Quick Ways to Fix “Modern Warfare isn’t working” on PC

Modern Warfare is not just a game; it’s an experience. Yet some gamers have reported encountering issues like the game won’t launch, does not run well on PC, stuttering PC, and others. If you are one of them, you are in the right place. Here we discuss 6 different ways to fix the Call of Duty Modern Warfare not working problem.

PC games have leveled up since high graphic capabilities were introduced. If there’s one game that every action RPG enthusiast has played or wants to play, it has to be Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The first-person shooter game offers intense missions with excellent visuals to keep the players hooked. However, the crashing issues and Modern Warfare not launching or working hinder a smooth gaming experience. Here’s what causes it and how to fix it.

Why Isn’t Modern Warfare Working? 6 Ways To Fix It!

When Call of Duty Modern Warfare does not start or won’t launch on PC, it can be due to several reasons. Let’s look at them individually, along with a quick way to fix them.

However, before that, you can try the following basic fixes:-

Run Game Launcher as an Administrator
Close programs that might be interfering with the game. You can perform a Clean boot.
Update Windows.
Scan the PC for viruses and other potential threats.
Update Modern Warfare.

If you cannot play Call of Duty Modern Warfare after trying the above fixes, try the following technical solutions.

Issue #1 – Your PC Does Not Meet the Required Specifications

To run any application or game, your PC should meet some prerequisites. These minimum system requirements help the game to run smoothly on your PC. For Modern Warfare 2 remastered, the minimum requirements are as follows –

OS- Windows® 10 64 Bit (latest update)
Processor- Intel® Core™ i3-6100 / Core™ i5-2500K or AMD Ryzen™ 3 120
Memory- 8 GB RAM
Graphics- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960 or AMD Radeon™ RX 470 – Or above.
DirectX- Version 12
Network- Broadband Internet connection
Storage – 125 GB available space

Note – You can run the game with the minimum required specifications mentioned above. But you can face a few frame drops here and there. To run the game smoothly, here are the recommended gameplay specifications.

OS- Windows® 10 64 Bit or Windows® 11 64 Bit (latest update)
Processor- Intel® Core™ i5-6600K / Core™ i7-4770 or AMD Ryzen™ 5 1400
Memory- 12 GB RAM
Graphics- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon™ RX 580 – DirectX 12.0
DirectX- Version 12
Network- Broadband Internet connection
Storage- 125 GB available space

After understanding the specific requirements, you might have learned what your PC lacks.

Solution –

You should upgrade the missing components and then try to play the game. For those who do not know much about their PC requirements, you can use the following way –

Press Windows + R to bring up the Run search box
In Run, search for dxdiag.

This will bring up a dialog box containing all the information about your system. Simply check and match the available resources.

Click on the next page to learn more about your GPU and sound specifications.

The only way to fix this problem is to know what you are missing and upgrade your PC.

Issue #2 – Damaged Game Files

The game files in the directory of your PC might get corrupted or broken, because of which facing issues with Modern Warfare is evident. However, you can not make assumptions unless you check their integrity.

Solution –

Platforms like Steam and Battle.net have integrated ways of checking the game files for damage. Let’s look at how you can check the integrity of the gaming files –

On Steam –

Once you have opened Steam, navigate to the library and select Modern Warfare 2.
Right-Click on Modern Warfare 2 and Select Properties.
You can find multiple options in the Properties Window in the left panel.

Choose Local Files from the available options.
You will find an option in Local files that says, “Verify integrity of game files.”

Click on the options and let it run the process.

On Battel.net

Open Battle.net on your computer.
Select Modern Warfare 2 and click on the gear icon next to Options.

In the opened menu, you can find an option Scan and Repair.
Use that option to scan your local game files and find out if there are any errors that you can fix with your system.

Using these ways, you can find corrupt or damaged files, and the game clients will automatically repair and replace the files, making the entire process smooth.

Issue #3 – PC Services & Firewall Error

The antivirus and Windows Defender often detect programs like games and third-party applications as a threat. Since a third-party vendor develops these applications, the default installer and executor often report it as an external application. This might hinder the launching of the Modern Warfare game. To fix it, follow these steps:

Solution –

To deal with such an issue, you have two options;-

Perform a clean boot that helps your PC refresh the processes and run the game smoothly
Add the game launcher to the exceptions list of your Windows Defender.

To use the options, here’s what you have to do –

To perform a clean boot –

Press Windows + R to bring up the Run search box.
In the Run Search box, type msconfig to open the system configuration.

In the opened window, go to services in the top panel.
Check the box that says Hide all Microsoft services. This way, you will not change Microsoft’s native services.
Once you have done that, click on Disable all. This will stop all the services running in the background.

Save the settings and then restart your PC. This will restart all the services again, making your system reboot from scratch.

To add Modern Warfare to your Windows Defender exceptions list

Open the Start menu and search for Windows Defender Firewall.
You can find the Allow an app through the Windows firewall option in the left panel. Click on it.

Find Modern Warfare 2 in the program list and allow it.

These two ways can help you run your game smoothly. If these do not work, move on to the next step and the most common error that often causes games to crash.

Issue #4 – Outdated Graphics Drivers

The graphics drivers on your PC require regular updates to function properly. It is not a secret that drivers are among the PC’s most important components. This is not only for graphics but all input and output devices.

If your PC has outdated graphics, chances are your GPU is not working properly, leading to Modern Warfare crashing on launch. You need to update the drivers.

If you have tried to follow the above technique, you already know that it is not easy to change Windows programs. It is tedious and time-consuming, and the manual way to update drivers is no less.

Solution –

Thankfully, you do have an automated option here. Advanced Driver Updater is a dedicated application that can help you update your drivers for GPU and all the other outdated ones that may cause trouble in the future.

You can download Advanced Driver Updater from here!

Using the software is as simple as running a setup to install an application. You have to follow the instructions the tool shows, and you will be good to go. To give you a perspective, once you have installed the application, follow the given steps –

Click on Start Scan now to initiate the search for outdated drivers on your PC.
The scan will take a few minutes to analyze the existing drivers.

Once the scan is complete, it will give you the option to update them all.

Click on Update all, and you are done!

It takes two clicks to update all the outdated drivers. Once you have clicked on Update, all the software downloads all the updates for the drivers and installs them on your PC, giving you prompt completion. Restart the PC after the software is done, and your Modern Warfare not launching issue will be resolved.

Issue # 5 – Modern Warfare Stuttering PC

If you run the game on a PC with minimum system requirements, you might face stuttering, and the game won’t launch. To fix it, instead of playing the game in full screen, try running it in the Windowed mode.

Solution –

Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box.
Type appdata and press the Enter key.
Click Local under the AppData window.
Look for the Prospect folder and double-click on it.
Now navigate to Saved > Config > WindowsNoEditor directory.
Here, look for the GameUserSettings file.
Using a text editor, open the file and change FullscreenMode=1 to FullscreenMode=0.
Save the changes.

Now, relaunch Modern Warfare. You should not face any problems.

Issue # 6 – Discord Overlay

Some players to enjoy technological advancement use Discord overly the fancy feature. But this feature sometimes interferes with the launching of Modern Warfare. Therefore, disabling Discord overlay before playing the game is suggested to fix the issue.

Solution –

Launch Discord and go to User Settings by clicking the gear icon in the bottom left corner.
Click the Overlay option from the left pane > and toggle off Enable in-game overlay.
Close the Settings window and then try Modern Warfare. This should do the trick.

Enjoy Smooth Gaming Experience By Keeping Drivers Updated

Most of the time, it is the drivers that cause the error. Hence I recommend that you start by installing Advanced Driver Updater to check whether updated drivers are available. If they are, install them, and you might not need to go through the other three techniques.

I hope the blog adds value and assists you in resolving the Modern Warfare not working error. Good luck!

Dishank Sharma

A creative tech-writer who loves to explore latest tech-trends & convey them to his readers in the simplest way possible. He loves to blend the crispness of technology with a pinch of creativity while curating best practices for the readers. In his free time, he likes to scribble poetry, listen to rap & travel.