Hi.  Whilst I have used Poser for quite some time the technical side of things is something that sometimes escapes me.  For the last few weeks I have been getting the following error message on my screen whilst I am trying to create a picture (this does not happen all the time):-

 You are out of memory!

 Please save your work and quit soon.  You may also need to increase the amount of memory allocated to poser.

 Can anyone help please?  Can anyone tell me how to allocate more memory to Poser?  Can anyone tell me why this may be happening?

Thanks.

We can only give general answers as you've not told us which version of Poser, which operating system or you computer specs.

Best practice is to make sure you've got all the service packs installed. Also close any unwanted apps running in the background to free up memory.

Hi YPVS

Many thanks for your responce.  The version of Poser that I have is version 6.  My operating system is Windows XP.  I have a 240 gig internal hard-drive but have Poser installed on my external hard-drive which is 2 terrabyte.  Could it be something to do with the fact that after I have created a picture that I may return to in the future I save the picture within the Poser programme itself in Poser format as well as also saving it as a JPEG image in a file external to the programme?

Also whilst I am asking do you know if it is possible to save images created using Poser in Poser's own fornat in an external file and then recall them back into Poser for future upgrades?

The memory referred to in the error message is RAM, not hard disk space

Quote -  after I have created a picture that I may return to in the future I save the picture within the Poser programme itself in Poser format as well as also saving it as a JPEG image in a file external to the programme

Do you mean you save the Poser scene, or that you embed the rendered image in a Poser scene? And if the latter, why?

Hi CSPEAR.  Many thanks for your responce.  I save the Poser scene.

The famous "memory error" in Poser doesn't actually mean there is a problem with memory at all. It is the general message indicating something is wrong. Quite often it means some reference is incorrect (a texture map was removed or moved, or any other element referenced isn't where it is expected to be). Several tools are available to check for (and fix) these kind of reference problems. Apply the tool on anything you consider suspect (including scenes). Whenever you encounter the problem be sure to stop Poser asap and restart as Poser can become unstable.

The problem has been with Poser since the first version and has become rarer with later versions (and patches) but may still happen even with the latest versions.

Hi JFBEUTE.  Many, many thanks for your responce.  This could be the cuase of the problem.  I am learning all the time.  For additional reference this problem only seems to happen when I am creating figure (female) images.  Most of the images I create are spacecraft or aircraft in flight and it has never once happened when creating this type of image.

What are the tools you mention?  And where can i get them from please?

Here are a couple of things to try:

In your general prefs: lower your undo level.  It defaults at 99.  If you need more than about 10 levels of undo, you need to toss the scene and start over.  The more levels of undo, the more system resources get allocated to it and the less you have for rendering.

Also, before saving the scene, go into your general prefs and clear the the undo cache.  The button to do this is below the undo level numbers.  This clears all the extraneous info and frees up system resources.

Keep you number of cached renders to 1.  The more you cache, the more system resources get allocated to it.

Uncheck auto update.  There is no auto update for it.  It's a left over from the P5 days.  It doesn't always cause issues but it can.

Before rendering, save your scene.  Exit Poser and reboot your system.  This will clear out the memory and free up resources.

Hi ICPRNCSS2.  Many thanks for your help with this.  As what I would call just a plain user some of the technical terms you have used have escaped me but I will go looking and hopefully find them.

I like to think of this a bit like driving a car.  If it was a requirement that you could ONLY drive a car (or use Poser) if you could fix any anything that was wrong with it there would only be half as many drivers (or Poser users) on the road (if that).  That's why its great that there are forums like this one where the more knowledgable than you are, are willing to take the time and trouble to help you.

To you all my thanks.

I'd say it is possible you actually ran out of memory. Chasing things like undo levels may end in frustration.

I can get Poser 6 to run out of memory with a single one-sided square, and it really is running out of memory. All it takes is a little understanding of how Firefly works and anybody can do it. (Put a noise node in the displacement channel. Zoom the camera in like a microscope - something like focal length 6000 mm. Rendering this will consume over 3 GB of RAM and you crash.)

Could you tell us how much RAM you have?

I am reminded of the famous "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar".

By that I mean - if it says it's out of memory, perhaps it is out of memory and we should look into that.

@icprness2
I don't think Poser 6 ever had 'undo'.

@preeder  Can you post a screenshot of your render settings?

Poser 6 was the first version to have undo. 

Quote - Also whilst I am asking do you know if it is possible to save images created using Poser in Poser's own format in an external file and then recall them back into Poser for future upgrades?

Poser does not have an image format of its own. The options for saving a static image from Poser are:

BMP
FPX
JPG
PCT
PSD
PNG
TIF

I usually export as PNG, then convert to JPG for web publication.

If you want to save a Poser scene for future use, you need to save it as a pz3 (scene) file. The pz3 file is not a graphic format, it is a plain text file that gives Poser instructions on how to construct the scene. If you want to save a scene for future use, from the menu bar, use File > Save. If you want to save an image use File > Export > Image.

32 bit OS's like XP limit each program to 2gb each add in that if you have 4gb installed Windows will only see and use anywere from 2.5 - 3.5 of the ram plus any memory your video card has will decrease the amount of usable ram for the OS and applications.

I'm soo glad I went from XP to W7, 64bit is such a release from the contraints of 32 bit OS's. Now that I have 8gb, the only programs I've actually run out of memory with are Vue8 and Vegas Pro. Since then I've lowered Vegas' memory usage to 2gb instead of 7gb and it hasn't crashed since.

There ain't a multiple undo function in P6.

Get as much RAM on board as your system will allow.  IIRC, XP has a max of 4 GB but it also depends on your motherboard.  My motherboard has 1.5 GB and cries if I try to put any more in.

You should also ensure your swap file uses the maximum allowable size, which I believe is also 4 GB.

Everything else you've been told here is good advice, regardless of the solution you find.

Hi All

My deepest thanks for all the help and advice you have all given.  Whilst I use a computer all the time I would never ever call me a tech expert, I always have to ask others about that side of things.  I was asked yesterday about my RAM settings and here is what the computer says I have:-

Intel (R)

Celeron (R) 2.26 GH2

2.26GHz, 1.25GB of RAM

Hope this helps but to be honest its way over my head.

I have also been asked what render settings I use.  The programme has been set for its lowest setting which always works and if I am happy with the image I get after rendering I leave it at that.  If I am not happy I will move the setting up a notch and so on and so on until I am happy or the system says it does not want to play.

My thanks once again.

Well tbh you are low on RAM so Poser probably does run out of memory.   I'd suggest you check everything in this scene you're trying to render and see if maybe you can reduce the size of some texture maps.   4000x4000 wouldn't really be necessary for a .jpg image not intended for print.   Start from there and see if the scene renders once you reduce texture size on some figures/props.  Make sure you don't render with depth map shadows and use raytraced instead.   It would also be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the manual adjustment of the render settings so you can fine tune them instead of relying on the defaults.   Reduce your bucket size to 8 as well.

Hi Kalypso

Many thanks for all the advice.

Quote - 1.25GB of RAM

I think your PC hardware is fine. Working with XP is also using less RAM resources than Win 7, so this should be fine too.

BUT even with 32 bit you should use at least 3 GB RAM if you work with a 3D software. Is with your hardware no problem to add RAM. (If you stick with XP32 bit you don't need more than 3GB).

Because the OS XP is using between 300-600 MB of your RAM if it does "nothing." 1.25 GB is simply not enough, I think you will always have memory issues just if you load more than two Gen4 figures. And as Kalypso suggested use a lower bucket size.

Oh dear, another thread there people talk about RAM when they should talk about virtual memory (read: RAM+page file)... Adding RAM will not make a scene render which didn't render before if there was already enough virtual memory available to Poser before... You should check that first.

You coult try to turn off "adaptive bucket size", that way Poser 6 used about 200-300 MB more memory before quitting in my tests.

Quote - Oh dear, another thread there people talk about RAM when they should talk about virtual memory (read: RAM+page file)... Adding RAM will not make a scene render which didn't render before if there was already enough virtual memory available to Poser before... You should check that first.

Did you even care to read my comment? I wrote about "just loading two Gen 4 figures", this has to do with RAM. NOTHING ABOUT RENDERING!!! And to work with a 3D software with just 1,25 GB RAM is very low because it has to digest the scene before the rendering.

Hi.  Firstly many thanks once again to those who have replied and all the useful advice you have given - it is very much appreciated.

It looks like a RAM upgrade is needed plus the modifications to the Poser programme that everyone has suggested.

For additional reference to all the problem has only ever occured when I have been working with one figure on the screen, never two (never tried to create a picture with more than one figure before) and the error message has appeared on the screen in most cases before I have even got to the rendering stage.

Did you install any of the service releases for Poser 6? That out of memory error happend a lot in an unpatched Poser 6...

Quote - Oh dear, another thread there people talk about RAM when they should talk about virtual memory (read: RAM+page file)... Adding RAM will not make a scene render which didn't render before if there was already enough virtual memory available to Poser before... You should check that first.

You coult try to turn off "adaptive bucket size", that way Poser 6 used about 200-300 MB more memory before quitting in my tests.

If he installs more ram he won't have to depend on the much slower, inneficient and hd intensive virtual memory. If he is getting an OOM error, then yes adding more ram will help him finish his work and renders. VM only gets used when all available physical RAM is used up.

I would also try a maleware scanner and antivirus scans to see if you accidentally downloaded some spyware or virus that's causing memory issues.

Quote - For additional reference to all the problem has only ever occured when I have been working with one figure on the screen, never two (never tried to create a picture with more than one figure before) and the error message has appeared on the screen in most cases before I have even got to the rendering stage.

This is why I think it is a memory problem related to having not enough RAM. Poser needs RAM for loading figures, working on a scene.

But to be sure about it try using one low resolution M3 or M4/V4 figure, they need less memory when loaded into Poser.

Hi.  Once again my thanks to everyone who has taken the time and the trouble to try and help me out with this - its much appreciated and I am sorry it appeared to cause a rift between a couple of the respondents.

I'll try everything that has been suggested and hopefully this will make things better.

My thanks once again.