Here’s a proper write-up on fixing the “5 MB error” in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (typically encountered on PC/Steam when the game fails to allocate enough memory or misreads available VRAM).
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The "insufficient free disk space" error (requesting 5MB) in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
is often a false positive that appears even when hundreds of gigabytes are available.
Here are the most effective fixes reported by the community and PCGamingWiki:
Run in Compatibility Mode: Locate the game's executable (S1_sp64_ship.exe or S1_mp64_ship.exe), right-click it, select Properties, and set Compatibility Mode to Windows 7 or Windows 8.
Adjust Folder Permissions: Navigate to your Steam installation folder (usually Steam/steamapps/common). Right-click the Call of Duty Advanced Warfare folder, go to Properties > Security, click Edit, and grant "Full Control" to all listed users/groups. Manage Windows Page File:
Disable the page file entirely, reboot, then re-enable it and set it to System Managed.
Alternatively, manually set a size of at least several gigabytes to ensure the game has enough virtual memory to offload data. cod advanced warfare 5mb error fix
Lower Graphics Settings: High or Ultra texture settings can trigger memory-related crashes. Use the GeForce Experience tool to set all game settings to Low before launching, then gradually increase them once the game is running.
Reduce Virtual Memory Scale: Go to the game's players2 folder and open config.cfg with a text editor. Search for the line seta r_videoMemoryScale "1" and change the value from 1 to 0.5.
Windows Security (Controlled Folder Access): If using Windows 10/11, go to Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Manage ransomware protection. Either turn off Controlled folder access or add the game as an "allowed app".
The "Insufficient Free Disk Space" error in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare—often specifically requesting "at least 5MB" even when you have hundreds of gigabytes free—is a notorious legacy glitch. This error typically occurs due to permission conflicts, corrupted configuration files, or the game incorrectly reading your system's virtual memory. 1. Grant Full Control Permissions
One of the most effective fixes involves ensuring the game has full administrative access to its own installation folder.
Navigate to your game folder, typically located at Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Call of Duty Advanced Warfare. Right-click the folder and select Properties. Go to the Security tab and click Edit.
Select your user profile and check the box for Full Control. Click Apply and restart the game. 2. Reset Player Configuration Files
Corrupted configuration data in the players2 folder is a frequent cause for this "false" disk space error. Open the game's directory and locate the players2 folder. Back up any files inside, then delete them.
Launch the game; it will regenerate fresh configuration files, which often bypasses the 5MB check. 3. Adjust Virtual Memory (Page File) Here’s a proper write-up on fixing the “5
If your system's virtual memory settings are too high or restricted, the game may misreport disk space.
Search for "Performance" in your Windows Start menu and select Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows. Go to Advanced > Change (under Virtual Memory).
Ensure "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" is checked. If it is already checked, try setting it to System Managed specifically for your C: drive. 4. Run as Administrator
Sometimes the error is a simple lack of permission to read the drive's free space.
Right-click the s1_mp64_ship.exe or s1_sp64_ship.exe in your game folder. Select Properties > Compatibility. Check Run this program as an administrator and click Apply. 5. Verify Game File Integrity
If files were partially corrupted during an update, Steam may believe there isn't enough space to "patch" them. Open your Steam Library.
Right-click Advanced Warfare and select Properties > Installed Files.
Click Verify integrity of game files to repair any missing or broken data. Summary Table of Fixes Fix Method Primary Target Difficulty Folder Permissions Permission conflicts Delete players2 folder Corrupted config System Managed Page File Virtual memory issues Run as Admin OS-level restrictions
Note: This error is often misreported as a strict "5MB" file size limit. In reality, it is usually Error Code 3 (or a variant like Quarantine 5MB Limit) triggered by the game’s anticheat system when it detects modified or corrupted game files. Quick checklist (copy/paste)
If none of the above works, the game is likely fighting with your account's "Profile Data" rather than the save slot. This is a server-side corruption issue.
The error usually appears as:
"Not enough video memory. You need at least 5 MB of video memory."
This occurs even on systems with 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB+ of VRAM. It’s a false positive — a bug in the game’s hardware detection logic, not an actual lack of memory.
[Game install]\_CommonRedist\DirectX\Jun2010\DXSETUP.exeWindows sometimes stores "virtualized" versions of game files for compatibility. These ghosts can conflict with real writes.
Win + R, type %LocalAppData%\VirtualStore, hit Enter.Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Call of Duty Advanced Warfare (or your install path).players or config.cfg in here, delete them.savegame.svg from the Documents folder.Advanced Warfare.exe to "Run as Administrator."Have you fixed the error? Let us know in the comments which step worked for you. If you are still stuck, the final resort is to move your installation to a different hard drive (or partition), as the MBR/GPT partition table can sometimes confuse older games.
Stay boosted, soldiers.
Console players are not immune. On Xbox, the error usually appears when the reserved space for the game is full of corrupted cache.