Microsoft Outlook throws an error code 0x8004060c, resulting in the absence of incoming and outgoing e-mail with the help of Outlook client. The problem comes from the PST file, which grew more than Office or Outlook can handle. The maximum limit of the PST file is 20 GB. If you have configured many e-mails that use the same PST file, you may get this error. In this article, we will show you how to fix Outlook error 0x8004060c during a send / receive operation.
Outlook error 0x8004060c during send / receive operation
When the limit is reached, you receive a notification error message when you click Send and Receive E-mail or during synchronization. The error message says-
Reported "[email protected] – Receive" error (0x8004060C): "The message store has reached its maximum size. To reduce the amount of data in this message store, select items you no longer need and delete them permanently (SHIFT + DEL).
The steps you can take are:
- Delete unnecessary emails
- Run the Mailbox Cleanup Tool
- Move old elements in different PST files
- Compact Outlook data file
- Increase the maximum size of Outlook PST storage
This may not be relevant for accounts like Outlook, Live, Gmail, and anything that uses the POP3 connection type. But if you use something else, you can use it.
1) Remove unnecessary emails
If possible, find bulky and useless e-mails.
- Open Outlook, go to the View tab.
- Then click Arrange By and select the attachments.
You must now filter out unnecessary emails and delete them.
2) Run the Mailbox Cleanup Tool
Mailbox Cleanup is an integrated tool that makes it easy to understand large emails. Click File> Info> Mailbox Settings> Tools> Cleaning mailboxes.
Here you can view the size of the individual mailbox, find old emails, clear the deleted items folder and delete all alternative versions of the items in your mailbox.
3) Move the old elements in different PST files
In the same place, you have another tool – Clean up old objects. It helps you move old items to an Outlook data file. Thus, all these additional emails can be transferred to another PST file. This gives a little respite to your existing PST file.
Click Tools> Clean Up Old Items> Then select the folder you want to archive, set the date, and set the location of the archive file or PST Archive file.
4) Compact Outlook Data File
Outlook reduces the size of PST files by compacting it. When you delete an email, the background process will ensure that the size of the PST file is also corrected by compacting it. You can also choose to start the process manually. However, there is a small condition. You can not compact an offline Outlook data file (.ost).
- Go to File> Ingo> Tools> Empty deleted items folder forever.
- Then select File> Info> Account Settings. This will open the account settings window.
- Switch to the Data Files tab, click the data file that you want to compact, and then click Settings.
- Click the Advanced tab> Outlook Data File Settings.
- In the Outlook Data File Settings dialog box, click Compact Now.
- Click OK and the process of compacting PST files will start
Check this box to know if the sending / receiving of Outlook error 0x8004060c is still present or resolved.
5) Increase the maximum size of Outlook PST storage
Microsoft puts the limit for some reason, but it can be changed. If you do not want to transfer files to different PST files, it is best to use this method to delete the limit.
The settings for Outlook 2016, 2019 and 365 can be found at:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER Software Microsoft Office 16.0 Outlook PST
If you have a different version, replace 16 with its number. For example, Outlook 2013: 15.0, Outlook 2010: 14, and so on.
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER Software Microsoft Office 16.0 Outlook PST
- Right-click on the right pane and create two DWORD files.
- MaxLargeFileSize – This is the maximum size of the PST file.
- WarnLargeFileSize – Warning message when the PST file size reaches a certain limit.
- You must enter the value in terms of MB. Therefore, if the maximum limit is 50 GB, or 5120 MB, you must set a value greater than this. You can set it as 80 GB or 8192 MB
- For WarnLarge File Size, you must enter 95% of the amount you have set for MaxLargeFileSize.
We hope that the steps have been easy to follow and that you have been able to send and receive e-mails in Outlook.