How to view or change the Jet (Access 2000/2002/2003) or ACE (Access 2007/2010) MaxBufferSize

AA-01449

(If Access intermittently hangs for a x seconds or minutes you may need to increase the MaxBufferSize to allocate more memory to Access.  This article explains how to do this).

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. Type regedit, and then click OK.
  3. Use the appropriate method:
    • In Microsoft Access 2000 / 2002 / 2003 that are running on a 32-bit Windows operating system, use Registry Editor to locate the following registry key: 
      • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Jet\4.0\Engines\Jet 4.0
    • In Microsoft Access 2000 / 2002 / 2003 that are running on a 64-bit Windows operating system, use Registry Editor to locate the following registry key:
      • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Jet\4.0\Engines\Jet 4.0
    • In Microsoft Office Access 2007 that is running on a 32-bit Windows operating system, use Registry Editor to locate the following registry key:
      • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Access Connectivity Engine\Engines\ACE
    • In Microsoft Office Access 2010 that is running on a 32-bit Windows operating system, use Registry Editor to locate the following registry key:
      • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Access Connectivity Engine\Engines\ACE
    • In Microsoft Office Access 2007 that is running on a 64-bit Windows operating system, use Registry Editor to locate the following registry key:
      • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Access Connectivity Engine\Engines\ACE
    • In Microsoft Office Access 2010 that is running on a 64-bit Windows operating system, use Registry Editor to locate the following registry key:
      • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Access Connectivity Engine\Engines\ACE
  4. In the right pane of Registry Editor, double click MaxBufferSize.
  5. On the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, click Decimal.
  6. Modify the value of the Value data box as required, and then click OK.  (For ideas of what number to enter, see notes below).

Note:  Try changing the value to 50000.  If the problem still persists, try doubling it. (Additional note: Supposedly you can enter in a value up to 1/4 of the total RAM.  To calculate figure 1024 x each MB.  Example: If have 4 gigs. 1/4 is about 1 gig.  1024 x 1000 (1 gig = about 1000 MB) = 1024000)