Why Does Modern Warfare 2 Keeps Crashing on Startup, How to Fix on PC?

Activision has finally made it possible for the Call of Duty franchise title on Steam around five years later, and interested COD fans and players took a storm by elevating it with over 8 million hours of gameplay within two weeks. The beta version was accessible until September 26, 2022 (2 p.m. CT), and now it’s closed for the new people until the October release. Meanwhile, several players reported Modern Warfare 2 Crashing on Startup on PC.

This last-man-standing video game from the COD series is making the competition hard for other video games in the market in the same genre. The game is finally available for every user who purchases the game. Luckily, existing beta players can carry forward their saved game data and unlockable items in the full game release, whatever they have earned in the beta.

Why Does Modern Warfare 2 Crashing?

It seems that the COD Modern Warfare 2 players are often encountering the startup crashing or the game not launching issue on the PC. While some players are getting the “Application Has Unexpectedly Stopped Working” error 0xC0000005, which is affecting the gameplay experience badly. If you can take a quick look at the r/ModernWarfareII subreddit forum, Steam asks to verify the game files on the PC after throwing the particular error notice.

Now, if you’re also facing the same issue or just getting the crashing issue while launching the game on the PC, then don’t worry. Luckily, we’ve mentioned some possible workarounds for you that should help you out. The chances are high that incompatible Nvidia graphics settings, corrupted or missing game files, high shader quality, outdated graphics drivers, an outdated game patch version, and more can be one of the reasons behind it.

Fix: Modern Warfare 2 Keeps Crashing on Startup on PC

Make sure to follow all the troubleshooting methods one by one until the problem gets fixed for you. It’s recommended not to skip any method because even a basic workaround can fix the issue for you that might not come in handy to others. Now, without further ado, let’s jump into it.

1. Run MW2 as an Administrator

First of all, you should run the game exe application file on your PC as an administrator to grant the user account control access. It’ll allow the system to run the program file properly which can prevent the crashing or not launching issues. You can follow the steps below to do so:

• Right-click on the COD: Modern Warfare 2 exe file on your PC.
• Select Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.

• Make sure to click on the Run this program as an administrator checkbox to checkmark it.
• Click on Apply and select OK to save changes.
• Now, run the game to launch it.

Please Note: If in case, you’re one of the Battle.net client or Steam client users to run the Call of Duty: MW2 game then make sure to follow the same steps for the specific game launcher too.

2. Update GPU Drivers

Checking for the graphics driver update on the PC is highly recommended by following the steps below. By doing so, you’ll be able to install the latest update which will fix several graphical issues with the program. To do so:

• Right-click on the Start Menu to open up the Quick Access Menu.
• Click on Device Manager from the list to open it.
• Double-click on Display adapters to expand it.

• Right-click on the dedicated graphics card that you’re using.
• Click on Update driver > Choose Search automatically for drivers.
• The system will automatically check for the available update.
• An update will automatically download and install the latest version if available.
• Once done, ensure to restart your PC to apply the changes.

If there is no update available on the PC, then visit the official manufacturer website of the graphics card and manually grab the latest version. Search for the particular graphics card model by the following links.

• Nvidia GPU
• AMD GPU
• Intel GPU

3. Update Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

It’s highly suggested to check for the game updates on your PC by following the steps below to ensure no outdated game version is present. Sometimes issues with the outdated game patch version might cause several conflicts at your end that can affect the game launching or gameplay experience badly. To do that:

For Battle.net:

• Open the Battle.net (Blizzard) launcher > Click on the Blizzard logo from the top left corner.
• Go to Settings > Click on Game Install/Update.
• Scroll down to the bottom of the page > Click on Apply latest updates and download future patch data for recently played games. to enable it.
• Now, click on Done to save changes > Restart the Battle.net launcher to apply changes.
• It should automatically update the game to the available version.

For Steam:

• Open Steam and go to Library.
• Click on COD: Modern Warfare 2 from the left pane.
• Steam will automatically search for the available update.
• If there is an update available, click on Update.
• Make sure to wait for some time until the update completes.
• Once done, ensure to reboot the PC to apply changes.

4. Play Modern Warfare II in Windowed Mode

The chances are high that somehow you’re playing your Modern Warfare II game in the fullscreen window mode on the PC, which might consume higher system resources as well as may trigger graphical glitches in most cases. It’s better to play Modern Warfare 2 in the windowed mode to avoid crashing issues. To do so:

• Launch the COD: MW2 game > Click on Options at the bottom of the screen.
• Switch to the Graphics tab > Search for the Display Mode option.
• Make sure to select Windowed from the list.
• Once done, save changes then restart the PC to apply changes.

5. Verify and Repair Game Files

If in case, missing or corrupted game files on the PC may trouble players a lot. You can follow the steps below to verify and repair game files on the computer so that the game can run properly.

For Battle.net:

• Open the Battle.net client on your PC.
• Click on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 game.
• Now, click on OPTIONS (Gear icon) > Click on Scan and Repair.
• Choose Begin Scan and wait for the process to complete.
• Once done, close the Battle.net launcher and restart your PC.

For Steam:

• Launch the Steam client > Click on Library.
• Right-click on COD: Modern Warfare 2 from the list.
• Click on Properties > Go to Local Files.
• Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
• This process may take some time to complete. So, have some patience.
• Once done, make sure to reboot the PC to apply changes.

6. Disable NVIDIA Reflex and On-Demand Texture Streaming

NVIDIA Reflex and On-Demand Texture Streaming feature allow the game to optimize so the players can enjoy a seamless gaming experience. Sometimes these two features may also cause several issues with the game launching. So, you can try disabling these two options from the in-game settings menu.

7. Set Shader Quality to Low

You should also adjust the Shader Quality on the Modern Warfare 2 game to make it more optimized for the gameplay. Several players have found that turning down the Shader Quality to Low sometimes fixed the crashing issue.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.