Out of Memory Issues
How do I increase my memory?
For Windows Users:
You increase the memory allotment by editing the
pcgen.bet
file.
-
Open the
pcgen.bat
file
-
Find and change the following code:
-
From:
java -Dswing.aatext=true -Xms128m
-Xmx256m -jar pcgen.jar
-
To:
java -Dswing.aatext=true -Xms256m
-Xmx512m -jar pcgen.jar
-
Note:
-Xms256
assigns starting
memory for PCGen to 256Mb of RAM and should be enough memory for
pcgen to run with lots of sources loaded.
-
Note:
-Xmx512
assigns a maximum
of 512Mb of RAM to PCGen and should be enough memory for pcgen to
run with lots more sources and characters loaded.
For Mac Users:
You increase the memory allotment by editing the
info.plist
file, which can be found in the 'Contents'
folder inside of the PCGen app package.
-
Right-click, or commend-click, on the PCGen app and select
'Show Package Contents'.
-
Double click on the 'Contents' folder. (If in Columns view,
single click on the Contents folder.)
-
Right-click, or command-click, on 'info.plist', selecting 'Open
with' and then the application you wish to use to edit the file.
Text Editor will work but if you have Property List Editor, things
will work out better.
-
Look for the following text:
-Xms128m -Xmx256m
-
If you have 512MB of ram, you can change the text to the
following:
-Xms256m -Xmx512m
-
If you have 1GB of ram, you can change the text to the
following:
-Xms512m -Xmx1024m
-
Save the file and relaunch PCGen.
For Unix Users:
You can make the following change to the
pcgen.sh
file.:
-
Open the
pcgen.sh
file.
-
Find the following line:
java -jar ./pcgen.jar
. .
.
-
Replace it with the following line:
java -Xms256m
-Xmx512m -jar ./pcgen.jar
. . .
-
The values "256" and "512" are the "Minimum" and "Maximum"
memory allocated to PCGen when it is run.
-
The line of replacement code may also be run at the command
line.
Advice For All Users:
The following are a set of recommendations for
all users irrespective of what platform they are using:
-
Don't load sources that you don't need.
-
In Preferences, don't turn on the "Auto Create Equipment"
feature. Use the provided equipment and custom create equipment as
needed. To create custom equipment, right click on the basic
equipement in the "Inventory/Gear" tab and add the desired
enhancements to it.
Java Issues
What Java do I need?
The following are the versions of Java required
for PCGen (by PCGen version)
-
PCGen 5.12.x and above
-
Java 1.5.x or Java 1.6.0_01 (and above)
-
PCGen 5.10.2 and below
-
Java 1.5.x
-
PCGen 5.8.1 and below
-
Java 1.4.x
-
PCGen 5.6.1 and below
-
Java 1.3.x
How do I find out what version of Java I am running?
For Windows Users:
Go the command prompt and type:
java -version
You should get some kind of a response like:
java version "1.5.0_06"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard
Edition (build 1.5.0_06-b05)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build
1.5.0_06-b05, mixed mode, sharing)
For Windows Vista Users:
If above does not work:
Open Control Panel:
Double click on the Java Icon
Open Java Page.
Open "Java Application Runtime Setting"
Open "User"
Click the Enabled button on any Java version
other than 1.6.0_00
Open "System"
Only have one in mine and its not selectable
For Mac Users:
Open a terminal window and enter:
java -version
You should get some kind of a response like:
java version "1.5.0_06"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard
Edition (build 1.5.0_06-b05)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build
1.5.0_06-b05, mixed mode, sharing)
For Unix Users:
Refer to the Mac instructions.
Miscelaneous Error Messages
-
Bad command or file name
-
A common cause for this error is not having java installed. Go
to
http://java.sun.com/
and
download and install the latest java 1.5.x JRE. You'll then be able
to run PCGen.
Operating System Issues
For Vista and XP 64 Bit Users:
Question: Why doesn't Windows Vista/XP 64 run
the
pcgen.bat
file?
Answer1: PCGen should be installed in the
C:\Program Files (x86) folder.
Answer2: The other most common cause of this
problem is that Windows is not pointing the command "java" to the
java.exe
file.
Solution #1: Create a new file called
PCGen.cmd
and then put the following into it:
-
<Path to Java> -Dswing.aatext=true -Xms<Minimum
Memory>m -Xmx<Maximum Memory>m -jar <Path to
PcGen>
Example Vista: "C:\Program
Files (x86)\Java\jre1.6.0_01\bin\java.exe" -Dswing.aatext=true
-Xms256m -Xmx512m -jar "C:\Program Files
(x86)\PCGen\PCGen5102\pcgen.jar"
-
Put your paths and memory limits in as appropriate. If the path
has a space in it, you need the quotes.
-
Sample Path to Java: "C:\Program Files
(x86)\Java\jre1.6.0_01\bin\java.exe"
-
Minimum Memory: 768, Maximum Memory: 1024
-
Sample Path to PCGen: "E:\PCGen5102\"
-
Note: "Quotes" are required in path names that include
spaces.
-
Launch PCGen by running the
PCGen.cmd
file.
Solution #2: Add the bin directory from your
java install to the path.:
-
Open the control panel.
-
Open the system item.
-
Select the advanced tab.
-
Select "Continue" on the User Account Control.
-
Click on the button marked environment variables.
-
On my system "Path" is listed under the system variables.
-
Click on the button marked EDIT....
-
Look at Path for something similiar to what is in Solution #1
<Path to Java>. If you have it, do nothing else, if you
don't: proceed.
-
Edit the path item. At the end of the Path statement, click and
add the following ";<Path to Java>" i.e. ;"C:\Program Files
(x86)\Java\jre1.6.0_01\bin\java.exe"
-
Then Restart the computer
-
Note: The path is a semi-colon (;) separated list.
-
See if you can launch PCGen by running the icon on the desktop
from the program, If you can, you don't need the
pcgen.bat
file from Solution #1.
-
Launch PCGen by running the
pcgen.bat
file.
For Fedora Users:
Question: Pcgen crashes on Fedora 7 just after
the options directory selection.
Answer: PCGen does not run under licgcj (GNU's
Java library) because it is incomplete (it is not a complete
implementation of Java, especially with respect to Swing (the UI)).
You will need to download a complete Java implementation, such as
that from
Sun Microsystems
For Ubuntu Users:
The #1 issue for PCGen users running on Ubuntu
is that you need to use the Sun Java implementation, not the
default that ships with Ubuntu.
-
Check the version of Java being used:
$ java
-version
-
If not using Sun's JRE, you will need to install it. (see the
Ubuntu wiki for help)
-
If Sun's Java is installed but not running, update the default
java by using:
-
$ sudo update-alternatives --config java
or
-
$ sudo update-alternatives --set \java
/usr/lib/jvm/java-1.5.0-sun/jre/bin/java
Note: Both command do the same thing (with the first command you
get a list of possible java's and are asked to choose).
-
WARNING: Manually moving files and placing symbolic links might
get the job done but is probably bad for the long-term health of
your system. I think things might break with an update.