Excel cannot complete the task with available resources. Choose less data or close applications.

Anonymous
2010-05-05T14:25:22+00:00

Excel cannot complete the task with available resources. Choose less data or close applications. the size of the file is 640MB with over 250k records. I have 3.25GB of memory. It takes 5 mintues for the file to open.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2011-09-07T15:07:34+00:00

I have been experiencing this problem for months (i.e., Excel cannot complete the task with available resources. Choose less data or close applications).  I am running Windows 7 and Office 2010.  The problem can occur with very small spreadsheets so it has nothing to do with the complexity of the spreadsheets.  After reading the other posts, especially the one from Chuthor, I began to suspect incompatibilities between Excel and other MS software that I've downloaded.

Anyway, I just uninstalled Windows Live Essentials and Microsoft Outlook Social Connector for Live Messenger, which came with an update from Microsoft on 4/7/2011.  This appears to have solved the problem.

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Anonymous
2012-04-09T18:19:33+00:00

We eventually opened a ticket with Microsoft. Apparently this is on their radar, with no real fix just this work around. The users were experiencing this error daily, and by disabling preview pane in the 3 necessar locations completly fixed the issue. Here is the workaround MS sent me.

Windows 7 is new with Preview/Details panes. These Preview/Details panes contribute to the "Available resources" issues, as well as our "Locked for Editing by another user" issues. We consider turning them off in these 3 locations as a valid test:

Windows:

1. Right click on Start Ribbon.

2. Click Open Windows Explorer.

3. Click Organize | Layout  |

4. Uncheck Details Pane and Preview Pane.

Excel:

1. Click File | Open.

2. Click Organize | Layout  |

3. Uncheck Details Pane and Preview Pane.

Outlook:

1. Open a new e-mail.

2. In the "Include" group, click Attach File.

3. Click Organize | Layout  |

4. Uncheck Details Pane and Preview Pane.

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-02-28T19:34:06+00:00

    This problem is very frustrating.  I am seeing it posted in many forums, but there are no answers that work.  In my case, I am using Office 2010 on Windows 7.  My Excel files are very small - - no macros, 20 rows, etc.  I cannot seem to open more than one at a time.  Even if I close everything else (Word, Outlook) I still cannot open a second file.  The problem is intermittent.

    I ran the Process Explorer tool mentioned above, but don't know what I am looking for after running it.  Someone really needs to look into this further, I cannot work like this.

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-02-20T19:35:58+00:00

    Ryan, 

    Unfortunately, your response doesn't really help.  If I took the time to use Process Explorer, would I be then left with an actionable conclusion? I am not as fluent as you in the internal workings of my computer, so I think not. 

    Adgurl has the exact same issue as I have, and trust me, it makes me want to destroy my computer and go back to Mac.  Why does this error occur? I am running on a 64-Bit system (Windows 7), with Office 2010, so as you say, my Excel should not be limiting the memory it can use. The files I try to open are not large (1MB or less). 

    Thanks for your response.

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-02-16T22:07:23+00:00

    Hi everybody - a lot to address here!  :)

    First - the memory background.  Excel has a memory limitation of 2GB.  This is not Microsoft or Office only, but all 32-bit applications made by anyone.  So having a 4GB, 8GB, 20GB, however big machine doesn't really matter.  32-bit Excel can only use 2GB of it.  However, starting with Office 2010, you can now get these applications in 64-bit which alllows Excel to use all of the memory available on the machine.  Most users won't need that much memory, but if you're consistently running into the above error it would be something to look at.  (P.S.  Processor speed isn't part of the equation.)

    Second - the error message.  Excel is throwing the message, but it may or may not be Excel using all the memory.  As the message states, closing other applications is a possible solution.  Another resolution may be to not referencing entire columns in formulas or defined names (a best practice is to NEVER reference entire columns, especially in the larger grid introduced in 2007).

    Third - the resolution.  If it were me constantly or randomly getting the error, I'd take a look at the memory allocation when it happens.  You could try Task Manager, but it only shows the memory being used, Excel (and other apps) "reserve" memory as well.  This is not shown in Task Manager, but can be seen using a different tool called Process Explorer.  It's a free download from Microsoft, and can be found here:

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653

    Hope this helps!

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