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It’s normal to be frustrated and angered by random crashes, especially when playing a game like Call of Duty Warzone. But no more worries; in this article, you’ll find effective fixes that will help you resolve the problem once and for all.

Check if your system needs an upgrade

Call of Duty Warzone could be crashing because your computer does not have all it takes to run it. You might not know this because you haven’t checked the game’s system requirements and confirmed whether your computer’s specs meet them. Many other gamers who were guilty of this fact realized that they needed to upgrade some components on their systems.

So, before you proceed, start by making sure your PC can run the game without issues. We’ve provided all the info you need, including Call of Duty Warzone’s system requirements and a guide on how to check your computer’s configuration.

Minimum Requirements

Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit (SP1); Windows 10 64-bit

Processor: Intel Core i3-4340; AMD FX-6300

Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670/NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650; AMD Radeon HD 7950 – DirectX 12.0-compatible system

Memory: 8 GB of RAM

Storage: 175 GB of available hard drive space

Internet: Broadband Internet connection

Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit (SP1); Windows 10 64-bit

Processor: Intel Core i3-4340; AMD FX-6300

Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650; AMD Radeon HD 7950 – DirectX 12.0-compatible system

Memory: 8 GB of RAM

Storage: 175 GB of available hard drive space

Internet: Broadband Internet connection

Checking your system’s specifications:

  1. Go to the taskbar, right-click on the Start button, and then choose Settings from the Quick Access menu to open the Settings application. You can launch the app faster with the Windows + I keyboard shortcut.
  2. After the home screen of Settings shows up, click on the System label.
  3. Once the System interface of Settings opens, go to the left pane, scroll to the bottom, and then select About.
  4. Next, move over to the main window (the About tab) and check your system’s specs under Device Specifications. This is where you’ll see your CPU’s make, model and architecture, and your RAM size, among others.
  5. If you want to check how much storage you have, double-click on This PC on your desktop and navigate to Devices and Drives.
  6. To check the details of your display adapter, follow these steps:
  • Right-click on the Start button and select Run.
  • After Run opens, type “dxdiag” (without the quotes) into the text box and click on the OK button or hit the Enter key.
  • After the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window appears, go to the Display tab and check the details of your graphics card, such as its make and model and its driver version.

Make sure your graphics card driver is up to date

Without a compatible graphics card driver, your video card will be as good as useless regardless of how powerful it is. Display driver issues are part of the common problems that plague games. It’s possible that the driver’s components have gone corrupt or are obsolete, causing CODW to crash in the middle of gameplay.

Resolving the problem is often as simple as installing the latest version of the display driver, which will be properly optimized for gameplay.

Before installing the card’s latest driver, start by removing the current version. It’s possible that the current driver is corrupt, which makes performing a clean installation of the updated version the right thing to do. To remove the current driver, you have to go to the Device Manager and uninstall the graphics card. Follow these steps if you don’t know what to do:

  1. Call up the search box beside Start by pressing the Windows and S keys on your keyboard at the same time. You can also click on the magnifying glass icon in the taskbar to summon the search utility.
  2. Type “device manager” (without the quotes) once the search function appears.
  3. Once you see Device Manager in the search results, click on it.
  4. After the program appears, go to the Display Adapters menu and click on the arrow beside it.
  5. Next, right-click your graphics card and click on Uninstall Device from the context menu.
  6. Check the checkbox beside “Delete the driver software for this device” once the Uninstall Device confirmation box opens, then click on Uninstall.
  7. After Windows completes the process, restart your system.

Remember that removing the driver is the first step. Next, you have to download and install its latest version. Doing that is quite easy and straightforward if you know what to do.

Normally, you can choose to download the driver software from the website of the card’s manufacturer. However, this could be a long process. There are different easier ways to get it done, from using built-in utilities such as Windows Update and the Device Manager to using dedicated third-party programs.

If you updated the driver recently but continue to experience the random crashes, follow the methods below to make sure you go about things the right way.

Using the Windows Update utility

Windows Update affords you the opportunity to download and install driver updates that have been verified by Microsoft. Although using the tool means you’ll be subjected to the uncertainty surrounding Microsoft’s release schedules, it’s still a good idea to start with updating your system.

Normally, the tool will update your system in the background if you have a working Internet connection. However, in certain situations, you’ll have to initiate the download process manually. The steps below will show you how to do that:

  1. Open the Start menu and click on the gear icon next to your username to summon the Settings application. To use your keyboard, punch the Windows logo and I keys simultaneously.
  2. Once the home screen of the Settings app appears, navigate to the bottom of the window and click on the Update & Security label.
  3. Next, click on the “Check for Updates” button after the Windows Update interface appears.
  4. If your operating system is up to date, move on to the next method. If not, allow Windows Update to download all the available updates.
  5. Once the updates have been downloaded, click on the Restart Now button to allow the tool to reboot your PC and perform the installation.
  6. Your computer will restart several times during the installation process.
  7. Once your PC boots up normally, start the game to check for the problem.

Using the Device Manager

With the Device Manager, you can allow Windows to search for your driver and automatically download and install it. You can also use the tool to install an existing driver.

Since downloading the driver by yourself is riskier and more stressful, it will be in your best interest to allow the program to perform the search automatically:

  1. Use the Windows + R keyboard combination to summon the Run dialog box.
  2. After Run appears, type “devmgmt.msc” (without the quotes) and click on OK or hit the Enter key.
  3. After the Device Manager opens, expand Display Adapters.
  4. Right-click on your graphics card and click on Update Driver.
  5. After the Update Driver window shows up, click on “Search automatically for updated driver software.”
  6. Windows will now search for the recent version of your graphics card driver. It will automatically download and install the driver if the search is successful.
  7. After the process is complete, restart your system and check if the game still crashes.

Using a dedicated program

Auslogics Driver Updater is a tool designed to keep your system’s device drivers up to date. It scans for outdated, missing or damaged drivers and installs their updated versions.

The program offers a lot more than the Device Manager and Windows Update: It downloads and installs updates once they’re released by the device manufacturers, it allows you to easily roll back your drivers, and it can perform multiple downloads at the same time.

Below, you’ll find a guide that will show you how to download, install, and use the program:

  1. Visit this webpage to download Auslogics Driver Updater.
  2. Run the setup file once your browser downloads it, then click on Yes in the User Account Control dialog.
  3. After the setup wizard shows up, choose your preferred language, specify the installation directory of your choice, and then enter other preferences, such as creating a desktop icon, allowing the program to launch after Windows starts, and sending anonymous reports to the app’s developers.
  4. Once you’ve entered your preferences, click on the “Click to install” button.
  5. After the installation process completes, start the tool and click on the Start Scan button.
  6. Once the scan is complete, you’ll find all the problematic drivers on your system. If your graphics card driver is on the list, click on the Update button to allow the tool to download and install its latest version.
  7. Restart your system once the process is complete, then check if Call of Duty Warzone crashes again.

Disable Overlay

If you’re using an overlay feature, whether it’s NVIDIA Overlay, Game Bar, or Spotify, that could be the reason for the crashing issue. Despite the added advantage that overlay programs offer, they tend to clash with certain games, and reports of many gamers point in that direction.

So, try disabling your overlay feature and check if that solves the problem. If you don’t know how to, we’ll be showing the steps involved in turning off the overlay feature in different programs.

NVIDIA Overlay

  1. Go to your system tray on the far right of your taskbar, click on the NVIDIA icon, then click on GeForce Experience. You can also search for the program in the Start menu and launch it from there.
  2. After the app opens, navigate to the top-right corner of the window and click on the cogwheel icon.
  3. Stay in the General tab of the next screen, and then toggle off the SHARE option located toward the bottom of the right pane.

Game Bar

  1. Click on the Start button or tap the Windows logo key on your keyboard, then click on the wheel icon once the Start menu appears. You can also summon the Settings app by pressing the Windows and I keys simultaneously.
  2. Click on the Gaming label after the home screen of Settings opens.
  3. In the Game Bar tab of the Gaming interface, turn off the switch under “Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using Game bar.”
  4. Next, switch to the left pane of the Gaming interface and click on Captures.
  5. Navigate to Background Recording and turn off “Record audio when I broadcast.”
  6. Exit the Settings application and launch the game to check for the problem.

Spotify overlay

  1. Go to the Start menu, search for Spotify, and then launch the app.
  2. Once the program opens, navigate to Menu, click on Edit, and then select Preferences.
  3. Next, scroll down and click on Display Options.
  4. Go to the “Show desktop overlay when using media keys” option and disable it.
  5. You can run Call of Duty Warzone to check for the problem.

Add the game to your antivirus program’s exception list

It’s not unusual for your antivirus program to block Call of Duty Warzone. Most AV suites are guilty of blocking games they consider to be threats. PC video games and other applications that suffer this issue are called False Positives.

You can resolve this problem by preventing the security program from scanning your game and blocking it. To do that, you have to add the game as an exception. The “exception” feature is used to manually indicate safe apps that the antivirus programs keep blocking. The feature goes by different names in different security programs. These names include “exemptions,” “exclusions,” and a host of others.

You can easily find the feature in the Settings environment of your AV suite. If you don’t know your way around the program’s interface, you can search for a guide online.

You won’t have to search for a guide if you rely on Windows’ native security suite for your computer’s protection; the steps below will guide you:

  1. Press the Windows logo key, then click on the cog icon in the Start menu. You can also use the Windows + I keyboard combo to open Settings.
  2. After the home screen of Windows Settings appears, click on Update & Security at the bottom of the page.
  3. Next, click on Windows Security in the left pane of the Update & Security interface.
  4. Go to the main window and click on Virus & Threat Protection under Protection Areas.
  5. After the Virus & Threat Protection page of Windows Security opens, scroll down and click on Manage Settings under Virus & Threat Protection Settings.
  6. On the next screen, scroll down to the Exclusions section and select “Add or remove exclusions.”
  7. After the Exclusions interface appears, click on “Add an exclusion.”
  8. Click on Folder in the context menu that drops down.
  9. Once you see the Select Folder dialog window, navigate to the installation folder of Call of Duty Warzone and select it.
  10. You can now run the game to check for the launch issue.

Verify your game files

Your game’s files are sacred. If they’re tampered with in any way, you get to suffer the consequences in the form of problems like random crashes. One or more missing or damaged game files could be the reason for the nightmare you’re experiencing.

Game files get affected by a number of system issues, from abrupt shutdowns during gameplay and malware attacks to antivirus interference and incomplete updates or installations.

You can easily resolve the problem by using the Battle.net launcher to search for missing or corrupted files and replace them automatically. If you don’t know how to do that, follow the steps below:

  1. Launch the Blizzard Battle.net app.
  2. Once the app opens, locate Call of Duty: Warzone and click on its icon.
  3. Once the game’s page opens, click on the Options drop-down menu under its title and select Scan and Repair from the context menu.
  4. Click on the Begin Scan option.
  5. The program will now scan your game’s files and redownload any that it finds to be corrupt or missing.
  6. After the process completes, relaunch the game and check for the problem.

Increase your paging file

As you know, your system memory plays a huge role in gaming. It is, in fact, one of the make-or-mar components when it comes to games like Call of Duty Warzone.

Sometimes, the system memory gets filled up and Windows creates virtual memory, using space on your hard drive, for it to serve as an extension for the main memory. This virtual memory is called the Paging File.

If your Paging File isn’t large enough to compensate for your main memory’s current deficit, your game could be affected. So, make sure this isn’t the issue by increasing its size.

If you don’t know how to do that, the following steps will help:

  1. Double-click on any folder on your desktop or click on the folder icon in the taskbar to launch a File Explorer window. You can use the Windows + E keyboard combo to launch the program faster.
  2. After the File Explorer window shows up, go to the left pane, locate This PC, right-click on it, and then select Properties from the context menu.
  3. Once the System window shows up, go to the left pane and click on Advanced System Settings.
  4. Once you see the Advanced tab of the System Properties dialog window, click on the Settings button under Performance.
  5. After the Performance Options dialog box appears, switch to the Advanced tab.
  6. Go to Virtual Memory and click on the Change button.
  7. Once the Virtual Memory dialog box pops up, uncheck the box beside “Automatically manage paging files size for all drives.”
  8. Next, highlight the volume where the paging file resides, then click on the radio button for “Custom Size”.
  9. Now, adjust the initial and maximum sizes to a higher value. It’s recommended that the size is double your system memory’s capacity.
  10. Click on Apply and OK in all the dialog boxes that are open, and then run the game to check for the issue.

Reduce the game’s CPU priority

The CPU priority of an app determines how many resources are allocated to it. Normally, a high CPU priority means that the app will be allocated more CPU resources. However, as it turns out, setting Call of Duty Warzone’s priority to High tends to cause problems for the game, as some gamers found.

Now, try reducing the priority level to Normal and check if that resolves the problem. The steps below will show you what to do:

  1. Right-click on the taskbar and click on Task Manager in the menu that appears. You can also launch the Task Manager, using the Ctrl + Shift + ESC keyboard combo.
  2. After the Task Manager opens, locate Call of Duty Warzone’s process, right-click it, and then click on Go to Details.
  3. Once the Details tab opens, right-click on the game again, place your mouse pointer over Set Priority, and then click on Normal.
  4. Run the game and check for the crashing issue.

Conclusion

The crashing problem in Call of Duty Warzone should be gone after you’ve applied the right fix. Reinstalling the game should be the last option if nothing works, but we believe one of the solutions above will help you get back to uninterrupted gaming. If you have any questions or want to share your thoughts, please use the comments section below.

If you want to keep enjoying smooth gameplay and a smooth-running computer, install Auslogics BoostSpeed to keep out junk files and other system-slowing elements.