If you are stuck on the Downloading game settings screen after clicking Find Game, this may be the fix for you. I did this on my PS3 and it worked.

1) Go into network settings and then make sure everything is custom, no automatic.

2) Find the IP address for the PS3. This is the problem!

3) Set the IP address to 192.168.1.100. If COD4 does not work, change the 100 in the IP to a higher number (101,102,103 etc.) (The closer to 100, the better.) Then try again.

This simple thing worked for me, and should work for you.
Reason: Most online games use the IP address from the PS3, but COD4 doesn't. The designers of the game made it so that COD4 scans for its own IP address. It scans from 192.168.1.100 up and that's why if you CAN get COD4 to work with the Downloading Game Settings box, it takes an hour. By changing it to ....100 you are forcing COD4 to choose that IP address which is the fastest one.

Try it out, and tell me how it goes.

I think it's just because you made a new connection that did it.

That worked perfectly for mine....

wat does this do make is faster or somthing

__________________
lllllllllllllllll

Well, in a way, yes, kids snipe. It has to choose the fastest connection instead of just scanning for one forever. (Crappy programming by the makers of COD4.)

k ive changed the IP adress but it doesnt allow me to move one i have to fill out like the defualt router and primary and secondary DNS wat do i have to do??

Sometimes Downloading the game settings takes forever and sometimes it does it straght away. It baffles me

Me too, its taken so long once I actually went to the shop and came back and it was still loading.

I thought it might be something to do with going up through the levels as it was quick when I was Lv 20 but now im 55 its always a really long time to get in.

Aaron, I haven't the slightest clue as to why it works faster some days, but not others. I'll guess it might be your internet connection? But, I do not know.

harty, it has nothing to do with the leveling system, just crappy programming. =) Hopefully the IP address change has helped it.

panman, if cod4 worked before BEFORE it started taking forever, just change the IP address (instructions in first post), and leave the rest at what they were. As for if it didn't work AT ALL, I don't know what to tell you, it could be a number of things causing it not to work, if you can find one cause as to why it's not working, maybe I can help you.

WRCK, I tried the IP address thing because I've been having the same issues. So I entered the IP address given above, and kept the other fields the same. However, I tested the internet connection and it said IP connection succeeded, but overall internet connection failed. It said it was a DNS error. However, as I said before, I kept the DNS fields the same and stuff. So I am really lost here, I haven't been able to play today.

Could it have something to do with college? I moved in to my dorm yesterday, and today was the first time I tried to play COD online. So I really don't know what to do. I don't have a router, and I tried unplugging and plugging the cable back in.