Cry about...
MapInfo Troubleshooting
Cannot write database row. Possibly out of space
Symptom:
When importing a large MID/MIF file into MapInfo Professional, the following error is encountered:
Cannot write database row. Possibly out of disk space.
Whilst I've observed this error when importing, given the cause, it could quite possibly occur in other situations as well.
Cause:
MapInfo does not appear to support data files more than 2GB (231bytes) in size (the limit of addressing using 32bit signed numbers). In the above example of importing a MID/MIF file, the .dat file that contained the imported data grew to 2,097,152KB (231 bytes). When MapInfo needed to extend the file beyond this point the above error is raised.
Presumably this error would also be obtained if disk space had been exhausted.
Remedy:
- If you have hit this error because you have run out of disk space then free up some disk space and try again.
Remedy for 2GB limit - None, but as a work around:
- When importing data, if possible split the MID/MIF file into two or more separate (smaller) files and import those individually.
- For other scenarios, understand what you are doing, whether it is likely that you are hitting the 2GB data size limit and whether there is an alternative approach that would avoid the limit.
These notes are believed to be correct for MapInfo v7.5 running on Windows 2000 and may apply to other versions as well.
About the author: Brian Cryer is a dedicated software developer and webmaster. For his day job he develops websites and desktop applications as well as providing IT services. He moonlights as a technical author and consultant.