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.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
Want to cancel whatever menu command you started to use in Excel? The normal method is by pressing Esc, but this is not ...
Discover MoreExcel allows you to associate names with cells or ranges of cells. If you ever want to delete those names, you'll need ...
Discover MoreMany people use Excel on a notebook computer, so they can do work at the office and elsewhere. In some situations, Excel ...
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