The error in Word “Not enough memory to complete the operation” is one of the main problems that prevents the user from working in this program. It can appear at any stage of work with the text: opening, closing, saving, editing. This article will talk about its causes and ways to deal with this problem.
Why does the "Not enough memory to complete the operation" error appear when opening a file in Word?
The reasons for this problem are as follows:
- The activity of the Nimda worm virus.
- Crash in editor settings.
- Lack of space in ROM (on hard disk).
- Lack of RAM.
- Invalid swap file size.
- Damaged sectors on the HDD.
Reception No. 1: Recovery after cyber occupation
When a Nimda virus infects a computer, one of the system files called Riched20.dll is damaged. Getting rid of the error in Word “Not enough memory to complete the operation” caused by malicious code is divided into 2 stages: the destruction of cyberparasite and the restoration of the original dynamic library file.
The first step is to scan your PC sequentially with several anti-virus scanners. For example: Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool, Dr.Web CureIt or AVZ4.
After cleaning, you need to restore the file damaged by the virus. To do this, you need:
- Find and delete its damaged copy. Search Button (Windows XP).
The keyboard shortcut is Ctrl + F (Windows 7.8).
- Install the appropriate fix pack (service pack) for the editor or Microsoft Office suite. You can download it from the company website.
If, after installing the service pack, the problem persists, then reinstall the entire Office suite of programs completely.
Reception No. 2: Renaming the settings file
Damage to the Normal.dot file is the second most common reason why Word writes: "Not enough memory to complete the operation." What to do in this case? And you need to do the following:
- Find the required file on the hard drive.
- Rename it using the F2 key or the command of the same name in the context menu called by RMB.
- Launch the editor.
After changing the file name, the program will create another one, but with the default settings.
Reception number 3: cleaning the hard drive
Over time, Windows accumulates garbage in the form of unnecessary files. In addition to reducing the free space on the drive, it is the third cause of the "Not enough memory to complete the operation" error in Microsoft Word. To clean the hard drive, you need:
- Manually remove from the disk on which the editor is installed, unnecessary programs, films, music and other multimedia files.
- Erase a disk using the Windows-integrated tool of the same name. You can call it in the properties window of the hard disk by clicking on the "Disk Cleanup" button.
- In the window that opens after analyzing the drive, check the box next to each line.
- Click the "Clear system files" button, and then click "OK."
In addition to the regular cleaning method, you can check the disk and registry status using the CCleaner utility.
Reception No. 4: lack of memory in RAM and swap file
The fourth reason an error occurs in Word “Not enough memory to complete the operation” is the lack of RAM. In order not to spend money on a new RAM bar, you can try to free the existing volume from garbage:
- Disable programs that work secretly (in the background). Their icons are usually located in the notification bar.
- Close all resource-intensive applications. For example, a browser with 20 or more open tabs.
- Reduce the list of applications starting with the system.
- Disable unnecessary services using the msconfig command.
Also, an error may occur if the page file is not large enough. It is located on the hard drive, and in it the system saves data that it does not currently need.
To increase it, you need:
- Right-click the pop-up menu of the "Computer" window and click on the "Properties" sub-item in it.
- In a new window, go to the "Advanced system settings" section.
- In the newly opened window, select the "Advanced" tab and activate the "Options" button in the "Performance" subunit in it.
- In the dialog box that opens, go to the "Advanced" tab and click on the "Change ..." button.
- Uncheck the line “Set value automatically” and put a check mark next to “Specify size”.
- If the amount of installed memory is less than 4 GB, then enter in the text box a number that is twice the amount in megabytes. If the PC has 2 GB of RAM, then enter 4096. If the size of the RAM exceeds 8 GB, then a multiple of 16 will be enough.
Reception number 5: bad sectors
When working with Windows, bad sectors inevitably appear on its disk - sections of the HDD from which the system cannot read information. Sectors that record paging file size information are sometimes damaged. And then the error in Word “Not enough memory to complete the operation” begins to appear.
To "repair" damaged areas, you need to use the built-in CheckDisk utility. It can be launched using the command line or graphical interface. The use of the latter is as follows:
- On the system partition of the hard drive, click RMB and go to "Properties".
- In the new dialog box, go to the "Service" tab and click the "Check" button.
- In the newly opened window, set the marks for about 2 lines.
- Click the “Start” button and wait for the utility to finish working.
Note! The line - "Automatically fix system errors" will require a reboot. It will also help to repair the missing Riched20.dll file if there are no files to reinstall the Microsoft Office package.
The methods that help to fix the error "Not enough memory to complete the operation" in Word are varied, but simple enough to be performed by an ordinary user.