"Not enough memory for graphics" warning message: Some MedARKS 5 users will receive a message whenever they start MedARKS that warns them that not enough memory is available for graphics. This is just a warning message to let you know that not all of MedARKS reporting features will be available on this computer. However, the record keeping aspects of MedARKS will be fully functional. You can safely ignore this warning message and use MedARKS 5 without having access to the graphical reports.
What graphics reports does MedARKS support?
There are only a few graphical reports in MedARKS 5. Here is a list of what you can plot when sufficient memory is available:
- Weight against age for an individual animal (individual growth curve)
- Weight against age for an entire species (useful for determining expected weight for a given age)
- Value of a hematology test result for an individual animal over time (e.g., visualize how the white blood cell count has fluctuated in an animal)
- Distribution of results of a clinical pathology test for an entire species (histogram of test results)
How do I make sufficient memory available for graphics?
Adding more RAM usually will not solve this problem. MedARKS 5 is a DOS program and the memory that is needed to run the graphic functions is memory in the first 640Kb of memory (what is termed "lower" or "conventional" memory). Lower memory in DOS is allocated to software packages called "drivers" and the program instructions being executed. Drivers include the software that allows various accessories to function (e.g., your mouse and CD drive). The software package that allows MedARKS to produce graphs is a graphic driver and part of this software has to be loaded into lower memory. As MedARKS 5 is starting, it tests to see if there is sufficient lower memory available for the graphics driver. When there is not enough unoccupied lower memory, you get the "Not enough memory for graphics" message. So, the secret is not to add RAM (which does not impact lower memory), but to reorganize your lower memory to make more space available. This is often not as difficult as it may seem. The newer versions of DOS include a program that will optimize your lower memory and maximize the amount of free space. Running this program is often enough to solve the MedARKS graphic problem. If you are running Windows 3, exit from Windows. At the DOS prompt, type in:
memmaker
This program will try to make more of your lower memory available for DOS programs. If this does not work, you can consult your local computer expert and have her/him create a second configuration block in your config.sys file. This MedARKS configuration would not load drivers that are not used by MedARKS (e.g., drivers for the sound board or CD drive), which should create enough free lower memory to solve the MedARKS graphics problem.
written by J. Andrew Teare, DVM
Last update: 13.Sep.1998
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