“Your system is low on virtual memory” error message when you try to start an Office program

When you start any of the Microsoft Office 2010, 2007, or 2003 programs, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following error message: If you click OK, you may receive the following error message:

This behavior may occur if you try to start any of the programs included in Office on a computer where the paging file value setting is too low.

To have us increase the size of the paging file for you, go to the "Fix it for me" section. If you prefer to fix this problem yourself, go to the "Let me fix it myself" section.

Fix it for me

To fix this problem automatically, click the Fix it button or link. Click Run in the File Download dialog box, and follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.




Notes

• The package will change the Initial size value to 1.5 times of your RAM and change the Maximum size value to 3 times of your RAM if the space is enough.
• If you are not on the computer that has the problem, save the Fix it solution to a flash drive or a CD and then run it on the computer that has the problem.

Then, go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

Let me fix it myself

To resolve this behavior, increase the size of the paging file. To do so, follow these steps as appropriate for your operating system.

Note Microsoft Office 2010 and Office 2007 require Windows XP or later.

Windows 2000

1. Right-click My Computer and then click Properties.
2. In the System Properties dialog box, click Advanced
3. Click Performance Options.
4. In the Virtual memory pane, click Change to increase the paging file.
   
   Windows 2000 requires an Initial value of 126 MB for debugging.
5. After you change the setting, click Set, and then click OK.
6. In the System Control Panel Applet dialog box, click OK to the following message:
   The changes you have made require you to restart your computer before they can take effect.
7. Click OK to close the Performance Options dialog box, and then click OK to close the System Properties dialog box.
8. When you are prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.

Windows XP

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab.
3. In the Performance pane, click Settings.
4. In the Performance Options dialog box, click the Advanced tab.
5. In the Virtual memory pane, click Change.
6. Change the Initial size value and the Maximum size value to a higher value, click Set, and then click OK.
7. Click OK to close the Performance Options dialog box, and then click OK to close the System Properties dialog box.

With virtual memory, the computer can use hard disk space as random access memory (RAM). The computer uses virtual memory to augment the ordinary RAM that is installed on the computer. If you reduce the size of the paging file, the Office program may not start correctly or may not start at all. This behavior may occur even if the computer has lots of RAM.  For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Did this fix the problem?

• Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this section. If the problem is not fixed, you can contact support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus) .
• We would appreciate your feedback. To provide feedback or to report any issues with this solution, please leave a comment on the "Fix it for me (http://blogs.technet.com/fixit4me/) " blog or send us an email (mailto:fixit4me@microsoft.com?Subject=KB) .