ERROR: could not allocate memory

[JulianMoney-Kyrle]

I have downloaded and installed St. Mary Redcliffe and tried to load it for the first time. It has twice halted after nearing completion with the following message:

"Could not allocate #.1f MB of memory because it's larger than the memory pool segment size of 2048 MB"
"Message code (for diagnostic purposes) 0839"

The RAM monitor indicates 42.7 GB of RAM free at that point (I have 128 GB installed).

I saved a diagnostic file but it is in binary and I don't know what to do with it.

This isn't something I have come across previously. Any suggestions as to what is going on?

[IainStinson]

Hi Julian,
Did you load the two ambience files in 16 bit mode as specified in a message which appears after the sample set has been installed? On pg 8 of the manual say you may get an error loading the organ if you don’t do this.
You can find the manual at
https://bis-public-access.s3.eu-west-2 ... +Guide.pdf

Did you check the check sums of the downloaded files?

I have had no problems loading the organ, and have 128GB, it needs 95GB according to the BIS website

Iain

[jerrymartin]

Thanks Iain - I suspect that might be it

Definitely make sure to load the ambience ranks in 16 bit

The reason for this:
since we wanted the ambience to be a key feature of the set, and considering they will therefore play for a long time, they are a set of samples that are up to 10 minutes long each. (Keep in mind that they must be loaded and played back by the same machinery that plays back pipe samples that are usually in the order of seconds). We worked with Martin Dyde on this to find a compromise between bit depth/length/memory use that would allow a super-long sample before it loops. Unfortunately there is no way as a developer to "force" these samples to load in 16 bit only, so we have placed notes at various points.

Julian:
if there are persistent issues, even after selecting 16 bit for ambience front/rear, try loading with those ranks temporarily disabled (and if so I may want to work with you to understand what might be a new 'bug' for us

Jerry

[mdyde]

Unfortunately there is no way as a developer to "force" these samples to load in 16 bit only, so we have placed notes at various points.

Hello Jerry,

If I recall correctly: if (within the sample set) you save all of the samples in those particular 'ranks' in 16-bit, then Hauptwerk would always load those 'ranks' them in 16-bit anyway. (The options to load a rank in 24-bit/20-bit are only available to the user if the rank has at least one sample file in the rank whose bit-depth is greater than 16.) Hence I think you could potentially ensure that they will load in 16-bit, without the user needing to do anything additional/manually.

[jerrymartin]

Unfortunately there is no way as a developer to "force" these samples to load in 16 bit only, so we have placed notes at various points.

Hello Jerry,

If I recall correctly: if (within the sample set) you save all of the samples in those particular 'ranks' in 16-bit, then Hauptwerk would always load those 'ranks' them in 16-bit anyway. (The options to load a rank in 24-bit/20-bit are only available to the user if the rank has at least one sample file in the rank whose bit-depth is greater than 16.) Hence I think you could potentially ensure that they will load in 16-bit, without the user needing to do anything additional/manually.

Oh my! Thank you so much for that Martin! There will no doubt be an update package prepared and this will be a high priority item. Thank you so much for that!!! And thank you for our amazing Hauptwerk platform that allows incredible things like this sampleset to exist!

[mdyde]

Thanks, Jerry. You're very welcome. Hope it helps.

"Could not allocate #.1f MB of memory because it's larger than the memory pool segment size of 2048 MB"
"Message code (for diagnostic purposes) 0839"

There's actually a typo in that error message text, in that it should state the specific amount of memory being requested (instead of '#.1f'). I'll get that fixed for the next Hauptwerk version.

[mdyde]

Hello again Jerry,

If I recall correctly: if (within the sample set) you save all of the samples in those particular 'ranks' in 16-bit, then Hauptwerk would always load those 'ranks' them in 16-bit anyway. (The options to load a rank in 24-bit/20-bit are only available to the user if the rank has at least one sample file in the rank whose bit-depth is greater than 16.) Hence I think you could potentially ensure that they will load in 16-bit, without the user needing to do anything additional/manually.

Correction: the above applies if using the Custom Organ Design Module to create the organ definition file (ODF). If instead using the 'full' ODF format, for all the samples in the relevant rank you would need to set:

Pipe_SoundEngine01_Layer.AudioOut_OptimalSampleResolutionCode = 3 [which means 16-bit]

If doing that, the user would only be given the option to load that rank in 16-bit, so you might as well save the rank's samples in 16-bit too, since saving them in any higher resolution would have no benefit and would increase the sample set's download size and drive space usage.

[jerrymartin]

Outstanding - thank you so much Martin!
The learning journey continues!!!

[JulianMoney-Kyrle]

Thank-you, Martin, Iain and Jerry for your very prompt and thorough responses.

I was indeed loading the ambience samples in 24-bit. I tried loading them in 16-bit and leaving everything else in 24-bit, but I had much the same error (the segment size was smaller). I then tried loading everything in 16-bit and it loaded fine. So then I tried everything in 24-bit uncompressed except the noises (ambient, blower, keyboard etc.) which were compressed and at 16-bit. It loaded. So the problem is solved.

I'm afraid I missed that part of the instructions, and when I selected the samples for loading I pressed CTRL+A to select all of them without scrolling down, so I didn't see the (Load in 16 Bit) warning. Mea culpa.

I have just spent nearly two hours setting it up, including several registration files (two default, using the pistons as pre-set by Richard, one with the Choir pistons on the lower manual and one with the Solo pistons on the lower manual as that seems potentially more useful for a gradual crescendo, since I only have 3 manuals). The other combination files are for the Franck B minor Choral and the Whitlock Plymouth Suite, since those are what I am learning at the moment. So far I have had the volume turned right down and the sub-woofer switched off as it is late at night, but even so I have been very impressed with how it sounds, and I think I will be able to get exactly the effects that I am after. I am even more impressed by the presence - it sounds much more realistic than I expected, even at these low volumes (I have 6 stereo channels grouped as front, mid and rear). Maybe the positive things I have heard about it so far aren't hyperbole after all.

Martin,
I can't believe that #.1f is a typo. If so, it will be the first time I have ever seen a spelling mistake or grammatical error in anything you have written over a 20 year period.

[jerrymartin]

I am so thrilled to hear it is all working.

Honestly I have just been enjoying the set in earnest myself these past couple of weeks - It has fast become my go-to and fills the gap for the dream English organ I always wanted. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to be part of this.

Martin's suggestions and this discussion have been very helpful. Richard and I will collect all the user experiences like this and be working on an update patch in the new year.

Enjoy!!!

[richmcveigh]

[...] I'm afraid I missed that part of the instructions, and when I selected the samples for loading I pressed CTRL+A to select all of them without scrolling down, so I didn't see the (Load in 16 Bit) warning. Mea culpa.

[...] I have been very impressed with how it sounds, and I think I will be able to get exactly the effects that I am after. I am even more impressed by the presence - it sounds much more realistic than I expected, even at these low volumes (I have 6 stereo channels grouped as front, mid and rear). Maybe the positive things I have heard about it so far aren't hyperbole after all.

Julian,

I am so pleased that you're enjoying the organ! Perhaps those reactions on peoples' faces when they heard it on headphones after my recital were genuine

I know you've noticed that I don't usually like to follow conventional form, eg, information through videos rather than documentation. Similarly with the ambience features - being able to choose different ambience and their duration are a first for HW (amongst several other firsts). Rather than simply looping a quiet ambience for a few seconds, the SMR ambience is actually around 10 minutes before looping. This gives you a very real sense of being inside the building. The Bells are looped after about 12 minutes I believe as I didn't want to cut short any of their 'sessions' ("peals"?).

We worked with Martin D to get this feature to work properly. Initially I wanted the ambience to loop after 30 minutes and I think Martin's reaction was

Once again, I'm really glad you're enjoying it and I know Jerry is relieved too

[mdyde]

Martin,
I can't believe that #.1f is a typo. If so, it will be the first time I have ever seen a spelling mistake or grammatical error in anything you have written over a 20 year period.

Thank you, Julian. That's very kind, although not wholly deserved. I make plenty of typos. To misquote Owl from Winnie the Pooh, it's good typing, but the keys get in the wrong places.