Call of Duty World at War – Cannot locate the DVD-ROM (workaround + fix!)

Scroll to the bottom to view the solution…

So I got Call of Duty – World at War for chirstmas…

• It looks great
• The first 5 minutes were awesome
• Then it stopped working.
• The reason?

Cannot locate the DVD-ROM Please insert the correct DVD-ROM and restart the application

So basically, whenever I tried to launch the game I got the error message above. I tried a few things like starting the game from the disk, and a shortcut on the desktop (which I had to create myself) and even tried turning UAC on again, running as administrator, running in compatibility mode, reinstalling and just about anything else I could think of. I should note, that the game did work when I first installed it, and it was only after I finished building my computer (installing updates, applications, and customising) that it stopped working.

So the next step? the internet…surely the internet wouldn’t let me down.

Call of Duty 5 artwork

After looking around the internet for answers, all I found was lots and lots of people with the same problem. I went to the Activision website and looked through their support forums, and the solution from Activision?

• Go to the directory where you installed the game. Find the file CODWaW.exe. This is the executable. Right-click on this file and select properties. Now go to the compatibility tab and make sure that no compatibility options are turned on. If the compatibility option is checked then uncheck it. Once you have done this click OK and then double-click on the executable to launch the game.
• Hold down the left shift key when inserting the game disc.
• All background applications must be shutdown prior to running the game.
• Virtual drives can cause insert CD/DVD errors. If you have virtual drives installed on your system you will need to remove them and then reinstall the game with the original disc. Please refer to the documentation for your virtual drive software for instructions on how to remove these drives.
• Update the firmware for your CD/DVD drive to the latest version. Firmware updates are often released to fix compatibility issues with certain disc types. You will need to contact your drive manufacturer for the correct firmware update.
• Update the chipset drivers for your motherboard. If you have an Nvidia Nforce based motherboard go here to get the latest Nforce drivers. If you have a motherboard with an Intel chipset go here to get the latest motherboard INF driver. If you have VIA based motherboard go here and get the latest Chipset or Platform driver for your motherboard. If you are not sure what motherboard chipset you have or what driver you should download please contact your motherboard or computer manufacturer for help.

And guess what – none of it worked, and I wasn’t the only person whos problems failed to be solved by Activision.

It was then I decided to try using a different DVD drive (an external USB drive which I had all but forgotten about) and low and behold…the problem was solved! (Update: better solution further down the page!)

I am amazed that Activision haven’t found out what the problem is yet, and I have seen a lot of different responses from the company themselves (one even suggested reinstalling the operating system) which makes it look like they have no ideas at all. I’m sure not everyone has a spare DVD drive laying around, but hopefully this post will help anyone who does. It should also be noted that the spare drive was also a Samsung writemaster drive (although it was a different model to my default one)

Incase you are wondering – I am running 64 bit Vista, and have a Samsung DVD drive. I found the Samsung website very helpful and easy to navigate, and installed new firmware for my device using the ‘Live Update program’ from their website, where all you have to do is download the program, install it, double click the icon, and press download (oh and make sure you remove any media from your drive!) you can find the live update software from Samsung here: http://www.samsungodd.com/Eng/

Update (AKA SOLUTION!):

After doing some scouting around, I have read that a certain website *cough cough* actually contains a replacement exe file which makes the game run without the CD inserted. I have tested it, and sure enough it seems to work! Apparently this file is from a pirated version of the game, so I don’t know how legal it is, but if you have purchased the game, you should be ok I think.

1. Download this file: located here
2. Unzip it (right click and extract files)
3. Copy the file
4. Paste it over your original .exe file (usually in program files\activision\codwaw\codwaw.exe

enjoy

If you found this post useful, feel free to buy me a beer!

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