# Team Fortress 2 Paged Pool Memory problem



## willforbes (Jan 20, 2008)

I've been having this problem for ages. After ive played on a different game for a while, i then try to play tf2. loads up properly, i choose a server and just as im about to connect - pow! crashes to desktop and says im out of paged pool memory! i thought it was cos i didnt have enough ram or not enough of it was free. so i upgraded my ram to 2gb. i have 1500MB of ram free at any one time and it still does the same thing!! the stupid thing is, when i restart the pc and go on tf2 before any other game, it works fine! what on earth is going on here?


----------



## DeBug (Feb 19, 2008)

Can you write that error message what did you prompt?


----------



## willforbes (Jan 20, 2008)

it just says "crash: You are most likely out of paged pool memory!"


----------



## willforbes (Jan 20, 2008)

i need some help dude


----------



## BlooChoo (Jun 8, 2007)

this is all off the steam support pages

How to check your paged pool memory
Download and extract Process Explorer. 
Run Process Explorer. Press CTRL + i to bring up the System Information window. 
Run the game in a window. 
Go to Steam's My games menu. 
Right-click on the problematic game. 
Select Properties > General > Set launch options. 
Add -sw to the launch options. 
Launch the game. 
Watch the System Information > Kernel Memory (K) > Paged Physical value. If the value exceeds 150MB, you are using too much paged pool memory

If you have determined that your system is using too much paged pool memory, you can resolve the issue by closing processes that are using paged pool memory. You may determine which processes are using paged pool memory by watching the Paged Physical value as you close a process. Make note of those that result in the Paged Physical value dropping. Anti-virus and security applications are known to use large amounts of paged pool memory and will not release the memory when the game calls for it, resulting in a crash.

Some systems may have a lock on their paged pool memory due to a setting in the boot.ini file. This can also be a cause of crashes due to the system not allocating enough paged pool memory to use for games like Team Fortress 2. To check this setting, please follow these directions:

Note: editing system files can have adverse effects on your system's stability and performance. If you are not comfortable editing system files, please contact your system manufacturer for assistance.

Click "Start" 
Select "Run" 
Type in msconfig and press enter 
In the System Configuration Utility, click the BOOT.INI tab 
Look for the following line: /3GB /Userva=2900 - If your system does not have this setting, you can stop here 
Please proceed to the Advanced Troubleshooting section below if your boot.ini file does not have this setting. Otherwise:

If you see the line /3GB /Userva=2900, please close the System Configuration Utility 
Open "My Computer" and navigate to the base of the hard drive that has your operating system installed on it (C:\ by default) 
Locate the boot.ini file (you will most likely need "view hidden files and folders" turned on in Folder Options -> View order to see the file) 
Open the boot.ini with Notepad 
Remove the line /3GB /Userva=2900 
Save the boot.ini file and then reboot your computer 
Try running the game 
By removing the paged pool memory lock, your system will be able to allocate the memory necessary for the game.


----------



## BlooChoo (Jun 8, 2007)

oh...also

Checking Video Devices
Ensure that you are running the most recent driver version available for your video card. If you are unsure whether you have the most recent version of your driver, please visit the video card manufacturer's website to locate the latest driver. If you own a notebook computer, please check first with your notebook manufacturer for drivers specific to your notebook model. 
Ensure that you do not have multiple video drivers installed. To check this, boot your computer into Safe Mode and open your Device Manager. Locate your video card and delete all drivers for the device. Reboot your computer and install the latest drivers available from the video card manufacturer's website. 
If you are running multiple video cards, try disabling your secondary card to see if its presence is causing the issue.


----------

