CoH freezes on a new computer

Alright I just installed COH on a newly bought windows 7 computer.
The game randomly freezes on me.l at first it took 5 or 10 minutes but now it wont even fully load a zone, I see the blue loading bar fill then nothing, I click the screen and it goes grey and says its not responding.

Heres the basic reports which i gathered while the game was up and frozen


---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.2.0.2---

DxDiag gathered at November 12, 2010 07:59 (-08:00)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.100618-1621)
System Manufacturer: eMachines
System Model: EL1352
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Central Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 220 Processor (2 CPUs), ~2.8GHz
Memory: 4096MB
.Net Memory Report: 1805MB out of 3839MB available
Page File: 5149MB (2527MB currently in use)
C Drive: (ST350041 8AS SCSI Disk Device) 382978MB out of 460454MB (83%) free
D Drive: (ATAPI DVD A DH16AASH SCSI CdRom Device) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 11
DirectX Diag version: 6.01.7600.16385 (64-bit version)

Display Notes: No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.

Monitor:
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Manufacturer / Chip: NVIDIA / GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Video Memory: 1912 MB
Driver Version: 8.17.12.6099
Driver Date: 10/16/2010 10:55:00 AM
Driver Language: English

Sound Device Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Driver File: RTKVHD64.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6045
Driver Date: 2/9/2010 7:28:22 AM


WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: eMachines
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: EL1352
Motherboard Version:
BIOS Manufacturer: American Megatrends, Inc.
BIOS Name: Default System BIOS
BIOS Version: ACRSYS - 20100128
BIOS Release: 20100128000000.000000+000


Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1362x702
3D Resolution: 1021x526 (Using renderscale)
Full Screen: No
Maximized: No
Screen Position: -9, 0
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes


Physics Quality: Low
Maximum Particles: 24952
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No


Anti-aliasing: Off
Anisotropic Filtering: 4x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: None
Bloom: 0.750 (turned on)
Depth of Field Enabled: Yes
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: Medium?


World Texture Level: Low
Character Texture Level: Medium
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 0.794
Entity Detail Level: 1.000
Shadows Enabled: No
Shadow Mode: Disabled
Shadow Map Shader: Unknown (0)
Environmental Reflections: Disabled
Advanced Occlusion Settings: No
Ambient Occlusion: Off
Occlusion Strength: Off
Blur: Bilateral
Ambient Resolution: Performance


Gamma Correction: 1.000
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: No
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: Yes
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: Yes

Audio Mode: Performance
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 1.000
Music Sound Volume: 0.600

Show Advanced Graphics Options: Yes
Overall Graphics Quality: 0.500
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: Unknown bytes/second
Current Game Version: 1850.201009101722.18T2r
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\City of Heroes

Mod files in the Data directory
No modifications found


Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4
Scan saved at 8:01:49 AM, on 11/12/2010
Platform: Windows 7 (WinNT 6.00.3504)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v8.00 (8.00.7600.16671)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Program Files (x86)\eMachines\Hotkey Utility\HotkeyUtility.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Updater6\Adobe_Updater.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Yahoo!\Messenger\YahooMessenger.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\City of Heroes\CityOfHeroes.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Trend Micro\HiJackThis\HiJackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://homepage.emachines.com/rdr.as...4v105r4741t231
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://homepage.emachines.com/rdr.as...4v105r4741t231
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://homepage.emachines.com/rdr.as...4v105r4741t231
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://homepage.emachines.com/rdr.as...4v105r4741t231
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page = C:\Windows\SysWOW64\blank.htm
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
F2 - REG:system.ini: UserInit=userinit.exe
O2 - BHO: &Yahoo! Toolbar Helper - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670} - C:\PROGRA~2\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {5C255C8A-E604-49b4-9D64-90988571CECB} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: Windows Live Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll
O2 - BHO: Ask Toolbar BHO - {D4027C7F-154A-4066-A1AD-4243D8127440} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Ask.com\GenericAskToolbar.dll
O2 - BHO: SingleInstance Class - {FDAD4DA1-61A2-4FD8-9C17-86F7AC245081} - C:\PROGRA~2\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\YTSingle Instance.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\PROGRA~2\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Ask Toolbar - {D4027C7F-154A-4066-A1AD-4243D8127440} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Ask.com\GenericAskToolbar.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Hotkey Utility] C:\Program Files (x86)\eMachines\Hotkey Utility\HotkeyUtility.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Sidebar] C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /autoRun
O4 - HKCU\..\RunOnce: [FlashPlayerUpdate] C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\FlashUtil10k_Pl ugin.exe -update plugin
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O9 - Extra button: Blog This - {219C3416-8CB2-491a-A3C7-D9FCDDC9D600} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WriterBrowserExtension.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: &Blog This in Windows Live Writer - {219C3416-8CB2-491a-A3C7-D9FCDDC9D600} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WriterBrowserExtension.dll
O16 - DPF: {E6F480FC-BD44-4CBA-B74A-89AF7842937D} (SysInfo Class) - http://content.systemrequirementslab...ri_4.3.1.0.cab
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Alg.exe,-112 (ALG) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\alg.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\efssvc.dll,-100 (EFS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\fxsresm.dll,-118 (Fax) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\fxssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: ForceWare Intelligent Application Manager (IAM) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NetworkAccessManager\bin32\nSvcAppFlt. exe
O23 - Service: GameConsoleService - WildTangent, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\eMachines Games\eMachines Game Console\GameConsoleService.exe
O23 - Service: GRegService (Greg_Service) - Acer Incorporated - C:\Program Files (x86)\eMachines\Registration\GregHSRW.exe
O23 - Service: Google Update Service (gupdate) (gupdate) - Google Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
O23 - Service: @keyiso.dll,-100 (KeyIso) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @comres.dll,-2797 (MSDTC) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\msdtc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Nero BackItUp Scheduler 4.0 - Nero AG - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Nero\Nero BackItUp 4\NBService.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\System32\netlogon.dll,-102 (Netlogon) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: ForceWare IP service (nSvcIp) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NetworkAccessManager\bin32\nSvcIp.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (nvsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\nvvsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\psbase.dll,-300 (ProtectedStorage) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\Locator.exe,-2 (RpcLocator) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\locator.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\samsrv.dll,-1 (SamSs) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\snmptrap.exe,-3 (SNMPTRAP) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\snmptrap.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-1 (Spooler) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\sppsvc.exe,-101 (sppsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\sppsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\ui0detect.exe,-101 (UI0Detect) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\UI0Detect.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Updater Service - Acer Group - C:\Program Files\eMachines\eMachines Updater\UpdaterService.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vaultsvc.dll,-1003 (VaultSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vds.exe,-100 (vds) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\vds.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\vssvc.exe,-102 (VSS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\vssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Wat\WatUX.exe,-601 (WatAdminSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\Wat\WatAdminSvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\wbengine.exe,-104 (wbengine) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbengine.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%Systemroot%\system32\wbem\wmiapsrv.exe,-110 (wmiApSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbem\WmiApSrv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe,-101 (WMPNetworkSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Yahoo! Updater (YahooAUService) - Yahoo! Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Yahoo!\SoftwareUpdate\YahooAUService.exe

--
End of file - 8054 bytes

I'm not saying this to be derogatory but rather because it's true. Your computer really isn't even close to being able to play this game well. You have enough ram. Your processor is really slow though so it won't be able to handle the game effectively except at the lowest settings.

But now we come to the biggest hurdle. You don't have a video card in your system. Instead you have an integrated video chip that was not intended for even the most simplistic games. The computer you bought was not intended for gaming at all. This is a very basic system meant for browsing the web and watching YouTube videos at the best. The cost of your entire system is less than double what a good video card for this game runs.

You can try running the game in safe mode and see if that works. I see that you've been around here for a while and you were having various problems on your old system. Unfortunately it looks like you "upgraded" to an even lower quality computer. Your best zero cost bet would be to swap the video card out of your old system into the new one.

Actually your very best zero to low cost bet would be to see if you can get a refund on this computer and then use the money to buy a decent motherboard, processor, and video card and put them in your old case. It's not a crazy proposition either. I just recently did the same thing myself. I looked around for deals and bought a new motherboard with a Phenom II processor and 4 gigs ddr3 memory for under $400. Then a couple months later I bought a new video card.

I'm now going to look through your old posts and see if I can find the specs on your old system (or you can put them here) and see if there is any other possibility that can be cobbled together between the two.

edit: Well, looking through the old posts it seems like your old video won't be much of an improvement. It will be better, almost anything would but it won't be good. Honestly your biggest problems through all 3 versions of computer you have played the game on has been ram and video. With this new system you have solved the ram problem but you still have the lack of video power. You get what you pay for and really you have only two choices if you want to play the game well. Either as time goes by upgrade your system piece by piece with "GOOD" replacement parts or else save up your money until you can buy a complete high end system.

Looks for posts by Father Xmas. He has links to two decent computer systems in his sig and also a guide to computer parts. Also go Here when contemplating a new video card and it will give you an idea of how relatively good the card is.

old system completely fried. Power surge burnt out everything. had some pretty light shows and colors coming out of it when it happened.

... my gut reaction looking at the system specs is that there ain't no way in hell that computer in Win7 compliant.

Unfortunately, it is: http://www.emachines.com/products/pr...rod=EL1352-01e

Basically, he doesn't have the option of a cheap graphics card as there's no expansion slots*, and that system is just pressing the bare limits of Win7 hardware requirements. I'm not even actually sure it's certified for Aero.

*specifications published outside of the manufactures page indicate that it does indeed have a PCIE-16x slot

Newegg shows that the EL1352-03 has one PCI-E x16 and one PCI-E x1 expansion slots. They are probably low profile given the small size of the case.

But, in the interest of actually helping the OP get the game working with what they have, have you tried using the game's 'safe mode'?

First, 2.8GHz Athlon II X2 isn't too slow. I honestly don't know where people get these ideas. Yes it's "slow" compared to a $1000 Intel hex core compressing video but for gaming it's not half bad. Anyways that isn't their limiting factor, graphics is.

Looking at the general specs it's a low profile system with a 220 watt PSU. I'm not familiar with suitable replacements for that, not that it matters too much due to the low profile card nature of the system. It does have one x16 slot.

The good news is just about everything is faster than integrated graphics. The "best" I think you could hope for is a low-profile HD 5570 like this one, it comes with the low profile brackets so it can fit in your system. It only maxes around 45 watts.

The HD 5550 uses only a couple of watts less, if power use is a concern. nVidia doesn't have much in that size and power use range. The GT 220 uses 10% more power but is 20% less powerful than the HD 5570 and the GT 430 may be similar in performance to the HD 5570 but it is still similar in power use with the GT 220.

Now the extremely paranoid will point out that the HD 5570 recommends a 400 watt PSU. Which is a good point, AMD also says that about the HD 5450 which draws less than half the power of the HD 5570. The HD 5450 is also a bit less than half as powerful as the HD 5570 but still substantially faster than that integrated nVidia 6150.

Actually I was commenting about Mandu's initial assessment.

Sorry, I tend to think in terms of current technology and I was running a duo core 3.0 ghz two years ago which wasn't the best available even then. Generally what was bleeding edge two years ago is mid to high range now. And as ego centric as it may be I tend to consider anything I replace as outmoded because I don't replace anything until I tend to start seeing a performance drop.

Though I admit that my subconscious was thinking in terms of ultra mode which it shouldn't have been since in this situation just getting the game running is the goal. It's still a very good cpu, just not a great one and is surprisingly powerful for such an inexpensive computer.

I think in relative terms. While the performance difference between a $75 and a $300 video card is around 3x, the performance difference between a $75 and $300 cpu in gaming with a single GPU, assuming the game doesn't scale beyond two cores, is only 25-30%.

A 2.8GHz Athlon II dual core is faster than the 3.0GHz Athlon X2, any Pentium D ever and even the lower clock speed 1st generation Core 2 Duos. Yes it's a low end CPU today but it isn't a slouch either.