Error message when you try to add a contact in Outlook 2003: "There is not enough memory to perform the operation"

You run Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 in a Microsoft Exchange Server environment. Additionally, you have multiple certificates that were added to your Active Directory user account. When you try to add a Global Address Book entry to your Contacts folder, the contact is not added. Additionally, you receive the following error message:

This problem may occur if the size of the certificate data exceeds 32,768 bytes (32 KB).

To resolve this problem, apply hotfix 948075. Then, add the StripCertsNotValidForMail value to the registry to enable the hotfix.

How to obtain the hotfix

This issue is fixed in the Outlook 2003 post-Service Pack 3 hotfix package that is dated February 24, 2009. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to enable the hotfix

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

To enable this hotfix, follow these steps:

1. Exit Outlook 2003.
2. Start Registry Editor.
   • In Windows Vista, click Start
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     , type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
     
     
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     If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.
   • In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
3. Click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Security
4. After you select the subkey that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
5. Type StripCertsNotValidForMail, and then press ENTER.
6. Right-click StripCertsNotValidForMail, and then click Modify.
7. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
8. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

All the certificate data from your Active Directory user account is stored in the contact as a single property. The size of the type of property that is used to store the data is limited to 32 KB by MAPI. This hotfix does not remove the 32-KB limitation. Instead, this hotfix strips any certificates that are not marked for e-mail use out of the certificate list. Typically, if you have more than 32 KB of certificate data, most of the certificates are not for e-mail use.

Consider the following scenario. You have 35 certificates in your Active Directory user account. Each certificate is 1,000 bytes (1 KB). Of the 35 certificates, 30 certificates are not marked for use in e-mail security. In this scenario without the hotfix applied, you cannot save the entry to your Contacts folder. In this scenario with the hotfix applied, 30 of the certificates are stripped from the contact when you save the entry. The remaining five certificates are successfully saved together with the contact data.

Note If all 35 certificates in your Active Directory user account are marked for e-mail use, no certificates are eligible to be stripped. You will still be unable to save the contact successfully. To resolve this problem, remove some certificates manually from your Active Directory user account.