Solution for "File named xxxx.yy may be too large to open using available memory" problem

This post is for those of you who have gotten the "File named xxxx.yy may be too large to open using available mamory. OK to try anyway?" error message.  I didn't see any solutions to this posted elsewhere, so here's one idea for you.  (This fix worked for me with FM 7.1 and Win XP, SP3.)

The way this error works is that you try to open a somewhat large FrameMaker file (say, 40+ MB, but it depends on the computer) and FrameMaker spits out that message.  If you click yes, then FrameMaker will try to open the file.  After awhile FrameMaker will probably succeed, even if it takes ten minutes.  Your file is perfectly fine and bug-free, and it will save perfectly (though FrameMaker may complain about a shortage of virtual memory, prompting Windows to allocate more), so you don't have to worry about the message even if it pops up every time you open the document--which it probably will.  Sure, it's annoying, but it's harmless.

The real issue here is not the inconvenience of clicking that popup, but the fact that FrameMaker will no longer compile any book with a document in it that big.  "But that's stupid!  My document opens and saves fine, you just have to be patient!" you say.  Well yes, and FrameMaker should give you a "Choke it up" option to tell it to try to compile anyway.  But Adobe didn't provide that feature, and so we're just going to have to work around it. 

So, the key words in that error message are "available memory."  FrameMaker is upset because your computer hasn't given it the resources it thinks it needs to do its job.  Therefore your choices are a.) Buy a different computer with more memory, b.) Adjust the existing amount of memory. 

No, you won't have to go out and buy a supercomputer.  All you have to do is adjust the amount of virtual memory.  To do this, follow these instructions, which I copied from from the Microsoft website:

Windows XP

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab.
3. In the Performance pane, click Settings.
4. In the Performance Options dialog box, click the Advanced tab.
5. In the Virtual memory pane, click Change.
6. Change the Initial size value and the Maximum size value to a higher value, click Set, and then click OK.
7. Click OK to close the Performance Options dialog box, and then click OK to close the System Properties dialog box.

As an example of how this works, I had a 120 MB FrameMaker file that gave me an error message every time I opened it up.  The book which the file belonged to wouldn't compile, either.  So I went to the Virtual Memory area (C: drive) and changed the Initial size from 756 MB to 1500 MB (my Maximum size was 1512 MB, so I just wanted it to be close to that).  After clicking OK to save the new settings, I was then able to open the 120 MB FrameMaker file up with any warning message popping up. 

Are there any side effects to turning one's virtual memory up that high?  Probably so, but I'm not computer literate enough to know what they are.  My recommendation would be to remember your original setting and try to keep the new size as close to that original setting as you can get while still being able to open and compile those large files.  (Play around with the new size and find out how much initial memory you really need.) 

For those of you who are sharing FrameMaker files with others, remember that your teammates might not be able to open a gigantic file on their machine if their memory hasn't been similarly adjusted. 

Hopefully this will help someone!