3GB switch

[out 769]

Hi, Captains! As my motherboard was faulty, I decided to change it into another type, plus get more RAM.I'm receiving my new parts tomorrow morning. That of course means a full system reinstall. On that occasion, building a fresh FS9.1 install, I thought I might give the famous 3BG switch a try.The reason is PMDG 747-400 and MD-11. Thery are the only addon aircraft giving me regular OOMs (not always but often).And the Boeing 747-400 is generally my favourite airliner, especially for longhauls. This product is really great but I keep giving it up and trying again and again. Eventually... OOMs. My question is not how exactly I am to perform the 3GB switch (though I still don't know), as much was written around this forum, so I'll take notes and do the homework myself. I believe the procedure is generally the same for FS9 and FSX (?), as more was said about FSX (being the current MFS version). What I would really appreciate knowing is what your personal experiences with the 3GB switch are.I am not switching into a 64bit system (too many expenses lately), so that's the way to go, I believe. My PC is used not only for simming, but also to work and do all the things a home PC usually does. I've read about some risk the switch brings and some serious problems it may bring about. Theory is theory but did anyone of you use the switch (properly) and get into serious trouble? And did the switch really eliminate the OOM horror for you? I'm dreaming of long 744 flights with stressless final approach without OOMs, which almost made me throw my monitor out of the window (why do we always react on our monitors?). Thanks in advance for any thoughts on that. Tomorrow (or the day after) will be my critical day. Right, the last, technical, question: does it matter on which stage of building my FS9.1 I'd perform the switch?I mean: is it better to do it on the fresh install or anytime while adding more and more addons or that does not matter at all (I'd suppose)? FS9.1 on Windows XP Home SP2 32bitIntel Core 2 Duo E8400 3GHzGigabyte GA-EP41-UD3L (Asus P5KC till tomorrow)4GB RAM (2GB till tomorrow)NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT

[Guest lgvpilot1]

Hi Rafal You probably don't want to hear this but I run with 2Gb of ram and do not use the 3Gb switch All my flights with the Pmdg 747 are long haul up to 13 hrs in real time along side the flight sim I am running As6.5,FSRealtime and Ai smooth on the same machine and Fs flightkeeper over wideFS.99% of my airports are payware and the others are well known freeware , George Grimshaws Boston for example Ground textures are from GEpro , and my ai is at 100% using the unmentionable SKai with all aircraft configured for shockwave lighting The last time I had an OOM was when I parked the default Cessna at fly Tampas VHHX ai spotting.Needless to say it was bye bye Fly Tampa , welcome back 9 Dragons .My personal experience is that It is not PMDG aircraft that cause the OOM but something else .It just happens sooner with PMDG aircraft .I suppose I have learnt from my mistakes and from this forum , because this, my latest install of FS9 has been the most measured of all . I will install one thing at a time and then test for a couple of days .For example if I install an airport, ie Thomas Kwong's VHHH , then I will create a flight from Heathrow (UK2000, had OOM's with Aerosoft) and fly there in real time .No OOM the Airport stays As I say it is a very long way of re installing , and I dread to think about having to do a re install myself , but I would rather have sweaty palms on short finals due to a crosswind than having one eye on the process monitor .I hope your new install works out for you regardless of if you use the 3Gb switch or not Mark

[out 769]

Thanks, Mark!Yes, it was not exacly what I hoped to read. But it was very interesting anyway.It is hard for me to imagine your FS compilation gives you no OOMs. I'm using a similar mixture and do get OOMs (with PMDG heavies).I can fly Level-D 763, PSS 777, Maddog or DAF70/100 for hours with no problem. But that's enough to say, I do not intend to make this post any PMDG-OR-NOT thread.I'm also suer you're right when saying:

It just happens sooner with PMDG aircraft

I will probably not perform the switch initially and will use your method of following installs and errors.It I use the 747-400 and get an OOM however, I will think of it.What I have not noticed in your list is Ultimate Terrain, an (excellent anyway) addon known for giving OOMs to some simmers (read about that).I'll try not to install my UTE for some time.I would still love to hear from others on what your 3GB switch experience is.

[WallysWorld 4]

I permanently use the 3GB whenever I start XP and never had any issues with it. Don't know if it helps with FS9, but it certainly doesn't hurt.The only time I had an OOM error was when I had an addon scenery which had an empty texture folder. Removed the folder, no more errors.

[Guest widowmakr]

Hi, Captains!As my motherboard was faulty, I decided to change it into another type, plus get more RAM.I'm receiving my new parts tomorrow morning. That of course means a full system reinstall.On that occasion, building a fresh FS9.1 install, I thought I might give the famous 3BG switch a try.The reason is PMDG 747-400 and MD-11. Thery are the only addon aircraft giving me regular OOMs (not always but often).And the Boeing 747-400 is generally my favourite airliner, especially for longhauls. This product is really great but I keep giving it up and trying again and again. Eventually... OOMs.My question is not how exactly I am to perform the 3GB switch (though I still don't know), as much was written around this forum, so I'll take notes and do the homework myself. I believe the procedure is generally the same for FS9 and FSX (?), as more was said about FSX (being the current MFS version). What I would really appreciate knowing is what your personal experiences with the 3GB switch are.I am not switching into a 64bit system (too many expenses lately), so that's the way to go, I believe. My PC is used not only for simming, but also to work and do all the things a home PC usually does. I've read about some risk the switch brings and some serious problems it may bring about. Theory is theory but did anyone of you use the switch (properly) and get into serious trouble? And did the switch really eliminate the OOM horror for you?I'm dreaming of long 744 flights with stressless final approach without OOMs, which almost made me throw my monitor out of the window (why do we always react on our monitors?).Thanks in advance for any thoughts on that. Tomorrow (or the day after) will be my critical day.Right, the last, technical, question: does it matter on which stage of building my FS9.1 I'd perform the switch?I mean: is it better to do it on the fresh install or anytime while adding more and more addons or that does not matter at all (I'd suppose)?FS9.1 on Windows XP Home SP2 32bitIntel Core 2 Duo E8400 3GHzGigabyte GA-EP41-UD3L (Asus P5KC till tomorrow)4GB RAM (2GB till tomorrow)NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT

Just curious and tried searching but only this thread came up. What is this 3GB Switch your talking about? I recently updated my MB and CPU but only have 2GB ram available. Currently using 1.5GB and hope to upgrade to 2GB soon. Thanks!

[Guest lgvpilot1]

@widowmakrTry a search for "userva"Here is a link to get you going http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtop...6&hl=uservathere are many threads on the subject :( @RafalI did have UTEurope but as you have stated I kept getting OOM's with it so unfortunately It is in the do not use folder :( perhaps when I move up to windows 7 64bit and some more ram i will try again , but until then it can wait Mark

[mebull 27]

Rafal, I was having OOM issues galore with the CS757 and UTUSA & UTAlaske/Canada. I finally gave in and installed the 3G switch; not a single OOM since. XP sp3, 32 bit with 2G ram, 3G switch in OS on full time.The 3G switch can be done anytime. It has no effect on anything installed in FS except the executable, that said it should be done after you have installed your FS9.1 patch naturally.Hope this helps you out.Best regards,Mel

[John Hinson 22]

The only one I have come across is at by Daniel Pistelli at http://ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php and you simply apply the patch to the FS9.exe file or any other game. I have never encountered an "OOM" error since doing so.This site describes it as "4GB patch" but it does the same thing. I know there is a lot of technical debate about the pros and cons, and whether any other settings need changing but this particular patch does not suggest any other changes and I found doing so caused detrimental performance in the form of much disc-churning.My advice is to try it if you regularly get "OOM" errors - in the case of any problems you can just reinstate the original un-patched file. But if your system "ain't broke" don't fix it.Best wishes,John

[Jure 36]

Rafal,I am with Mark on this one... no 3GB switch for me and no OOMs. I had a few, yes, but they ALWAYS, without exception occurred because of some rogue file or even a duplicate AFCAD. I have all the add-ons Mark has mentioned (including the unmentionable, LOL, which was further modified by me) and then some more - except UT. That thing never convinced me inspite the good looks. :)I warmly recommend going the Wide-FS way... if you have a spare computer, put all those apps there, you won't regret it. And, yes, I am regularly flying the PMDG B747 and the MD11 on ultra long routes and always manage to land after a 10-12 hour flight. Except sometimes at Kai Tak where I perform a go-around due to my sometimes, hm, questionable skills as a captain. :( I get down safely even there, eventually, with all the gates and parking spots filled with AI. No OOM... or at KORD.... the other day FSFK reported 160 AI aircraft around and I was aboard the PMDG MD11 - no OOM.One thing, though.... get Win XP pro if you canGood luck, Rafal! Hopefully, you are soon back up there with no OOMs at all. :( Regards,Jure

[G-SWSM 1]

Hi Gang.I know there was an application called scanafd that scanned you're airports etc for duplicate afcads which could potentially cause some issues with FS, but we have to be careful as well as for example, Gary summonses UK2000 airports use the afcad in other ways too and they even say on the web site NOT to use scanafd on the UK2000 sceneries as it will find problems in there which are not really problems. They are purposely made afcads for the scenery, not erroneous afcad files.The other thing worth considering though, is something that has been mentioned just now above my reply. Empty folders, or empty texture folders in particular.There was an application made some time ago by someone that would scan your system for any empty folders.Does anyone know what this was called, or where we can get hold of a copy of it.Thanks. Sorry for going a tad astray, but I thought that this was somewhat relevant to some of the crashes we can get.

[out 769]

Guys, thank you all for sharing your time and thoughts with me. Great to have so many friends here.Looks like some pilots are lucky wth the PMDG 747-400 and MD-11 even though they did not apply the switch at all.Maybe after the total reinstall, with my new motherboard, RAM and drivers, I will join this happy group? Who knows.Thanks to what you wrote I again start being suspicious about the Ultimate Terrain. I like it very much but not enough to let it get into conlict with my aircraft. On the other hand Level-D landings WITH UTE do NOT termiate with OOMs. So probably the combination of PMDG and UTE might (or not) be the factor I'm trying to capture.Of course I do care to have no empty texture folders, faulty landclass, no duplicate afcads, no faulty AI textures or flightplans, no 32bit textures, etc. I'm using my own research methods, as well as the mentioned ScanAFD and ACA2005/ACA2007 for regular scans.The fact is I DO have a lot of addons. Maybe way too many. This tme I will try to install only the stuff I really need (but you know, guys, it is hard and changes in time).Some of you also made me relaxed about the 3GB switch. Looks like there is no big deal about applying it and no real problems after. I will maybe use a method which suggests preparing a double system start menu to be able to choose the changed and unchanged parametres (it's somewhere around, I 'll find it today).OK, having a mug of coffee and later taking my rig to the shop for a little hardware surgery. Then a looooong install of all necessary things (with FS9 on top of the list, lol).Thanks again and still loking forward to hearing others' experience with the 3GB switch and OOMs.

[iainsmith 9]

Guys, thank you all for sharing your time and thoughts with me. Great to have so many friends here.Looks like some pilots are lucky wth the PMDG 747-400 and MD-11 even though they did not apply the switch at all.Maybe after the total reinstall, with my new motherboard, RAM and drivers, I will join this happy group? Who knows.<snip>Thanks again and still loking forward to hearing others' experience with the 3GB switch and OOMs.

I had a couple of OOMs on Win XP 32bit with 2GB of RAM when using FS9 and PMDG's MD11 flying into FSDreamteam's Geneva airport. I had virtual memory at a fixed value at that time. I changed so that Windows managed virtual memory and have never had an OOM since.Iain Smith

[altstiff 71]

Couple links worth reading......http://blogs.msdn.com/ptaylor/archive/2007...ress-space.aspxAnd....http://www.forum.aerosoft.com/index.php?showtopic=19147For the record I was using the 3GB switch until I switched to 64Bit. I will not look back now. For anyone flight simming, 64Bit should be your next upgrade.

[sluggy 3]

For anyone flight simming, 64Bit should be your next upgrade.

I used to get OOMs with the MD-11 (FS9 is maxed with UTerrain, ASV, etc), bought Win7 x64 and never looked back. Win7 is really an excellent OS as well. You could say it's my 2nd favourite MS product of all time. :( Cheers, SLuggy

[twasono 3]

Hi,3GB switch is a nice solution for anyone using XP 32bit OS to get rid off any OOM.But if you are using AES and take off from non-AES airports, get ready having a problem...The temporary solution for AES is, you must first start a flight from any AES airport, then after a complete docking, move to your desired airport...BR.