Not enough storage is available to process this command in VisualStudio 2008

Question

When I try to compile an assembly in VS 2008, I got (occasionally, usually after 2-3 hours of work with the project) the following error

Metadata file \'[nam         


        

Answer 1

As Anthony pointed out, the error message is a bit misleading. The issue is less about how big your assembly is and more about how much contiguous memory is available.

The problem is likely not really the size of your assembly. It's much more likely that something inside of Visual Studio is fragmenting memory to the point that a build cannot complete. The usual suspects for this type of problem are

1. Too many projects in the solution.
2. Third party add-ins

If you have more than say 10 projects in the solution. Try breaking up the solution and see if that helps.

If you have any 3rd party addins, try disabling them one at a time and seeing if the problem goes away.