3ds max 2010 - crashing issue

[rocneasta]

simple objects - 1 plane, 5 boxes, 1 text, few objects (line, editable poly, shell)

simple scene - mr sun & mr sky, 1 camera

render time of the scene 1280x968 = 13 min - high settings (won't list details if not needed) - material is default one, so no textures, just testing out different light conditions

CRASH without error report occurs when i implemented a plane 200x170 with matching pixels dimensions tree as opacity map - so i get shadows on the object appearing to go through a tree... it crashed twice after getting final gather to 60% (basically calculating the points in the model, leaving the plane)

anyone see any flaws in my workflow, or have an understanding as to why this is happening i would realy appreciate it.

already spent 3 hours (2x1.5hours) on two failed attempts at doing this. 320x240 works, not a bad image but not very useful to me. need at least 1280x968 as previous mentioned http://forums.3dtotal.com/images/smilies/wall.gif

cheers, roc


UPDATE

3rd try resulted with an error - i removed the plane from rendering and did just the object - resulted error was

Mental ray fatal error
mental ray has encountered a fatal error and the application will now shutdown. The error is:
MEM 0.3 fatal 031008: can't allocate 10306488 bytes

[Cad64]

What are your computer specs?
It looks like maybe you don't have enough RAM to do what you're trying to do.

[rocneasta]

my laptop:

Operating System: Windows XP™ Professional, Version 2002, SP 2
Processor: Genuine Intel(R) CPU T2600 @ 2.16 GHz
Memory: 1,00GB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
Card name: ATI Mobility Radeon X1600
HDD is 80GB, free 14GB

[Cad64]

Just as I suspected. 1GB RAM isn't going to cut it.
Also what type of processor do you have? Single core? duo core?

For doing the type of high quality rendering you are trying to do, you need a lot more RAM. I would recommend installing at least another 1GB. If you're on a 32 bit operating system, you could install a maximum of 4GB's RAM, if your motherboard will accept that much, and if you set the 3GB switch (http://dwf.blogs.com/beyond_the_paper/2009/04/enabling-3gb-switch-on-windows-vista.html).

With your current setup, you will never be able to render out high quality images. You just don't have enough memory for all that computing.

[rocneasta]

:( i'll need a fund raising event for new ram

[Cad64]

RAM is actually really cheap. You can get 1GB RAM for as little as $50, depending on the manufacturer and type. Just make sure you get the right RAM for your computer. You will need to check out what you currently have installed and make sure you get the same type.

You generally want to install RAM in pairs, or at least that's what I was always told, so you probably have two 512MB sticks in your laptop. You could get two more 512 sticks, if your motherboard has 4 slots, or just get two 1GB sticks to replace the 512 sticks.

So, upgrade your RAM, or just accept the fact that you will only be able to render out low quality images. It's your call. :P

[rocneasta]

i can't live with low quality :)

[Cad64]

i can't live with low quality :)

No doubt. :wink:

Just be forewarned. This how it all starts.
First you upgrade your RAM, then you get a faster duo core processor and a better video card, then you toss out your laptop and get a desktop PC with a 64 bit operating system. Then you throw in a couple of quad core processors, a high end video card and a boatload of RAM and before you know it, you've got a system like mine. :lol:

[rocneasta]

here's to your best wishes - i need the laptop for mobility and i have a iMac 24" due to being a graphical designer as well as my missus, but i was just thinking about investing into a HP monster work station...

unfortunately as rumors go, Europe gets 3rd grade technical things, including computer hardware - so my configuration won't ever be as good as yours...