With Fusion 5 and DFX+ 5 came a whole new way to work with our software that all owed

our users to really take advantage of the RAM they had on their systems to actively cache the project they were working on. However at the same time versio n 5's new caching capabilities started to really push the limits of Windows memo ry management. On systems running 2 GB of RAM or more certain instabilities were found when Fusion or DFX+ started filling up the 2GB of RAM with its cache. In Windows by default any application can only use 2 GB of RAM at most. However und er certain versions of Windows, applications could actually use up to 3 GB or RA M if it was available. (A list of the supported operating systems is included be low. Please note that Windows 2000 Pro is NOT supported.) To 'activate' this cap ability you need to add the 3GB switch (instructions below) to your system. Not only does this allow an application to use up to 3GB of RAM if available, but it also makes using 2GB of RAM considerably more stable and reliable as a result. Please be aware that the 3GB switch will only improve stability on systems with 2 or more GB of RAM, and running one of the operating systems referenced below. Once the 3GB switch has been activated we recommend setting the DFX+/Fusion cach e limit to about 80% in the preferences to ensure stable performance. Adding the 3GB switch is very simple. You first need to locate your machines Boo t.ini file which should be located in the root of your main system drive. (Be aw are that this file may be hidden and marked as read-only initially.) You will wa nt to open this file in a program such as Notepad to edit it properly. Before adding the 3GB switch though it is important to note that the switch is v ery picky, and requires that every device and driver on your system be fully Win XP compatible in order to work at all. If anything in the system is not compatib le, Windows will not load at all when restarting with the 3GB switch activated. The only way to then remove the switch from the Boot.ini file so that Windows ca n load is to either mount the drive in another system and manually change the bo ot.ini file, or reformat the drive and re-install Windows. Both solutions are fa r from ideal. To safely add the 3GB switch we recommend adding a second instance of the OS in the boot.ini, and add the /3GB switch to that second version. ----- default boot.ini without 3GB Switch ----This is what a default boot.ini file will look like. (This may differ from syste m to system.) [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Pro" ----- updated boot.ini with 3GB Switch ----This is what the updated version should look like. Notice the /3GB that has been added to the second instance of the OS line. [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Pro" multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Pro with /3GB" /3GB Once you have updated your boot.ini file accordingly and have saved the changes, simply restart your system for the changes to take affect. When your system reb

oots you will be given the option to choose either the standard Windows XP versi on or the 3GB switch enabled Windows XP version. If you choose the 3GB version a nd it fails to allow Windows to properly load, just restart your system and you will be given the two options once again, where you can then choose the standard Windows XP version to load. Either way, if it works or doesn't, you can then re move whatever line you don't need in the boot.ini file. Alternately, you may wis h to leave both settings so that you can choose to boot without the 3GB switch s hould you ever have problems with drivers installed in the future. The boot load er will default to the first option listed in the file. So you may want to put t he /3GB option first. You may also wish to lower the timeout value to something quicker so that you don't have to wait for 30 seconds or press enter with each b oot. Please note: The 3GB switch is only compatible with the following versions of Mi crosoft Windows. Windows Windows Windows Windows Windows Windows Windows XP Professional (and greater) Server 2003 Server 2003, Enterprise Edition Server 2003, Datacenter Edition 2000 Advanced Server 2000 Datacenter Server NT Server 4.0, Enterprise Edition