Out of Memory Error

[thud105g]

I am running XP SP2 on a 3.2 Ghz Intel machine with 1 GB of memory. Recently (and I have no record of any hardware or software changes since upgrading to SP2 last year) I have gotten an error msg "Insufficient Memory" from Word when trying to change fonts; I had 450 Mb of memory left at that point. The situation I run into most is where it doesn't allow me to open another window, not even Windows Task Manager with no error msg and with hundreds of MB's left. I can cause the problem by opening a series of windows from an existing window, even if I close the window I have opened and open another window; if I do this about thirty time the windows will lock up and not allow to open another window, task manager or any icon. The same happens if I just open two many windows(15) and leave them open.

When this occurs I always have 350 to 500 Mb of memory available

 

[bcastner]

I am pretty sure it is compalining about Virtual memory. Right-click My Computer, Properties, Advanced, Performance, Advanced, Virtual Memory -- Change

Select "Custom size" and set the Min and Max to 0 (zero). Reboot.
Selct "Custom size" and set Min and Max to 1.5 x installed RAM.

These values are rough guidelines. Some reading about Virutal Memory will clarify the issue:

Virtual Memory in XP
Alex Nichols, MS-MVP AU-VSOP

http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm

Pagefile Optomization
Danial Petri, MS-MVP

http://www.petri.co.il/pagefile_optimization.htm

RAM, Virtual Memory, Pagefiles, and all that stuff
Bruce Sanderson, MS-MVP

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=555223

.

 

[linney]

Semi similar story here.

Windows XP Memory problems
thread779-1242796

 

[bcastner]

See if your Event Logs show an Event ID of 2011.
This may be the result of an antivirus program or internet security software resetting the IRPStackSize too low:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;q177078&

If this was a hard memory error in RAM XP would not be so polite -- you would be looking at a STOP error.

 

[linney]

Word Stays in Memory
thread779-1165160

 

[linney]

Does this occur in Safe Mode if it is that repeatable an error?

With fast vanishing messages that can't be caught by disabling automatic restart or fished out of the Event Viewer, you can sometime trap them with a fast finger and a digital camera.

As there is nothing in the Event Viewer, have you tried any DrWatson logs, there might be something in there.

If you want the highly technical cause of a crash look in the Documents and Settings/ All Users/ Application Data/ Microsoft/ Dr Watson/ Drwtsn32.log

Find the entry that is relevant by date and time to the crash you are investigating. The exact cause of the crash is indicated by "FAULT ->" on the left of page next to line of code causing the crash. This, if your as cluey as me, wont tell you much but you can use it to see if it is the same fault all the time, and further up the log you can find what processes and modules are running.


Getting more friendly logs from Drwatson.
thread779-947690

 

[linney]

Excuse my last post, I have posted it in the wrong thread.

 

[thud105g]

I am still having the memory problem. The event log shows no 2011 errors, Dr Watson's log shows no event matching the times of my problem (remember this is not a crash but an inability to open addition windows including Task Manager) I did not recreate my Virtual memory since it is already at 1.5 x RAM. I did not reinstall word because the problem can occur without Word open just Windows. CPU utilization is under 50%. I am running Norton's Internet Security, Anti-Virus and System Doctor, I also run Symantec's Site Advisor. About three months ago I loaded Norton 2006, with it came Go Back which does run in the background. I cannot
duplicate the problem in safe mode.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

From DR Watson's log the processes that are running are:

0 System Process
4 System
620 smss.exe
668 csrss.exe
692 winlogon.exe
736 services.exe
748 lsass.exe
928 svchost.exe
1028 svchost.exe
1196 svchost.exe
1228 svchost.exe
1292 ccSetMgr.exe
1304 SNDSrvc.exe
1408 ccEvtMgr.exe
1916 spoolsv.exe
2012 Explorer.EXE
140 ccProxy.exe
208 navapsvc.exe
240 NPROTECT.EXE
396 retrorun.exe
528 wdsvc.exe
560 SAVScan.exe
712 NOPDB.EXE
940 spkrmon.exe
976 symlcsvc.exe
1008 IPClient.exe
1020 ccApp.exe
1080 wdfmgr.exe
1140 WDBtnMgr.exe
1348 SetIcon.exe
804 mm_tray.exe
1724 ViewMgr.exe
1736 msmsgs.exe
1804 mim.exe
2344 MemTurbo.exe
2804 SYSDOC32.EXE
4024 wuauclt.exe
1364 IEXPLORE.EXE
3008 WINWORD.EXE
3140 drwtsn32.exe

 

[bcastner]

MemTurbo.exe?

Myth - "Increasing the amount of available RAM improves performance."

Reality - "RAM Optimizers have no effect, and at worst, they seriously degrade performance. Although gaining more available memory might seem beneficial, it isn't. As RAM Optimizers force the available-memory counter up, they force other processes' data and code out of memory. Say that you're running Word, for example. As the optimizer forces the available-memory counter up, the text of open documents and the program code that was part of Word's working set before the optimization (and was therefore present in physical memory) must be reread from disk as you continue to edit your document. The act of allocating, then freeing a large amount of virtual memory might, as a conceivable side effect, lead to blocks of contiguous available memory. However, because virtual memory masks the layout of physical memory from processes, processes can't directly benefit from having virtual memory backed by contiguous physical memory. As processes execute and undergo working-set trimming and growth, their virtual-memory-to-physical-memory mappings will become fragmented despite the availability of contiguous memory."

Mark Russinovich
Founder, Sysinternals & Winternals

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=41095&pg=1

(There are 189 pages of comments)

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/XPMyths.html

____________________________
Users Helping Users

 

[thud105g]

I may not fully understand how MemTurbo works but I have a large amout of physical memory and my free memory threshold is set so low I doubt it has ever come into play. I use MemTurbo manually when a certain memory intensive application is terminated and does not release memory and I do not want to reboot. I have had MemTurbo on my machine for three years and I would have expected a problem sooner.

 

[PRPhx]

This is what I would try:

1) From a command prompt, type CHKDSK c: /f. Press 'Y' when prompted to run CHKDSK on the next boot, because CHKDSK can not get an exclusive lock on the drive.

2) IF you have more than one drive/partition, run the above for each drive.

3) After you reboot, rerun CHKDSK with the /f on your C: drive until it completes w/o problems.

4) Run defrag on all your drives.

Sounds like maybe your drive has problems and is partly fragmented. The above may help fix the situation. I've seen fragmentation cause lots of problems.

Also, shut down any and all process, from the task manager, that you think you do not need. (However do NOT shut down the Svchost process, your pc may end up needing a reboot.)

Then again, I've seen fonts not work for no reason inside XP. Sometimes deleting as font and then replacing it (if possible works).

 

[bcastner]

If you follow Mark Russinovich's logic, you would need to substantially increase your Virtual memory pagefile size because of MemTurbo.

Are you using System managed Virual Memory settings?




____________________________
Users Helping Users

 

[linney]

I cannot duplicate the problem in safe mode".

Then try going down this path -

310353 - How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310353&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

316434 - HOW TO: Perform Advanced Clean-Boot Troubleshooting in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316434&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

310560 - How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310560&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

HOW TO: Verify Unsigned Device Drivers in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/5/14.asp

There might be some clues in this lot, the ones about Word and Printing might have something to them?

http://groups.google.com.au/groups?...Memory"+from+Word+when+trying+to+change+fonts

http://www.google.com.au/search?lnk... Word when trying to change fonts&sa=N&tab=gw

 

[firewolfrl]

This may or may not fix your issue. Microsoft has a hotfix for "out of memory" issues

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894472/en-us

the name is a little bit misleading for the fix. I used this fix for one of my customers that was having lots of "out of memory" errors for no apparent reason and it fixed her proplems totally

Third-party programs that require lots of memory do not run in Windows XP Service Pack 2

SYMPTOMS
Some third-party programs do not run after you install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). When this symptom occurs, you may receive an error message that is similar to one of the following:
Not Enough Memory
Out of memory
Not enough storage
Back to the top

CAUSE
This problem occurs if the third-party program has to reserve lots of contiguous memory. For example, the problem occurs if the third-party program has to reserve several hundred megabytes of contiguous memory. The new Xpsp2res.dll file that is added in Windows XP SP2 loads into memory at location 0x20000000. This causes the virtual memory that is available to the third-party program to be fragmented.

RESOLUTION
Hotfix information
Important This hotfix includes a new Xpsp2res.dll file that dynamically finds a memory location to reduce virtual memory fragmentation. Before you apply this hotfix, we recommend that you ask the vendor of your programs to verify that this solution is acceptable.

This hotfix enables the new Xpsp2res.dll file to find a memory location dynamically and reduce virtual memory fragmentation.

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this hotfix.



hope this helps

 

[thud105g]

firewolfrl

This really looks like it describes my problem and will fix my problem but where do I go to download the "hotfix" or do I have to pay MS to get the fix??

 

[linney]

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question."

That was from the MSKB article that "firewolfrl" linked to. These type of hotfixes usually require contacting Microsoft Support who will then give you a URL where the fix can be downloaded.

 

[firewolfrl]

the link is here

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Telephone
(800) MICROSOFT (642-7676)

if you use the phone be prepared to wait...have the article # ready and be ready to do this a couple of times.
I will explain... your call will be routed to India or the Philippines... you really want the Philippines support staff because the India support staff do not always understand what you are saying ***GRRRR****GRUMBLE GRUMBLE****. I usually redial or if I am lucky they put me in the phone pool again. I am open minded but I really get frustrated by the India support.

with that note good luck and use a Speakerphone