Expert: Amy - 4/16/2007

Question
I am given a 'the operation cannot complete because there isn't enough memory (RAM) available' message when I try to open Illustrator.
I cannot open files and when I quit, I get the message "The instruction at "0x0034197d"referenced memory at "0x0000000". The memory could not be "read".'


Answer
Hi Andrew,

There are more than a few things this could be:

1 - Privileges problem; people report this problem when trying to use Illustrator on a network where they cannot sign in to their own machine as Administrator. If this sounds like your issue, have your Network administrator look up what Adobe says about privileges at Adobe.com.

2 - Bad memory. Probably the least likely in my opinion.

3 - Corrupt application files.
Follow the instructions for re-creating the prefs file:
   1 - Quit AI
   2 - Locate and delete the AIprefs file
   3 - Restart AI

4 - Possibly a bad font.
To find a bad font (unfortunately) is a longer process, especially if you aren't using font management software (I don't). Remove all but your core/required fonts from the fonts folder and try running AI. If it runs, great, you can start putting your fonts back in until the error occurs again. If it still bombs, it's not a font.


5 - Without knowing more about your system setup, plug-ins you've got installed, version of AI you're running, I'd say try a complete reinstall. Remove the program and do a clean install if you can.

Hope this helps - if you can supply more information about your system/environment and want to explore further, try doing a search at adobe's Illustrator forum.

Amy Pace