Summary :

1. Cant Save Microsoft Excel Files
2. Can't Save Microsoft Excel File Recovery
3. Can't Save Microsoft Excel File Format
4. Cant Save Microsoft Excel File Instead

Microsoft Office is world-famous assistance for work. It includes many practical programs, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint. Even Microsoft Outlook is available as a part of the Microsoft Office suite.

This excel file repair tool can be used on both Windows and Mac platforms to repair corrupt excel file. All kinds of MS office corruption errors (for XLS and XLSX files only) can be handled with this tool. This excel file repair tool can repair damaged files of all versions from 2000 to 2016 that includes 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, etc. Microsoft Excel now has a built-in AutoRecover feature which can help users retrieve the files if Excel closes unexpectedly due to power failure or computer crash. It can restore the unsaved file to the last saved version. When Excel closes unexpectedly without saving your work, don't worry.

However, people complained they run into the error message: There is not enough memory or disk space and don’t know what to do.

Message Saying There Is Not Enough Memory or Disk Space

Three of the most frequently used Microsoft programs are definitely: Microsoft Word (used to deal with word information), Microsoft Excel (used to organize and collect data in tabular form), and Microsoft PowerPoint (a useful tool for making a presentation). When you are trying to open the programs or perform an action in them, you may probably end up in failure; a prompt window will show up to prevent you from continuing what you are doing: There is not enough memory or disk space.

So what does the insufficient memory or disk space error mean? What causes this error to occur? How to fix there is insufficient memory Word or Excel? In the following content, I will answer these questions one by one.

MiniTool Solution is a software development company with a high reputation and it can help you solve almost every problem you can think of about computer, disk, and data.

The error message: There is insufficient disk space to complete operation may appear when you are copying files/folders. How to fix it properly?

Many people ask for help since the Excel or Word has insufficient memory; you can browse the examples in Microsoft Community and other forums.

Causes for Insufficient Memory or Disk Space

Many people reported they see the insufficient memory or disk space when opening Word 2016 Word. Till now, the not enough disk space problem is confirmed to show up on Office 2010, Office 2013 and Office 2016.

Our team made a study on the cause of this problem after investigating various users’ reports and find some common factors to trigger the problem in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

Microsoft Word 2016 Insufficient Memory or Disk Space

1. One: the Normal.dotm file is corrupted.
2. Two: the font cache is corrupted.
3. Three: the permissions on the font folder are not enough.
4. Four: the Office installation is broken.
5. Five: an Add-in has problem.

One: the Normal.dotm file is corrupted.

In general, the default font styles will be loaded automatically while you're opening Word. However, if the Normal.dotm file is damaged somehow, this process can’t be completed; then, the insufficient memory error will get thrown.

The easy way to fix the problem under such circumstances is forcing Windows to create a new .dotm file.

Two: the font cache is corrupted.

As mentioned in the previous cause, the font styles are loaded by default when opening Microsoft Office utilities. In fact, they are stored as cache in a font folder on Windows. Sometimes, the font folder may get damaged; then, you’ll receive the not enough memory/disk space error because the fonts used by the file you’re trying to open are included in that corrupted folder.

The easy way to eliminate the error is creating a .bat file that is capable of refreshing your font cache.

Three: the permissions on the font folder are not enough.

Similarly, if users don’t have the necessary permissions to access the corresponding font folder, they won’t be able to open the file.

In this case, you must gain enough permission before opening it by:

• Creating a new policy through Registry Editor
• Making use of a series of Powershell commands

Four: the Office installation is broken.

The error message will appear on your PC screen whether the install of Microsoft Office is incomplete or crippled (this may result from an AV scan).

If this is the root reason for causing the error, you should solve it by invoking Programs and Features to repair the Office installation.

Five: an Add-in has problem.

If any errors occurred on an Add-in, the Microsoft Word insufficient memory will be caused. Till now, several Word Add-ins are found to be responsible for the problem.

If this is the situation, you need to work things out by identifying the problematic Add-in and remove it from your list.

Error Messages Indicating Word Not Enough Memory or Disk Space

You may run into the following messages in Word when it runs out of space:

• There is not enough memory or disk space to run Word.
• There is not enough memory or disk space to update the display.
• There is not enough memory or disk space to complete the operation.
• There is not enough memory or disk space to run the grammar checker.
• There is not enough memory or disk space to display or print the picture.
• There is not enough memory or disk space to repaginate or print this document.
• There is insufficient memory or disk space. Word cannot display the requested font.
• …

Excel Insufficient Disk Space

The error occurs frequently when users try to copy a large volume of data in the Excel sheets or add formulas to a very large worksheet area.

What’s the root reason for causing this? It’s actually the limitations built in Microsoft Excel.

• The memory of each Excel’s instance can’t be more than 2 GB (gigabyte).
• The source cells number should be less than 32,760 when you’re using a smart fill option.
• The maximum number of line feeds per cell is 253.
• The total number of rows and columns on a worksheet can’t be more than 1,048,576 and 16,384.
• A cell can’t contain characters more than 32,767. While the characters in a header or footer should be less than 255.

You may run into the following messages that indicate this error in Excel:

• Not enough system resources to display completely.
• There is not enough disk space. Free enough disk space, and then try again.
• Not enough memory to run Microsoft Excel. Please close other applications and try again.
• Excel cannot complete this task with available resources. Choose less data or close other applications.
• There isn't enough memory to complete this action. Try using less data or closing other applications. To increase memory availability, consider using a 64-bit version of Microsoft Excel or adding memory to your device.
• Microsoft Excel cannot open or save any more documents because there is not enough available memory or disk space. To make more memory available, close workbooks or programs you no longer need. To free disk space, delete files you no longer need from the disk you are saving to.

Fix There Is Not Enough Memory or Disk Space Error

First, please make sure your computer has enough memory or free disk space left. If not, you should delete unnecessary files and folders from the hard disk.

How to free up disk space:

• Delete data directly (retrieve deleted files on PC).
• Use Diskpart (recover data lost by DiskPart Clean).
• Use Command Prompt (recover files using CMD).
• Turn to Disk Cleanup (Disk Cleanup empty your Downloads folder).
• …

How to recover files lost when you are trying to get more memory and free disk space? Definitely, you need MiniTool Power Data Recovery, which enjoys a very good reputation in the industry.

Here’s a file recovery tutorial you should follow.

Step one: download the setup program of MiniTool Power Data Recovery; don't save it to your drive containing lost files you plan to recover.

Step two: run the setup program to finish software installation and launch it at the end of the process.

Step three: keep Logical Drives selected if the drive contains lost files still exist. Otherwise, you should shift to the Devices tab.

Step four: determine which partition contains the missing files; then, double click on it to start a full scan.

Cant Save Microsoft Excel Files

Step five: more and more files will be found while the scan is processing. Please browse the found items carefully and select the data you really want. (You should wait till the end of the scan to see the best recovery result.)

Step six: click on the Save button located in the bottom right corner. Then, choose a storage path for the files you have selected in the previous step and click on the OK button to confirm.

Now, you should wait for the recovery process to complete automatically.

FYI: what if your hard disk is corrupted and you can’t boot PC successfully? Please read this page to know how to recover data:

In the following content, I will provide other useful ways to fix the error in both Word and Excel when it is caused by other problems.

There Is Insufficient Memory Word

1. Fix 1: rename Normal.dotm file.
2. Fix 2: rebuild the font cache.
3. Fix 3: gain necessary permissions.
4. Fix 4: repair the Microsoft Office installation.
5. Fix 5: remove the Add-ins.

Fix 1: rename Normal.dotm file.

The action of renaming the Normal.dotm file will force Microsoft Word to create a new file when you launch the program the next time; thus, the problem could be solved if it’s caused by a corrupted Normal.dotm file.

1. Open Windows Explorer. (How to fix when Windows Explorer has a problem?)
2. Open Local Disk (C:).
3. Find and open the Users folder.
4. Look for the folder with your username. Then, open it.
5. Navigate to the AppData folder (which is not visible by default).
6. Open Roaming, Microsoft, and Templates in older.
7. Click View from the menu bar.
8. Check File name extensions in the Show/hide area.
9. Right click on the dotm file.
10. Choose Rename.
11. Add .old after Normal.dotm and press Enter.
12. Choose Yes to confirm the change.

If you can't see the AppData folder, please read the How to fix when you can’t find the AppData folder part in this post carefully.

Fix 2: rebuild the font cache.

1. Open up a Run dialog box by pressing Start +R or through other ways.
2. Type notepad and hit Enter.
3. Copy & paste the content listed below.
4. Click on the X button and choose Save in the pop-up window.
5. Give it a name with the extension of .bat.
6. Click Save.
7. Right click on the .bat file and choose Run as administrator.
8. Wait for the process to complete.

Fix 3: gain necessary permissions.

1. Open Run dialog.
2. Type powershell and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
3. Type Get-acl C:Windowsfontsarial.ttf | Set-Acl -path c:windowsfonts*.* and hit Enter.
4. Type Get-acl C:Windowsfontsarial.ttf | Set-Acl -path c:windowsfonts and hit Enter.
5. Wait for the commands to finish.

Fix 4: repair the Microsoft Office installation.

1. Open up a Run dialog box by pressing Start +R or through other ways.
2. Typecpl and click OK.
3. Look for Microsoft Office from the list in Programs and Features window.
4. Right click on Microsoft Office and choose Change.
5. Choose Yes if there’s a User Account Control window appears.
6. Check Quick Repair under How would you like to repair your Office programs.
7. Click on the Repair button at the bottom and click Repair again in the confirmation window.
8. Wait for the process to complete.

Fix 5: remove the Add-ins.

1. Open the problematic program.
2. Go to File > Options.
3. Select Add-ins from the left-hand side of Word Options.
4. Select Word Add-ins after Manage from the right panel and click Go.
5. Uncheck all the options related to Add-in and click OK.
6. Repeat step 2.
7. Select COM Add-ins from the dropdown list of Manage and click Go.
8. Repeat step 5.
9. Close the program and open the Word file which triggered the previously.
10. If the error doesn't appear, please check the options you unchecked in step 5 and step 8.

Once you can confirm which Add-in causes the error, you should select it in the Add-in menu and click Remove.

Other fixes:

• Turn off the Automatic Spelling Checking and Grammar Check.
• Reset the Registry Entries of Word.
• Run Microsoft Fix-It or Troubleshooting.
• Create SaveZoneInformation policy in Registry Editor.

There Is Insufficient Memory Excel

1. Fix 1: select cells gradually.
2. Fix 2: update drivers & disable hardware graphics acceleration.
3. Fix 3: divide an Excel file into different workbooks.
4. Fix 4: set to manage paging file size automatically.

Fix 1: select cells gradually.

• Please do the same for the following section of cells when you choose only part of the entire range you need to be filled.
• To make sure you won’t reach the limit, please select the last row of the previously filled section when you move on to the latter segments (the second, third, etc.).
• Just repeat this process to reach the end of the selection needed.

Fix 2.

Step 1: update drivers.

1. Open Microsoft Excel.
2. Select File, Account, and Office Update one after another.
3. Click Update Now.
4. Wait for it to complete.

Step 2: disable hardware graphics acceleration.

1. Click File, Options, and Advanced.
2. Look for Display area from the right panel.
3. Uncheck Disable hardware graphics acceleration.
4. Click OK.

Fix 3: divide an Excel file into different workbooks.

It’s a good choice to separate your big Excel files into a few workbooks and then open them in different instances of Excel. This reduces the possibility of getting the error caused by reaching the 2GB limitation for a single workbook.

Fix 4: set to manage paging file size automatically.

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Select System and Security.
3. Click System.
4. Select Advanced system settings from the left sidebar.
5. Keep Advanced tab selected. Click Settings under the Performance area.
6. Shift to Advanced tab.
7. Click Change… under the Virtual memory area.
8. Check Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
9. Click on the OK button in all Windows to confirm changes.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, There is not enough memory or disk space is a common error on Windows. You may probably run into it when opening Word/Excel or other Office programs. The error will also occur suddenly when you’re performing actions in the programs.

In the previous parts, I have covered the possible reasons for leading to the error. Then, I have provided several solutions for fixing it yourself. Please read the above content carefully to solve your problem.

There Is Not Enough Memory or Disk Space FAQ

• Open File Explorer and look at the Devices and drives section.
• Open Disk Management and look at the capacity & free space of each drive.
• Open Settings -> choose System -> go to Storage option -> look at the Storage layout.

Computer crash and power failure occur frequently and unexpectedly. If you happen to be working hard on an Excel workbook but forget to save it in time when Excel stops working; or if you accidentally close the file without saving it, it would be a big tragedy. But, thankfully, Microsoft Excel has built-in AutoSave and AutoRecover features which can help you avoid losing important data. Follow us to see how these features recover unsaved excel files on Excel 2016/2013/2011/2007/2003.

We will also introduce a professional data recovery that can help you out when Excel's built-in features fail to work recover excel files that are not saved. A good habit of saving Excel files on time and preparing a backup copy will also work to your advantage.

Recover Unsaved Excel Files via AutoRecover

Microsoft Excel now has a built-in AutoRecover feature which can help users retrieve the files if Excel closes unexpectedly due to power failure or computer crash. It can restore the unsaved file to the last saved version. When Excel closes unexpectedly without saving your work, don't worry. Next time you run Excel, you can see the retrieved file in the Document Recovery pane.

But it should be noted that Excel AutoRecover is not workable unless you have saved the file at least once. If you have never saved the file before Excel accidentally stops working, the file will not be recovered.

Locate and Recover Unsaved Excel Files via AutoSave Folder

With AutoSave, another built-in feature of Microsoft Excel, a newly created excel file can be saved automatically in a preset interval. Even if users forget to save the file, they will not totally lose it when something goes wrong.

Like AutoRecover, AutoSave is turned on by default in Excel, and it also allows users to define the interval of auto saving and the location of the saved excel file. Once you close Excel documents without saving, the first thing that you should do when reopen Excel is to recover unsaved Excel files from AutoSave folder where the temporary excel files are stored.

To reach the auto-saved Excel files, do as the following steps:

Step 1: Click File > Open > Recent Workbooks.

Step 2: Go to the Recover Unsaved Workbooks.

Step 3: Select the needed file and click Open.

Step 4: When the document open in Excel, remember to click the Save as a button in the yellow bar above your worksheet and save the file to the desired location.

#Tip: Change Excel AutoSave Location and Settings

You can decide where to save autosave files in Excel and also how long should Excel autosave a document.

Step 1: Go to Excel autosave settings on your computer.

• Microsoft Excel 2013 and 2016 AutoSave Location: In Excel, click File > Options> Save.
• Microsoft Excel 2007 AutoSave Location: Click the Microsoft button > Excel >Save.

Step 2: Make sure both the Save AutoRecover information every X minutes box and Keep the last autosaved version if I close without saving box are selected.

Step 3: In the Save AutoRecover information every X minutes box, you can shorten or lengthen the interval as you like. In the AutoRecover File Location box, you can also decide where to put your saved file.

AutoSave Not Working? Restore Unsaved Excel Files in This Way

Though AutoSave is a very useful function, like all the other built-in features, it does not work well all the time. In fact, we have heard users complain from time to time that, even though they have seen the taskbar shows that Excel auto-saved their file many times, they have no luck in getting the latest saved version. That would be a nightmare if your efforts devoted to work are in vain. But, don't be upset or panicked, a professional data recovery, FonePaw Data Recovery(opens new window), for example, can be your great help. The program can recover lost or deleted Excel files, word documents and more from your Windows computer. In just a few steps, you can have your lost excel file back:

Step 1. Download and Install FonePaw Data Recovery

Step 2. Select 'Document' and Start Scanning

In the homepage, you can select file type and hard drive for the data recovery to scan. If you want to find your lost Excel workbook, click 'Document' and the hard drive where you have lost it, for example, Disk (C:) , then click 'Scan' to start the process.

Step 3. Preview The Scanned Results

FonePaw Data Recovery will present the scanned files in two lists, one is type list where all the data are categorized according to their formats; the other is Path list in which the founding documents are classified by their location.

In Type List, Select '.xlsx' . If there are '.xlk' documents, you should also select them, because '.xlk' document is the backup copy of Excel file.

Step 4. Recover The Lost Excel File

When you find the lost Excel file, select it and click Recover, then it will be safely put back to your device. If your excels are corrupted but you still need them, this way also works to recover the corrupted excel files.

Tips on Saving Excel Files

Though AutoSave and AutoRecovery are great features; data recovery is also a good tool, they are just temporary remedies. A good habit of saving important data and an awareness of preparing a backup of your Excell files can save you much trouble in the long run. Follow our bonus tips on how to save Excel files.

#Shorten The Interval of Excel AutoSave

Can't Save Microsoft Excel File Recovery

The amount of new information that the recovered Excel file contains depends on how frequently Excel auto saves the file. If your file is set to be auto-saved every 10 minutes, your newly input data of the last 8 minutes won't be contained when encountering a power failure or computer crash. Therefore, to save as much information as possible, you can enter a small number in the minutes box. The more frequently your Excel worksheet is saved, the more chances you will recover a complete file.

Can't Save Microsoft Excel File Format

#Backup Excel Files

A less commonly known feature of Excel is Auto Backup. In fact, this is a very useful function, for it can not only help you avoid losing important data, but it also allows you to have access to the previously saved version of your workbook. If you enable this function, the moment when you save the file, an Excel backup file will also be created with a '.xlk' extension. You don't have to worry that your file might disappear, for you can always refer to the backup.

Since the backup file is always one version behind the current version, if you make a bunch of changes to the file, save it but suddenly change your mind and want to get back to the previous version, you could just open the backup file, too. This will save you much trouble of rewriting the data.

To enable this feature, do as the followings:

Step 1: Go to File> Save as >Computer on Excel.

Step 2: Click the Browse button.

Step 3: When the Save as dialog window pops up, click the drop-down button of the Tools button which is at the lower right corner.

Cant Save Microsoft Excel File Instead

Step 4: Among a couple of options, select General Options> Always create backup.

Step 5: Click OK. Now a backup copy will be created automatically every time you save your file.

After reading this article, do you have a better understanding of how to recover unsaved Excel files? Remember, if they fail to work, you can turn to FonePaw Data Recovery for help. And don't forget to form a habit of saving files in time and always preparing a backup!