- On most 32-bit systems, FCS Express can use up to 2 GB, depending on how much memory is on the computer, and how many other programs are running.
- On 32-bit Windows operating systems systems booted in a special way, described in solution 4 below, FCS Express can use up to 3 GB.
- On 64-bit Windows operating systems, FCS Express can use up to 4 GB.
If you are experiencing crashes in FCS Express, the reason is usually that your computer system has run out of memory. This can happen when there are many large files loaded in the layout at the same time. FCS Express does not limit the size of data you can use; however, your computer, or Windows, does set a limit.
How can I tell if a crash is caused by an out-of-memory situation?
If FCS Express encounters an error that it cannot handle, it will display this dialog:
To find out if this was caused by a memory problem, click the link labeled Click here to view or edit the report. You will then see a window labeled Edit Issue Report Contents. In this window, in the section Technical Report, scroll down a few lines until you see the words exception class, like in the image below
If you see that the exception class is EOutOfMemory, then you know that the program has run into the out of memory situation. You can see more information in this report, too. For example, it also displays how much physical memory is available on your computer (the line labeled physical memory), and how much memory is currently allocated to FCS Express (the line labeled allocated memory).
In the example shown here, there were 3326 MB of RAM available on the computer, and only 34 of those were free - a small percentage like that indicates that the computer has run out of memory. In addition, FCS Express was allocated 2.73 GB at the time.
How can I resolve the memory problem?
- Reduce the amount of memory FCS Express needs by lowering the number of undos that the program can perform. By default, FCS Express can perform 30 undos. This number can be lowered (or raised, if memory is not a problem) by clicking on the Application Button, then Edit Preferences, and changing the option in the General category.
- Reduce the amount of memory FCS Express needs by changing your layout design, so that you are using fewer data files in your layout at any given time. If you would like help with this, please contact us atsupport
- Add memory (RAM) to your system. On Windows 32-bit operating systems, the maximum you can install in your computer is 4 GB. On 64-bit Windows, up to 128 GB of memory is supported, although FCS Express will only be able to use 4 GB.
- If you have a Windows 32-bit operating system, and you already have 4 GB of memory, then FCS Express will normally be able to use up to 2GB of that. However, if you change the boot settings of your computer to enable 3 GB, FCS Express will be able to use up to 3 GB. Please note that this switch involves an important operating system file. De Novo Software does not offer any support for changing this setting, nor is any support implied by this web page. This change should only be performed by an experienced IT person.
- To enable 3 GB support on computers running Windows 2000, 2003, or XP, you will need to set the /3GB switch in the file C:\boot.ini. For details on setting up your system with the /3GB switch, please see the documentation on Microsoft's web site, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124810.aspx. Please note that even though this instruction page indicates that the setting applies only to Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003, it also applies to Windows XP.
- To enable 3GB supports on computers running 32-bit Windows Vista or 32-bit Windows 7, you will need to use the command bcdedit /set increaseuserva 3072. For details on using this, please see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff542202.aspx.