[U] User's Guide

68 [ U ] 6 Setting the size of memory1. Bring up a Stata and make it really big; use a lot of memory, so much that you are virtuallyhogging the computer.2. Go to another window or session and bring up another Stata. Verify that you cannot make itbig—that you get the “system limit exceeded” message.3. Go back to the first Stata, leaving the second running, and make it smaller.4. Go to the second Stata and try again to make it big. If you succeed, then your Unix returnsmemory instantly.5. If you still get the “system limit exceeded” message, wait 5 minutes and try again. If it nowworks, your system delays accepting returned memory for about 5 minutes.6. If you still get the “system limit exceeded” message, wait another 5 minutes and try again. Ifit now works, your system delays accepting returned memory for about 10 minutes.7. Go to the first Stata and exit from it.8. Go to the second Stata and try to make it big again. If it now works, your system never reallyaccepts returned memory. If it still does not work, start all over again. Some other process tookmemory and corrupted your experiment.If you are one of the unfortunates who have a Unix that never accepts returned memory, you willjust have to remember that you must exit and reenter Stata to really give memory back.