Windows XP and Excel "not enough memory" error

[chris]

When opening multiple worksheets that are > 20MB with over
40,000 rows of data, Excel 97 AND Excel 2000 both
display "not enough memory" upon opening of the 5th
worksheet. CPU Usage hits 50%, available memory is
~400MB+.

FYI, Opsys is Windows XP SP1. Platform is a new Dell
OptiPlex GX270 workstation with 1 GB RAM.

When doing same on Windows 98 box with 128MB RAM, no
issues.
..

 

[Alex Nichol]

When opening multiple worksheets that are > 20MB with over
40,000 rows of data, Excel 97 AND Excel 2000 both
display "not enough memory" upon opening of the 5th
worksheet. CPU Usage hits 50%, available memory is
~400MB+.

Excel has its own limits on how much memory it can use for individual
structures - this has nothing to do with the OS. I understand the
limits are broadened in Office 2003

 

[Alex Nichol]

How to optimize Windows XP for the best performance:
http://www.fixyourwindows.com/optimizewindows.htm

The advice given there in respect of Virtual Memory is flat bad.

And I would not advise turning off System Restore either, and other
recommendations are at best dubious