2025 November 26 Archive - EXEIdeas

You may encounter the error – The message store has reached its maximum size” while deleting an item from the mailbox or performing any other normal function. The complete error message might look like:“The message store has reached its maximum size. To reduce the amount of data in this message store, select some items that you no longer need, and permanently delete them (Shift + Del) delete them.”As is clear from the error message, it is caused when the mailbox size has reached its determined storage limit. Nevertheless, there are also other probable reasons for this error. In this guide, we will explore the potential causes of this Outlook error and offer effective solutions to resolve it.Common Causes of the Message Store has reached its Maximum Size Error:Here are some possible reasons that can cause this specific Outlook error:Using an older Outlook file format (ANSI PST)PST file exceeding the defined size limitLarge volumes of emails and attachmentsCorruption in the PST fileCorrupted or damaged Outlook profileSolutions To Resolve The Message Store Has Reached Its Maximum Size Error In Outlook:First, restart your Outlook application and the system. This sometimes helps fix minor or temporary bugs and issues that might be causing the error. If this doesn’t work, you can follow the solutions mentioned below. Empty The Deleted Items FolderAs the error message itself indicates, you need to delete some items that are no longer needed. Therefore, first check and empty your Deleted Items folder to reduce the mailbox size. Follow the given steps:In Outlook, go to File >Select the option – Empty Deleted Items Folder from the dropdown menu.Choose the Yes option when prompted.This will permanently delete all the items in the Deleted Items folder, thus helping to reduce the mailbox (PST file) size.You can also configure Outlook to automatically empty the Deleted Items folder. To do so, follow the given steps:In Outlook, go to File > Options. Click onSelect the Empty Deleted Items folder when exiting Outlook Now, click OK to apply the changes. Compact The PST File:Outlook has an inbuilt feature, named Compact Now, to reduce the PST file size. You can use this feature to compact and reduce your PST file size. Steps are as follows:In Outlook, go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.Choose the Data Files tab, select your PST file, and select Settings.In the Settings window, navigate to the General tab and click Compact Now.Wait until the process is complete. A large file size may take some time.Restart Outlook and check if the error is resolved. Archive Old Mail Items:Archiving older mail items is one of the effective ways to reduce the PST file size. Here’s how you can manually archive items in Outlook:Launch Outlook, go to File at the top-left, and click onClick on Clean up Old items.Now, choose a date under “Archive items older than” and chooseClick on Browse to choose the file and selectNow, Outlook will create an archive folder and move the older items to the archive folder.You can also enable Outlook’s Auto-Archive feature to archive old emails automatically and prevent the PST file from getting too large. Here’s how you can do this:Go to File > Options > Advanced in your Outlook application.Select AutoArchive settings under the AutoArchive option.Check the box “Run AutoArchive every [number] days” and enter the frequency (number of days).Click OK to save the changes. Find and Delete Large Messages:If you have regularly been receiving a lot of emails with large attachments, then these can occupy a lot of mailbox space. You can search and delete such large emails to decrease the mailbox (PST) size and resolve the issue. Here’s how you can find and delete large emails:In Outlook, navigate to File > Info > Tools.Click on Mailbox Cleanup and then click Find items larger than.Set a reasonable size threshold (e.g. 1 MB).This will show all the messages larger than the set limit. You can review and delete the unnecessary messages. You can save crucial attachments on your local device before deleting the emails. Create a New Outlook Profile:Corruption or damage in your Outlook profile can also cause this error. The solution in this case is – create a new Outlook profile and replace it with the corrupted one. Here’s how to do so:Open Control Panel, select User Accounts, and click on Mail (Microsoft Outlook). Click on Show Profiles.Click on Add, enter a profile name, and clickAfter entering the profile name, follow the wizard and prompts to configure your email account in the new profile.Once you configure your account, set the new profile as the default. Click on Always use this profile and selectYou can also select and remove the problematic profile. Then, restart Outlook to see if the error is resolved. Repair the PST File:Outlook may throw the “Message store has reached its maximum size” error message, even when your mailbox is not actually full or has reached its threshold limit. This typically arises if there is corruption or other structural issues in the Outlook PST file. You can, in this circumstance, try to repair your PST file by using the ScanPST tool. Follow the steps below:Close Outlook completely.Search for ScanPST in your C drive. The default storage location is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Officexx. However, it varies based on your Outlook version.To launch the ScanPST, double-click on it.Then, click on Browse to choose the PST file for repairing. After that, click on the Start button to begin the scanning process.After scanning is complete, it will display the errors in your PST file (if found).Select the checkbox “Make a backup of the scanned file before repairing” option. Then, click on the RepairA dialogue box displays the “Repair Complete” message after completing the repair process. Click OK.While ScanPST can fix damaged PST files, it comes with some limitations, including:It may fail to resolve severely corrupted files.It may become unresponsive and freeze during the repair process.This tool may permanently delete or remove mail items that seem corrupt or bad.You may need to run the tool multiple times to repair severely corrupted files.Some errors may remain undetected even after repair.An alternative to overcome such limitations is to use an advanced Outlook PST repair tool, such as Stellar Repair for Outlook. This tool can repair PST file with any level of corruption and without any file size limitations. Also, it can save your repaired mailbox items in a new PST file with 100% data accuracy. It can auto-split a large PST file. The tool supports Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, and earlier versions.Conclusion:As you can see, the “Message store has reached its maximum size” error basically displays due to a large mailbox (PST file) size and other causes. You can try the solutions talked about in this article to reduce/decrease the mailbox size, for instance, deleting unnecessary/unwanted mail items, archiving older items, and compacting the PST file. In the instance that the PST data file is corrupted/corrupted, an apt solution is to use a professional PST repair tool, like Stellar Repair for Outlook. This tool provides a reliable and effective way to repair the corrupt PST file and recover all your critical mailbox items with utmost precision.About the Author:Gopal Agarwal is a seasoned tech writer specialising in data recovery, email management, and data conversion solutions. At Stellar Data Recovery, he focuses on creating clear, insightful, and user-friendly content that simplifies complex technical concepts for readers. With expertise in tools like Stellar Repair for Outlook and other advanced data recovery and conversion software, Gopal is dedicated to helping users navigate data challenges with confidence and efficiency. His work empowers individuals and businesses to manage, protect, and restore their critical data with ease.Find Me On LinkedIn