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  • 1.  SPSS very slow and hang for larg files

    Posted Wed April 12, 2023 07:00 AM

    Hi ALL
    we have new PC windows 10 COre I7 and 16 GB RAM
    i have SPSS version 29 and i tried to import test file had 4,000,000 record with size about 500MB. the reading process is very slow and also hang on about 100,000 record only and i can see from task manger my memory is about 80% used

    we have old PC with 12 GB ram and SPSS version 19 ,i can read the same file in only 3min !!!
    i noticed that in old PC in task manger it utilize the disk not the RAM 

    i am new i SPSS so is there any setting for SPSS to make it faster and why the old PC works fine and new one is very slow

    Please advise

    thanks
    Mohammed Ibrahem



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    Mohammed Ibrahem
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  • 2.  RE: SPSS very slow and hang for larg files

    Posted Wed April 12, 2023 01:16 PM

    Hi @Mohammed Ibrahem 
    The Import Text Data Wizard ("File -> Import data -> Text") uses the GET DATA command syntax and two (2) passes at your data.  On the first pass it tries to read all data specifying the format as AUTO.  On the second pass, it actually reads the data using the proper format as found on the first pass (e.g. F8.2, A11, etc.).  This is a multi-threaded operation, and so usually goes pretty fast.  But for very large text files that first pass on AUTO can take some time.

    - Do you have GET DATA command syntax appropriate for these data, created during your time with SPSS Statistics 19.0?  If so, use it.  It should import faster than in 19.0
    - You can control how the product makes its guesses about the file format by specifying a percentage of the file to read .  The default is 95%. If you are confident in your file structure, you could bring this percentage down to decrease the time it takes for that initial defining pass.
    - GET DATA itself has a /MAP subcommand (on by default) that will report back to you the proper formats for the fields found.  Use the /VARIABLES subcommand reported in your own GET DATA command syntax.  That is, read a much smaller, though representative text file and get the data-specific /VARIABLES command created by the wizard.  Then use that subcommand in your own GET DATA command syntax running against the larger file.

    See the Syntax Reference Guide link above for more details.



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    David Dwyer
    SPSS Technical Support
    IBM Software
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  • 3.  RE: SPSS very slow and hang for larg files

    Posted Wed April 12, 2023 07:49 PM

    Thanks for your reply
    The point is we have many PCs had v 19 but only one is working good others is very slow as the pc use b 29 is also so slow , so we try to find difference, we thought it is some configuration or parameters in this pc,
    I am still new to this task and our admin left 

    I do the same steps same everything in read text data in version 19 in many pcs for same input only one pc work fine so if you have any idea what can be the cause of this
    Thanks



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    Mohammed Ibrahem
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