What is Out of Memory error while copying files? As you know, both the hard drive and RAM play a major role in performing any operation on a computer since every process or task that takes place in the system requires some RAM storage as well as hard drive storage to be executed. However, there are times when you may receive the following error messages when you try to copy files from one location to another:
“Out of memory or system resources, Close some windows or programs and try again.”
“There is not enough memory to complete this operation – copying files.”
These errors are caused by the Desktop Heap limitation when there is no longer enough memory to complete the operation while copying the files. If you encounter any of these errors, you will be guided in this post with the help of some potential fixes that can increase its limit and will hopefully fix this error on your Windows 10 computer.
You may try to close all the open windows and programs and then try copying the file again and see if that helps. If not, then proceed to the instructions given below. But before you do that, make sure that you create a System Restore point first. This way, you can undo the changes you’ve made any time in case there are some unwanted changes you want to reverse. After you create a System Restore point, refer to the steps provided below.
Step 1: Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “Regedit” in the field and tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Step 2: Next, navigate to this registry key: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerSubSystems
Step 3: Now double click on the DWORD named Windows to modify it.
Step 4: Change the values for SharedSection in the Value Data field. It should be in the format of “SharedSection=aaaa,bbbb,cccc”. Note that you have to change the value of “bbbb” and “cccc”. So in case you are using an x86 operating system, set the value of bbbb to
12288 and then set the value for cccc to
1024. On the other hand, if you are using an x64 operating system, set the bbbb value to
20480 and the cccc value to
1024.
Step 5: Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.
Note: The bbbb value in the SharedSection registry is the size of the desktop heap for each interactive window station while the cccc section of the SharedSection value is the size of the desktop heap for each non-interactive window station. In addition, you must keep in mind that setting the value of bbbb to more than 20480 KB is not really recommended.
On the other hand, there is another tool that could help in resolving the Out of Memory error. This tool is called the Memory Diagnostic tool in windows can help resolve the Out of Memory error by checking and automatically fixing any memory-based issues. To run it, refer to these steps:
- Tap the Win + R keys to open Run and type mdsched.exe and hit Enter to open the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool.
- After that, it will give two options such as:
- Restart now and check for problems (Recommended)
- Check for problems the next time I start my computer
- Once your computer has restarted, perform a basic scan or you could also go for the “Advanced” options such as “Test mix” or “Pass count”. Simply tap the F10 key to start the test.
Note: After you select your preferred option, your computer will restart and check for memory-based issues. If it finds any issues, it will automatically fix them.