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Re: Will adding RAM help "No more memory available" error?

• To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
• Subject: [mg89734] Re: Will adding RAM help "No more memory available" error?
• From: David Bailey <dave at Remove_Thisdbailey.co.uk>
• Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:43:48 -0400 (EDT)
• References: <g3agpd$pka$1@smc.vnet.net>

Erin Noel wrote:
> I have a rather large program the imports data from excel (approximately
> 600x200) and runs a monte carlo simulation on that data. For large numbers
> of iterations, roughly about 5000, Mathematica runs out of memory and
> returns the following error:
> 
> No more memory available.
> Mathematica kernel has shut down.
> Try quitting other applications and then retry.
> 
> My question doesn't relate specifically to my code, which is why I am not
> including any details of it. Generally speaking, will adding RAM to the
> system help prevent this error? Are there any other general methods for
> decreasing the likelihood of this error that aren't code-specific?
> 
A 600 x 200 array is really not that big (0.96 MB if it consists of 
packed Real's), unless you are making many copies of it. The fact that 
your calculation runs out of memory after 5000 iterations would strongly 
suggest that something large is being retained after each iteration. 
Executing Print[MemoryInUse[]] on each turn of the iteration might also 
be very informative!

In general, if you do need to access more memory, the best way is to get 
a 64-bit PC, load a 64-bit operating system, and install Mathematica so 
that it exploits the 64-bit hardware. 32-bit machines can't exploit more 
RAM beyond a certain point.

David Bailey
http://www.dbaileyconsultancy.co.uk