How to Fix Microsoft Outlook Error - Out of Memory or System Resources?

Every program you run on your computer requires and uses a certain amount of RAM based on the application's task. Some apps may require more RAM to run, such as Chrome with multiple open tabs. This may lead to higher resource usage and cause system slowdown or performance issues. This may also prevent other applications from running or launching—leading to error messages.

Out of memory or system resources is one such example of an error message that may appear when you launch or use Outlook, but the system could not provide enough RAM for performing the required tasks.

The error may appear in any Outlook version, such as Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, or 2021. It is also not an OS-specific error. You may encounter this or similar errors in any Windows edition.

Reasons for Out Of Memory or System Resources Error in Outlook

The error is primarily caused by low system resources, such as RAM, storage media, etc., or high resource usage by other applications. Further, the error may occur if there's a problem with your Outlook profile or the data file, i.e., PST. A PST file is prone to damage due to oversizing and issues, such as incompatible or faulty add-ins, virus or malware intrusion, abrupt system shutdown or crash, improper Outlook termination, etc.

Know more: Common errors with corrupted Outlook profile and how to repair Outlook profile.

Solutions to Fix Out of Memory or System Resources Error in Outlook

Below we have discussed some verified solutions that can help you fix the out of memory or system resources Outlook error.

1. Close Other Programs

To free up some memory and ensure sufficient RAM is available for Outlook, close all other programs that you are running. You should also check and review the startup items to ensure programs do not start automatically on system boot unless required.

Many programs you install create an entry in the startup items, making the system slow by consuming the RAM unnecessarily and impacting other programs. Once you close all the programs, restart Outlook to use it normally.

To visually check available RAM and other resources, press CTRL+ALT+DEL keys and click Task Manager. Click More Details and then go to Performance tab.

Note: If your work requires using multiple apps or opening multiple Chrome tabs, your system RAM or resources may run out quickly and prevent other programs from working properly. Thus, you can add more RAM and faster storage or upgrade your system to fix such performance-related errors permanently. ?

2. Update Outlook

Updating Outlook and installing pending Windows Updates may help resolve such errors in some cases. You can check for an update in Outlook under the Office Account or Account option. The detailed steps are as follows:

• Open Outlook and go to File > Office Account.
• Click Update Options and then choose Enable Updates or Update Now.

• If the ‘Update Options’ is not available in your Outlook version, it could be because your company uses Group Policy to manage Office updates. In such a case, you should check, download, and install Windows Updates to install the latest Microsoft Office updates.

3. Remove Additional Profile or PST Files

Using multiple profiles or accessing multiple PST files in Outlook may increase RAM usage. However, if the system doesn’t have sufficient RAM to allocate, Outlook may close or prevent you from accessing your mail account with the error message, “out of memory or system resources.”

In such a case, you may remove the profiles or PST files that are not required. The steps are as follows:

• Open Outlook and go to File > Info > Account Settings > Account Settings.
• Click Data Files and select the profiles or associated PST files you don't often use or require.
• Then click Remove.

• Confirm the change and then repeat the steps to remove other profiles.

Tip: You may restart and use Outlook after removing one profile or PST file to check if that has fixed the problem. If not, you may go ahead and remove one more. This way, you may fix the issue without removing all PST files or profiles.

4. Reduce Memory Cache Size for Each PST File

If you don't want to remove PST files, you may try reducing the memory cache size for the PST files using the Registry Editor. The steps are as follows:

• Close Outlook and press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box.
• Type regedit and press the Enter key. This will open the Registry Editor window.
• Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER> Software> Microsoft> Office> XX.X> Outlook> PST.
• Right-click on the blank area and choose New > DWORD (32-Bit).

• Rename the key as UseLegacyCacheSize and change the value to 1.
• Save it and then close the Registry Editor.
• Restart the system for changes to take effect.

5. Create a New Profile

By creating a new profile in Outlook, you can replace the older one that might be corrupt, resulting in the “out of memory or system resources” error message. The steps are as follows:

• Open Control Panel, search and click on the Mail option.
• Click Show Profiles and then click the Add button.

·????????Type the new profile name in the Profile Name box and click OK.

·????????Follow the wizard to configure your email account under the new profile.

·????????Once configured, you may remove the old profile after taking a backup.

This should resolve the out of memory error, if caused by a corrupt or damaged email profile.

6. Repair the PST File

You may also try repairing the PST file to troubleshoot and fix the low memory or out of memory issue in Outlook. To fix the PST file damage or corruption, you can use SCANPST.EXE (also known as Inbox Repair Tool) or a third-party Outlook repair software. This can help you fix the error message and get back access to all your mail items.

To repair the PST file using SCANPST, follow these steps:

• Press Windows + R, type %programfiles%/Microsoft/Office/Vxx or %programfiles(x86)%/Microsoft/Office/Vxx.
• Find and launch the SCANPST program.
• Click Browse and select the PST file. The default location is %localappdata%/Microsoft/Outlook.
• After selecting the PST file, click Start.

• The tool will scan and display if any errors are found. Click Repair.
• After the repair, start Outlook and check if the error “out of memory or system resources” appears.

Note: Inbox Repair Tool can repair minor corruption in PST files with a size of up to 2 GB. The tool may freeze or crash, if the PST is larger than 2 GB or severely corrupt. Besides, the tool repairs the PST file by removing irrecoverable mail items that can lead to data loss.?

However, if the Inbox Repair Tool fails to repair the PST file, crashes, or freezes during the repair process, it indicates the PST file is severely corrupt or oversized beyond the capabilities of the tool.

In such a case, you can download and install the Outlook PST repair tool—Stellar Repair for Outlook to repair the severely damaged PST file and save the mail items in a new PST file with complete integrity and precision. The software can also export the mail items, such as emails, contacts, attachments, calendar items, etc., from repaired PST files directly to Office 365 or live Exchange Server. Also, there's no risk of data loss. In addition, you can also recover accidentally deleted mail items using the software in a few clicks. Besides, it also splits large PSTs into smaller ones, making them easier to access in Outlook without utilizing more RAM, disk usage, or processing power.

To Wrap Up

Most Microsoft Outlook errors occur due to damage to the email profile or the data file that stores the mailbox items on your local drive. However, ‘out of memory or system resources’ is a slightly different error that usually occurs when the system is running low on RAM or resources. This could happen because other apps use more RAM or when the system fails to allocate the required RAM to Outlook. In this article, we have shared some troubleshooting solutions to help you fix the error in Microsoft Outlook and get back access to your emails. However, if basic troubleshooting, such as closing other programs or upgrading RAM, does not resolve the issue, you should consider repairing the PST file and setting up a new Outlook profile.