Not enough memory error

[Anonymous]

So i’m working with a 1.6 gb csv file. Whenever i try to break it down into five separate star schema tables so i can create relationships, i get the error when i try to save the query changes. I originally thought it was because i was duplicating the original file, so i tried just referencing it, but that didn’t work either. Any help is appreciated.

[edhans]

By default Power BI loads every query you make. You need to right-click on a query you don't want to actually load and uncheck Enable Load. The query will still be processed and feed its data to any queries that need it, but it won't be loaded as its own table in the model.

It also sounds like you are using the 32 bit version. The 64 bit version of Power BI should not run out of memory, though it may make your machine slow to a crawl if you don't have enough RAM to handle the data.

EDIT: There is a 1gb limit per dataset for Pro licenses. You might be hitting that. DAX will compress your data if it is compressible. If you have numbers, consider changing them to Currency type with 4 decimal precision vs number types with 15 digit precision.

[Anonymous]

But don’t i need all the queries loaded so that i can create relationships?

Also, i’m running power bi on a virtual machine from my mac, which has 8 gb of ram. So i’m not sure if i should use the 64 bit version.

[edhans]

You only need the queries to load that has data you need. I may have 30 queries in Power Query to transform and shape my data, but only load 7-10 of them. Then I create relationships.

Power BI 32bit only has a 2GB memory capacity, so that is your problem. I cannot speak to running in a VM. If you only have a 32bit version of Windows loaded, then that limits it. But I'm 99% sure that is your issue. GB files with 32bit Power Bi just won't work well.

[Anonymous]

I double checked and i actually am running the 64 bit version and am running 64 bit power bi.

However, i looked under device specifications on the windows vm, and it says i only have 2 gb of installed ram. Could that be the reason?

[edhans]

Maybe. It depends on how the system is configured. I am surprised Windows 10 even boots with 2GB. If your VM is limiting it to 2GB in total, then that won't work. If it is 2GB of RAM but unlimited virtual memory (hard drive) it might work. Maybe. You need at least 8GB allocated to that machine though for that dataset, and I personally don't work on anything less than 16GB with Power BI.