Error: cannot allocate vector of size 3.4 Gb

I run R on a linux machine that has 8GB memory. But R gives me an
error "Error: cannot allocate vector of size 3.4 Gb". I'm wondering
why it can not allocate 3.4 Gb on a 8GB memory machine. How to fix the
problem?

Is it 32-bit R or 64-bit R?

Are you running any other programs besides R?

How far into your data processing does the error occur?

The more statements you execute, the more "fragmented" R's available
memory pool becomes. ?A 3.4 Gb chunk may no longer be available.


-Charlie