XL: "Disk Is Full" Error Saving Workbook

ID: Q149166

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 4.0, 5.0
Microsoft Excel for Windows NT, version 5.0
Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 4.0, 5.0

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel, if you open a workbook that has a file size equal to or greater than the free space on a disk, and you then save the workbook, you may receive the error message

Disk is Full

followed by:

Document not saved.

For example, if you open a 710-kilobyte (KB) workbook on a 1.44-megabyte (MB) disk, and you then change and save the workbook, you will receive the error messages.

CAUSE

When you save a file that you changed in some way, Microsoft Excel saves the file with a temporary file name with a .tmp file name extension and places this file in the same directory as the original file. The original file is then deleted and the temporary file is renamed with the original file name. Thus, the amount of free disk space on the drive must be greater than the file size times two. If it is not, then you will receive the message "Disk is Full."

WORKAROUND

To avoid this error message, copy the file to your hard disk drive before you work with it. After you make modifications, save the file to the hard disk and then copy it back onto the floppy disk.

REFERENCES

For additional information on the process Microsoft Excel uses for saving files, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q103329 : XL: Temporary File Created When You Save a Document

Additional query words:

Keywords : kberrmsg kbdta xlloadsave
Version : WINDOWS:4.0,5.0,7.0,97: MACINTOSH:4.0,5.0
Platform : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb