Poser 4 is crashing after the 5th render or so. Here are my specs: Operating system: Windows 98,4,10,148,1, A Computer processor: AuthenticAMD, AMD Athlon(tm)XP 1800+ Processor speed: 1669 mHz (approx) Hard disk size 10.23 GB (4.62 GB free space) Total RAM available: 261 MB (9 MB free memory) All greek to me, but any ideas where I should upgrade to give myself a whiz-bang computer that can cope with endless renders? Thanks, o technical masters.

You need to get more RAM. You should at least double the amount of RAM you have. RAM is pretty cheap these days, and you should see a big performance boost. I have 1GB of RAM personally and it really helps. You might want to look at getting a bigger hard drive as well. 10GB isn't that big. You don't say how much virtual memory you have reserved on your computer, but once you upgrade your RAM, you'll probably want to increase your virtual memory as well. Cheers!

(1) More RAM (512megs at a minimum). (2) Start looking into getting a second hard drive and having a geek install it for you. (3) Either (a)Upgrade to at least Windows 2000, or (b)Go to www.litepc.com and invest in 98lite, and have someone who knows Windows reinstall it, and yank as much of the garbage out of 98 as you can. The processor is fine; what you are hurting on the most is system ram. At least if you use graphic programs.

Thanks, Crescent. How do I see my virtual memory and how do I increase it?

MY system: Athlon XP 1800+ (Hey same chip!) 1.5GB RAM (<-Methinks this is a big key!) 2 x 60GB HDD(They are cheap! Don't skimp on storage!) The 1st HDD holds my 3 OS (Win Me -originally for games, Windows 2000 and Windows Xp and some data. The second drive is solely for some applications and data storage) 1 48x12x48 CD-R/W (for backing up that data) 1 120GB More storage! Get more RAM and HDD storage then upgrade your OS. I built this one earlier this year when my Pentium 233 (128 Mb and 8M video card) could no longer run the software I wanted to run.

Start: Settings: Control Panel: System: Performance. Click on the Virtual Memory button. Here you can set your Virtual Memory options. Virtual memory is fake RAM - part of your hard drive space is set aside to be used as backup RAM. It's faster than searching the entire hard drive but slower than true RAM. You want your virtual memory to be at least the same amount as your RAM. Cheers!

I definitely agree with all of the upgrade suggestions, but I would seriously consider the purchase of a new computer opposed to the various upgrades. At the cost of upgrading the hard drive, memory, operating system and possibly adding a CD writer, you can get a pretty robust new computer for about the same price.

To recap the specs

CPU: Pentium III (Any Speed)
Memory: 512 Meg (More is always better, but 512 will work fine)
Hard Drive: 80 or 100 Meg
Video Card: At least 8 Meg of Ram
CD: Writer any Speed
NIC Card: This comes in handy if you want to connect two computers. (All you need is a $9 crossover cable.. no other network stuff is needed)

I have seen computers that closely match the above on Ebay and various discount, or closeout sites. The prices range anywhere from $450 to $700.

Do not worry about the Operating System that comes with the computer. The first thing you should do is change the operation system to windows 2000. Windows 2000 will not have problems managing the memory when rendering large projects.

I hope this is helpful.

John

Thanks for all the advice. I only bought the computer last year so I'm not ready to buy a new one. I'm in Australia so your prices, John, are the stuff of dreams! Already have a CD writer. I think I'll start with the RAM upgrade and later see if I need more hard drive. Upgrading the system would be nice but I have no idea which to go for - Windows NT? 2000? I hear good and bad about everything. I just know that I hate Windows ME.

Well, I was under the impression that win98 had problems actually utilizing more than a certain amount of RAM (wasn't it 128?) Once you reach that point, the rest is somewhat wasted. I had a 750 Mhz machine with 256 that behaved MUCH better after installing windows 2000. XP also should work, though it wastes a little more RAM than 2K does (you can turn most of that stuff off, but it is a little hard to fine) I upgraded to a whole new machine (2.4 ghz) and don't think the improvement was hugely valuable. Renders still take minutes (just a couple fewer). I can probably handle more figures at once before the interface bogs down, but most of what I've done since then doesn't seem too different than before. eric

For Operating Systems -- Use Windows 2000 or XP. I would recommend XP since it is the latest but either would work fine with Poser. If you go with XP you have your choice or XP Pro or XP Home. Pro has some additional capabilities (like multiprocessor support) that most people do not need. Also, as others have said -- More RAM!

The 1800+ is still a completely viable chip, there's no need to get a new computer. You didn't note whether you're running SDR or DDR, and that makes a difference. I'm running a gig of PC2700 with my 1800+, and never have problems with my system. Like others have said, invest in at least doubling your RAM first and foremost, and then get some extra storage and Windows 2000 or XP Pro. :)

I would definitely ignore the total system upgrade suggestion: >To recap the specs >CPU: Pentium III (Any Speed) This is the first indication he hasn't a clue. Any Athlon XP, including the 1400+ would be faster than any Pentium III, except Tualatin, and your current 1800+ would even beat Tualatin. >Memory: 512 Meg (More is always better, but 512 will work >fine) No argument >Hard Drive: 80 or 100 Meg No argument >Video Card: At least 8 Meg of Ram No video card with just 8 meg of RAM would be superior to the current Intel or SIS IGP, let alone nForce. Then we have the AGP cards. Don't go with anything less than 64MB of video RAM. For ATI don't settle for less than a Radeon 9000 Pro. For nVidia, nothing less than a TI4200 or FX5200 Pro would do for an upgrade. >CD: Writer any Speed No argument, except perhaps a DVD writer would be a better choice now. >NIC Card: This comes in handy if you want to connect two >computers. (All you need is a $9 crossover cable.. no >other network stuff is needed) No argument. >I have seen computers that closely match the above on Ebay >and various discount, or closeout sites. The prices range >anywhere from $450 to $700. Or, in the U.S. you could get a brand new computer with better specs from the likes of Dell for $499. Upgrade to 512MB RAM first, since RAM prices are rising. Follow this with a HD upgrade, I would suggest a 120GB. Then, perhaps an upgrade to Win2K You didn't mention what video card you are using, but if it is less than a Radeon 9000/MX460/nForce2 IGP, you should upgrade your video card before upgrading to Win2K. If you have a Via based mobo, you might want to upgrade your mobo, or switch to a separate EIDE controller first. Via EIDE controllers typically write about one byte out of every 50-200 million erroneously. Dale LaRoy Splitstone

I might have missed it, but dont think that anyone mentioned some motherboards will only take a certain amount of ram.. mine wont read over 512..

...and some MoBo's need a BIOS update to recognise higher speed CPU's. I would never upgrade with just a single large HD...always two, unless you are very strict with your backup routines. If you have a major HD failure you will loose all your partitions; get two HD's and baring theft, fire you will always have a HD with valid data. Cheers

nontroppo,I'm sorry if what I'm about to say will confuse you,and goes against what people have just told you....but here goes.. Windows9x(which is Win95,98,98SE,and WinME)DOES NOT manage or handel installed memory over about 256mb(what you now have).Adding more memory is not going to do a thing for you,right now. If your looking to do upgrades on your present computer,I would say to upgrade to Win2000 or XP(that is a full version installe...not the upgrade you put on top of Win98). The new OS will make a big difference,as it takes full advantage of your memory and your chip(the AMD that you have is very good). Your hard drive is small by todays standards...40 or 60 gigs would be much better. After that, if you then need more memory,then go for it. But the truth is you should be able to run Poser without crashes on what you have right now(as I have in the past on Win98SE with ALOT less computer than you have). The thing that I see right off is where you listed your memory...9mg free...thats probably your problem.You've got to much running in the background.Find out what all is running and close them down...when was the last time you defraged your HD(been awhile huh)....DL the little progy called "Rambooster"(cnet or zdnet)as it really helps out Win98 with it's lack of memory management. But one thing to consider after you look at the prices for XP,new HD,etc.....499.00 buys you alot of computer nowdays..plus a monitor..plus XP already installed. SWAMP

Windows 98SE most definitely does handle memory over 256MB. It does not however recognize memory over 512MB. Additionally, no one task can use more than 128MB. Upgrading the OS with only 256MB would not gain much, but would make a major improvement with just 384MB. And, since adding 256MB of memory is much cheaper than upgrading the OS, upgrading to 512MB should come first. The memory upgrade would address the 9mg free issue. However, closing applications that are not needed is always a good idea. The problem is trying to figure out what is needed. Generally speaking however, if you close an application that is needed, it will reopen on its own. As for the recommendation to buy two hard drives, since you already have one hard drive, buying another will give you two. Dale LaRoy Splitstone

My suggestion is only a suggestion. Nontroppo, get the RAM and another BIG hdd (You'll have a free IDE channel for another drive or DVD unit :) ) Off load some of the apps and data to the bigger HDD and get Win2k or XP and install that in the space freed on the orignal 10 GB drive (Dual boot anyone?) My computer (see Msg 5) used a lot of components from my old PC.

Win98 can handle any amount of Ram, it just doesn't do it very efficiently (rule of thumb is >256MB doesn't do much, and >512 can cause problems). Win98 only uses roughly 50mb of memory for itself...and as stated no more than 128mb can be used by any one task(under Win98),so more memory while being cheaper is going to give you diminishing returns. In addition too much memory in Win98 can cause problems with Poserhere is an excerpt from our own Dr.Geep... "Note - For Windows98 users only. Does Poser lock up on you after a few renders and make you use the dreaded "alt+ctrl+del" to get out of it? I had that problem and this is how it got solved. I am running WIN98 2nd Ed. with 384 MB of RAM installed. (3 DIMMS x 128MB) .. WIN98 doesn't properly handle RAM in excess of 256MB. ... when I removed 128MB (1 DIMM) of RAM, and rebooted, Poser no longer locks-up! Using the "System Monitor" and watching the "Unused Physical Memory" statistic, it appears that the "swap file" is used when available memory gets close to zero and uses the swap file. If the system has more than 256MB of RAM, Windows evidently can not keep track of Poser's software properly and "gets lost," hense the apparent "lock-up." Do you have TOO MUCH RAM? cheers, dr geep" nontroppo,By now,(after we have all put in our conflicting 2cents worth) your probably very confused as to what to do. Well as long as you don't try to render several Vicky3's at one time...the system you have now,should run Poser4 with not too much effort....just get a "puter-savy"friend to come over and get your system cleaned up. Then watch the newspaper..alot of summer specials going on...and they come with that "new motherboard smell"...ahhh SWAMP

"I had a 750 Mhz machine with 256 that behaved MUCH better after installing windows 2000. XP also should work, though it wastes a little more RAM than 2K does (you can turn most of that stuff off, but it is a little hard to fine)" yup- I went from 98se to win2k- what a performance differance- it's like -wow then do the ram and especially the HD- 60gigs or more. ok- here's my question- I have my poser on the F drive now (80gigs 40 free). Does poser use that drive for the swap file or does it run back to momma and use the C drive as the swap file? thanks geo

If your looking to do upgrades on your present computer,I >would say to upgrade to Win2000 or XP(that is a full >version installe...not the upgrade you put on top of >Win98). True except for the fact you can still BUY the upgrade and install it as a full install...save a few dollars, U.S. or AUS :) XP upgrade product is still the FULL product...it asks you for a previous install CD if it doesn't find an OS onboard when it starts installation. And just because, I also have an 1800+ chip with 512meg ram...Poser has the hard drive churning a lot during render....I would highly recommend 1 gig ram.

geo,Poser uses the same swap file that Win uses(whatever drive that may be...C is the default). You can set Win to use both drive(s) C and F for the swap file,but I don't think that will do much(if anything) performance wise. It's a shame Poser doesn't have the feature like Photoshop,Illustrator,and Corel Painter,where you can assign a swap file on a disk/partition other than the one Win uses...makes a big difference. SWAMP

Thanks swamp- that explains alot :)

Your welcome geo.

I use Win98SE and things ran a lot smoother with 384MB than with 256MB. I recently upgraded to 512MB, and have not noticed much of a difference at all. Perhaps the original Win98 had problems with greater than 256MB, but nearly everybody I know is running Win98SE with 512MB better than they did with 256MB. Dale LaRoy Splitstone

According to MS, a while back, there were two problems with 98 and memory. Over 512MB the directory cache could get out of hand, that was easy to fix by adding a couple of entries to either win.ini or system.ini: I did that after going to 768MB and it had a noticeable effect on disk operations. Over 1.5GB there was a more serious problem, can't remember whether there was a solution or not. Both issues were fairly easy to find in the Knowledge Base.

The second major memory issue is that the Vcache doesn't allow for more than 512metgs of ram as a setting, and anything more causes Windows to reboot when the video card tries to initailize. The fix is a single line added to win.ini. And I must have a mutant strain of 98SE; since I did the vcache fix, it seems to address the full 1 gig of ram I currently have. It isn't the most reliable when something uses 700+megs, but for things like Poser, where you have non dynamic storage needs for textures, it seems to do okayfine. BTW Nontroppo; Another little techie toy you may want to consider getting is an IDE controller card. The best is made by Promise Technologies, slips into a PCI slot, and adds 4 EIDE channels to your system. My current main box has a Sony +/-DVDR/w-CDR/w writer and a no name DVD-CD reader on the motherboard IDE connectors (one for each, so that they are master of each, and suffer no slowdown or slow a faster device down). A Promise 133-TX2 controller, with 4 HDD's ranging in size from 30gig ot 100gig and a mixture of everything from an old PIO 4 mode drive to the current Ultra 133 speeds (Promise cards have independant channel timing, so you can put an old drive and a new drive on the same ribbon and the slower drive doesn't pull the newer one down. Each clocks at their best rate). The real benefit to this is that when you need more HDD, all you have to do is buy one and plug it in. My boot drive used to be an old WD Ultra 66 20 gig, and I went through three upgrades cycles without having to touch the OS. I just added new drives, moved some things, and kept right on plugging away.

Vcache is the directory cache issue, no. 1 in my list: I just couldn't remember the proper name. I think the 1.5GB level one really did bring Windows to its knees, rather than causing slowdowns and a crash (sometimes) when the cache grew overlarge.