List of known CoD MW2 errors, solutions & workarounds

There is no order in this list. An error can have more then one cause.

So it is trial and error till you find what works for you.


1. Modern warfare 2 - Connection failed

Solution : Go to Network connections on your PC > Right mouse click on your connection .

Go to the last tab; Windows Firewall >>> add the following ports :

1500
3005
3101
28960
Set them all on UDP and reboot PC.
Same goes for routers. Open up, Port forward. ( portforward.com - info for most routers and how to)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 transmits and receives network traffic on :

ports UDP: 1500, 3005, 3101, 28960 and TCP: 27015 (SRCDS Rcon port).

Additionally the Steam client transmits and receives network traffic on :

ports UDP: 27000-27015, 27015-27030 and TCP: 27014-27050.



*

Sometimes just a simple "Take the power plug from router out and put it back in" does the trick.
*

Switch of any anti virus program.
*

You use Norton ? Uninstall may help.
*

WORKAROUND SOLUTION that worked for some: see Nr.26


2. MW2 “Steam - Error This game is currently unavailable. Please try again at another time” and ‘Steam Error 55′

Solution : Restart Steam. If that doesnt fix it; restart your computer.


3. Modern Warfare 2 Crashing to desktop at startup/launch. ( or Rank keeps resetting)
Set your Windows and Game resolution on 1024×768, 32 bit True Color.


!!! You also need to run Steam as administrator !!!

VISTA or Windows 7 ? - Start Steam as administrator and see if this helps.

---------------------------

Disable the whole UAC. (User Account Control)

You can disable UAC by using one of the following methods:

Vista Method - Using MSCONFIG

1. Launch MSCONFIG by from the Run menu.
2. Click on the Tools tab. Scroll down till you find "Disable UAC" . Click on that line.
3. Press the Launch button.
4. A CMD window will open. When the command is done, you can close the window.
5. Close MSCONFIG. You need to reboot the computer for changes to apply.

Disable UAC in Control Panel Windows 7.

To disable UAC in Windows 7 is almost similar as to disable UAC in Windows Vista, only with slight user interface change.

1. To user Control Panel to disable UAC in Windows 7, there are several methods to access the User Account Control settings page:

Go to Start Menu -> Control Panel -> User Accounts and Family Safety -> User Account.

Go to Start Menu -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> Action Center.

Click or right click on Flag icon in notification area (system tray), and then Open Action Center.

Type “MsConfig” in Start Search to start System Configuration, then go to Tools tab, select Change UAC Settings, then click on Launch button.

2. Click on User Account Control settings link.
3. Slide the slider bar to the lowest value (towards Never Notify), with description showing Never notify me.
4. Click OK to make the change effective.
5. Restart the computer to turn off User Access Control.

Just Google for more methods.

All background applications should be shut down prior to running the game.

1. Go to the Start bar and select Run. (If you are on Vista or Windows 7, hit the Windows key and the R key at the same time)
2. In the Run window, type in msconfig and hit enter.
3. Once the utility comes up, go to the Startup tab and hit the Disable All button.
4. Next go to the Services tab and check the “Hide All Microsoft Services” checkbox and then hit the Disable All button.
5. Hit the OK button and close the utility, and restart your computer when prompted to.

Turn your sound acceleration down for Windows XP

1. Click the Start button > Settings > Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Sounds and Audio Devices icon.
3. Click the Volume tab.
4. Under Speaker settings, click the Advanced button.
5. Click the Performance tab.
6. Reduce the Hardware acceleration to Basic, the 2nd notch from the left.
7. Click Apply and then OK 2 times. Run the game now. Don’t forget to turn the acceleration back up to restore the high-end features for your sound card when using other applications.


4. Modern Warfare 2 Crashing / Lagging /Freezing ingame. ( see also Nr.29 and Nr. 30 )

Solution 1 :

Go to :

C:|Program Files|Steam|SteamApps|common|call of duty modern warfare 2|zone|english

Delete: mp_afghan_load.ff, mp_afghan.ff files or all the map .ff files (back those up)

Go to steam
Right click on MW2
Click Properties
Click Local Files Tab
Verify Integrity of Game Cache

And it'll redownload those files.

Solution 2 : just disable Steam community in-game.
Solution 3 : just go in C:|Program Files|Steam|steamapps|common|call of duty modern warfare 2|Redist DirectX and run DXSETUP.

Try: Turning off your Anti Virus while playing this game.
5. Modern Warfare 2 sound skipping/stuttering in cutscenes/intro/ingame.

Solution : Turndown direct sound acceleration
Turn your sound acceleration down for Windows XP

1. Click the Start button > Settings > Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Sounds and Audio Devices icon.
3. Click the Volume tab.
4. Under Speaker settings, click the Advanced button.
5. Click the Performance tab.
6. Reduce the Hardware acceleration to Basic, the 2nd notch from the left.
7. Click Apply and then OK 2 times. Run the game now. Don’t forget to turn the acceleration back up to restore the high-end features for your sound card when using other applications.

6. Modern Warfare 2 IW4SP.EXE error / “No IW4SP.EXE” error.

Solution : In the game list in steam, right click on the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 then click “Verify Game Cache”
7. Modern Warfare 2 Text and Texture problems / distorted.

Solution : Update your video drivers.
8. Modern Warfare 2 Install error “Failed to run install script”.

(Modern Warfare 2 error on Windows 7)

Solution : Start -> my computer -> right click dvd drive -> explore -> right click on setup.exe -> run as administrator
9. Modern Warfare 2 - disk 2 cannot be read.

Many review companies have been stating that the second disc (which apparently contained bonus content) will not run in most drives. (Players reported that the non working disk is in fact a Xbox disk...)
10. How to enable console for Modern Warfare 2 ?

Modern Warfare 2 does not have a console terminal.
11. Modern Warfare 2 error Create2DTexture (3_cursor3, 64, 64, 0, 861165636) failed: 8876086c = Invalid call

Solution : In the steam game menu, Right-click the game, go to properties, click the “Local Files” tab, and verify.
12. Modern Warfare 2 error “code_post_gfx_mp.ff failed to load.

Solution : Reinstall the game, or verify the game cache in stead
13. Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer shows intro-screen and then stops. Need a ctrl alt to close the game.

Solution 1 : Sometimes waiting helps. Like 10+ minutes and suddenly game continues.

Solution 2 : You can try :

1. First open your Steam games window-screen.
2. Click on Modern Warfare 2 (DO NOT CLICK MODERN WARFARE 2 MULTIPLAYER)
3. Then, at the bottom right corner of your screen, click on properties.
4. Go onto the tab Local Files.
5. Click on Verify Integrity of Game Cache. Let it run and download any missing components.

IF this does not fix your problem repeat this for Modern Warfare 2- Multiplayer.
14. Modern Warfare 2 will minimize randomly on its own.

Solution : AVG Anti-Virus - If you upgraded from 8.5 to 9.0 without making a clean install this issue can arise.

Download the file called "avg_free_stf_en_90_704a1756" (google it)

Uninstall AVG and completely remove all user settings (there's an option for it when you uninstall it)

Reboot computer and run the new file
15. MW2 Menu freezes.

Solution : Problem with the steam overlay in game.

Open Steam
Go to File >> Settings

Click the "In-game" tab
Untick "Enable Steam-community in game"
16. Modern Warfare 2 causes chkdsk to run on Windows 7.

Many PC players get, after installing the Modern Warfare 2 Game, the chkdsk always checking their hdd every time they boot Windows 7.

No comment is made about or how to fix this by Activision or Infinity Ward.
17. Modern Warfare 2 error message “ran out of memory”.

Solution : changing the Texture Quality to “Automatic”.
18. To those who get an Error but aren’t able to read it :

Solution : Run MW2 in window mode (press alt + enter in menu) and then run the game. You should be able to see the error text which might or might not point you to problem & solution.
19. Modern Warfare 2 hangs in preparing for install screen :
ClientRegistry.blob and Installing

Certain Steam issues may be corrected by renaming the ClientRegistry.blob and restarting Steam.

1. Completely exit from the Steam client.
2. Go to C:|Program Files|Steam (or the Steam directory that was specified during installation).
3. Locate ClientRegistry.blob and rename this file to ClientRegistryOld.blob.
4. Restart Steam to allow the file to be recreated.
5. Test the issue once more.

THEN...

Installing from Disk instead of Steam

1. Close Steam (File > Exit).
2. Go to the Start button and select Run (XP) or type Run in the Search box and choose Run from the list (Vista).

* In the Run window type:
* "C:|Program Files|Steam|Steam.exe" -install E:
* Replace E: with the CD|DVD drive you are installing from if is not correct.
* Replace C:|Program Files|Steam if your Steam installation is not in the default location.

3. Press OK. Your installation should continue from the disk.

20. How to Back-Up saved games and profiles for Modern Warfare 2 ?
If you are having trouble with Modern Warfare 2, or you have to format your PC and don’t know if your Savegame is still there after reinstalling; here is the solution :
Just go into the Modern Warfare 2 folder: C:|Program Files|Steam|steamapps|common|call of duty modern warfare 2
and just make a Backup from the folder named “players”. That is the whole savegame from the Singleplayer.

or
21. Vista / Windows 7: How to get multiplayer rank back after crash ?

If your running Windows Vista or Windows 7 and have not backed up your players directory you may still be able to recover it.

1. Browse to -- C:|Program Files|Steam|steamapps|common|call of duty modern warfare 2 or for 64bit Windows -- C:|Program Files (x86)Steam|steamapps|common|call of duty modern warfare 2
2. Right Click on the "players" directory and click propeties.
3. Click the "Previous Versions" tab
4. If you have previous versions listed then your in luck.
5. Copy the "players" folder to "Players - Old" so that you have a backup.
6. Delete the contents of the existing "players" folder and copy the files from previous version back in to the dir.
7. Restart MW2.

22. Technical support says about Back-Up :

1. Go to the Steam folder and find the Modern Warfare 2 install folder
2. Default location: C: |Program Files | Steam | Steamapps | common | call of duty modern warfare 2 |
3. Open the | players | folder
4. The multiplayer profile is updated regularly as a. Stat file and also includes a backup file.
5. All original profile files begin with md202ef8d and backup files will begin with md202ef8d.bak
6. Locate the profile and backup. Stat files with the most recent "Date Modified" listed in Windows
7. Move the profile. Stat file to a new location (Creating a new folder and placing it here should be fine)
8. Rename the backup. Stat file and remove the ". Bak" from the filename
9. Launch Steam and re-test this game.

23. Some think Modern Warfare 2 Single Player (and MP) has a Memory Leak Bug....

And changing the advanced graphic options from Extra to High fixes the "always on same point" crashes in MW2 Single Player.
There is a mistake in the coding for the higher setting that causes the leak and it doesn't appear to be present in the lower settings.

24. MW2 WIN_DIRECTX_INIT_BODY - "DirectX encountered an unrecoverable error."

1. Right click on the desktop and choose "Preferences"
2. Select the "Options" tab
3. Click on the "Advanced" button
4. Choose the "Troubleshooting" tab
5. Lower the "Hardware acceleration" bar to "None"
6. Untick the selection box for "Activate combine writing"
7. Press "OK" and restart the computer

What the process is doing after this; is that DXDIAG is setting the DXDIAG settings to null.
Now do the same process again as told above, all the 7 steps.

When you have restarted the computer for the second time, now you shouldn't have any problems.
25. It appears that Modern Warfare 2 did not quit properly the last time it ran. Do you want to run the game in safe mode?

1. Single player is working ok.
2. But Multi-player does not work;

* Example : MW2 MP starts, shows the splash screen then the screen goes black and then nothing... MW2 hangs and you have to press ctrl, alt and del to start Taskmanager and end the no longer responding iw4mp.exe.
* So you start MP MW2 again and get the option for play in safe mode ? and you´re back where you started; MP doesnt work.

3. You remove game content through Steam and re-download or restore from backup BUT Multi-player still does not work !

Next bit seems to be similar as the above but there is a slight difference and it can get the MP back working.
Follow exactly what is written !

In Steam, select "Backup game files" for Modern Warfare 2 and Multi-player, (select both titles in the backup list). Then select Delete local content (verry important) for both single player and multi player.

Next, locate your Steam common folder, eg; D:|Steam|steamapps|common. There should be a folder called "call of duty modern warfare 2" .

You can delete this folder OR you may wish to move this folder to another location like your desktop.

Then restore modern warfare from the backup you made earlier and allow it to update and resync

Lastly, start multi-player as normal ... you may get a message "completing installation"... just retry and it should start up allowing you to set key bindings etc.
26. Connecting to IWnet problem - WORKAROUND SOLUTION

Start the CoD Multiplayer and try to connect.
While the game attempts to connect start the singleplayer of CoD (let the MP run in Background)and try to login into the co-op campaign. This will now work.You can now close the MP mode an start to play the coop campaign.

When you want to play Multiplayer just do it the other way around, start the Singleplayer,switch to spec ops try to connect ( click on two player mode) , then start the multiplayer(GO TO WINDOWS AND RUN THE SH.T) and you can now log in. ( search the games before u quit the single player.exe otherwise sometimes iT doesn't find the games ) ( if that all doesnt work try second time )

Worked for many.
27. Text / Graphic problems MW2

To all With a ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1600 (i think it works with msot of X1xxx)

Download this Drivers/Application:

WINDOWS 7
http://www.filehippo...yst_vista/5391/ (if you dont want to click here go look for it at ati site (driver version 9.3 vista)).

WINDOWS XP
http://www.filehippo...talyst_xp/5389/ (if you dont want to click here go look for it at ati site (driver version 9.3 xp)).

Application to Mod the driver so the system accepts it
http://www.driverhea...ol/download.php

1. Disconnect from internet so windows dosen't automatically installs a driver itself;
2. Go to Add/remove programs and uninstall Catalyst Control Center;
3. Go to Device Manager and Uninstall your Graphics Card (put the mark where it says to remove all of the software);
4. Reboot your Laptop.
5. Install MobilityModder (Follow instructions on Mobbility Modder Website if you dont know how to use it)
6. Run the driver file and let it extract to C:Atisupport9-3_vista32_win7_32_dd, after it extracts close the New Installation window.
7. Open MobilityModder and browse to the folder where it extracted the driver i supposed its C:Atisupport9-3_vista32_win7_32_dd .
8. Click Modify;
9. After its done, close MobilityModder and go to C:Atisupport9-3_vista32_win7_32_dd and click setup;
10. Let it install and if it says that the driver is not verified click on install it anyway.
11. Reboot again and be amazed, at least i was!

The resolution will be at 4:3 ratio, to fix it set the game resolution to 1280x800.
28. Getting lag in MW2 maps: Highrise, Favela, Estate, Sub Base, Rundown.

It doesn't seem like a graphics issue but it is.

1. Go into your Modern Warfare 2 "players" directory.
2. Find the config_mp.cfg file, open it up in wordpad and run a search for r_drawwater 1.
3. Set the 1 to a 0.
4. Save the file and make it "read only".
5. Your "lag" is now gone.

You won't get VAC banned for it and the variable is not cheat protected so there's no problem playing multiplayer. It seems to be a problem with ATI cards. Setting drawwater to 0 does not actually disable water, there's still water in the maps so really nothing is lost but you have great performance to gain.
29. MW2 crashes and you get iw4sp.exe has stopped working error.

The 'Aerium88' fix

If you have a dual or quad core system and you can play 10-15 mins then you can to try this :

1. First : Open taskmanager and go into processes tab.
2. While taskmanager is open, THEN start singleplayer.
3. When singleplayer starts it will come up "iw4sp.exe" in the list.
4. Quickly rightclick it and go to "Set Affinity" and uncheck one of them and press OK.

Obviously this only work for people with Dual-Core Processors.
30. MW2 crashes

Change the "mssmp3.asi" file (miles folder) to "mssmp3.bak".

This solves crashes in Modern Warfare 2. ( Did this also for Call of Duty 4)
31. MW2 iw4mp.exe crashing problem.

Turn off the Antialiasing. And change MW2 graphic settings to high or normal.
32. Installation Error (53) COD: MW2- Multiplayer.

Installing 1.0.174 patch from 1.0.172 gives an Installation Error (53) CODMW2: Multiplayer.

Shut your Anti Virus Program down untill MW2 is patched / installed correctly.
33. MW2 updated to 1.0.174 patch, now patch_mp.ff is wrong version.

Download and replace with http://www.mapmodnews.com/filemgmt/index.php?id=210

(Back-up your org. patch_mp.ff in case above new one doesn't work either.)
34. Modern Warfare 2 menu and in-game freezes and lag-spikes

The 'Cooperdale' fix :

(Win 7)

When you first start the game the firewall will ask if you want to allow it to access your network.

If you answer yes, this should create two rules in the advanced section of the firewall control panel.

One rule is for udp, the other for tcp.

1. If you block both but have upnp enabled on the router, you'll have nat strict.
2. If you enable udp, you'll have nat open.

There is no need to enable tcp, and if you do you'll get the freezes and lag spikes.

So tcp incoming needs to be blocked with your firewall, whichever it may be.

With this firewall/router configuration you get no port scanning, ergo no freezes, with an acceptable degree of security.

Full forum post here
35. Cant find or hardly any Modern Warfare 2 MP games in playlist .

1. Sometimes it works just to let the game finding games. Then suddenly, can be more then 10+ min later, it says : Playlist has an update, the playlist update will be downloaded.... After that you can find games.

or

2. Clear the Modern Warfare 2 exceptions and re-apply MW2 MP/SP in the Windows Firewall.

36. Random MW2 in-game freeze / black screen

It is the display driver that is restarting after it crashed for some reason.

And it only happens at MW2, while other games run perfectly. So the source of problem is buried in the game itself or steam.

No solution for now ! Many waiting for a new display driver or MW2 patch to fix this problem...