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Difference between VAS Monitor and Windows Task Manager

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Hi. First of all I would like to say that luckilly I haven`t got any kind of problem related to VAS.

 

However I would like solve a doubt I have related to VAS Monitor and the Windows Task Manager's RAM usage monitor. In my case they don't coincide. I don't really know if they should. While the VAS Monitor tells me that I have used 2300mb the task manager tells me that P3D has used 1010mb of RAM. This is a situation spawned at Runway holding pint in Aerosoft's Barcelona Airport with PMDG NGX and with AS16 and ASCA running in P3D v3.3.5. The differene is quite big: More tha a GB between Vas Montor and Task manager. 

 

Is it normal? Until now I have used the task manager to monitor P3D's memory usage, baut as I can see it is not by far accurate.

 

I am a bit akcnowledge in this topic, so apologize me for my ignorace in advance.

:wink:  

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Memory allocation is complex, so don't apologize.  I prefer using the Process Explorer free from sysinternals.com, which you need to modify the columns to add Virtual Size (aka VAS).  The virtual size is actual amount of memory allocated by the OS to that application but not the amount that might actually be working or in use. There are at least a half dozen different ways to measure memory use, it doesn't help that Task Manager doesn't label with a little more precision.


Dan Downs KCRP

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Memory allocation is complex, so don't apologize.  I prefer using the Process Explorer free from sysinternals.com, which you need to modify the columns to add Virtual Size (aka VAS).  The virtual size is actual amount of memory allocated by the OS to that application but not the amount that might actually be working or in use. There are at least a half dozen different ways to measure memory use, it doesn't help that Task Manager doesn't label with a little more precision.

Alright. So I guess it is normal not to coincide. From now I wil measure it with the VAS Monitor by projectFLY, which seems to be be more accurate. Anyways, VAS stopped being a headache since P3D v3.

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Alright. So I guess it is normal not to coincide. From now I wil measure it with the VAS Monitor by projectFLY, which seems to be be more accurate. Anyways, VAS stopped being a headache since P3D v3.

 

You can also show it with FSUIPC.

And FSUIPC starts making the windows wwarning sound if you get close to the barrier.

 

Yesterday was the first time since forever that it started making the sound. I was flying in the 777 from FT OMDB to T2G VHHH (flying the Siera STAR right over FTs Hong Kong Kai-Tak).

But I made the landing and even the ground services afterwards with GSX. It's really hard to hit the OOM wall...

But I do not use FTX Vector any more as it constantly caused me trouble. This saves a lot of VAS.

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As Dan said many different definitions of "memory use" exist. "Virtual Address Space" (VAS) specifically is not covered by the native Task Manager.

 

But in order to manage the risk of out-of-memory crashes (OOM) it's precisely VAS what you have to monitor.

 

Process Explorer (freeware) provides the VAS usage; FSUIPC (unregistered version is sufficient) provides VAS remaining. These two figures always add up to 4 GB or nearly 4,200,000 KB.

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I have just installed Process Explorer, and when I tried to shut down(Kill Process) some of the processes in the pink area such as a number of svchost.exe which is eating up 2,147, 577,168K of Virtual Size each process, I get an Access Denied flag. What processes can be shut down to recover VAS?

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What processes can be shut down to recover VAS?

 

Do not kill processes unless you know what you are doing. Each process has its own VAS, and the addition of all VAS assigned is meaningless.... its virtual.  The limit is the 4G size set by being a 32 bit application.  Applications running that show 2T VAS size are 64 bit processes.

 

i recommend you google terms like working memory and virtual memory and try to gain a little knowledge.


Dan Downs KCRP

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Thanks for that elucidation, Dan,

 

Will do. Not that I have experienced any VAS issues using the two aircraft I seem to be flying most, these days in FSX-SE, the PMDG MD-11 and the Level-D 767, but this thread intrigued me as I have run into close VAS issues when I switch to the PMDG 777 and the NGX737. I have had to do what I once remember you advocating. Saving the flight at intervals, and resuming afresh. Also, I off-load sceneries I am not flying through.

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