For instance, the op system might see 2Gs of physical ram onboard and simply throttle FS to ram levels below 2Gs of physical ram. VS, however is dirt dumb and does not know how much physical ram is on board. It always runs above the physical ram load. The higher the physical ram load, the higher (above that) VS will run. As physical ram use gets near the system's 2G physical ram load, VS will approach, then (maybe) exceed the 2G limit and an OOM will occur. This is how it works. You might have just "Flashed" that using a process shut-downer might make the system even More vulnerable to OOMs. See it? If FS is allowed to use more ram, it will cause VS to run even closer to its 2G limit.If you want to prevent OOMs, run a big ram user along side to burn up some physical ram. That will cause FS to use less physical ram and keep VS "off the stop."

[3-2-1-Now 126]

@D17S: What are you on about? Is this directed at me?>> Physical memory is not a factor, nor is the number of processes >> running.Actually, there is a limit on the number of processes. In the 2/2 config, you can't run more than 2202 (or is it 2022) processes because Windows runs out of Kernel memory and crashes. It needs a little bit of Kernel memory to manage the process and its memory space. In 3/1 this is approximately halved, and gives the OS much less to play with. If you run lots of little processes, you could run out of Kernel memory first, then the subject of OOMEs is mute. ;)>> If you want to prevent OOMs, run a big ram user along side to burn >> up some physical ram. That will cause FS to use less physical ram >> and keep VS "off the stop."VS? Don't you mean VM?What you said is rubbish anyway - you want less processes running and less memory intensive programs running along FS, otherwise FS ends up being swapped out (if you have insufficient physical memory to load everything into) that will just kill the performance as the system is having to wait for textures etc.. to come off the HD rather than out of main memory.Don't give WMM (Windows Memory Manager) too much credit for being able to know what data can be swapped out and what would be better off in main memory. ;)Best regards,Robin.

[Guest D17S]

"VS, however, is dirt dumb and does not know how much physical ram is on board." might be the relevant outtake. The 1st critical concept to recognize is the difference between physical ram and this VS stuff (or VM or Address Space or whatever-one-wants-to-call it). The 2nd critical concept to recognize is that this is about technical things, not people. Take a deep breath and just enjoy the day . . . for no reason at all. At least give it a try.

[Guest qq290677797]

Thank you guys, I'll try my best to fix it.

[3-2-1-Now 126]

@D17S: Sorry if my post was a bit harsh.* chills * :DBest regards,Robin.

[Sharrow 0]

>3) Now, ya gotta set "The 3G Switch" for the op system. The op>system keeps a kinda scratch pad that forecasts your ->projected - physical ram usage. A 32bit program will say it>has "run out of memory" if this scratch pad forecasts you ->Might need - greater than 2Gs of physical ram. >>You have NoT run out of memory. It's only that this scratch>pad thinks you Might run out of physical memory Yes, it's a>really stupid scratch pad, but here we are. The 3G switch>moves this scratch pad limit to 3Gs. Hi guysPLEASE BE VERY, VERY, VERY careful when using any /3GB/Userva=2560 (or similar hacks with XP or Vista 32 bit) in your boot.ini file!!! I cannot stress this enough. This is especially dangerous if you are using XP SP3.My system had MAJOR issues with this 3GB switch - the instability was so severe that I had problems getting into XP in safe mode to remove the switch from my boot.ini file.USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! Folks should really add this disclaimer when suggesting these kinds of solutions to users. Microsoft, even though they talk about this switch (making it look official) DO NOT support it on any OS other than some specific server editions. TAKE NOTE!Konrad

[3-2-1-Now 126]

>> USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!Amen!!It causes problems with DirectX, too, as it is not designed to address memory above the 2Gb limit.It's a hack, and no more. All it is doing is delaying the onset of OOMEs. It doesn't fix them.Best regards,Robin.