A Fix For The /3gb Switch

[psolk 80]

Guys,

I really don't want this to come off the wrong way but I know a lot of us, myself included are willing to try just about anything when it comes to FS.

If you want the be all end all answer to the OOM error that necessitates the /3gb switch which causes the g3d.dll error then you need to seriously consider a 64 bit OS and 4 gigs of RAM. I have been testing the combination of XP64 with 4 gigs all weekend side by side with a dual boot of XP32 with 2 gigs and the /3gb switch. I was lucky enough to find XP 64 at newegg.com and I am just mad I waited this long to pull the trigger when I knew the issue was with the 32 bit OS

I will not even get into the difference in fluidity in really intensive situations like 8:15 am at KEWR with 80%AI and all sliders maxed but I will say that iI have not been able to OOM yet no matter what I try which means I am no longer using the /3gb switch so no more errors. Not to mention no more of the stutters the /3gb switch introduced. Oh yeah, XP now reports and utilizes the full 4 gigs with no limitations; just a little bonus!

I know others will not like what I am saying and will hold out for a software "fix" but it might just be that an already bloated FS that is requiring a /3gb switch just to run without OOM's is now being pushed to the brink by the addition of AES in certain circumstances.

I am doing nothing more than offering up the information I have been "LUCKY" enough to pick up and implement over the past week that has truly fixed this entire issue for me.

Cheers guys,

-Paul

[Waleed 29]

O.K. , what exactly is the 3gb switch?

I am sorry for this question, but now I am curious.

Is it the attempt to get more than 3gb of ram to work on the 32bit os?

Thanks.

[OPabst 2091]

The 3GB Patch is a patch for the FS9.EXE, to mark the File to use more then 2GB of memory (mean 3GB max adressable Memory on 32bit OS). But, that will only move the problems of OOM to a later point and will not solve it. And it will generate problem in other parts of the FS, which are not prepared for that.

When you want to solve OOM, then fix the errors generating the memory leak.

The 64bit OS will also not solve the problem, it only change the environment, so that more memory can be used by the howl system and the FS will have all his 2 GB, so the OOM will be generated later, but I am 100% sure, then when you have memory leaks (for example generated by buggy Landclass installations), you will get the problem in all typ of systems, sometime earlier, sometimes later.

My FS will use at startup and dempending on the aircraft I use 600 to 800 MB of Memory. When I fly for hours, this will not change signifcant, maybe it reach 1GB over complex scenery areas, but it is going down when I leave this area.

When you start with 600MB and you fly 5 hour and at the destination you have 1.5 GB of memory in use, then you have a memory leak somewhere on your route. When the destination is a complex airport too, then you get OOM, CTD or other while in approach, but that's not a problem of the destination scenery.