Attribute Update: An unexpected failure occurred. Out of memory [table_name]

Error Message

Adding an attachment to an individual feature that is over 500 MB results in the following error (the table name is variable):

Cause

Data loaded into attachments must fit into memory. ArcGIS Desktop is a 32-bit application, so it is limited to 2 GB. The memory required for loading must be continuous. So the size limit for an attachment is dependent on how much continuous memory is available. With most configurations this results in a limit around 500 MB per individual file.

Solution or Workaround

• If the file is a photo, various programs can be used to resize the image or reduce the image resolution.
• On video files, video editing software can be used to break the videos down to a more manageable size (for example, an hour video could be reduced to two thirty-minute videos).
  
  This approach could also be used with Adobe PDFs and related files.