Buffer over-run--- do I need more RAM?

Not for the first time I have just experienced what a warning notice calls a "buffer over-run" --- this during a save in PaintShopPro which then shuts itself down as a prog

Does this mean I could do with more RAM? I have a slot empty for a 3rd matching stick. See below for existing spec. Bruce +++

AFAIK, a buffer overrun has nothing to do with a lack RAM and is more to do with a problem with the program code (which can also have security implications for the rest of the system).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_overflow

Have you tried seeing if there are any updates for the version of Paint Shop Pro you're using?

Yes there are later versions of PaintShopPro but these are now owned by Coral and the chat forums in PSP itself are full of uncomfortable remarks concerning the new owners & what has been done to PSP.

So I am sticking to PSPv7 aka The 10th Anniversary Edition. Buffer over-run is a fairly new experience for me whereas I have been using PSP for a very long time.

Thank you for your response, Bruce +++

You've completely missed the point of what I was asking. I was asking if the version of PSP (in this case, 7) you have is up to date, not suggesting you should check to see if there are later versions available (the most recent being 10).

A quick scan of Corel's website reveals that the latest update to version 7 is 7.04:

Link

Has this problem only just recently started? If that is the case, could it be related to a recent software or hardware update or something like that? I would be willing to bet that getting some more RAM would almost certainly not resolve the issue.

Edited by PlexShaw (Mon 11-Sep-06 19:50:32)

Bruce, give us the full text of the warning notice please.

"ffox" --- I will try to help. When working on a photo in PSPv7 (Jasc mf'd, not later Coral) I make incremental saves adding x's as suffixes, then I do not have to go back to the start if things go belly-up. Occasionally & when doing a save I get a warning saying something like "Buffer over-run........."

What happens is that the save has actually been initiated by me but it does not take place. Much worse is that the image itself is also lost because PSP as a prog then shuts down putting me back to the start-up desktop --- the pc is still running, the pc has not crashed, it is the programme that has hit the end-stops.

So now I have to re-open PSP, access the most recent suffix of a save & carry on working from there.

I have one empty slot of RAM & two 512 sticks of PC2700 DDR installed. I have never had RAM problems so far as I know. I have not downloaded any Coral updates to PSPv7 (aka the 10th Anniversary Edition) because I am satisfied with Jacs's v7, I understand most of it, and I have my own opinion about the new owners Coral. I could spend approx

Hi Bruce

This sounds very much like a program bug. I'm guessing that your incremental saves are causing it to fill a buffer allocated at start-up, hence the message. I doubt adding RAM would help.

One other observation. Every time you save an image in JPEG format, you lose some more quality, so repeated re-saves are definitely not recommended when working an image. Use a lossless format, such as TIFF, and only switch to JPEG when you want to send the image to someone else.

In reply to:

---

I have not downloaded any Coral updates to PSPv7 (aka the 10th Anniversary Edition) because I am satisfied with Jacs's v7, I understand most of it, and I have my own opinion about the new owners Coral.

---

The updates have nothing to do with Corel. They just happen to be posted on their website because... well... where else would you expect them to be hosted?

In fact, if you look at the Release Notes for the update, they only ever make reference to Jasc. I have absolutely no idea what exactly the issue for you here is because regardless of what you think of Corel, they had nothing to do with the creation of any of the updates for version 7, given that that appear to date back to circa 2001. Incidentally you still haven't said what version number of PSP 7 you are running (i.e. 7.0x).

I'm not saying that applying this update will fix the problem, but it is one method of troubleshooting to explore, is it not?

Edited by PlexShaw (Tue 12-Sep-06 11:51:03)

The reason I was asking is that some programs restrict the permissible length of file pathnames (and the buffer that holds them). The limit is often 80 characters. A longer pathname than that will result in a buffer overrun error.

So:

C:\My Programs\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\Teneriffe 2005\Barbara Swimming xxx.jpg

would just be OK, but

C:\My Programs\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\Teneriffe 2005\Barbara Swimming xxxxxx.jpg

is too long.

Could this be a possible cause?

Does event viewer have any related entries and could it be something to do with this-
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms04%2D028.mspx