Running Out of Memory

Summary: Do you get an error when you try to insert just one more chart in your workbook? It could be because of an obscure resource-related problem in Excel, or it could just be that you are running out of resources. This tip explains how to track down what the problem may be. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, and Excel 2003.)

Graham wrote to ask about a nagging problem he has with one particular Excel workbook. This workbook contains seven worksheets, one for each month, January through July. The worksheets contain quite a few formulas, and a graph is inserted in each worksheet. The first six graphs were created just fine, but whenever Graham tries to create the graph on the seventh sheet, he gets an "out of memory" error.

Chances are good that you aren't actually running out of memory, but are somehow running out of resources. The end result, however, is the same--Excel doesn't have what it needs to continue with the operation.

This situation seems to be a known problem with Excel 97, and Microsoft has addressed it in Knowledge Base article 168650:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=168650

If this doesn't solve the problem, it could be that the workbook itself is corrupted in some manner. The only way to determine if this is the cause is to recreate the workbook, from scratch (no copying and pasting), and see if the problem goes away.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2732) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

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Running Out of Memory