If you originally installed a non-English version and then patched it, the Windows registry might still point to the wrong language. Use RegEdit to navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Activision\Call of Duty WAW Change Language to english (DWORD value 0 ).

If you downloaded the game via a torrent or an unofficial mirror, sometimes files can become corrupted during the transfer. A CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) error might have skipped the extraction of the English zone files, leaving you with a broken install.

Many regions eventually received official releases of the game, making the need for zone file modifications obsolete.

This guide will explain why this error happens and how to fix your "English Zone" files to get you back into the action. Why is the English Zone File Missing?