Memory Usage Issue

[vertical horizons]

At the bottom of my screen, at the right, there is a red-colored box that is usually green-colored. If I hover over the box, I get the following message:

 

Memory Used = 1047 MB, Free = 333 MB

 

What exactly is this telling me, and what do I do about it?

 

I was building a platform deck grid, and thought that maybe that was taking up a lot of memory. But, after I saved and closed the .ipt, I still had the red-colored box, with the same message.

 

***************

 

Never mind.

I closed an .iam that contained several .ipts. Closing the .iam dropped my memory usage down to 467 MB used, and 866 MB free.

 

This does bring up another question-

Are you able to allocate how much MB usage you want Inventor to use, so that you don't continue to get the memory usage warning?

[Ahmad Sharifi]

In windows, ram is split. the split is about 2.5GB for window and the rest for inventor, (on a 4gb comp. it allocates i believe 1.5GB). you can change this using BCDedit using vista.

 

there's a good thread, but it won't let me post it, but i'll get the info and post it here:

 

/3GB

On 32-bit versions of Windows, the /3GB parameter enables 4 GT RAM Tuning, a feature that enlarges the user-mode virtual address space to 3 GB and restricts the kernel-mode components to the remaining 1 GB.

 

 

/3GB [ /userva=SizeInMB ]

 

 

 

 

Subparameters

 

/userva Specifies an alternate amount of user-mode virtual address space for operating systems booted with the /3GB parameter.

SizeInMB Specifies the amount of memory, in megabytes, for user-mode virtual address space. This variable can have any value between 2048 (2 GB) and 3072 (3 GB) megabytes in decimal notation. Windows uses the remaining address space (4 GB minus the specified amount) as its kernel-mode address space.

Comments

 

The /3GB parameter is supported on Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. On Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, use the IncreaseUserVA element in BCDEdit.

On Windows, by default, the lower 2 GB are reserved for user-mode programs and the upper 2 GB are reserved for kernel-mode programs. You can use this parameter to test the performance of your driver when it is running in a 1 GB kernel.

The 4 GT RAM Tuning feature is fully functional on Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, and all editions of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and later versions of Windows.

On other versions of Windows 2000, this feature restricts the kernel to addresses above the 3 GB boundary. However, user-mode applications cannot access more than 2 GB of address space.

The /userva subparameter is designed for computers that need more than 2 GB but less than 3 GB of user-mode address space, particularly those that are running memory-intensive user-mode programs. When used without the /3GB parameter, /userva is ignored.

The /3GB and /userva parameters are valid only on boot entries for 32-bit versions of Windows on computers with x86 or x64-based processors.

To take advantage of the 3 GB available to user-mode programs, the program must be linked with the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE option.

On 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003, the system automatically expands the virtual address space available to 32-bit user-mode programs linked with the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE option as needed without the /3GB boot parameter. On Windows Server 2003 RTM (without Service Pack 1), these 32-bit programs can access up to 3 GB of virtual address space. On Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1, they can access up to 4 GB of virtual address space. Native 64-bit user-mode programs can access up to 8 TB of virtual address space.

Booting with the /3GB parameter decreases the amount of kernel virtual address space on the system. In order to fit all of the kernel resources within the remaining 1 GB of virtual memory, NT-based Windows operating systems prior to Windows Vista restrict physical memory to frames below the 16 GB physical boundary. Windows Vista and later versions of Windows restrict physical memory to frames below the 64 GB boundary. Because allocation of memory resources in Windows Vista and later is dynamic and, therefore, more adaptable and efficient, the system can devote more memory space to addressing, thereby accommodating more physical memory.

The following table lists the physical memory limits of 32-bit Windows operating systems that support the use of more than 4 GB of physical memory with and without the /3GB boot parameter.

 

 

 

But to answer ur question on whether or not u can allocate memory usage to inventor, the answer is yes.

[Ahmad Sharifi]

if you're using xp:

 

How to Set the /3GB Startup Switch in Windows

 

Topic Last Modified: 2006-04-19

Windows Server 2003 includes support for a startup switch that lets you tune the allocation of use of memory and memory address space. Regardless of the amount of physical memory in your system, Windows uses a virtual address space of 4 GB, with 2 GB allocated to user-mode processes (for example, applications) and 2 GB allocated to kernel-mode processes (for example, the operating system and kernel-mode drivers). On systems that have 1 GB or more of physical memory, these two startup switches can be used to allocate more memory to applications (3 GB) and less memory to the operating system (1 GB). This additional virtual address space helps reduce the amount of memory fragmentation in the virtual address space of the Exchange information store process.

The /3GB switch is used to effect this allocation change. The switch is entered in the system’s boot.ini file and takes effect after a restart.

Before You Begin

Before you perform the procedure in this topic, be aware of the following:

The /3GB switch is supported only on the following operating systems:

• Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  
• Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
  
• Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
  
• Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
  
• Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition

Important: The /3GB switch should not be used on Windows 2000 Server because it is unsupported and can cause application or operating system crashes.

 

 

 

Procedure

To Set the /3GB Startup Switch in Windows Server 2003

1. Right-click My Computer and select Properties. The System Properties dialog box will appear.
   
2. Click the Advanced tab.
   
3. In the Startup and Recovery area, click Settings. The Startup and Recovery dialog box will appear.
   
4. In the System startup area, click Edit. This will open the Windows boot.ini file in Notepad.
   
5. In the [Operating Systems] section, add the following switches to the end of the startup line that includes the /fastdetect switch: /3GB
   
6. Save the changes and close Notepad.
   
7. Click OK two times to close the open dialog boxes, and then restart the computer for the change to take effect.
   

 

To Set the /3GB Startup Switch in Windows 2000 Advanced Server or Windows 2000 Datacenter Server

1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the system partition. This is the partition that holds hardware specific Windows files such as Boot.ini and NTLDR.
   
2. If you cannot see the Boot.ini file, it could be because the folder options are set to hide protected operating system files. If this is the case, in the Explorer window, click Tools, Folder Options, and then click View. Clear the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) check box. When prompted, click Yes.
   
3. After the Boot.ini file is visible in Explorer, right-click the file, click Open With, and then click Notepad to open the file.
   
4. Add the /3GB switch to the end of the line starting with "multi" under the [Operating Systems] section.
   
5. Save the changes and close Notepad.
   
6. Restart the computer for the change to take effect.