TIP: Use Memory Cleaner with AutoCAD 2009

Working with AutoCAD 2009 the other day, it suddenly complained of a lack of memory. The Vista computer upon which I am running it has 2GB RAM and 92GB free disk space.

Earlier, I found a memory cleaner that frees up memory that's being hogged by applications. When I ran it, it reduced the amount of used RAM from around 1500MB down to the normal 1000MB. After that, AutoCAD was happy again.

I now run Memory Cleaner just about every day after using AutoCAD 2009. You can get a copy of the utility from www.vasileios.gr/freesoft. (Strictly speaking, it is a graphical frontend for Vista's own FreeMem command. Mr Vasileios also has a version for XP.)

Comments

[hellBorg]

hi there.
I have a problem with ACAD2009 working on VB 32.

when i start to draw anything , my cursor moves very slow in a2009. it does not follow the movement and speed of mouse that I use.

my notebook is:
Lenovo ThinkPad R61
core 2 duo , 2.0 Ghz
3GB ram
nvidia quadro 140NV

autocad 2009 worked well on other notebooks , end older ones, but I dont know the main reason for this problem in my case.

thanx for any help.
:-)

[Preston Boyington]

I have been using a freeware program from AnalogX since the Win98 days called Maxmem. (Although I haven't used it with Vista, it is flawless on this XP machine)

Basically, in order for Windows to seem faster it keeps a little of the program running in RAM in case you restart the application. Maxmem clears the RAM and any programs not running are removed.

direct link to the download:
http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/system/maxmem.htm

[Claus Brod]

I don't know the Memory Cleaner tool, but judging from its own description, it's probably just a placebo: "Front-end for Microsoft's command line ClearMem ( Windows XP ) and FreeMem ( Windows Vista ), which force pages out of physical memory and reduce the size of running processes’ working sets, to a minimum."

If this description is accurate, all this tool does is accelerate something which Windows does for you anyway - when applications fight for RAM, the OS will start reducing the working set of one or more applications which are in the background or idle.

The same effect can be achieved most easily and without loading any extra tools by minimizing the applications which you want to force out of RAM. To witness the effect, run any CAD app, load a large model, then check the app's "Mem Usage" value in Task Manager. Now minimize the app and watch its "Mem Usage" plummet to a few MB. Restore the app and click some menus in it to watch it slowly page in data again.

[CAD bloke]

You shouldn't have to do this - this should be considered a bug, and a serious one at that

AutoCAD is a demon for hogging and leaking memory. I've had a support ticket in for 18 months about the massive memeory leak in the Attribute Extraction Wizard which they didn't want to fix - the ticket is still open. The only way to release the memory (850MB is my record so far) from that one is to do another extraction or shut down AutoCAD.

That's why the AdskCleanup service exists - to mop up after their leaky C++ code. It's a great argument for managed code