MySQL .Huge problem I need to resolve NOW

[MySQL][ODBC 3.51 Driver][mysqld-4.0.17-nt]Got packet bigger than 'max_allowed_packet'

My.ini config as follows
[mysqld]
basedir=C:/mysql
#bind-address=192.168.1.100
datadir=C:/mysql/data
#language=C:/mysql/share/your language directory
#slow query log#=
#tmpdir#=
#port=3306
#set-variable=key_buffer=20M
set-variable=max-allowed-packet=50M

Wndows server 2000
Oogles of RAM (768MB)
the file I sent was 11MB in size.. I have tested that I can send files up to 10.99 MB just fine. 11MB craps out on me.

I am uploading a file to the DB but the driver is sending back an error from the database the packet being too large. Blob field is set to LONGBLOB. I've tried MyISAM tables and InnoDB tables.

I've restarted the db service after making the .ini change to 50M but still no joy.
ANYONE have a damn clue wtf is going on?

 

c'mon.. somebody has to have some clue.. I'm pulling my hair out!

 

does mysql have access to all that ram you have?
You can also get strange problems with large packets if you are using big blobs, but you haven't given mysqld access to enough memory to handle the query. If you suspect this is the case, try adding ulimit -d 256000 to the beginning of the mysqld_safe script and restart mysqld.

that's a quaote from mysql.com

 

i tore their site apart.. couldn't find an answer. nothing worked. I gave up and moved MS-SQL server.