Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 21, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 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/kb/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 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.
Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!
The serial number assigned to your copy of Excel is valuable. It allows you to get support and is necessary for some ...
Discover MoreMany people use Excel on a notebook computer, so they can do work at the office and elsewhere. In some situations, Excel ...
Discover MoreExcel can check the data and formulas in your worksheet to see if it detects any errors. The rules used for this checking ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments