NX7.5 32bit memory issues

[mikebuchter]

I recently had to switch back to 32bit NX7.5.5.4 and when I try to open a large assembly file it keeps crashing by just closing the program. I have attached my system information where it has the Maximum Memory Allocated 195mb with a possible 12335 available is there a way to change this and will it make a difference.

 

[looslib]

Do you have the /3GB switch in your boot.ini file?
Do you have any other programs running?



"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli

 

[cowski]

Since the system is reporting 8Gb of physical memory, I assume you are running 32bit NX on a 64bit machine. In this case the /3GB switch does not apply.

When the computer runs out of physical memory, it starts using a portion of your hard drive as memory (the page file). Bad things happen when it runs out of page file space. You can specify how much space you want to allocate to the page file or have Windows manage it. Allowing Windows to manage the page file size will incur a performance hit if/when it needs to increase the page file size, but may avoid out of memory crashes.

I don't know where you increase the page file size on a 64 bit windows os, but on 32 bit XP it can be found at: Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Performance (settings button) -> Advanced -> Virtual memory (change button).

www.nxjournaling.com

 

[Tingsryd]

Since the /3GB switch applies only to 32bit windows, wouldn't it still apply even though the hardware is 64bit capable? The /3GB purpose is to allow a process to use a little more memory than the standard 2GB limitation by 32bit windows.

The /3GB switch will help only if you need just a little more memory. If you need a lot more ram then the only cure is a 64bit OS and 64bit hardware with plenty of ram. Also, using the /3GB switch is not the same as having ample ram; it's really slow. A while back I needed a little more memory and it seemed to help although only a little. Manufacturing had some memory leaks back then so I also had to restart if I had been working for a while. When we switched to 64bit Win7 with 12GB ram it was like putting a massive fuel tank on a hybrid car. If you work with large assemblies and have to constantly work around hardware limitations there really are not any reasons to prolong a hardware upgrade; it will pay for itself.

NX75
NX80

 

[cowski]

Since the /3GB switch applies only to 32bit windows, wouldn't it still apply even though the hardware is 64bit capable?

The jpg posted shows the machine has 8Gb of physical ram. Since 32 bit windows can only access 4Gb, I assume he is running a 64 bit OS (32 bit version of NX on 64 bit windows). If this is the case, the OS already knows to load into the higher memory address space; giving the 32 bit application a full 4Gb of space (if it is programmed/compiled with the right options to take advantage of it).

On a 32 bit system there is 4Gb available total to share among the OS and all running applications. Normally, 32 bit applications are given 2Gb of space maximum (on a 32 bit OS), the /3Gb switch allowed the application to negotiate some more memory space.

Applications that are compiled with the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE option, as would be required to take advantage of the /3GB switch in 32-bit Windows, will automatically be able to address 4 GB of virtual memory without any boot time switches or changes to x64 Windows.

Reference:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294418

www.nxjournaling.com

 

[Tingsryd]

Thanks for the clarification. So he can use a little more virtual memory than what I had thought but virtual memory is still extremely slow. Perhaps it might be enough to get the OP over the hump but if running out of memory is frequent then the only cure is still 64 bit software on his 64 bit hardware. Which begs a question: why 32 bit nx on 64 bit hardware?

NX75
NX80