ACC2000: Error: "There Isn't Enough Disk Space or Memory"

ID: Q209940

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Access 2000

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

Advanced: Requires expert coding, interoperability, and multiuser skills.

This article applies only to a Microsoft Access database (.mdb).

SYMPTOMS

When you perform an operation on a table, you may receive the following error message if the operation creates a large number of page locks:

There isn't enough disk space or memory.

If you run an action query on a large table, you may receive the following error message:

There isn't enough disk space or memory to undo the data changes this action query is about to make.

CAUSE

The page locks required for the transaction exceed the MaxLocksPerFile value, which defaults to 9500 locks. The MaxLocksPerFile setting is stored in the Windows Registry.

RESOLUTION

There are several ways to work around this behavior:

You can use Regedit.exe to edit the Windows Registry and change the MaxLocksPerFile value permanently.

You can use the SetOption method of the DBEngine object to change the MaxLocksPerFile value temporarily in code.

If the error occurs when you run an action query, you can modify the query and set its UseTransaction property to No.

Method 1: Changing MaxLocksPerFile in the Windows Registry

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

Use Registry Editor to increase the MaxLocksPerFile value under the following key:


   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Jet\4.0\Engines\Jet 4.0

Note that this method changes the Windows Registry setting for all applications that use the Microsoft Jet database engine version 4.0.

Method 2: Using SetOption to Change MaxLocksPerFile Temporarily

NOTE: The sample code in this article uses Microsoft Data Access Objects. For this code to run properly, you need to reference the Microsoft DAO 3.6 Object Library.

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider or the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about Microsoft Certified Solution Providers, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/mcsp/

For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

The SetOption method temporarily overrides values for the Microsoft Jet database engine keys in the Windows Registry. The new value remains in effect until you change it again, or until the DBEngine object is closed.

NOTE: Changes made to the MaxLocksPerFile setting using the SetOption method will only be available through the current session of Data Access Objects (DAO). Queries run through the Microsoft Access user interface, will still use the settings within the registry.

The following code sample sets MaxLocksPerFile to 200,000 before executing an update operation inside a transaction:


Sub LargeUpdate()
   On Error GoTo LargeUpdate_Error
   Dim db As DAO.Database, ws As DAO.Workspace

   ' Set MaxLocksPerFile.
   DBEngine.SetOption dbMaxLocksPerFile, 200000

   Set db = CurrentDb
   Set ws = Workspaces(0)

   ' Perform the update.
   ws.BeginTrans
   db.Execute "UPDATE LargeTable SET Field1 = 'Updated Field'", _
      dbFailOnError
   ws.CommitTrans

   db.Close
   MsgBox "Done!"
   Exit Sub

LargeUpdate_Error:
   MsgBox Err & " " & Error
   ws.Rollback
   MsgBox "Operation Failed - Update Canceled"
   Exit Sub
End Sub

Method 3: Setting the UseTransaction Property in an Action Query

If a stored action query causes the error, you can set its UseTransaction property to No. Note that if you do this, you will not able to roll back your changes if there is a problem or an error while the query is executing:

Open the query in Design view.

On the View menu, click Properties.

Click an empty space in the upper half of the query window to display the Query Properties dialog box.

Set the UseTransaction property to No.

Save the query and close it.

MORE INFORMATION

The MaxLocksPerFile setting in the Windows Registry prevents transactions in the Microsoft Jet database engine from exceeding a specified value. If a transaction tries to create locks in excess of the MaxLocksPerFile value, the transaction is split into two or more parts and partially committed. This feature was added to Microsoft Access 97 to prevent Netware 3.1 server crashes when the specified Netware lock limit was exceeded, and to improve performance with both Netware and Microsoft Windows NT.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

The following example uses a Visual Basic procedure to create a table with 10,000 records in it, and then modifies the table in order to cause the error message:

Open the sample database Northwind.mdb.

Create a module and type the following procedure:


Sub CreateBigTable()
   Dim db As Database, rs As Recordset
   Dim iCounter As Integer, strChar As String
   Set db = CurrentDb
   db.Execute "CREATE TABLE BigTable (ID LONG, Field1 TEXT(255), " & _
     "Field2 TEXT(255), Field3 TEXT(255), Field4 TEXT(255))", _
     dbFailOnError
   Set rs = db.OpenRecordset("BigTable", dbOpenDynaset)
   iCounter = 0
   strChar = String(255, " ")
   While iCounter <= 10000
      rs.AddNew
      rs!ID = iCounter
      rs!Field1 = strChar
      rs!Field2 = strChar
      rs!Field3 = strChar
      rs!Field4 = strChar
      rs.Update
      iCounter = iCounter + 1
   Wend
   MsgBox "Done!"
End Sub

To run the procedure, type the following line in the Immediate window, and then press ENTER:
```
CreateBigTable 
```
The procedure creates a table called BigTable with 10,000 records in it.

Save the module as Module1 and close it.

Open the BigTable table in Design view.

Change the FieldSize property of Field4 to 253.

Save the table. Click Yes when you are prompted that some data may be lost. Note that, after a while, you receive the following error messages:

Microsoft Access can't change the data type.
There isn't enough disk space or memory.

Errors were encountered during the save operation. Data types were not changed. Properties were not updated.

REFERENCES

For more information about the SetOption method, in the Visual Basic Editor, click Microsoft Visual Basic Help on the Help menu, type "SetOption method" in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

For more information about customizing registry settings for the Jet database engine, click Microsoft Access Help on the Help menu, type "Customizing Windows Registry settings for Microsoft Jet" in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

For more information about the UseTransaction property, click Microsoft Access Help on the Help menu, type "UseTransaction property" in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

Additional query words: prb MaxLocksPerFile Netware


Keywords          : kberrmsg kbdta 
Version           : WINDOWS:2000
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: July 6, 1999