Using /LargeAddressAware in SU 8

In this release, SketchUp is now built using the /Largeaddressaware property on the PC. This change allows SketchUp to potentially allocate/address more memory on 64-bit machines. (Note: 64-bit users must have at least 1.89 GB RAM to see any improvement, and improvement is only noticeable in areas where memory was a limiting factor (e.g exporting images).

The extra RAM for SketchUp may make possible to work with and extract rendering data from large models which were getting too big for SketchUp.

While rendering, we were already using /LargeAddressAware. However, 32-bit Windows users may want to enable it. (Especially if you have 4GB RAM in your processor)

For 64-bit OS users, we will be putting out a 64-bit version of the rendering applications in the next week or so.

This property allows SU 8 to address more than 1.89 GB RAM on some machines.

You will automatically get more address space in SU 8 on 64 bit operating systems.

In XP you need to enable the /3GB Switch

in Vista and Windows 7 you need to set IncreaseUserVa:

Windows Vista and Windows 7 no longer use the BOOT.INI file, so there is a different method for setting the "3GB" switch which enables to use 3GB of RAM for applications in 32-bit Windows (otherwise they use just 2GB - maximum).

If you want to make accessible 3GB RAM for your CAD applications in Vista/Win7, use the BCDedit.exe tool (Boot Configuration Data Editor). The 3GB memory mode can be enabled with the command:

bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 3072

and disabled by the command:

bcdedit /deletevalue IncreaseUserVa

Run this command from a command window with Administrator priviledge - i.e. (in the Start menu) type CMD and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter, or select "Command Prompt" (Accessories), right-click on it and choose "Run as Administrator".

Restart your PC after this change.