There isn't enough free memory to update the display...

[jen89]

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone can help me diagnose a problem that my customer is having with her Access 2000 application. The application allows a user to enter a record for each shipping transaction that occurs. When the saved record is viewed, the customer can click a button to view one of three reports. Two go directly to a laser printer, while the third goes to one of their Okidata dot-matrix printers. It is the third report that is causing the problem.

Whenever the Dot Matrix report, called Delivery Receipt, is printed, it can only be printed 10 - 15 times (for different records) before it causes this error:

"There isn't enough free memory to update the display.
Close unneeded programs and try again."

The machine must then be restarted to get back into the program. As far as I can tell, the other Access 2000 application that we created can print to the dot matrix printers without problems. It is only this report. The report is not very complex. It is based on a single table, not a query. When the "display report" button is clicked, it applies a filter based on the record's sequence number, but the report has no other code. There are only about 20 fields.

I am at a loss to what is wrong. They are running the App over the network. The server is NT, I am guessing that the several machines they are running it on are a mix of 98 and 2000. At least one of the machines is only 3 months old, so I doubt that the problem is a lack of memory or disk space, although she couldn't give me exact numbers. The problem existed before this machine came anyways. Since other reports can be printed to the dot matrix, I don't think it is the printer drivers. The report is so simple that I don't know what to try with that.

I am waiting to hear back if she can reproduce the error by sending the bad report to a laser printer or a good report to the dot matrix. I cannot reproduce the problem on my machine printing to a laser printer. I thought that maybe after the holiday I should try having them install SP3.

Does anyone have any other ideas? I am kind of desperate here. Please toss out any ideas at all that I could investigate. Thanks in advance,

Jen

 

[randysmid]

Jen,
As a test, can you try changing the report to "acViewPreview"? Sample:
DoCmd.OpenReport "rptReport3", acViewPreview

If the memory of the machine in question is low, then the error message should automatically appear. However, if the error message does not appear, I would suspect that the buffer memory of the Okidata dot-matrix is insufficient. By previewing the report on-screen, you are proving that the machine memory is not at fault, but rather the Okidata printer. Got it?
HTH,
Randy Smith
California Teachers Association

 

[jen89]

This report is automatically previewed before being printed, unlike the other two reports. Are you saying that if it is the system memory the error will come up upon previewing, while if it is the buffer memory, the error will occur after they hit print? Please let me know if I have not interpreted your response correctly. I am not on site and cannot reproduce the error, so I will not be able to test it until next week. Thanks so much for your help.

 

[randysmid]

Hi,
Yes, I have encountered this problem before. When the local machine has insufficient memory, then that particular user got the same error message you are reporting. However, another user running the same report had a newer machine, with more memory. That person did not get the error, but it was the eact same report. (ironically, someone insisted that there was a problem with my program)

So, a good test is to run the exact same report on another machine that has significantly more memory. If possible, can you run the 3rd report on a laser jet printer?

HTH,
Randy Smith
California Teachers Association

 

[steveojr999]

This as been haunting me for a long time. I have yet to find a solution. At times, instead of getting the memory error, I will get a report that shows no text boxes or labels, but lines and backgrounds show. I have tried the reports on many workstations (most NT), and some work and some don't. The results were the same for previewing and printing.

At first I thought it was a font issue (yes I am grasping at straws), but now I am wondering if it is a video memory or driver issue. Still, no answer.

 

[steveojr999]

Hi, Try this.

Install a basic windows printer (I uses HP LaserJet 5, but I really don't think it will matter) and set it to your default printer. Open your report for designing and make sure you are using the default printer under the File...Page Setup...Page Tab. Be sure to save your report (it may not ask you, so explicitly save it by going to File...Save).

This wroked for me. Microsoft also recomends updating to SR-2.

 

[randysmid]

Jen,
If Steve's tip helps, will you let us know? It was very considerate of him to do the research on this for us. If it works, I will add it to my Access binder and give him a star for his efforts!! HTH,
Randy Smith
California Teachers Association