Excel Mac memory issues. 'There isn't enough memory to complete this action.'

Question

Hi,

I have recently switched to Macbook pro. I have office 365 subscription. So I have the latest version of the office. I run into memory problems when I try to edit the excel files such as inserting columns or deleting columns. Basically I can't do any thing with the file but the file opens alright. I get this message 'There isn't enough memory to complete this action'. Try using less data or closing other applications. I have enough memory and the activity monitor doesn't show any abnormal activity. This happens with big sized files (>10MB). When I use the same file in my windows laptop I have no problems editing excel files whatever their size is. I have tried various things such as starting up in safe mode. None of them seem to be helpful. Here are the specs of my Macbook.

MacBook Pro (16 inch, 2019)

Memory 16GB

The excel version is

Excel for Mac

Version 16.54

Could you please help solving this issue. Currently I am using my old pc laptop to handle large excel file.

Thank you,

Regards

BT.

Answer 1

Hi BalaThumma：

Based on your description, we understand that you met the error meassage 'There isn't enough memory to complete this action'.

The above memory error messages can be generic and don't always identify the real cause of the issue. However, if your file is large or contains a large number of features, it is possible you are running low on available memory resources.

Before we explore the more common reasons for the memory errors, it good to understand Excel's limitations. See the following resources for more information:

• Excel specifications and limits
• Excel 2010 Performance: Performance and Limit Improvements
• Memory usage in the 32-bit edition of Excel 2013 and 2016

If you are not hitting a resource limitation, these are the most common resolutions.

Resolution:

Antivirus can sometimes cause problems by continuously trying to scan the Excel file or something in the file. Many times the memory error will be random and will be found with any spreadsheet. Test this by shutting off the antivirus temporarily, or by not having Excel files scanned. In some cases, the AV will need to be removed.  

Test with 64-bit version of Excel:

Working with large Excel files can use the memory available to the 32-bit Excel application. In any 32-bit application there is a 2-GB limitation.

If your processes need to use more than 2 GB's, then you need to carefully consider moving to Microsoft Excel 64-bit version. The 64-bit version will allow all available physical RAM on the machine to be used. If you are interested in researching 64-bit versions, see 64-bit editions of Office 2013.

Running Office by starting up your Mac in safe mode

If the problem persists, Please try running Office by starting up your Mac in safe mode to see the result. This can help us check whether issues you are experiencing are caused by software that loads as your Mac starts up.

More Information:Clean up an Excel workbook so that it uses less memory - Office | Microsoft Docs

Hope this will help you.

Can you tell me the version of the operating system if the problem persists?.

Tin

Answer 2

I think the problem is related to recent Macos upgrade to Monterey. It was working fine on previous MacOS Big Sur. May be excel needs to be upgraded to make it work in Monterey version. I have seen others reporting the same problem with the Monterey version. My only option I think is to downgrade MacOs from Monterey to Blig Sur to work with the excel.