Solution Id:
S-057497		
 Category:
SR Originated
 Question:
SolidWorks shows a low memory error due to GDI limit (GDI Handle Depleted).  Can the GDI settings be modified?
 Keyword:
Error Messages
 Visible to Customer:
Yes
 Link:
 
 Answer:
Open the SolidWorksPerformance.log (in Rx's created post SW2011) and search the header:

<GDI_HANDLES_DEPLETED> 10000, 9693

The first number post-header is <LIMIT>, followed by <USAGE>.

Even in 64bit machines, SolidWorks can hang/crash due to lack of resources, since GDI and USER objects are set by Windows® to 10,000 objects.  The GDI and USER Object usage can be checked in real time by opening the Task Manager and adding the processes GDI Objects and USER Objects to the list. 

However, these limits can be modified through the following locations in the registry file:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows\GDIProcessHandleQuota  (range: 256 ~ 65,536)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows\USERProcessHandleQuota  (range: 200 ~ 18,000)

For additional information, please visit the following websites for a description on how these settings affect a computer:

GDIProcessHandleQuota: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms724291(VS.85).aspx

USERProcessHandleQuota: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms725486(VS.85).aspx