XL97: "Out of Virtual Memory" Opening Many Workbooks with ActiveX or OCX Controls (238570)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q238570

SYMPTOMS

If you open and close a large number of workbooks, a slowdown in computer performance and "out of virtual memory" messages can occur. Eventually, if left to continue, the program may stop responding (hang) or generate various errors. The amount of time before errors occur depends on the amount of memory available and the amount of memory the controls on each workbook use.

CAUSE

When opening a workbook that contains an ActiveX/OCX control, the Excel process acquires a minimum of 20 private bytes. It does not release this memory when it closes a workbook, but only releases it when the Excel process ends. The amount of the private byte leak can be greater, depending on which ActiveX/OCX control(s) you use in a workbook. You can observe this behavior within Windows NT Performance Monitor or other similar tool.

RESOLUTION

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:
   Date      Time    Version     Size       File name     Platform
   ----------------------------------------------------------------
   6/3/99    4:02PM  8.0.1.6603  5,615,376  Excel.exe     INTEL x86
   5/18/99   4:30PM  8.2.0.6514     18,944  Scanload.dll  INTEL x86

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/12/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbbug kbfix KB238570
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