Help! Graphics/UI lag so bad I can barely even quit

So, I've been away from the game for nearly a year, but reactivated Monday in anticipation of I-19... all was well that night, but when I started playing again on Tuesday I started experiencing lag so bad that even logging out took patience. The game acts as if it is only running/active for about 2 seconds out of 5... the other 3 seconds everything is frozen, animations and UI responsiveness. I have the latest drivers (I believe) and I've checked my computer for viruses and spyware.

Does anyone have any ideas about what I should check next?

I'm including the output from HiJack this and CoHHelper:


Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4
Scan saved at 12:35:34 AM, on 11/30/2010
Platform: Windows Vista SP2 (WinNT 6.00.1906)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v8.00 (8.00.6001.18975)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Windows\system32\taskeng.exe
C:\Windows\system32\Dwm.exe
C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9\avgtray.exe
C:\Windows\SOUNDMAN.EXE
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\Acrotray.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe
C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe
C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmpnscfg.exe
C:\Users\Brian\AppData\Local\Google\Update\1.2.183 .39\GoogleCrashHandler.exe
C:\Windows\system32\wbem\unsecapp.exe
C:\Windows\system32\SLUI.exe
C:\Users\Brian\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Applica tion\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Brian\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Applica tion\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Brian\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Applica tion\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Brian\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Applica tion\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Brian\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Applica tion\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Brian\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Applica tion\chrome.exe
C:\Windows\System32\mobsync.exe
C:\Users\Brian\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Applica tion\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Brian\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Applica tion\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Brian\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Applica tion\chrome.exe
C:\Windows\system32\SearchFilterHost.exe
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HiJackThis\HiJackThis.exe

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://www.bing.com/
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
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://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Int ernet Settings,ProxyOverride = *.local
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
R3 - URLSearchHook: ToolbarURLSearchHook Class - {CA3EB689-8F09-4026-AA10-B9534C691CE0} - C:\Program Files\Search Toolbar\tbhelper.dll
O1 - Hosts: ::1 localhost
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll
O2 - BHO: WormRadar.com IESiteBlocker.NavFilter - {3CA2F312-6F6E-4B53-A66E-4E65E497C8C0} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9\avgssie.dll
O2 - BHO: flvpremier - {5517d3c5-650b-fbfe-b62d-5ea34dc96f09} - C:\Windows\system32\DAI_C72Qr.dll (file missing)
O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Conversion Toolbar Helper - {AE7CD045-E861-484f-8273-0445EE161910} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: TBSB05974 - {FCBCCB87-9224-4B8D-B117-F56D924BEB18} - C:\Program Files\Search Toolbar\tbcore3.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Search Toolbar - {0C8413C1-FAD1-446C-8584-BE50576F863E} - C:\Program Files\Search Toolbar\tbcore3.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Adobe PDF - {47833539-D0C5-4125-9FA8-0819E2EAAC93} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Windows Defender] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe -hide
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG9_TRAY] C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG9\avgtray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SoundMan] SOUNDMAN.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AdobeAAMUpdater-1.0] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\OOBE\PDApp\UWA\UpdaterStartupUtility.e xe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Acrobat Assistant 8.0] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\Acrotray.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe_ID0EYTHM] C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\Adobe\ADOBEV~1\Server\bin\VER SIO~2.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\QTTask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [iTunesHelper] "C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Google Update] "C:\Users\Brian\AppData\Local\Google\Update\Google Update.exe" /c
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [WMPNSCFG] C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\WMPNSCFG.exe
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [WindowsWelcomeCenter] rundll32.exe oobefldr.dll,ShowWelcomeCenter (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O8 - Extra context menu item: Append to existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppend.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert link target to Adobe PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIECapture.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert link target to existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppend.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert selected links to Adobe PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIECaptureSelLinks.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert selected links to existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppendSelLinks.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert selection to Adobe PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIECapture.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert selection to existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppend.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert to Adobe PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIECapture.html
O16 - DPF: {1E54D648-B804-468d-BC78-4AFFED8E262F} (System Requirements Lab) - http://www.nvidia.com/content/DriverDownload/srl/3.0.0.4/srl_bin/sysreqlab_nvd.cab
O16 - DPF: {A3256902-51FA-45A0-8A97-FC1143C169D9} (Diagnostics ActiveX WebControl) - http://support.microsoft.com/mats/DiagWebControl.cab
O16 - DPF: {E2883E8F-472F-4FB0-9522-AC9BF37916A7} - http://platformdl.adobe.com/NOS/getPlusPlus/1.6/gp.cab
O18 - Protocol: linkscanner - {F274614C-63F8-47D5-A4D1-FBDDE494F8D1} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9\avgpp.dll
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: avgrsstx.dll
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: Component Categories cache daemon - {8C7461EF-2B13-11d2-BE35-3078302C2030} - C:\Windows\system32\browseui.dll
O23 - Service: Adobe Version Cue CS3 - Adobe Systems Incorporated - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Adobe Version Cue CS3\Server\bin\VersionCueCS3.exe
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: AVG Free E-mail Scanner (avg9emc) - AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o. - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9\avgemc.exe
O23 - Service: AVG Free WatchDog (avg9wd) - AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o. - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9\avgwdsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: FLEXnet Licensing Service - Macrovision Europe Ltd. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Macrovision Shared\FLEXnet Publisher\FNPLicensingService.exe
O23 - Service: gearsec - GEAR Software - C:\Windows\system32\gearsec.exe
O23 - Service: Google Update Service (gupdate) (gupdate) - Google Inc. - C:\Program Files\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Driver Helper Service (NVSvc) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Windows\system32\nvvsvc.exe

--
End of file - 8131 bytes


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

DxDiag gathered at November 30, 2010 00:34 (-05:00)
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.100608-0458)
System Manufacturer: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
System Model: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
BIOS: BIOS Date: 09/07/05 17:04:08 Ver: 08.00.09
Central Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.40GHz (2 CPUs), ~3.4GHz
Memory: 2046MB
.Net Memory Report: 1060MB out of 2046MB available
Page File: 2985MB (1360MB currently in use)
C Drive: (WDC WD74 0ADFD-00NLR1 SCSI Disk Device) 12101MB out of 70908MB (17%) free
D Drive: (TSSTcorp CD/DVDW SH-S182M ATA Device) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 10
DirectX Diag version: 6.00.6001.18000 (32-bit version)

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

No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.

Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GS
Manufacturer / Chip: NVIDIA / GeForce 7800 GS
Video Memory: 551 MB
Driver Version: 8.17.0012.6099
Driver Date: 10/16/2010 1:55:00 PM
Driver Language: English

Sound Device Description: Realtek Digital Output (Realtek AC'97 Audio)
Driver File: RTKVAC.SYS
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6305
Driver Date: 6/18/2009 7:45:02 PM

Sound Device Description: Speakers (Realtek AC'97 Audio)
Driver File: RTKVAC.SYS
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6305
Driver Date: 6/18/2009 7:45:02 PM


WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: P4S800D-X
Motherboard Version: Rev 1.xx
BIOS Manufacturer: American Megatrends Inc.
BIOS Name: BIOS Date: 09/07/05 17:04:08 Ver: 08.00.09
BIOS Version: A M I - 9000507
BIOS Release: 20050907000000.000000+000


Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1680x1050
3D Resolution: 1680x1050 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: Yes
Maximized: No
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes


Physics Quality: Medium
Maximum Particles: 25289
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No


Anti-aliasing: Off
Anisotropic Filtering: 4x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: Medium quality
Bloom: 1.000 (turned on)
Depth of Field Enabled: No
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: High


World Texture Level: Medium
Character Texture Level: Very High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 2.000
Entity Detail Level: 1.000
Shadows Enabled: Yes
Shadow Mode: Shadow maps
Shadow Map Shader: Low quality
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: Yes
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: No
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: Yes

Audio Mode: Performance
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 0.124
Music Sound Volume: 0.000

Show Advanced Graphics Options: Yes
Overall Graphics Quality: 0.500
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: 175157 bytes/second
Current Game Version: 1850.201009101722.18T2r
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files\City of Heroes

Mod files in the Data directory
No modifications found

Does this happen at all graphics settings? (Disable Advanced Graphics and try the game with the Graphics Quality slider at each setting).

Hmm. Dropping down to the second lowest setting seems to have resolved the issue... at least for now... disheartening though, as I was easily able to run with damn near maxed settings before I-19.

Guess I should try slowly ramping the settings back up until the problem reappears?

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4
Scan saved at 9:39:31 PM, on 12/2/2010
Platform: Windows Vista SP2 (WinNT 6.00.1906)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v8.00 (8.00.6001.18975)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Windows\system32\taskeng.exe
C:\Windows\system32\Dwm.exe
C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\Clearwire\Connection Manager\ClearwireCM.exe
C:\Windows\system32\Taskmgr.exe
C:\Program Files\Clearwire\Connection Manager\SwiApiMuxCdma.exe
C:\Windows\system32\wbem\unsecapp.exe
C:\Users\Torrent\Downloads\GameAdvisor.exe
C:\Windows\system32\SearchFilterHost.exe
C:\Windows\system32\SearchProtocolHost.exe
C:\Users\Torrent\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Appli cation\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Torrent\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Appli cation\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Torrent\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Appli cation\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Torrent\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Appli cation\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Torrent\Downloads\HijackThis.exe
C:\Users\Torrent\Downloads\HijackThis.exe

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://news.google.com/
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - - (no file)
O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: IE to GetRight Helper - {31FF080D-12A3-439A-A2EF-4BA95A3148E8} - C:\Program Files\GetRight\xx2gr.dll
O2 - BHO: SSVHelper Class - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_07\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: Windows Live ID Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll
O2 - BHO: Windows Live Messenger Companion Helper - {9FDDE16B-836F-4806-AB1F-1455CBEFF289} - C:\Program Files\Windows Live\Companion\companioncore.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Clearwire Connection Manager] "C:\Program Files\Clearwire\Connection Manager\ClearwireCM.exe" -a
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [WindowsWelcomeCenter] rundll32.exe oobefldr.dll,ShowWelcomeCenter (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O8 - Extra context menu item: Download with GetRight - C:\Program Files\GetRight\GRdownload.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Open with GetRight Browser - C:\Program Files\GetRight\GRbrowse.htm
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\PROGRA~1\Java\JRE16~2.0_0\bin\ssv.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\PROGRA~1\Java\JRE16~2.0_0\bin\ssv.dll
O9 - Extra button: @C:\Windows\WindowsMobile\INetRepl.dll,-222 - {2EAF5BB1-070F-11D3-9307-00C04FAE2D4F} - C:\Windows\WindowsMobile\INetRepl.dll
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {2EAF5BB2-070F-11D3-9307-00C04FAE2D4F} - C:\Windows\WindowsMobile\INetRepl.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @C:\Windows\WindowsMobile\INetRepl.dll,-223 - {2EAF5BB2-070F-11D3-9307-00C04FAE2D4F} - C:\Windows\WindowsMobile\INetRepl.dll
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: Component Categories cache daemon - {8C7461EF-2B13-11d2-BE35-3078302C2030} - C:\Windows\system32\browseui.dll
O23 - Service: Clearwire Con App Svc (CACLEARWIRE) - SmithMicro Inc. - C:\Program Files\Clearwire\Connection Manager\ConAppsSvc.exe
O23 - Service: Clearwire Device Diagnostics Service (clearwireDeviceDiagnosticsService) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Clearwire\Connection Manager\clearwireDeviceDiagnosticsService.exe
O23 - Service: Clearwire RcAppSvc (CLEARWIRERcAppSvc) - SmithMicro Inc. - C:\Program Files\Clearwire\Connection Manager\RcAppSvc.exe
O23 - Service: Clearwire Device Launch Service (SMSI Device Launch Service) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Clearwire\Connection Manager\DeviceLaunchSvc.exe

--
End of file - 3934 bytes

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

DxDiag gathered at December 3, 2010 02:16 (-05:00)
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.100608-0458)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
System Model: HP G60 Notebook PC
BIOS: PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.1
Central Processor: AMD Turion Dual-Core RM-70 (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Memory: 2814MB
.Net Memory Report: 929MB out of 2813MB available
Page File: 2010MB (2783MB currently in use)
C Drive: (Hitachi HTS543225L9A300 ATA Device) 13683MB out of 228383MB (5%) free
D Drive: (Hitachi HTS543225L9A300 ATA Device) 1675MB out of 10088MB (16%) free
E Drive: (TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-L633L ATA Device) zero-size drive
F Drive: (GT1355Y FYA519I SCSI CdRom Device) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 11
DirectX Diag version: 7.00.6002.18107 (32-bit version)

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

Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce 8200M G
Manufacturer / Chip: NVIDIA / GeForce 8200M G
Video Memory: 1392 MB
Driver Version: 8.17.0012.6099
Driver Date: 10/16/2010 1:55:00 PM
Driver Language: English

Sound Device Description: Speakers (Conexant High Definition SmartAudio 221)
Driver File: CHDRT32.sys
Driver Version: 4.58.0001.0000
Driver Date: 10/3/2008 5:39:28 AM


WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: Wistron
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: 303C
Motherboard Version: 08.51
BIOS Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
BIOS Name: PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.1
BIOS Version: HPQOEM - 6040000
BIOS Release: 20090313000000.000000+000


Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1360x749
3D Resolution: 1360x749 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: No
Maximized: Yes
Screen Position: -5, -2
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes


Physics Quality: None
Maximum Particles: 50000
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No


Anti-aliasing: Off
Anisotropic Filtering: 4x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: None
Bloom: 1.000 (turned off)
Depth of Field Enabled: No
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: Unknown (5)


World Texture Level: Low
Character Texture Level: High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 0.800
Entity Detail Level: 1.000
Shadows Enabled: No
Shadow Mode: Stencil shadows
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: Yes
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: 0.000
Music Sound Volume: 0.000

Show Advanced Graphics Options: No
Overall Graphics Quality: 0.250
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: 217922 bytes/second
Current Game Version: 1900.201011102104.8
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files\City of Heroes

Mod files in the Data directory
.\texts\English\Menus has 1 file
.\texture_library\GUI\CREATION\common\Backgrounds has 6 files
.\texture_library\GUI\CREATION\common\checkbar has 4 files
.\texture_library\GUI\CREATION\common\checkbox has 2 files
.\texture_library\GUI\CREATION\common\frame\frame_ blue_4px has 4 files
.\texture_library\MAPS\city has 1 file
.\texture_library\MAPS\Safeguard has 9 files
.\texture_library\MAPS\sewers has 44 files
.\texture_library\MAPS\static has 34 files
.\texture_library\V_MAPS\Outdoor_Missions has 9 files
.\texture_library\V_MAPS\Static has 16 files

Both of you are suffering from filled hard drives. Patching in this game does a number on pigg files in terms of fragmenting them to hell and back. With 17% free from Galactron and only 5% on C and 16% on D for Godlike_NA the built in Windows defragger will complain about lack of space.

I recommend either Auslogics Disk Defrag or Defragger, Auslogics is much faster. Both also can be used to defrag a folder which will come in handy after each patch however either will take a while with your current drives that full. Think about a little house cleaning first. CCleaner is good for flushing misc garbage that builds up over time. WinDirStat will scan your drives and visually show you which folders are taking up all the space.

It may not seem like that this is the entire cause of your loss in framerate but having your hard drives constantly seeking to find the data the game is trying to load on demand can really slow things down. You may also want to pop up Windows Task Manager, set it to be "On Top" and see what else is demanding your CPU's attention while playing.

Thank you, that may very well be the cause. I'll get rid of some stuff and give both of those programs a whirl and see how things pan out. Will keep ya'll updated. I really hope it's as simple as that.

I managed to free up nearly 30 gigs on the larger of the two drives, the smaller one is a recovery disc from the OEM and not something I generally mess with at all. I'd clear more if I could, but 30 gigs should give the game plenty of breathing room. Haven't tried it to see if it works better yet, still running Ccleaner and several defragging sweeps. Will advise and thanks for the advice.

Sorry, didn't notice the relative size of D:, should have guessed it was HP's backup image.

I was too tired to post links last night.

Drive Defrag Utilities
Auslogics Disk Defrag
Defraggler
PageDefrag - didn't mention this last night, it's a page file defragmenter (plus other low level files), best used after you defrag your drive once. It will do it's work the next time you reboot. Normally you just need to do it once in a long while.

Disk Utilities
CCleaner
WinDirStat

What ever happened to clicking "run in safe mode" and fixing the issue by reverting your graphics there, and starting over?

I had this issue for about 10 minutes. Managed to log and get myself out, and restart with new graphics choices.

Unlike the OP I have no problems logging in or out. I don't get hit with the lag just standing around doing nothing. It's when I try to type -anything- or try to fight baddies that I get hit with an incredible amount of lag.