VBAI not enough memory

[Jeff_Spaulding]

I'm working on a VBAI inspection where the Custom User Interface has a tab control, there are several tabs with various things displayed like real-time waveform charts, miscellaneous indicators and controls, etc.  The Inspection Interface runs fine, but when I'm programming in the Configuration Interface it frequently has the error "Not enough memory to complete this operation." and/or "LabVIEW: Memory is full...".  See attached screenshots for the complete messages.

When I get this message nothing works anymore and I try to close VBAI and re-open it, which "fixes" the problem for a short while.  Sometimes VBAI closes gracefully, sometimes it crashes, sometimes the inspection is corrupted.  I'm wondering if there is a problem with a particular tool in the "IVB Configuration Tools Pallette.vi" or if it's a general problem and is there a way for me to work around it other than very frequent saves and frequent re-starts?

[Brad]

How much memory is the vbai process taking? (Use task manager to see this) Can you use the 64-bit vbai application? What vbai version are you using?

Thanks
Brad

[Jeff_Spaulding]

I'll check task manager next time I'm at that machine.  I'm using VBAI 2014 SP-1, 32-bit.  Where do I get the 64-bit version?

[Brad]

VBAI 2014 SP1 installer has option to install 32-bit and/or 64-bit of VBAI application. You can run the installer again and select the 64-bit VBAI option (only available if you're on a 64-bit OS).

Thanks,

Brad

[Jeff_Spaulding]

it was using around 3.2 GB when it crashed, I'll attach a few screenshots.  The computer was using 5.3 GB out of 16 at the time.

I found the 64-bit version, it was just in a different folder (without the X86).  The inspection runs about 20% faster in 64-bit.  I have not had the memory crash errors with 64-bit yet, but I was able to crash it while configuring the custom UI by adding a decorative line onto a histogram then copying and pasting the line.

I'll keep you posted.

[Brad]

All 64-bit apps should be installed under C:\Program Files and all 32-bit apps should be installed under C:\Program Files (x86)\. The memory issues with the 32-bit VBAI are expected because Windows only allows 32-bit apps to use ~3GB regardless of how much memory is in the system. The 64-bit apps do not have this limiation and generally are faster than their 32-bit counter parts because of better memory access (so running your inspection on 64-bit applications is generally better. The crash with the decoration is another matter. I wasn't able to reproduce this issue. Is it reproducible for you, or was it just a one time occurence? If it happens regularaly, could you send your Custom UI to me (you can Export your custom UI to save it as a VI outside of VBAI).

Hope this helps,

Brad

[Jeff_Spaulding]

thanks, that explains why 32-bit was crashing, I guess I just shouldn't do a custom UI in 32-bit

I can reproduce this other crash pretty easily, try this:

start a new inspection and open the custom UI editor

add a Histogram chart

add a Decoration/thick line

click on the thick line to select it and then ctrl-c to copy

click on the histogram to select it and then ctrl-v to paste

VBAI should crash

I realize no one in their right mind would do this intentionally, but welcome to my world

[Brad]

I was able to reproduce the crash, but as you said, no one in their right mind would do this. You can always make your Custom UI in LabVIEW, which has more facilities for editing front panels, and then import it into VBAI. VBAI is meant for simple UI modifications and may have some testing holes like you found.

Thanks,

Brad