max 2011 mental ray fatal error...

[tecton3d]

I have a very small and simple sample file I created in Revit Architecture 2010 and have linked that file into Max via the file link manager and .fbx format to test this feature. I can render the linked scene just fine without any imported models but when I import>import or import >merge furniture objects into the max file, i get the error below:

 

the file i'm attempting to link is about a 350k poly piece of furniture and no matter what format I import or merge it as, I still get the error which appears to be a memory issue but max is not using all of my available memory and the settings are no where near maxed out on a very small scene.

 

I know this setup is old/minimal but should be adequate:

dual opteron with 4gb ram

quadro fx3400

 

any help diagnosing what is happening is greatly appreciated!

[Macer]

What happens if you apply a different/default material to the problem object?

 

Can you import the object into a clean scene, do you still get issues with it?

[tecton3d]

it turned out to be a memory issue so I ran the 3gb switch and it works no matter the configuration of import/merge and/or file types.

 

cheers!