slow, slow, slow

[trent the thief]

I'm not certain, but some of the things I use in-house are.

[Rhea]

I am also having major application slowness and frequent application hangs, to the extent that even Task Manager cannot shut down the program. I read through this entire topic, hoping to find some help.

Also, I have noticed (via Task Manager>Processes), that Flare's memory usage starts around 50,000k, but continues to increase and increase each time you build output. I've decided when it reaches around 150,000k, to close my project, close the application, and then restart. Seems to help the app run faster, and it has prevented subsequent application hanging. But it's a terribly annoying process.

I am running an HP dx2000MT with Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz, and 1.24GB of RAM. All files are local on my machine; they were initially imported from Frame, but I have severed the link from the source docs and am working solely in Flare now.

Can someone (ideally from MadCap) tell me the *official* minimum system requirements, because if what I am running is not enough, I need to make a case to my IT department for upgrading my machine.

Thanks.

[LTinker68]

I'm not with MadCap, but the minimum system requirements are posted at the bottom of this web page --> http://www.madcapsoftware.com/products/flare/home.aspx.

[SteveS]

All files are local on my machine; they were initially imported from Frame, but I have severed the link from the source docs and am working solely in Flare now.

Hi Rhea,

Just a shot in the dark - when you imported did you choose to retain a link to the source documents? If so, how did you sever the link and are there topics etc that are still "looking" for "Mum"?

[trent the thief]

Hi Rhea,

You should be fine for hardware and memory. Do you have any other large processes running? Have you examined your imported files to see if they are trying to load something that doesn't exist?

Also, have you actually opened _every_ file for editing yet? I don't think the files are actually being converted until you open them once for editing.

[Richard Ferrell]

Open up a different project to see if you notice the speed issues, if you are still having problems I would recommend that you reinstall the Dot Net 2.0 drivers.

[Rhea]

I had the same performance problems on every project, whether still linked to the Frame files or not. Performance problems improved, but didn't go away, if I shut other *beefy* programs down when working in Flare. I watched the performance usage for Flare, and it crept up every time the build process ran, without letting go of memory after word. For example, launch the application without an open project starts around 47,000K+ memory usage. After building an output (WebHelp), it could go up to 100,000+, but not let go of that after the build is done. At one point, I saw it use over 400,000K.

I have done 2 things which seem to make an enormous difference for me... no more application crashing:
1) Increase my Virtual Member to 2500MB Initial Size and 4096MB Maximum Size.
2) Periodically check Flare's memory usage in Task Manager, and close and reopen Flare to free up memory when it passes 150,000K or so.

[Andrew]

When I build our primary project in Flare on my home machine (dual-core 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM), its memory usage rockets into the 1-1.5 GB range (that's 1000-1500 megabytes). It's never seemed to cause any slowness (though the build process itself is very slow -- nearly twice as long as it took RoboHelp for the same project, I think). I can't remember if the system reclaims memory after the fact...I'll test that tonight if I have time.

[kevinmcl]

At our office, they're talking about using VMWare to get rid of multiple machines at people's desks.
A body could run both a Windows AND a Linux session on the one machine, simultaneously. Clear a lot of cubicle real-estate, cut down noise, and reduce the number of heat-emitters. At least, that's the plan.

I looked at that and at Flare (on a two-year-old middle of the road Dell PC, not even dual-core) and laughed.

If I was simultaneously using Flare, Illustrator and the GIMP, the machine would be groaning.

Kevin

[KevinDAmery]

At our office, they're talking about using VMWare to get rid of multiple machines at people's desks.
A body could run both a Windows AND a Linux session on the one machine, simultaneously. Clear a lot of cubicle real-estate, cut down noise, and reduce the number of heat-emitters. At least, that's the plan.

I looked at that and at Flare (on a two-year-old middle of the road Dell PC, not even dual-core) and laughed.

If I was simultaneously using Flare, Illustrator and the GIMP, the machine would be groaning.

Kevin

I would agree. VMware and other virtual system solutions are a great way to reduce the number of computers you need, but to use them effectively you need a powerful system with a lot of ram (2 GB should really be considered the minimum, 4GB would be more like it if you want to run that list of apps with some real-world project files).

[Kleb]

I am also having speed issues with Flare as I posted in another topic.

Add new topic and Preview topic are the two that stick out. Preview topic takes 1-2 sec to open and 5 seconds to close. Add new topic is slower than it needs to be as well. Index entry slows to a crawl on most of our pages because the converter put a whole bunch of Index markers in each topic and didn't merge ones that are next to each other. There will be 5-8 index markers next to one word, each with one entry in the Index Terms field.

I have a laptop with a Pentium-M 760 2GHz and 2GB DDR2-4300(?) and a 7200rpm hd. The Pentium-M is a quite fast processor by laptop standards and can hold its own with other processors http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/printpage.php?id=405 I've tried defragging and reinstalling .NET framework as well.

I hope Madcap is working on speed for the next release.

[jaymcgarry]

I was experiencing slow performance in the XML editor up until 10 mins ago. We just did some testing here and discovered that my dual core was maxing out at 50% usage when I clicked around within a topic. the problem was that I had the styles window open.

Tip: try switching your styles window to auto-hide. It did the trick for me.

[AlanFisk]

Flare has now gone into complete memory runaway. I've tried all the solutions suggested so far, but Flare is just sitting there taking more and more memory. All I'm trying to do is open the TOC from the Project Organiser! This isn't just a problem, it's an emergency. I never had this happen with RoboHelp or AuthorIT.

[Richard Ferrell]

What happens if you open the sample project?

[AlanFisk]

It doesn't happen, but then the sample project is tiny in size by comparison. I'm starting to wonder whether the Convert to XML Wizard isn't opening repeatedly every time I select it, instead of shutting down after it converts the topic.

[AlanFisk]

I now suspect that it's the infamous "Computing Global Index" that might be causing the problem. Is there anyway of turning it off? It takes no notice of the "Skip" button.

[wclass]

Look in Tools > Options > WYSIWYG tab. There is a "Mode warnings ..." frame - I have cleared all these options and have not had an Index problem for quite some time.

[AlanFisk]

Thank you, Margaret, but I've checked it and the options were already turned off.

[Mr Tagomi]

Hello all. This is my first post here.

I installed Flare 3.1 a couple of weeks ago, and I have a similar problem. The application runs so slowly that it is unusable. My specs are:

Win 2000 Professional SP4
Pentium 4 1.8GHz processor
1.6GB RAM

The strange thing is that I have tried installing the app in a virtual PC, and it runs fine there. However, it's not practical in the long run to have to use a virtual PC to use Flare.

The obvious thing to conclude is that my PC's anti-virus software is slowing it down, but the system monitor and anti-virus console seem to indicate that this is not the case. In any event, I do not have permission to disable HTML scanning and the like. It's against company policy.

Any ideas?

[RamonS]

Welcome to the forums!

I would talk to IT to have a scheduled test run without antivirus enabled. They may want to monitor what you are doing and make sure that you have the network cable unplugged. That is just for one test to see if the antivirus application really is the cause of the problem. Alternatively, IT may prefer to keep AV running, but exclude only the Flare and project folder for testing. It cannot be that company policy prevents you doing your work. That is not what policies are for. And this is just a test. Once done and a result is found IT can turn the AV back on until a plan of action is found.

I like Windows 2000 a lot, it is lean and does exactly the same as XP or Vista less the sluggishness and eye candy. But Microsoft decided that going forward .NET 3.0 will not work on Windows 2000 and MadCap decided that going forward .NET 3.0 will be the platform of choice. I recommend you run quickly to your supervisor and ask for a new PC now so that you get one that has XP on it and not Vista. Because with Vista the culprit for everything being slow slow slow is not the AV program, but the OS, which one can only disable through very drastic measures.

[Mr Tagomi]

Thanks, Ramon. I think ultimately the thing to do is to upgrade my computer, which is long overdue anyway. This seems the perfect excuse to push for that. The mystery of the slowness can be left for the ages.