Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 11035
OpenOffice (linux) can't start when low memory available
Last modified: 2003-05-20 15:27:46 UTC
If the physical memory is low, when starting, OpenOffice process will crash without any notification just after its main frame appears (and disappears immediately). For example, on a 64MB PC (with sufficient swap space), OpenOffice can never get up on a Redhat 7.3 platform if Gnome is used. If twm is used as the window manager, OpenOffice can work normally. While on a 128MB PC, OpenOffice can get up with Gnome only if NO other GUI client program is running (including turning off Nautilus Draw Desktop option. Nautilus consumes too much memory). On a 384MB PC, OpenOffice can start up in most cases. This only affects the OpenOffice starting up procedure. Starting other applications such as Nautilus and Mozilla after OpenOffice is started will not crash a running OpenOffice. OpenOffice for linux suffers from this defect, affecting Version 1.0.0, 1.0.1 and 643C (others not test). Windows version doesn't. Is there any memory allocation problem?
To begin with, this is a bug in our system requirements. I don't belive in 64 MB: http://www.openoffice.org/docs/setup_guide/ooo_install.html Otherwise, it is definitely NOT an API bug.
I think, the setup guide talks about minimum requirements and Xugang confirmed that OOo *can* run with 64MB (even under certain circumstances only). Seems this could be clarified in the setup guide.
Gnome or KDE take up a lot of memory. I have a Pentium running @ 180MHz with 64MB of RAM. At one time, I also experienced memory problems when running OOo even with swm. The solution is to create a huge swap partition or swap file. The swap file is good for those who don't want to resize their partitions. I usually don't need a whole lot of swap space unless I run huge apps like OOo. Right now I have 256MB of swap space, so there is going to be no crashing due to memory problems. It seems to me that this is not a bug, & but an unrequested feature. ;^) I would recommend that this be closed.
So should this be changed?
Yes, I think so, if we are talking about the setup guide. Frank, do you agree?
I will change the system requirements when I get definite values from somewhere. The system requirements where communicated to me as they are and even though I personally think they are too optimistic I was told to keep the values. Frank, if we don't run in the environment described we will have to change the system req's.
The size of the swap partion seems to be very important if running with 64MB. What does "with sufficient swap space" in the inital bug description means in numbers?
When I initially issued this problem, I mentioned a PC with 64MB RAM and another with 128MB. The 64MB one has about 200MB swap partition (CPU: Intel Celeron 366). The 128MB one has 1GB swap partition (CPU: AMD Athlon 650). Either one can't launch OpenOffice.org easiliy. But on both above PC, top command shows very little swap space used (only handreds KB), much much less than the hard limit. Another PC with 384MB DDR RAM, 650MB swap space (CPU: Intel Pentium4 1.6G) was tested, too. When OpenOffice is lanuched (empty document), 0MB swap space was used. Maybe 1GB swap is not sufficent for OpenOffice? Or I should have divided the 1GB partition into eight 128MB ones? (It seems older kernel doesn't use swap space above 128MB on a single partition. But how about kernel 2.4.18?) Practice shows that when RAM increases to 160MB (tested on the above PC with 200MB swap space), starting OpenOffice.org under linux will be much easier. But note that, on the same PC I initially tried OpenOffice.org (the 64MB one), OpenOffice.org Windows version works much better than under linux (both in speed and stability), even if many other GUI programs are running, almost eating up RAM. The windows2000 pagefile is about 200MB, too...
Olaf, could you confirm problems when running OOo on a linux system under KDE/GNOME with only 64MB RAM as stated in our system requirements?
Hi Frank, sorry to say that we don't have a machine with 64MB. But I would suggest to think about a change of the system requirements to 128MB.
Hi, I have the same problem on a GNU/Debian with Gnome. The PC has 256MB of physical memory and 256MB of swap. When the availability of the pyhsical memory is low, even if the swap usage is about 0, OpenOffice 1.0.2 can't start. I will test with 1.0.3 as soon as possible. I tried to start OO immediately after the crash, and usually this works (sometimes trying 2-3 times). Maybe is it a problem of timeout on loading shared libraries or resources?
Updating to version 1.0.3 the problem happened no more (at least on my installation).
Too late for beta2, re-targeted to 1.1 RC.
Joost->Xugang: please deactivate the Gnome Session Manager if you test if OpenOffice.org can start on a Linux system with 64 MB memory. The Gnome Session Manager kills every application which needs more than a defined number of seconds to start. In this case I believe OpenOffice.org will be killed before it started because on a system with 64 MB of memory it will need longer than the timeout set up within Gnome Session Manager. unset SESSION_MANAGER
I don't have a 64MB PC on hand now. I remember that OpenOffice 1.0 didn't start even on twm if many other programs had consumed too much memory. Not only Gnome suffers from it. To simulate a 64MB memory PC on a 196MB one, I try to malloc a large amount of memory and keep writing random data to it. I think this would leave no more than 64MB physical available. This time it takes more than 1 minute to start OpenOffice.org 1.1 Beta -- this version does start, after waiting for quite long a time.
FL: StarOffice requirements have been updated to 128MB so far, because Gnome is Sun's default desctop of the future. The StarOffice readme file also contains a hint for the session manager issue. So I will close this one, because OOo could start with 64MB. I am not responsible for changing the OOo readme. I have only prepared the readme tooling itself for MH (Martin Hollmichel) to bring it to OOo.
Closed