Message store full, but cannot delete anything to free up space.

Question

Hi

I'm getting a message telling me to permanently delete (shift+Del) items to free up space in the message store, but nothing will delete.  What do I do? I tried reading previous solutions to this, but it's all way above my head.  Please can I have an easy to follow solution, or a link to fix the problem.

Thankyou.

Answer 1

Is this with using an Exchange mail account? (Not Outlook.com) What size is the msg store?

Answer 2

Hi DaveLucas1,

Based on your scenario, I recommend you could use Mailbox Cleanup tool to trim the size of your mailbox, in Outlook client, click File > Tools > Mailbox Cleanup, then you could view the size of your mailbox and do related operation to trim mailbox, for details, please view https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/manage-my-mailbox-size-792b521c-3f4e-404e-b436-9c197bad6f45

If you store the mailbox data in an Outlook Data File(.pst) or Offline Outlook Data File(.ost), you may also need to compact them. For your reference: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/reduce-the-size-of-your-mailbox-and-outlook-data-files-pst-and-ost-e4c6a4f1-d39c-47dc-a4fa-abe96dc8c7ef#:~:text=Reduce%20your%20mailbox%20size.%201%20Click%20the%20File,Empty%20Deleted%20Items%20folder%2C%20View%20Conflicts%20...%20

If issue still exists, please capture screenshots of the prompt information and your actual mailbox storage for further checking.

Kind Regards,

Betty

Answer 3

Hi Betty

Thankyou for your help.

I have tried deleting the deleted items as per your instruction, but nothing is happening.  I tried pasting a snip of the error message in this box, but it won't paste.  The message says:

'Sending reported error (0x8404060C): The message store has reached its maximum size.  To reduce the amount of data in this message store, select some items that you no longer need, and permanently (SHIFT + DEL) delete them.'

When I go into Outlook Tools, Mailbox Cleanup, the Mailbox size = 55724969KB.  The Deleted  Items folder size = 127945KB.  If I click 'Empty' nothing happens.

If I go to Outlook Tools and click Empty Deleted Items Folder from the Tools dropdown, I get the same message - ' The message store has reached its maximum size.  To reduce the amount of data in this message store, select some items that you no longer need, and permanently (SHIFT + DEL) delete them.'

I'm going round and round in circles.  It's very frustrating.  What can I do?  I've put the computer back to factory settings and started from scratch with downloading Office 365, but still have the same problem.

There must be a simple fix, surely?

Thanks.

Answer 4

Hi Palcouk

What do you mean by an Exchange account?

My email is Gmail, and I need to work through Outlook (Office 365).

According to Outlook, Tools,  Mailbox Cleanup, the Mailbox size = 55724969KB.  The Deleted  Items folder size = 127945KB.  If I click 'Empty' nothing happens.

If I go to Outlook Tools and click Empty Deleted Items Folder from the Tools dropdown, I get the same message - ' The message store has reached its maximum size.  To reduce the amount of data in this message store, select some items that you no longer need, and permanently (SHIFT + DEL) delete them.'

I'm very frustrated with it all and just need to be able to work.

Any simple suggestions?

Thanks.

Answer 5

Hi DaveLucas1,

It sounds strange, may I know what happens when you try to delete the email? No response? If you go to Gmail website to delete the emails, does it work? If you are not able to delete the emails in Gmail website either, you are recommended to contact Gmail support for more suggestion. If the issue only occurs in Outlook client, I recommend you create a new profile and re-configure account there, then view if related emails could be deleted.

Note: To avoid unexpected data loss, please don't remove previous profile.

Kind Regards,

Betty