1) Please don't hijack somebody else's thread, create your own and post your log files.
Your problem is different from the OP's. You also didn't post your log files as requested.
Consider that for each vocal user seeking help here, there is a silent majority that parses these threads and fix their setup on their own. Isolating each issue in its own thread enhances search results and readability.
You are correct, I misread it.. it hammers the machine so hard it -acts- like it's completely out of ram and into swap.
In this case Armory is allocing <1GB memory but caching its reads in whatever left over RAM (mmap memory does NOT spill over the swap). This in turn reduces the load on your SSD, as this data is read over several times. As for the SSD load, there's some 90GB of data to process at this time. It will have to be read one way or another.
I don't particularly care to change your appreciation of the code. This is more of an informative point for the silent majority. You obviously made your opinion of me before you started posting.
I hope you understand peoples frustration here...
Do you understand mine? This project went from being funded, with 6 full time developers and 2 interns, to getting bombed and leaving me working on it alone, out of my pocket. There was not even a plan to further development of the FOSS version past 0.93. Armory would be nowhere if I didn't volunteer over a year of my time and money to keep it going. And with that I have to catch up on the technological debt cumulated over 2 years FOSS development stagnation.
Imagine my joy when people who did not participate to the testing phases, provide no feedback or code reviews, let alone contribute some code or help with maintaining the webpage, inaugurate their first post in this forum will all spite and venom.
But at any rate, this path doesn't really achieve anything. Reread yourself. Then put yourself in the position of the people that could help you. Do you really think your post did anything but deter them from helping?
a product
This is not a product but a project. It's always in development, always trying to get better, always in need of feedback, testing and code reviews. This is also beta software that you run at your own discretion. You are approaching this from an entitled perspective. The Bitcoin world will be full of bad experiences if you stick to that view.
free or not
Wrong again. A "free product" still has a monetization scheme. You may not be aware of it, but it is still there. Facebook and Google data mine you. Youtube feeds you advertisement. Free to play games come with micro transactions and pay to win schemes.
With Armory, there is none of that. There was quite a push under ATI to go down that path, but under my rule it has strayed as far as possible from this path, to deliver the leanest solution possible. The first I did was to get rid of the phone home code, which was intended to track user statistics for revenue projections and attracting new investors.
has become, for whatever reason, impossible to use, monopolizing their machines
Jesus... try syncing 0.93 with the current chain, let's talk again after.
and most importantly, holding their BTC hostage.
Your coins are not being held hostage. Your private keys are in your wallet, free for you to use. You can access them anytime with offline Armory, with versions as old as 0.90. Your private keys are your coins. Armory is a framework among others that deploys services to interface with the bitcoin network. Why do I even bother trying to explain this...
Speaking of which, after another over-night run, the client finally appears happy and caught up, except all the wallets have zero balance. Rescan gave zero change.
What is the address chain length on your wallets? Did you restore them from a paper backup before syncing 0.95? Try extending the address chain in offline mode before rescanning. Also, what is the top block displayed in the bottom right? Log files would go a long way.
