"We couldn't free up space on the Clipboard. Another program might be using it right now." [Updated 2/1/2013]

By Anita Oakley

Hello everyone, we want to bring an emerging issue to your attention today. We have seen several reports of the error below in Microsoft Excel:

This occurs in multiple versions of Excel when you either cut and paste cells or drag them to move the contents from one location to another.

(Updated) We have narrowed this down to a conflict with the Bing Desktop Search Bar. If you have the Bing Desktop installed and run up against this issue, you can resolve the problem by updating to Bing Desktop 1.1.166.0 or later. You should receive the fix through Microsoft Update, assuming that you have automatic updates set.

However, if you are currently experiencing this problem, you can:

1. Check for updates to see if the Bing Desktop update is listed. If so, update your system.
2. Uninstall Bing Desktop through Control Panel  Programs and Features, and then install the new version from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35844

 For more information about the Bing Desktop, see https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35844.

Please also see the following Knowledge Base article, https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2807672 - "Excel produces error when dragging cells to another area"