Outlook message store has reached its maximum size. Unable to delete any emails.
Just set up a new Lenovo laptop and installed the Microsoft 365 suite onto it. One of the email accounts is a Google based business account. My spouse has not kept current with periodically clearing the history, so the number of emails are the the hundreds of thousands and the data file has exceeded the 50G limit for Outlook.
So now when I go to click on one of the files in Outlook, the message reads:
The message store has reached is maximum size. To reduce the amount of data in this message store, select some items that you no longer need, and permanently SHIFT + DEL) delete them.
I have tried to do exactly that but it will not allow me to delete even a single email without receiving the same error message. I have tried the condense file process. Didn't work. Went into the registry to maximize the size of the data file, but it was already maxed out at 50G.
What else can I do to purge some of the files?
Hello Steve
you can connect directly to the HTTP access of the mail with OWA (https://Outlook.office.com), to clean or move messages easily.
=> Particularly, you can empty the trash and remove old sent emails (one year or more).
=> Another way to recover quickly a lot of place is to look for biggest messages, and remove (after download if necessary) useless joined files.
You can also change the configuration in the Outlook profile to synchronize only a part of the mailbox (6 months is the default, or 1 year).
=> All the messages will be accessible, but only the indicated period will be synchronized in the OST file.
ASKER
Yes, I did try that, but it did not help.
Odd. I have found it works OK for people that hit the 50Gb limit on OST file - the normal odd issues with mail not sending or inbox not syncing but Outlook doesn't TELL you anything.
This was article I was looking at little while back about it:
https://support.intermedia.com/app/articles/detail/a_id/17301/~/how-to-increase-the-size-limit-of-your-pst-and-ost-files-in-outlook-for-windows%3F#:~:text=The%20MaxLargeFileSize%20registry%20entry%20(default,to%20grow%20beyond%20this%20size.
So is this one profile, multiple or one account in it, and totalling over 50Gb using one OST file?
ASKER
Steve,
This is one profile with two different OSTs
From reading the question, is it the actual mailbox that as hit its 50GB limit? If so, use OWA and start deleting, remembering to also clear out the deleted folder.
If it is a OST issue, in the accout setting for Outlook, untick the cach setting.
Hello, it seems that the messaging system used is GMAIL, and not Microsoft. So, our solutions were not directly applicable, even if the solution has been to use the gmail web interface in place of Microsoft owa interface. But, the result is the same.
Yes, I understand the issue. It seems that the Outlook message store has exceeded its maximum size limit, and despite attempts to delete emails, you are encountering an error message. Additionally, you've tried the condense file process and attempted to adjust the registry settings without any success.
You can use following steps to fix the issue-
1. You should use the Outlook AutoArchive feature to move your older emails to archive file. This helps you in reducing the size of your main data file.
2. After that try to empty deleted items folder as items in this folder still contribute to the mailbox size of your outlook account.
3. Then try compacting your Outlook data file. This can be done through your Account Settings in Outlook. Go to Account Settings > Data Files > Settings > Advanced > Outlook Data File Settings > Compact Now. Or you should know more about how to compact your ost file in the Outlook.
4. Also check for Corrupted Items, for that you can run the Inbox Repair Tool (ScanPST.exe) to check and repair any corrupted items in your Outlook data file.
So this is the OST file that has grown to c 50Gb? Normally would have reduced the amount of mail to sync offline if so but you can increase the size through registry. Is this what you tried:
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