Last Updated on September 14, 2023
MW2 Crashing on PC – Are you trying to play MW2, which is constantly crashing? Let’s find out how I fixed this problem on my PC.
Update: After the recent update, there’s a spike in crash reports again. The tweaks I have mentioned in the article still work.
Every year, millions of gamers eagerly await the release of the latest Call of Duty game. For many, it is the most anticipated event of the year. COD games are always highly anticipated, featuring cutting-edge graphics, new campaign missions, and best-ever gunplay mechanics. This year’s installment, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, is shaping up to be one of the best yet.
Read: How To Check Ping in MW2
Call of Duty game for the past few years has been full of problems. Despite long beta testing periods, developers cannot release a stable build. I had a few crashes on my computer, but players with lower-end rigs face more issues.
Enough about the game and its issues; let’s find out how we can fix this:
How To Fix Crashing in Modern Warfare 2
Update from Devs on October 29: Infinity Ward has confirmed that they are working on a fix for the crashing. The crashes are happening for users with 5 attachments tuned. If you have a tuned attached equipped, please take it off and re-equip it. This should fix your problem.
There are different kinds of crashes in the game; one is while playing the game, and another is the game crashes as soon as you get past the intro.
Here are a few ways by which you can fix these problems:
Crashing in Lobby
Update: This issue has been fixed.
If your game is crashing in the lobby while you are trying to play with friends, try switching lobby. I had the same issue, my friend switched lobbies and the issue was fixed. Also, unequip any animated calling card and emblem.
Restart Your PC
While this might sound stupid to many, I had the crashing issue many times, which only happened after updating the game. After looking into almost everything, a simple restart fixed the problem.
I also researched a little and found out that this was happening during beta. Players on Reddit reported multiple crashes during the campaign.
My crashing problem was fixed with a simple restart; if this doesn’t work for you, continue reading.
Disable Overclocking
In the game crashing fiasco, overclocking is the culprit most of the time. Some players were able to fix this issue by bringing their GPU and CPU to default frequencies. MSI Afterburner and Zotac Firestorm are two popular tools used to overclock GPUs, both of these are known for creating problems for newer titles.
While it is not clear how many players are affected by the crashes, it is a good reminder that overclocking can be dangerous if not done correctly. It’s also worth noting that even if you don’t experience any crashes while overclocking, your system may still be unstable and could crash at any time.
Update Device Drivers & Windows
From time to time, I have seen people reporting crashes, and it turns out they haven’t updated their Graphics drivers for a while. You can easily update your graphic drivers by heading to the official websites:
Nvidia has already pushed the Game Ready Driver for MW2 called 516.29; for AMD the Driver Version is 22.9.1.
If you still face issues after updating drivers, a clean install using DDU can also help. Many users on Steam and Reddit have reported that downgrading GPU drivers have helped them fix crashes.
On the other hand, Updating Windows ensures you get all the performance enhancements. With every new update, Microsoft improves the speed and efficiency of the operating system. For example, with the release of Windows 11, Microsoft made several changes to improve performance, including faster startup times and improved graphics processing.
Shut down conflicting applications
This is a community recommendation; users have reported that software such as iCUE, Razer Synapse, and Armory Crate are leading to random crashes in MW2.
These applications are unimportant to me, so I uninstall them. I’ve also heard that users running iCUE were handed out bans for no reason. However, you can never be sure about cheaters; they are known for making things up.
Disable On-Demand Texture Streaming
On-Demand Texture Streaming is a technique employed by some game engines whereby textures are not fully loaded into memory at the start of a level or scene but are streamed on-demand as the player moves around.
The game is constantly downloading textures, putting stress, I have a high-end PC still I have decided to turn this off. Enabling this stresses your connection for no reason leading to high ping.
Let the game run in Safe Mode
After every crash, the game will ask you whether you want to launch the game in safe mode or not. Basically, what this does is; it launches the game with recommended settings. However, no controls are changed.
This is a great way to determine whether your custom settings could have been the reason.
Scan and Repair Files
For Battle.net Users
MW2 is a game on Battle.net Launcher. To verify the game, follow the steps given below:
- Click on the Modern Warfare Icon
- Locate the Gear Button located right next to “Play.”
- Now, click “Scan and Repair” and then click “Begin Scan.”
- The launcher will now start looking for any broken or corrupted files.
For Steam Users:
- Open Steam and click on the Library tab.
- Right-click on MW2 and select Properties.
- Click on the Local Files tab > click on the Verify Integrity of Game Files… button.
- Steam will start verifying the game files and will fix any corrupted ones it finds.
Disable Antivirus & Firewall
This is another traditional tweak that works most of the time.
One of the most common reasons for crashes is antivirus or firewall program interference. These programs are designed to protect your computer from harmful programs but can also block legitimate programs from running correctly.
If you find that your game is frequently crashing, it may be due to antivirus or firewall interference. To fix this, you must add the game to your antivirus or firewall program’s list of exceptions. This will allow the game to run without interference and should help to fix the problem.
Click on Allow Access when you launch the game for the first time:
These are community fixes and traditional tweaks that have been working for years for almost all games. If you still face issues, contact Activision Support or wait until the devs push a hotfix.
I have already written a guide on fixing performance issues in MW2, you can read it. For more MW2 Guide head here.
Call of Duty® | Modern Warfare II is available on Playstation and PC via Steam.
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