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A
Art Mad
Participating Frequently
October 22, 2023
Question

Urgent - help - 2 issues in one post ..RAM and file size

  • October 22, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 318 views

Hi

Sorry for the bother but am having a nightmare. Working on an image : File size 2.2 gigs and am just 1/4 way done. 

Issue 1.. I've had problems before with saving files over 4 gigs..why does that happen? Now, it says I can't save anything above 2 gb..that I have to save it as a psb instead of a tiff? 

 

Issue 2: It also now tells me that it cannot do anything..like use the pixelate filter as I do not have enough RAM. Huh??? I've attached screen shots here so you can see how much RAM etc I have, 

Help please. I've restarted the computer, done a cleanup etc... and I still get this. I've purged etc. I have had no problem with a 7 GB file before (except for having to break it in bits as different files because of the file size. 

 

Oh..I'm using Windows 11 on a Surface Pro 8. Everything is on autio update..from Photoshop to Windows etc..so everythign is the latest version.

 

Many thanks in advance. Am in Asia for a few months, so there may be a couple of hours before I can reply. 

Cheers

R

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    2 replies

    D Fosse
    Community Expert
    D FosseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 22, 2023

    Dial down your memory allocation in Preferences from 80% to at most 70%.

     

    80% is too high for this system, especially since you have an integrated GPU, which doesn't have dedicated VRAM, but uses shared system memory. Few people realize just how much memory an integrated GPU can consume. Moreover, this GPU memory usage tends to increase slowly as you work, until it hits a limit where Photoshop has already claimed it. Then you get a conflict.

     

    You don't need to worry about Photoshop not getting "enough" memory. Photoshop uses disk storage for working data (scratch disk), with RAM more like a fast access cache. As long as you have scratch disk space, Photoshop will be fine. That said, 130 GB is not a lot for big files! 500GB should be considered minimum, and sometimes you need more.

     

    As for file sizes, PSD has a hard limit of 2GB, TIFF has a hard limit of 4GB. Anything above that (and you won't know until you actually save) - you have to use PSB.

      A
      Art MadAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      October 22, 2023

      Hi- 

      Many thanks for all this help. I've done what you said - but am still getting the same thing with the crystalize filter (I'm making snow). I've tried another filter - oil paint..and it worked. Many 'heavy ' filters give me the same 'not enough ram'. 😞 😞 

      Thanks for the heads up on the file sizes. This file is 2.03 gb, so way under the 4 limit. I still can't save it as tiff. I've tried using different names..no go. 

      Sigh..drastic solution wld be to uninstall and reinstall photoshop? 

      davescm
      Community Expert
      davescmCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 22, 2023

      'This file is 2.03 gb so way under the 4 limit'.......

      Why do you think that and where are you reading it?  The 4GB limit is not reached until the file is saved and at that point will flag an error if it exceeds the limit for a TIFF, you cannot guess it before saving.

      If you have saved as a psb and it comes out smaller, that may be because you have Compression enabled for PSD and PSB in Preferences >File Handling.

       

      Dave

       

        A
        Art MadAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        October 22, 2023

        Oh.. I also have  more than 130 Gigs free space on my surface pro..

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