MSD ChemStation - Computer Running Out of Memory

MassHunter does a memory test. Microsoft changed the way that the computer memory was managed and this test sometimes returns a false positive. It was resolved in MassHunter 10.1 SR1 (service release 1) and newer.      More memory will not resolve this issue.  The way Windows manages memory will not allow an out of memory to actually happen.  

In situations where the PC actually is having performance issues, make sure that there are not other applications running that are consuming a large amount of memory, processor, disk, or network resources while running MassHunter GC/MS Data Acquisition (such as complex data analysis.) Rebooting the PC once a week or after several hundred injections may be helpful in some situations but is not required or necessary under normal conditions.

To disable the memory test, note the message in D:\MassHunter\GCMS\1\Resources.txt

To disable memory test, someone who knows how to do it properly should edit the following entry in the [PCS] section of C:\GCMS\MSEXE\MSDCHEM.INI:

 [PCS]
 NOMEMSTEST=1

Note: C:\GCMS\MSEXE\MSDCHEM.ini cannot be modified when the software is running in Compliance mode.

MassHunter does a memory test. Microsoft changed the way that the computer memory was managed and this test sometimes returns a false positive. It was resolved in MassHunter 10.1 SR1 (service release 1) and newer.      More memory will not resolve this issue.  The way Windows manages memory will not allow an out of memory to actually happen.  

In situations where the PC actually is having performance issues, make sure that there are not other applications running that are consuming a large amount of memory, processor, disk, or network resources while running MassHunter GC/MS Data Acquisition (such as complex data analysis.) Rebooting the PC once a week or after several hundred injections may be helpful in some situations but is not required or necessary under normal conditions.

To disable the memory test, note the message in D:\MassHunter\GCMS\1\Resources.txt

To disable memory test, someone who knows how to do it properly should edit the following entry in the [PCS] section of C:\GCMS\MSEXE\MSDCHEM.INI:

 [PCS]
 NOMEMSTEST=1

Note: C:\GCMS\MSEXE\MSDCHEM.ini cannot be modified when the software is running in Compliance mode.

This is good information. A note of clarification, the alteration of the PCS section is valid to from E.02.01 GCMSD Chemstation forward and all versions of MassHunter Acquisition. Also when saving the MSDCHEM.INI file, do not use Save As. This will add a .txt extension making the file invalid, so Save is best practice. Also good practice to make a backup of the file prior to altering.