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Java heap size on large memory 64-bit system

843798Nov 24 2009 — edited Nov 24 2009
I've recently upgraded a 64-bit system from 16GB to 32GB. Now any Java application fails to start with the dreaded
Error occurred during initialization of VM
Could not reserve enough space for object heap
Could not create the Java virtual machine
.

...unless one specifies a maximum heap size with
-Xmx
.

Two questions:

1. Why does the JVM suddenly have this problem just because the physical memory size has increased?
2. How can I set the default max heap size globally, for all users? I particularly need to do this for the Java browser plugin for Firefox.

My system is x86_64 running openSUSE 11.1. JDK 1.6.0_15 (64-bit).
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Locked on Dec 22 2009
Added on Nov 24 2009
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