I have had this problem from time to time. My solution was to get a program called "memturbo" (www.shareware.com). This dosen't cure everything, but it sure has saved the day more than once. I typically render using firefly, with the dimensions at 1024X760 and 150dpi, which is smaller than most of you like to work. I still get crabs from viewers on dial-ups who complain that the files are too big, but that's too bad. I prefer to give quality, and I feel for folks who can't get broadband, but that's life. I have found I can't render more than eight or nine figures in a scene without risking a freeze. I have 1.5Gig of ram.