The following refers to Maya for 32-bit systems on Windows.

Under Windows XP, the normal application memory partition is 2GB for system and 2GB for applications. For Maya, this means that the largest virtual memory that can be obtained is 2GB. Portions of this address space is used by MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes), as well as graphic card drivers. The effective virtual memory size of Maya is approximately 1.6GB.

Under Windows XP SP2, there is a system boot option that partitions the memory into 1GB system and 3GB user. This option is /3GB.

Microsoft Reference:

• http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/server/PAE/PAEmem.mspx

  Windows XP SP1 may have problems starting if /3GB is used. See Microsoft knowledgebase article: 328269

• http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;328269

Maya is linked with the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE linker option. This effectively adds approximately 1GB to the virtual memory that Maya can grow to when used with the /3GB boot option.