> I seems that I have created an image that my computer cannot render.  It
> requires more memory than my computer can address, even with a swap file.
> This is the second time this has happened--my computer croaked on my
> October 2001 entry and I still cannot render it.  I have a Barton 3200 XP
> with 1 GB DDR running under Win2K Pro SP4.


If 1 GB isn't enough, you'll probably have a hard time finding someone who
does have enough to help you out. Your best bet, especially at this point,
is probably to reduce the complexity of your scene. Here are a couple tips
off the top of my head:

 - Radiosity or photons (especially media photons) might be taking up a lot
of memory. If disabling them reduces memory usage significantly, then you
might try reducing radiosity quality or photon count. If you're using media
photons, try removing them entirely and creating some sort of density
instead to simulate the effect.
 - Copies of complex CSG objects take up a lot of extra memory (5 copies of
a CSG object = 5 times the memory), but copies of mesh objects don't (5
copies of a mesh = just slightly more than 1 times the memory). If you have
many copies of CSG objects, try to make mesh versions which look similar and
replace the far-away copies with the meshes. You might even try rendering
images of them and using image_maps in the far distance. (If CSG objects are
the problem, then you'll probably run out of memory *before* the scene
begins rendering, during parse time.)

If you know what's causing the crazy memory usage, then tell us and we may
be able to give you some more specific advice. Good luck.

 - Slime
 [ http://www.slimeland.com/ ]