Five Fixes for 'There is not enough memory or disk space to run Word' Error

1. Free up memory and space
2. Microsoft Fix-It tool
3. Turn off automatic spelling checking
4. Delete Normal Template file
5. Reset Word's Registry Entries

I Can't Open Word Because There Is Not Enough Memory or Disk Space to Run Word

"While trying to open an existing Word .doc file, an error message comes up telling me that there is not enough memory or disk space to run Word. What's the problem? I checked the laptop memory. It is running on an 8GB memory with free disk space of more than 389GB. What's worse, besides the Word application, the other Office suite including Excel and PowerPoint have the same issues."

Microsoft Word 2003/2007/2010/2013/2016/2017 cannot open usually, and an error message comes up telling that 'there is not enough memory or disk space to run Word', how do you react to this moment? If you do not know how to free up the memory or disk space for rerunning the Word application, read this article and apply the five methods here.

Fix 1. Free up Memory Disk

If the real case is just like what the error message accurately describes, by freeing up some RAM or disk pace will help resolve the issue happily. EaseUS Tools M provides all Windows users with easy-to-use disk cleanup and optimization solution, and it was of great use when you received the insufficient disk space for Word running.

Step 1.  DOWNLOAD and install EaseUS Tools M. Select "System Cleanup" on the main screen.

Step 2. Select the type of junk files you want to scan and click "Analyze".

Step 3. Identify and select useless files and click "Clean up" to remove those files from your PC or laptop.

It's the easiest and most expected way to solve the insufficient space for Word as the first method instructed, however, most of the time, the error is not there. Even your computer has plenty of RAM and hard drive space available; the error can still happen. In this regard, you have to take four more fixes to remove the error permanently.

Fix 2. Run Fix-It Tool

The Fix-It tool is an inbuilt Microsoft Office tool which can repair many common Word problems. Just visit the Microsoft support page and download the tool. If clearing the disk space doesn't help get rid of the not enough memory space on Word, try the software's way. 

Fix 3. Turn off the Automatic Spelling Checking and Grammar Check

Word 2003, Word 2002, and Word 2000

Step 1. On the Tools menu, click "Options", and then click the "Spelling & Grammar" tab.
Step 2. Click to clear the Check spelling as you type check box.
Step 3. Click to clear the Check grammar as you type check box.

Word 2007

Step 1. Click the "Microsoft Office" Button, and then click "Word Options".
Step 2. Click "Proofing".
Step 3. Click to clear the Check spelling as you type check box.
Step 4. Click to clear the Mark grammar errors as you type check box.

Fix 4. Delete the Normal Template

Step 1. Press Windows + R and type cmd in the run box.
Step 2. Paste the command ren %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\Normal.dotm OldNormal.dotm and press Enter.
Step 3. Close the command prompt window and check if you can open the Word.

Fix 5. Reset Word's Registry Entries

Step 1. Press Windows + R keys and type cmd in the run box.

Step 2. Use the folder list, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\xx.0\Word, where "xx" will display your version of Word.

Step 3. Right-click the "Data" folder and pick "Export" to save a backup of your current settings. 

Step 4. Right-click the folder again and pick "Delete." 

Step 5. Open Word to check on the problem. If it still occurs, double-click the backup you exported to recover the settings, then perform the same procedure with the "Options" folder.