This started happening a few weeks ago and got worse to the point I cant play 9/10 times.

 

When I join a server the 'join noise' sounds and the screen blinks and will stay black for five minutes or so, sometimes the map load screen will come on.

 

I've tried moving the entire game folder to another disk thinking it was hardware related, but it is same.

 

The strange thing is, once I get over 'one' waiting period of blackness any servers/maps will load normally after that on every other map/game....it's always the first game I join does this....please help

What does the console say?

(run in windowed mode)

...nm

 

...

try closing running apps and doing a defrag

I could see from console it was calling .iwd files from old install folder??? There was an entry in registry point to old install I changed it to new install loc. but I cant launchIW4M ???

 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Activision\Modern Warfare 2---------------------------
Error
---------------------------
System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: The directory name is invalid

  at System.Diagnostics.Process.StartWithCreateProcess(ProcessStartInfo startInfo)

  at System.Diagnostics.Process.Start()

  at System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(ProcessStartInfo startInfo)

  at  .()

  at  .(Object , StatusChangedEventArgs )

  at DBNUpdater.Updater.SendStatus(StatusChangedEnum type, StatusChangedData data, Int64 tasksToAdd)

  at DBNUpdater.Updater..()
---------------------------
OK   
---------------------------

have you tried reinstalling IW4M?

I think that your computer needs "a bath" (aka reinstalling the operating system from time to time to keep it clean and smooth)

Even if the problem is with the game files, who did they get corrupt? answer, once again, corrupted operating system.