Symptom
Menus for 'Input DXF' and 'Run SIBERIA' are selected but nothing happens
Platform
All Windows platforms
Suggested Fix
Sometimes these runs can take considerable time. First check that in
fact you have not selected a set of options that results in very long run
times.
- Bring the black DOS text output window to the front so you can see
it. Select the menu item again. If no text appears in the text output window
then the modules are not running correctly. Go to next stage. If text is
appearing in this window then the program is running correctly (look particularly
for the messages 'working ...' or ' program done' indicating successful
progress). If the run time is too long then
- for 'input dxf' select a smaller region to grid or use
a bigger spacing (look for manual guide for what is an appropriate grid
spacing). Alternatively, take a coffee break and come back later. If this
a consistent problem look at ways of breaking your problem into a series
of smaller bits or buying a faster computer.
- for 'run SIBERIA'. Do not panic because SIBERIA runs
can take a very long time (for a large domain say 200x200 nodes and 1000
years a run of 1/2 hour is not unusual even on a reasonably fast computer)
depending on how many years you want to run for. You might trying reducing
the number of years you do the simulations for. Simulation run times
are approximately proportional to the number of years simulated. Maybe
you can gain the same design information from a series of short design
lifetime simulations rather than doing all runs for long lifetimes. Alternatively
if long design lifetimes are important then you should consider reducing
the resolution of the grid so that the grid size is smaller. Simulation
run times are approximately proportional to the number of nodes (grid size
squared).
OK it sounds like you've got a problem.
- If no text appears in the DOS text output window then there is a more
serious problem. Typically this problem only occurs when there is insufficient
page file space on your computer to run the modules (typically the page
file needs to be set to 128 Megabytes or more to run MOSCOW and its modules).
The normal default installation of Windows is 64 Megabytes which is typically
too small.
- You may wish to let your system management people do the following
fix. Alternatively if you feel confident playing with the system configuration
of your computer. You will need to reboot after these changes so save anything
that is open.
- Open the 'My Computer' icon on your desktop.
- Open the 'Control Panels' icon in this window
- Open the 'System' icon in this window
- Select the 'Performance' page in system properties
- Click on the 'Virtual Memory' button on the Performance page.
- In Windows '95 and '98 you will be given the option of allowing Windows
to manage the Virtual memory. If this option is already marked then then
startup disk (where the windows system is installed ... typically C: drive)
is too full and you should either delete files or move some files to other
drives. If the option to Specify your own virtual memory is ticked (the
default installation does not select this option so this indicative that
your system management has cutomised your machine ... it would probably
be wise to consult them at this stage before you proceed) then you should
increase the number in the textbox for maximum file size (make sure you
have enough diskspace on the disk before you do this). Make it 128 Megabytes
or more.
- In Windows NT you should change the the maximum size of the page file
to at least 128 Megabytes or preferably more. 200 or 300 Megabytes would
be more typical.