Confluence Unable to Start with 'Could not reserve enough space for object heap' Error
Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian products on the Data Center platform.
Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.
*Except Fisheye and Crucible
Symptoms
Confluence refuses to start with the following error message:
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Error occurred during initialization of VM
Could not reserve enough space for object heap
Could not create the Java virtual machine.
Cause
The Xmx (heap space memory) is set beyond what a 32-bit JVM can handle.
Resolution
Set the heap space memory lower. See Fix java.lang.OutOfMemoryError in Confluence.
ℹ️ If you need to use a bigger heap space, you should migrate to a 64bit OS with 64 bit JVM.
ℹ️ For Windows 64bit, you should substitute the tomcat6.exe and tomcat6w.exe binaries. Please refer to Problems installing Confluence as a service on Windows 64bit.
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