I have got 511 MB installed, and sometimes that feels a bit short. Textures may refuse to load, renders may abort ... Doesn't often happen, but still. Can I upgrade to more RAM? Will Win 98 recognise it?

As long as you have more slots to add the sticks to then you can upgrade and yes Win98(se anyway) will recognize it. i added more ram but didnt notice all that much difference in performance. One thing i did do that seemed to help me a lot with Poser was to install a free software called RAMpage which you can set up to free memory on your system when it drops below a certain point.

Um...I'm running Win 98 myself. As far as I know, it can't handle more than 256 efficiently. If you want more RAM, your going to have to upgrade your OS or find a workaround it. I'm not to familiar on the technical aspects of that, I'm sure someone here will be of more help than I. :o) -Des

i don't know about efficiency, but i know that when i check my systems properties it tells me how much RAM i have so it does indeed recognize it even if it is over 256. i think that is what you asked anyway...

curious labs has a memory updater [download page] for 4.03 and propack (which is supposedly for >2g mem). Don't know if it really worked but have not had same problems as you with win98SE, 512m, and the memory updaters installed. I also use quite a bit of harddrive dedicated to virtual memory. My usual renders are around 500 frames of animation on average and MSOutlook blue screens me more than P4 w/propack.

Recognizing it may not be the same thing as using it. I, too have heard about the limitations concerning 98's memory usage per program. I'm fairly certain it would do no good to add more unless you upgraded your system. Emily

98 has a serious issue at, I think, 1.5GB. Below that you may need to adjust your VCache settings, it's just a question of typing a couple of lines and there is an explanation in the MS Knowledge Base.

I have 512 memory on Windows 98Se. 2 pc100 128s from the factory in my 3 year old Dell 450 P3. One kingston pc133 256 I installed in my 3rd slot. After I installed the 256 I had 512 working for 6 weeks than it went wacky and things like no modem detected and other hardware didn't work one day for no good reason. So I took the 256 chip out for a while and everything worked normal again.
After a few months and wiping out my OS and reinstalling it I decided to give the 256 one more try before selling it and trying to find another chip. So far it's working fine and it makes a big difference. Poser definitely runs faster. Vue renders faster. Files save faster programs open faster. Even things like moving windows around on the screen with the cursor is noticable smoother. It's been over 2 months since I put it in and no problems yet. According to my manual my Dell could support 3 256 chips if I wanted to put them in.

Way I understand it, Win 95/8/ME can only use about 200-300 Mb per application, so going much past 256 is only going to run more applications at the same time. I noticed a huge difference with 768 Mb between 98 and Win 2000 in Poser 4 on bigger scenes. Crashes less, too. ;-)

Below is an exact quote from Cacheman's help file. Although your computer and the BIOS will accept RAM values above 512 MB is no guarantee that your operating system will be able to use it. According to Cacheman (they are experts in memory management) Windows 98 will become unstable with RAM values higher than 512MB, therefore Cacheman has a feature which allows you to have more than 512MB installed but limits Windows 98 to use only 512MB - I use it and my system definitely has fewer crashes than when I allow Windows to muck with my full 1GB of RAM. quote: ------------------------------------ Limit available RAM to 512 MBytes This setting limits total available RAM to 512 MBytes. Windows 95,98 and ME does not officially support 512 MBytes at all, with more installed RAM it can become very unstable. If you are using multiple operating systems on your computer and have due to this usage more than 512 MBytes installed it is recommended to check this setting. Windows 95,98 or ME gets no real advantages of more than 512 MBytes anyway. ------------------------------------ endquote Well their English may not be perfect, but I hope this clarifies the issue for some.

Depending too on your computer. This Old Gateway-Win2nd edition. I use only for the internet. I have 512 ram memory. (((Before I got my new Tri-Star computer win.2000.))) My Poser would crash everyday. Almost like clock work. I had trouble rendering the big maps, etc. I've never had poser4 crash on my new computer. Also this old thing works 80% better now Poser is not programed in. I also tried Ram booster and Cashman, I couldn't tell any difference when using those.

Here's the deal: Windows 98 will recognize as much as you give it, for the most part. It will only use 256 megs per application, though. Therefore, the thought that adding more than 256 megs is a waste is untrue; Windows 98 will USE it just not for more than one app at a time. However, this rule does NOT apply to virtual memory. The best thing you can do, if you are still using Windows 98 for some sick reason ;-) is to set your virtual memory up in a more robust fashion. To do that, I recommend doing as much of the following as possible: 1) Set your virtual memory to a static size. Make it one size, rather than letting windows manage it. A good starting point, when in doubt, for a static paging size is 3 times your RAM. Defrag your hard drive BEFORE you do this, and empty all temp files and temporary internet files, etc, first. This will let the paging file reside as close as possible to the inner tracks, and also let it exist in a more sequential fashion. 2) If you have the luxury of more than one physical hard drive, put your paging file on a different hard drive than your OS. This only works if the hard drives are physically different (i.e., if you have two partitions on one drive don't bother). This step alone will make a huge difference in application performance, as you effectively limit the amount of data going back and forth on one pipe. 3) Get rid of any stupid utilities you don't absolutely need. The more Gator, file sharing, weatherbug, blah, blah, blah-style apps you have running the more you choke the system.....not to mention you are contributing to spyware and spam problems.... 4)Get a newer and better OS ;-) Good luck! Hope this helps.

I have 1280MB of RAM in my computer. When I was running 98se I had to convince it to not use any more than 1GB (it would reboot every time it booted into windows with more than that). I also found that whenever I rendered a large scene and it used ~640MB of RAM it would crash, every time (I watched sysmon.exe and crashed it 10 times in a row to make sure of this). The memory fix that cruzan mentioned might fix this problem, but it might still not work right on 98. I have upgraded to XP and haven't had the problem happen again (and I have seen it us over 1GB of m RAM)

Carl

My last computer had 720MB of RAM on Windows 98. Did I ever have problems with it? The whole thing was more unstable than Charles Manson. New machine running XP, 1GB RAM, no problems at all.

Simply put, Windows 98 is not the most stable operating system in the world. Depending on what you are running and your hardware, it is more stable for some people, much less for others. Any of the memory fixes mentioned here may or may not solve your specific problem. I strongly suggest that you bite the bullet and upgrade to 2000 or XP. The difference in speed and stability make it the best solution.

Attached Link: Windows XP Compatibility Resources

Thank you very much for your input everybody! :-) What I learned today: -Adding more RAM than what I've got right now is not only useless, it might even screw up my system. So I won't. -Checking up on my virtual memory settings, and setting that to a fixed amount three times my RAM, which in my case would be about 1.5 Gig, sounds like a good idea. And yes, I do happen to have two drives, so I'll direct the virtual memory to the one that doesn"t have the operating system. Now all I have to do is to figure out where I have to go to tinker with my virtual RAM, but I'm sure I'll figure that one out by myself ;-) Thanks again!

Here's another idea: save the money that you would spend on Poser stuff and buy a new OS- Win 2000 or XP. Or, just get a brand new, 2Ghz, 100M hard drive, 512M RAM, $699 computer from Dell, Gateway, etc. It is the year 2003. Like it or not, it's time to give up Windows 98. Yes, Windows 98 works fine for Word and Excel, but it doe NOT work fine for Poser or any other high-end 3-D application.

What I've learned is that Poser is processor intensive, not RAM intensive. I have 1GB of RAM on a PentiumII 733. Poser consistently pegs my processor usage, but only uses 100-200MB of my available RAM. Upgrade your OS and your processor if Poser is your main gig.

Well, it depends on what you are doing. Rendering, obviously, is pure processor. However, start adding several figures, textures, clothing items, etc, to your scene and it gets WAY more RAM intensive. I've got 1.7 gigs of RAM on a Dual Athlon XP, and it was the RAM increase that made the difference for me, not the processor upgrades. In the end, every little bit helps. A better machine is a better machine. No app out there is written to use only one component. All the 1's and 0's have to make their way from the hard drive to your eyes regardless of what app is manipulating them, so they're going to travel through the bus in it's entirety, anyways.

My computer works tolerably well with Windows XP, 512MB of RAM, and a Celeron processor. Poser didn't work as well with less memory. Poser would work better if I had a more powerful computer. My computer is old enough that I really can't do anything more to upgrade the hardware itself. What am I trying to say? Memory is important to an extent. I wouldn't consider using less than 512MB of RAM for serious Poser usage. The best combination is to have an up-to-date computer, and at least 512MB of RAM.

"upgrade to XP" Not everyone is willing to use PermissionWare. AND not everyone is willing to downgrade their peripherals in order to use PermissionWare. In my case, it means I would have to give up 13x19 maximum size printing capability and go back to 8.5x14 maximum. Nope, not gonna do it. Making too much money printing those folding newsletters in 11x17 size. Not gonna switch to an OS that would shut down a good portion of my business. Kate

Well, my feeling is that if you are using a periphal that is so old it doesn't work on a modern day OS, then it's crud anyways ;-) That was somewhat sarcastic, btw ;-)

yeah, I know, but you looked at the prices of wide format color printers lately? OUCH! ;) Kate (who is still looking for a place to buy win2K for LESS than XP)

Yeah, we use 'em at the architecture firm I do IT support for. Certainly not cheap. For most people, though, the decision isn't "Do I want performance or the ability to use this device?", fortunately. In your case, I guess you're screwed...

Kate, check out the local parts stores and see when a computer show is going to be in your area. I picked up my OEM copy of Win2kPro with SR-2 integrated for $129. Nuff said.

Thanks for the tip, Dale. I'll check around and see what's coming up in my area in the near future. :)