This procedure is basically the same for both a home pc server or a dedicated box server.
The files are the same, your just running the game from different locations.
We have written this while performing each step, it takes about an hour to complete.
Just follow each step one by one and you'll have a server running in no time. For a dedicated box you will need at least one IP address.

Download this zip file to a temp folder, it contains server configs and Punkbuster files to run your server, you will need it. Download

Make sure your game install is fully patched and operational, including Punkbuster.
- Open C:/Program Files/Activision on your pc, and copy/paste the Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare folder to C:\ on your hard drive.
To simplify things, rename the copy to cod4.

We now need to make sure your using a clean install of the server files, so we will clean everything up next.
- Open the new cod4 folder and delete anything you don't see here:


- Open the "main" folder and delete both the "video" and the "save" folder.
- Remove anything else in the "main" folder that you don't see here:


- Open the C:\cod4\pb folder and delete everything.

Install The Punkbuster Files

The next thing to do is get the Punkbuster server files.
- Create a folder on your desktop called "pbsetup".
- Download pbsetup.exe from Evenbalance to your new pbsetup folder from this link: Download
- Run pbsetup.exe and click "Add a Game". Choose Call of Duty 4.
Then browse to the CoD4 folder so that pbsetup knows where your CoD4 server is located.
- Once you have added your CoD4 server, select/highlight the Call of Duty 4 in the list and click "Check For Updates".
This will download a number of files to your CoD4/pb server directory.
- Open the server configs you downloaded earlier, open the pb folder, copy all the files, then paste them into the CoD4/pb folder of your server.

Add the Server Config

You will find that only certain variables can be changed when your server is stock, or in RANKED mode.
Knowing this, and in combination with the startup command, all you need to run a stock RANKED server, is the server.cfg in the above download.
Read the Readme-First.txt, it explains the files.
Open the server.cfg with notepad and edit the Hostname, rcon password, and Server Slots sections and save.
Put the file in the "C:\cod4\main" folder of your server installation. The folder named main.

- Upload the cod4 folder and all of its contents to C:\ on your box.
It is critical that the naming and file structure remain intact, do not change anything.
This will take quite a few hours, so time it so it does not interfere with your normal pc usage.

Create The Startup Shortcut

- Login to your box and open the cod4 folder.
- Right click the iw3mp.exe file and select "Create Shortcut". Drag the new shortcut to the desktop.
- Right click the new shortcut and select Properties.
- Find the Target field, you will see "C:\cod4\iw3mp.exe"
- Add the following to the end of the existing target, do not delete or change any of the existing target:

+set dedicated 2 +set net_ip xxx.xxx.xxxx +set net_port 28960 +set sv_maxclients xx +set ui_maxclients xx +set sv_punkbuster 1 +exec server.cfg +map_rotate

Note: Make sure there is a space between iw3mp.exe" and +set dedicated 2
Note: Change +set net_ip to your server IP.
Note: Change sv_maxclients and ui_maxclients to how many player slots you want.
Click Apply and OK.

Command Line Information

The command line is what starts your server, it sets the global variables for a server such as the IP and Port.
There are quite a few parameters you can use but I prefer to use the basics, the rest can be used in the server cfg to make changes much easier.
This is the startup command line for the above instructions: (Windows Only)
"C:\cod4\iw3mp.exe" +set dedicated 2 +set net_ip xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx +set net_port 28960 +set sv_maxclients xx +set ui_maxclients xx +set sv_punkbuster 1 +exec server.cfg +map_rotate

Starting and Joining The Server

Double click the shortcut to start the server.
Your server should now start if you didnt make any typo's or configuration errors.
Wait for 10-15 minutes and go see if you can find it in the server browser. You may need to refresh a few times.
If you can't find it, stop the server for approx. 30 minutes and try again.
You can also use your console to connect, but sometimes it won't work. Once you choose your profile in multiplayer, open your console using the tilde (~) key.
Type in /connect xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (your server ip and port) and hit enter.

Thats it!