How To Fix Modern Warfare 2 Crashing on Launch or At Startup

After these MW 2 fixes, you won't see crashing issues on launch or startup.

Among other bugs and errors, the Modern Warfare 2 crashing issue on launch has globally affected the players. For most players, the MW II 2 started to crash after the update. The crashes on launch or startup may pop up with or without errors.

There can be multiple causes behind Modern Warfare 2 crashing on launch on PC. An outdated graphics card, third-party apps interfering, or misconfigured launch option can mess up your game.

In this article, we have listed the fixes that will help you get rid of Modern warfare 2 crashes on launch/startup.

MW2 crashes immediately on startup.
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How to Fix Call of Duty MW2 Keeps Crashing on Launch?

Did you tried these fixes already:

  1. Updated Windows 10/11
  2. Tried running MW 2 through steam, epic, or battle net launcher.
  3. Verified the integrity of game files.
  4. Reinstalled game or Windows.
  5. Deleted config file, and also cleared the steam download cache.
  6. Ran as administrator.
  7. Let mw2 bypass the firewall and windows defender.
  8. launch in windowed mode.

Then apply the below-mentioned fixes to solve the call of duty modern warfare 2 launch issue.

Update Graphics Driver

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Most of the time Modern Warfare 2 crashes on launch because you have an outdated graphics driver installed on your PC. Make sure you have updated your GPU drivers to their latest version.

Although, NVIDIA and AMD release game-specific updates that you can download and install on your PC it takes time.

Also updating the graphics card drivers is a time-consuming task, and if you are a newbie you can end up installing the wrong drivers.

So we recommend downloading Driver Easy software on your PC. This program is a professional system driver updater that automatically scans a PC’s old driver and updates them instantly.

The Driver Easy is an N0.1 software updater tool in its field and for 12 years users are using it to fix their PC errors.

So download Driver Easy and let it deal with all the system drivers.

Make Sure that Game+ Windows + Steam Installation is on the Same Drive

This possible fix that we found on Reddit can help you. If you have installed the game on a different driver than Windows and Steam drive then reinstall it into the same one. Then try to play the game.

But make sure that Steam and Modern warfare 2 files are on the same hard drive.

Change the GUID Reg Key Via Registry Editor

Open the registry editor on Windows 10/11 and go to this path:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography

There you will see a file named MachineGuid with the ID “d1eb246e-6243-4460-a88e-5d4e52b1ef6b”

You can use that to change the GUID to that specific ID. Then run warzone and see if it helps. If not and you need to roll back the NVIDIA driver to 522.25. and then try again.

Remove Riot Shield and Overkill

For many players who are constantly dealing with crashes on startup or mid-game this fix worked like a charm. All you need is to remove the riot shelf and overkill and then play the crashless game.

Try Replacing Your GPU

If you have a spare GPU with you that can fulfill the minimum requirement of the game. Use it to play the game.

COD MW 2 seems to have problems with some GPU architecture. So If you are using RTX then switch to EVGA (If possible).

Disable Steam/Discord Overlay

The Discord, \steam, and Geforce overlay feature can cause MW 2 crashes on startup or launch. You won’t be able to boot up the game if you have enabled overlay.

Try to disable any application that has an overlays feature i.e. Xbox game bar, discord, GPU/mobo monitoring software, steam.

Those players who are dealing with launch issues after the update should remove discord and disable Xbox from Windows 10/11.

You can also use the in-game overlay feature to turn off any overlay settings.

Uninstall Conflicting Apps

EVGA precision or monitoring software tends to interfere with the game processes. If you have also installed one such tool that immediately uninstalls it.

Perform a Clean Boot

If you don’t know which particular app is causing crashing issues on launch or startup then we suggest running your PC in clean boot.

During this process, all app services except Microsoft will stop. Follow these steps:

  • Press the Windows logo key and R to open the Run tool. Type MSConfig and click OK.
  • Choose the Services tab and check the Hide all Microsoft services box.
  • Click Disable all and Apply. Then reboot your computer.

Under Clock CPU and GPU

If you are overclocking your PC then you are likely to deal with MW 2 crashing on launch errors. It’s because your GPU gets a high voltage that messes with your clock speed. So either under-volt your GPU or simply remove the overclocking tool.

FAQ – Modern Warfare 2

How to Fix the game_ship.exe crashing error in COD MW 2?

In case you are dealing with the game_ship.exe crashing error then the fault lies with your GPU driver. try to remove GPU drivers and then install the older version on Windows PC.

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