Additional WIN-XP MSTS Memory Allocation for Patch 1.6.1223

[OTTODAD]

Following feedback about low amounts of MSTS Memory being allocated by the 1.6.1223 Train.exe on WIN-XP computers, George said this:

MSTSBin uses standard Window function "get Free Memory". It is obvious that Win uses dynamic memory handler. If you run any prog 7 times you get 7-times different portions of free memory. If you terminate any programs or Win services, free memory is increased after memory is flushed to swap and dlls are unloaded from memory, perhaps after minutes. There is no concern for it.

Yesterday I added a XP version of patch with more portion of memory allocation, the previous one aimed more at WIN-98SE computers.

So I downloaded the MSTSBin 1.6.1223 again and after running the Uninst_MSTS Patch 1.6.1223.exe installed the new Patch 1.6.122319XP.exe and MSTS is now allocating almost double the amount of RAM for MSTS compared to before, depending on the available RAM of course and no other programs running at the same time as MSTS !

MSTSBin 1.6.1223 under WIN-XP users are advised to do the same ! ;-)

O t t o

[Turbo Bill]

The new XP version doubled my memory allocation from 150 to 310megs. The sim has never run this smooth for me with every slider maxxed and every option checked on. The guy's a genius. He's transformed MSTS for me into a whole new sim.

[klsc85]

Heck, just getting fps close to 20 on Rogers Pass (in the snow, no less) is a quantum leap for my little ol' Dell!

Uncle E

[Dan1]

Otto.

I have run the new patch on my 4 month old laptop and it has freed up the memory from 30-40 to 75-80mb.

The framerates and performance are worse than they were with previous versions of the patch.

The XP version of the patch has improved performance compared to the previous non-XP version, my computer is still allocating too little memory. I am not sure why certain XP computers are allocating so little memory in the first place.

As I say - with previous versions of the patch I had no such problems so something has changed between this version and previous versions of the patch to reduce performance on this computer.

Dan

[cbblackard]

Using the XP patch (which I no longer am since I can't get the AE to work with it), I received the message that 860 mb were allocated to MSTS. What this really means I'm not sure. I tried running an activity on the SAL Florida Division route (one of the most demanding on my system) and the performance was no better than what I was getting using the previous patch (i.e. good frame rates looking externally from the side, poor frame rates looking straight head or straight behind).

[cn bala]

Otto or anyone else who know more about this. Is that a new zip file from MSTSBin or have to add the word " XP " . Please let me know about this as I wasn't sure about this. Yes I did download the patch file from the site of MSTSBin but different name without " XP " when I unzip the patch file before installing them.

John

[seern]

I downloaded again yesterday. When I unzipped the file it had 2 installers one of which was designated xp.

[cn bala]

Sharon

Thanks for your reply and I did have to re-download the file again and got the right file to unzip and install them in my program of Trin Simulator. It's working now with double up with how many KBs of memory to allocate. I got more than 320KB of memory with the right installer for XP.

Thanks again

John

[akajim]

How does one check their memory allocation after installing the latest patch ?

Ron K of Rockford

[Turbo Bill]

It automatically shows when you start the sim with the new patch installed.

[dgauci]

On my system using the original non-XP version of the patch I am consistently getting 512mb of RAM allocated. (That is with everything running on my computer along with MSTS, I don’t shut down anything.)

I think I will stay with the original version of the patch until the XP specific patch has it’s visual bugs resolved, right now I’m fine as is running on XP Pro.

[jamesc25313]

I complained about the last patch giving me 195mb of allocated ram with no change in frames. With this newest XP patch though I have the sliders turned all the way up and every box checked 1024X768 16 bit window and Im holding at a steady 38 fps thats a 13 fps increase over the old patch which had no increase. With the old patch if my frames were 25 fps with the sliders down a few notches and a shiny surfaces checked off ect. Turning the boxes on and sliding the sliders all the way up it would just hold at 25 fps. Struggle but hold. This newest patch gave me 386mb of allocated memory and holds at 38fps. This one did the trick for me! Thanks george!!

[bwbrgb]

Hi !
My machine has 1.5 Gig of Ram and with the XP version of Bin the amount of Ram allocated starts at 601 Mb on the first load and only drops to 596 Mb on the 4th or 5th load without reboot . I have shut nothing down before running MSTS . Frame Rates didn't take a big jump but have improved overall a few in the busiest parts of a route . My video card is a 7600 GT - 256 meg GeForce with 256 meg for Video Aperture . I always test frame rates on the same route with the same consist , same time and conditions for a reasonable comparison .
Rod Berger

[Bill Hobbs]

I am running the XP version on an older machine with only a 1.4gHz cpu and 750meg of RAM. Framerates went from 16 to 35 in views 1 and 2. I have found that XP Home has some processes that seem to not free memory efficiently. I run FSStart from time to time to keep the memory between about 210meg and 240meg.
This version of BIN has made running TrainSim on this machine enjoyable again and these frame rates are comparable to those I get on my sooper dooper machine --- without the inconvenience of going to the shop building in which it resides.

[jamesc25313]

I was wondering if adding more ram would make any diffrence. I already have 1gb and with the xp version of the patch Im getting 389 mb of allocated memory. I wonder if adding another gig would make any diffrence...

[setirich]

>I was wondering if adding more ram would make any diffrence.
>I already have 1gb and with the xp version of the patch Im
>getting 389 mb of allocated memory. I wonder if adding another
>gig would make any diffrence...

I have two gig...just installed the XP version tonight, & I got 815 first run, & 820 meg allocated on my second run!!! Nice...and I still have enough stuff left to record everything with Fraps. Of course, having a 3.4 processor helps too. The third thing that helps is SATA drives. Nothing like a 3 mbs x-fer rate to smooth out the jaggies...;-)

One thing to note...it isn't just mass memory that improves performance. For instance, mine is 4 matched sticks of Mushkin CAS 2, and I'm running it all at 2 2 2 5 8 setting. The other basic item you'll have to contend with is the actual through-put of your board. This old (3 years) Asus P4C800 D does an excellent job of coordinating processor, memory, gpu, and IO.

I'm not in a hurry to build my next dual or quad processor machine, given the MSTS performance I'm now seeing. I'm also guessing that Vista is not going to help performance...on any machine, unless someone figures out a Vista "tune" hack for MSTS.

Rich

200 yards east of signal 199/200
Holly Sub, MP 19.7, CN (GTW)
We "feel" our railroading here!
Lot's of glass rattles when they pass...

[OTTODAD]

I wonder if adding another gig would make any diffrence...

I don't think so, James !

How much MSTSBin can allocate depends on how much physical memory it "Available". The more programs you have running at the same time as MSTS, such as a live Internet connection and it's fire wall and virus checkers, the less there will be available for other programs !

O t t o

[Bill Hobbs]

Otto,
That's why Task Manager can be such a useful process to have running. There are some processes I just go in and kill as soon as I bring the machine up: they will automatically restart if needed, but why have them hanging around and using memory if not needed. I also like FSStart for its ability to free memory from XP processes that seem to not free memory they don't need. I'm getting my 35fps rate with the firewall and DSL essential programs running! About 220 240meg of memory are required for all the basics and that leaves TrainSim up to 400meg to use from my 750.
My second machine has no modem connections and uses XP Pro instead of XP home. The basics take about 140meg leaving TrainSim plenty of the 1gig to use. I haven't tried the new Bin patch on that machine to see what it will grab. I don't really expect to see much improvement, but am willing to be surprized.

[Ron Booker]

I know that this may sound crazy to most of you but with the new XP patch I'm able to run all the routes that I have on a 256 mb machine. Using "Enditall" , Msts can free up to 80 mb of memory. I don't know whether it would work on any commercial routes or not. The most taxing route I have is "Thames-Mersey"

Ron Booker

[jamesc25313]

Well that saved me $100 Thanks!

[TJTX]

I'm not having much luck with this new patch.............

No complaints to George, he's doing a fantastic job and others seem to be working well, but I can't get more than 7-8 FPS on the Gallup Sub route for example.

I'm on an older Dell Dimension 4300 with 512K RAM(max for system) and Win XP Pro. BIN grabs as much as 140K RAM, and the pattern seems to be that it grabs half whats available.

Load times are improved but FPS is decreased on a desert route with a decent amount of AI traffic.

I can't seem to find the memory managers listed in the thread so far. Couldn't download FSStart from the one site I found it on and EndItAll is no longer available as freeware. I'm not a Windows guru, so using Task Manager to remove processes is something I have to be careful doing........

Getting a bit frustrated, so I'm thinking about going back to the previous version......
Does anyone have any other suggestions????

[OTTODAD]

Hi Tim !

Have you installed the MSTSBin 1.6.122319XP patch for WIN-XP which was added to the download later ?

It seems to be more sensitive to other programs running at the same time as MSTS, such as a live Internet connection with it's firewall and virus checker and allocates part of what is "Available", which MSTS ignored before until it ran out of RAM !

O t t o

[Railfan727]

Why doesn't MSTSBin allocate memory in the same way that MSTS does?

When I run the Route Editor with MSTSBin, it runs out of memory and freezes after five minutes or so. Before I installed MSTSBin, I never had that problem.

I'm re-installing MSTS from the original discs until this issue can be addressed.

[TJTX]

Happy new yr Otto;

I do have the XP patch installed correctly and the DLLs are correct as well. The initial version would barely run on my PC at all.

All firewalls/virus scanners/Internet connections are disabled, along with any other processes I can safely identify via Task Manager.

After running MaxMem by AnalogX, I get around 300K available RAM.

I consistently see 150-180K allocated to MSTS with poor to below average FPS rates. Again, rule of thumb seems to be that it takes about half available RAM.

Previous BIN versions ran with minimal stuttering(FPS rates not measured) on most routes with decent levels of traffic and all sliders maxed. This includes the freeware Cajon Pass.

I wish I could find EndItAll or FSStart and see if they make a difference in freeing memory.

I have turned all sliders down one notch and FPS rates have not improved much. This is on a route(Gallup Sub) that is not scenery intensive.

Long story short, I'm stumped.

[OTTODAD]

Long story short, I'm stumped.

So am I !

It's always difficult to diagnose individual problems without actually sitting in front of the computer causing them !

Try un-installing the latest patch using it's Uninst_MSTS Patch 1.6.1223 XP.exe in the Train Simulator folder and then check what difference that makes to running a route compared with the 1.6.122319XP patch !

If MSTS is then worse, re-install the 1.6.122319XP patch and again copy the English DLLs.

O t t o

[ragtimer]

After reading all the good posts about the latest Bin patch,I downloaded it yesterday and installed it (the XP version) and am sold on it.It consistently reports between 540 and 600 mb allocated to MSTS (Computer has 1.5 gig installed) and that is with lots of other stuff running.As I reported in another post it makes playable activities that were previously unplayable.

[OTTODAD]

Thanks Peter for reporting that !

Looking forward to installing it on my 1.5 Gb RAM WIN-XP Home computer after I get back to it in a few days !

HAPPY NEW YEAR, mate !

O t t o

P.S.: How are you getting on with you know what ?