NX4 Operating system size 3

[hobbitworks]

I am going to be trained to do CNC programming using NX4 and I need to load the operating system onto a laptop. I am buying one specifically for that purpose and I need to know how much memory I need to run it. I have looked at a Dell with a 250 GB hard drive. Will this be sufficient? Thanks for the help, I am a new subscriber.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Are you talking about the laptop's 'operating system' or the amount of space needed to load NX4?

However, if you have 250 GB you should be OK. My Dell Laptop only has an 80 GB drive and I've got 9 versions of UG/NX installed on my system (granted only the 2 most recent versions include the user doc's and with some of the older versions, I've removed all but the minimum set of files needed to actually run the software, and I've still got almost 25 GB of free space).

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
NX Design
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[hobbitworks]

It was the amount of space needed to load NX4. Thanks for the advice, the laptop I picked out should do nicely. I appreciate the quick answer, have a very Merry Christmas.

 

[hobbitworks]

I just thought of another question that maybe someone might be able to answer; Is NX4 compatible with Microsoft's new Vista or should I stick to XP?

 

[hudson888]

Technically I think that NX-4 isn't officially compatible with Vista but it seems to work okay. The only problems that regularly crop up are that with 64 bit versions of the operating system people sometime struggle to get graphics drivers to work properly.

When all's said and done any laptop running NX-4 will seldom struggle to run NX-5 or NX-6 and if anything the software has continued to improve. I mention this because CAM is usually an end use that seldom if ever needs to be backward compatible with the design data. The situation being that later versions of NX have no trouble whatsoever reading data from earlier releases it is only when you try to work in the opposite direction that you have trouble. The later versions are better suited to both Vista and 64Bit operating systems and I think cutter path generation does benefit from the added processing power of the latest technology.

For a range of other reasons many experienced users prefer XP over Vista and opt to purchase with what they call an XP downgrade. I purchased from Dell a few months back and was able to get both XP64 and Vista with the downgrade at little or no additional expense. If that option is available to you and you're in a hurry then it would be the one to take so that you're covered either way!

Cheers

Hudson

 

[JohnRBaker]

Officially NX 5.0.3.2 was the first version certified on Vista and it was more than just a validation that it worked, but rather did include some changes which had to made to the display code in order to get full support of Open GL.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
NX Design
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[hudson888]

Note also the news items below re: XP vs Vista

Microsoft has given the green light to custom PC manufacturers, allowing them to offer machines with Windows XP

An article posted over on ZDNet.com Sunday reports that Microsoft is allowing system builders--the smaller "white box" builders other than Dell and HP--to obtain copies of Windows XP for preloading on PCs until May 30, 2009. The catch is that all orders for the older OS have to be in place by January 31, 2009 just as Microsoft stated last year. System builders thus take delivery against those orders until May 30, 2009, meaning they don't have to buy the OEM copies in bulk quantities and sit on them, but rather take order of the software more gradually. According to ChannelWeb, distributors and systems builders actually have until December 31 to submit their "XP license demand forecasts" before placing the final order.

This generosity on Microsoft's part seems like a slight nod to the fact that many consumers--and manufacturers in fact--simply don't want Windows Vista. The availability of new PC's with Windows XP should be great news for consumers wanting a new PC without the hassles Windows Vista brings, especially gamers who still boot up older DOS and pre-DirectX 10 games. With gamers having performance issues and software incompatibilities creating havoc with Vista users, many consider Windows XP one of the best operating systems released thus far.

Microsoft officially discontinued Windows XP back in June, cutting off the OS supply to the larger computer manufacturers such as HP, Dell and Alienware. But Microsoft also said that the company would continue to offer XP to the systems builders until July 2009, followed by super-low-cost PC and Laptop manufacturers until 2010. Microsoft will continue to offer support for all the Windows XP platforms (Home, Media Center, and Professional) through 2014.

Is XP favored over Vista? It would seem so, and apparently, the distributors and system builders are really digging the new plan offered by Microsoft. "This should bring relief to the panic buyers and the large online retailers who would have probably bought up inventory in early January," said Ulmen. "I have to commend Microsoft on this channel-friendly strategy."

So what does all this hoopla mean to the end-users? Those looking for a Windows XP computer need not worry, as there will be plenty to hunt down for some time to come. Many distributors trying to avoid Vista hope that this new plan will extend XP availability long enough to expand into Windows 7 when it supposedly ships next year (although its speculated that the new OS could hit the streets as early as mid-2009). As of July 2008, consumers and businesses alike still chose windows XP over Vista.


Cheers

Hudson

 

[NXMold]

As far as memory is concerned, 3gb is the max useable with a 32-bit operating system. If you need more memory (for complex stuff) you need to go with 64-bit windows... but this creates some hurdles, configuration and setup may be more complicated, and I don't know if NX4 can reap any benefits anyway.

So, 2-4gb of memory is probably the sweet spot for your setup.

NX 5.0.3.2 MoldWizard

 

[hudson888]

P.S.

There is a thing called the /3GB Switch for people with 4GB of memory on an XP32bit system which allows you to maximise the available memory with that configuration. Results may vary from one system to the next but in general you get perhaps a touch over the 3GB mark.

You're best to quickly google the instructions as they're easy to find and should be followed carefully because you're required to edit some system files that it is wise to be cautious to avoid damaging.

Cheers

Hudson

 

[SACZI]

JohnRBaker
... I've got 9 versions of UG/NX installed on my system

Welcome
I'd like to ask you John, how it's possible, that you can install 9 (probably, different) versions of UG/NX?

Between NX4 and NX5 was change and license server for this two revisons of NX works on different ports (NX4 => 27 000 and NX5/6 => 28 000).

 

[Tvvilight]

Maybe he has 9 Windows operating systems or some other ones. Who knows... ;-)

 

[JohnRBaker]

In addition to the 9 versions of UG/NX (V16 thru NX 6) I also have two license servers running, one for everything up thru NX 4 and a second server for NX 5 and NX 6 (since the servers are assigned to different 'ports', they can run simultaneously with no problems, but it does require two valid license 'sheets').

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
NX Design
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[scotty7]

wrt the /3GB switch - the requirement for 4GB RAM is a bit of a myth. I have only 2GB RAM on my box, but if the /3GB is set, NX can load about 2.7GB of data before dying. Without it, I can only load 1.7GB. The balance of memory is made up using system paging to the hard drive.
If the 3GB switch is set, the NX log file contains the line
"Machine supports 3G address space" near the top.

 

[hudson888]

That switch is really only for people with 4Gb of memory on XP 32Bit. Since that version of Windows only supports up to a certain amount of ram what you're doing with is is using additional page space that you actually have by push some system functions into the extra bit of RAM that it otherwise doesn't access. For all other configurations you're right it would be pointless!

Cheers

Hudson