DEM Developemnt

[x94odenkirk at wmich.edu]

Hello,
        I am begging for some insight on the development of a DEM. I hope 
that someone can take the time and reply with some knowledge about this 
subject. Here is a breif review of my situation:
        1) I originally started with Autocad files that had index 
contours and their respective labels on two different layers. This file 
was converted to DXF format and then input to my mapset via v.in.dxf. 
This file is 0.9mB in size.
        2)I first attempted to run v.to.rast with this file and the 
following error was returned: G_malloc: out of memory...obviously a 
hardware problem, but why? 
        3)I then ran v.support for this contour map, using the default 
options to build topology information. I didn't attempt to edit the 
catagory label file.
        4)I then ran v.cadlabel hoping that all the contours would then 
be assigned attributes(elevations).
        5)Then I ran v.digit in order to manually label all unlabeled contours.
 
        6)Since I couldn't create a raster file, I thought to run 
v.to.sites, in order to develope a sites map for the s.surf.tps program. 
The v.to.sites ran for a day and then, since there was no action or prompt, 
I aborted this attempt. There was a resultant sites map but it was just a 
small x when displayed on the monitor.
        Questions: 
How does one set the resolution on a vector map in order to 
run v.to.rast, with out running out of memory? and 
Is this (resolution) my problem?
        If you have any information about the above programs or about the 
creation of a DEM from vector data, please write back. Also, my 
email address is: x94odenkirk at wmich.edu
                                                Thank You!
                                                        Phil