Symptoms
Consider the following scenario. In Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 or Microsoft Outlook 2010, the certificate data for a contact is larger than 32 kilobytes. When you try to save the contact in this scenario, you experience one of the following problems:
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If you are running Outlook in Online mode, you receive the following error message:
There is not enough memory available to perform the operation.
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If you are running Outlook in Cached mode, the contact is saved successfully to an .ost file. However, when the .ost file syncs to the server, an error that resembles the following is logged in the synchronization log:
Error synchronizing message Contact_Name. There is not enough memory available to perform the operation. Moved a message that failed synchronization to 'Local Failures'. Message subject -> Contact_Name. You can view this message in your offline folder file only. Error synchronizing folder. The client operation failed.
Resolution
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
Outlook 2007
This issue is fixed in the Outlook 2007 hotfix package that is dated August 25, 2009. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:Â
973404Â Description of the Outlook 2007 hotfix package (Outlook-x-none.msp): August 25, 2009
To resolove this issue in Outlook 2007, follow these steps:
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Apply the hotfix package that is described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
973404 Description of the Outlook 2007 hotfix package (Outlook-x-none.msp): August 25, 2009
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Configure the MaxCertsSize registry entry. To do this, follow these steps:
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Start Registry Editor.
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In Windows Vista, click Start
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In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
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Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Security
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On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
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Type MaxCertsSize, and then press ENTER.
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Right-click MaxCertsSize, and then click Modify.
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In the Value data box, type any DWORD value to restrict the maximum certificate size, and then click OK.
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Exit Registry Editor.
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Outlook 2010
To resolve this issue in Outlook 2010, follow these steps:
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Configure the MaxCertsSize registry entry. To do this, follow these steps:
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Start Registry Editor.
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In Windows Vista, click Start
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In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
-
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Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Security
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On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
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Type MaxCertsSize, and then press ENTER.
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Right-click MaxCertsSize, and then click Modify.
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In the Value data box, type any DWORD value to restrict the maximum certificate size, and then click OK.
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Exit Registry Editor.
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The following table contains all the possible results based on the value that you specify for the MaxCertsSize registry entry and the actual size of the certificate data for the contact.
|
MaxCertsSize value (x) |
Actual size of the certificate data (y) |
Result |
|---|---|---|
|
x = 0 |
y >0 |
No certificate data is saved with the contact. There is no error message. |
|
0 <= x <= 32768 |
y < x |
All certificate data is saved with the contact. |
|
0 <= x <= 332768 |
x < y <= 32768 |
No certificate data is saved with the contact. There is no error message. |
|
x > 32768 |
y <= 32768 |
All certificate data is saved with the contact. |
|
x > 32768 |
32768 < y < x |
You cannot save items (Online mode) or sync items (Cached mode). You experience the symptoms that were described earlier. This scenario is the same as not having applied the hotfix at all. |
|
x > 32768 |
y >= x |
No certificate data is saved with the contact. There is no error message. |
Note The value of the MaxCertsSize registry entry should be less than or equal to 32 kilobytes. We recommend that you not set the value of the MaxCertsSize registry entry to a figure larger than 32,768. This is because you can never save more than 32 kilobytes of certificate data.
Additionally, if this change prevents you from saving certificate data with the contact, Outlook still uses a certificate for users if the users have their certificates published to the global address list (GAL).
To remove certificates that are not for e-mail use, apply the following hotfix:
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
945014 Error message when you try to add an Active Directory user account as a contact in Outlook: "There is not enough memory to perform the operation"
After you apply this hotfix, you must set the value of the StripCertsNotValidForMail registry entry to 1 to remove the certificates that are not for e-mail use. You can use the MaxCertsSize registry entry and the StripCertsNotValidForMail registry entry together to resolve this problem.
Status
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
More Information
The MaxCertsSize registry entry serves as a rough restriction of the maximum certificate size because there are various ways to sum up the size of the certificate data. If the value that is specified in the registry entry is close to the value of the total certificate size, you may experience different scenarios when you try to add contacts.
For example, the certificates that are associated with the GAL entry may remain in a newly-added contact if you add a GAL entry to Outlook contacts by following these steps:
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On the Tools menu, click Address Book.
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Right-click a GAL entry, and then click Add to Contacts.
However, the certificates that are associated with the GAL entry may be removed if you add the GAL entry by following these steps:
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Right-click a sender or a recipient in a received message.
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Click Add to Outlook Contacts.
