the data you are attempting to import may be too large for the available memory on the system

I keep getting this error message "the data you are attempting to import may be too large for the available memory on the system" when trying to import a txt file. The file is not bigger than the matlab memory allocation. There are no saved variables that could be taking up memory.

[Saadia Karim]

1. On the Home tab, in the Environment section, click Preferences. Select MATLAB > General > Java Heap Memory.
2. Increasing the Java Heap size is better option then the limiting the size of file.
3. Ok. Restart the Matlab after increasing.

Answer 1

[Megha Parthasarathy]

Hello,

This appears to occur due to the large size of the data being visualized. The error occurs when the application (MATLAB) is attempting to use more GPU memory than is available. The workaround is to down sample the data which you are visualizing. Since this occurs when the user is visualizing very large data sets, usually down sampling should not affect the quality of the resulting plot.

You could also try increasing the Java Heap Size. Refer to the following documentation page to change the Java Heap Memory Preferences: Java Heap Memory Preferences

Answer 2

[rimo arndt]

Just had this error message - restarted the computer and it worked. This might not always work, but since I would hate downsampling for this kind of reason I would suggest to use a local server...will have more GPU memory.