# Fixing Call of duty MW2 from a VAC ban



## patmark (Jul 11, 2010)

This is not a critizism about this game. I completely understand why the creaters of MW created the VAC system to keep cheaters off their servers but its an imperfect system at best. My uncle is 71 years old and wouldnt know how to cheat if he wanted to. This game is what he does to keep his mind active and for entertainment. Hes been VAC banned from playing this game. Heres how I think it happened to him. He bought a $14.00 add on from the MW site. He installed it and played with it for like 3 or 4 months and one day he just couldnt log on anymore. Now I completely understand why the Vac system banned him. It obviously detected a cheat someplace in this add on.
The thing that gets me about it is that that friggin add on should not have been avaliable to buy on that site to begin with. Now from researching this problem and how to fix his game for him I've come across 100s if not 1000s of people this has happened to. Some are actual cheaters I say good ridence to them but many of them are just people that don't really understand how computers and servers work.
From what I understand a vac ban is permenant and the only thing that can be done is to either set him up to play only unsecured servers. Or buy a new copy of the game, format his HD, reinstall his operating system and create a brand new account for him. And hope like hell that the ffr got the cheat add on completely out of the system so it doesnt just ban his new account. Tech support is absolutly useless for this game and steam. I 'm just wondering if there is anything I can do before I go buy a new copy of this game for him to fix the old game so he will be able to play on the regular VAC secured servers again as thats the servers that have all his people he plays with. I purchased a new copy of the game, I ,ve allready set his computer back to factory by running the program that does this in vista. I want to make sure that this wont happen to him again and that this new game doesnt get vac banned like the old one did. I'm 99% sure that restoring the computer to the way it came out of the box has removed the add on/cheat. Any advice you could give me before I install this new game on the system would be greatly appreciated.


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## Aus_Karlos (Mar 10, 2007)

Hi patmark and welcome to TSF,

This VAC issue will have to be taken up with Steam. If the addon you bought was from the official website then this shouldn't of caused an issue with VAC.
If you bought this addon from a site that required your steam login details then you may of been scammed and your account hijacked. The reason why im saying this is because for the PC version of MW2 addon pack on MW2 official site leads you to the Steam Store page.
Unfortunately if thats the case and VAC has banned you (The Hijacker) for cheating then any game on that steam account that connections to a VAC secure server will be blocked. (Counter-Strike, Team Fortress 2, ect).
You dont need to go as far as formatting your HDD but certainly get rid of the addon you have installed. Also check for viruses or any other applications you know you didn't install. 

Getting you off the banned list is very difficult mainly for the fact theres no way to be sure if it wasn't you that cheated (Not accusing you at all). You can however try and fight for your money back on the lost games steam might agree to it, but again they rarely do without evidence.
If you haven't already you can start a help ticket with them.
https://support.steampowered.com/login.php?


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## patmark (Jul 11, 2010)

Well Aus_Karlos I cant thank you enough. At this point Ive decided to just go ahead and by my uncle a new copy of the game. like I said hes 71 and had no idea that an add-on could do this to his game. Ive explained this to him now and he should be back to playing Tuesday when I get over there with his new game. If theres anyone with this problem that comes on here again I will of course be happy to help them fix it. iTs a real pain in the you know what when it happens, and you cannot get help from anyone at steams tech support or from the online gaming community. Everyone just asumes your a cheater and tells you you got what you asked for. The key to keeping the new game safe with this issue I think will be to make sure that 1). The add on/cheat is completely gone. 2). The entire old online account through steam is deactivated and deleted. You know Aus_Karlos your response to this post really means alot to me. This is the only place of the many places I've been that has given me a response to this question other than your a cheater. Ive done alot of research on this problem in the last couple of days and there are alot of people out there in the same boat. I guess you can consider my issue resolved but in the future if theres anything I can do to help around here Im here. This is by far the best support site I've found and you can bet your boots you'll be seeing alot more of me. Thanks again guys keep up the good work.

:smile:
patmark


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## patmark (Jul 11, 2010)

*Resolved/Re: Fixing Call of duty MW2 from a VAC ban*

Well guys my uncle is playing his game again. I completely removed the old game as well as steam from his computer. I also formatted his HD and reinstalled the operating system just to be safe. I installed a new copy of the game and created a completly new steam acct for him complete with new e-mail address, new UN, and a new high security PW. His computer is now equipt with great firewall and antivirus as well. This is the only way to fix this problem everyone unless your willing to play on only unsecured servers and who wants to play with all those damn cheaters. Most of all I educated my 71 year old uncle about security, I think this is the only good thing thats come out of this. He now knows not to buy online add ons for his game even if they do come from the steam store. Yup :smile: Thats where he bought the add on that got him VAC banned, right from their own store. If it were me I'd uninstall the game and tell steam right where they could stick thier game. But my uncle is 71 and this game is all he has to keep his mind active and to entertain himself. If anyone needs help fixing a vAC ban on this game I'll be glad to help you with it. This problem is resolved.


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