Crashing when changing graphics

So, starting a couple days ago, I've begun to have an issue where if I try to change my window size or ambient occlusion settings (Thus far that I've tested, getting irritated) the game locks up and becomes unresponsive. I've tried running the repair, and even reinstalled City of Heroes, and am still having this issue. I've probably forgotten some steps for trying to figure this out further, but any assistance would be appreciated.

[Guide] Asking for technical help on the forums

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

DxDiag gathered at May 31, 2012 19:48 (-05:00)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.120330-1504)
System Manufacturer: Alienware
System Model: M14xR1
BIOS: InsydeH2O Version 1.0 A08
Central Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2430M CPU @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 4096MB
.Net Memory Report: 1510MB out of 4043MB available
Page File: 4796MB (3289MB currently in use)
C Drive: (ST9750420AS) 372663MB out of 695156MB (53%) free
D Drive: (MATSHITA DVD+-RW UJ8A7) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 11
DirectX Diag version: 6.01.7601.17514 (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 GT 555M
Manufacturer / Chip: NVIDIA / GeForce GT 555M
Video Memory: 4058 MB
Driver Version: 8.17.12.6937
Driver Date: 9/29/2011 9:45:10 AM
Driver Language: English

Sound Device Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Driver File: RTKVHD64.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6291
Driver Date: 2/1/2011 10:15:46 AM


WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: Alienware
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: M14xR1
Motherboard Version: A08
BIOS Manufacturer: Alienware
BIOS Name: InsydeH2O Version 1.0 A08
BIOS Version: ALWARE - 1
BIOS Release: 20111224000000.000000+000


Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1596x874
3D Resolution: 1596x874 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: No
Maximized: No
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes


Physics Quality: High
Maximum Particles: 50000
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No


Anti-aliasing: Off
Anisotropic Filtering: 4x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: High quality
Bloom: 1.000 (turned on)
Depth of Field Enabled: Yes
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: High


World Texture Level: Very High
Character Texture Level: Very High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 1.000
Entity Detail Level: 1.000
Shadows Enabled: No
Shadow Mode: Shadow maps
Shadow Map Shader: Low quality
Environmental Reflections: Low quality
Advanced Occlusion Settings: No
Ambient Occlusion: High performance
Occlusion Strength: Slight
Blur: Fast
Ambient Resolution: High 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: 0.600
Music Sound Volume: 0.600

Show Advanced Graphics Options: No
Overall Graphics Quality: 0.750
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: Unknown bytes/second
Current Game Version: ?
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\NCsoft\City of Heroes

Mod files in the Data directory
No modifications found

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4
Scan saved at 7:53:14 PM, on 5/31/2012
Platform: Windows 7 SP1 (WinNT 6.00.3505)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v9.00 (9.00.8112.16421)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Program Files (x86)\STMicroelectronics\AccelerometerP11\FF_Prote ction.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Internet Services\ubd.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Apple Application Support\distnoted.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\AlienRespawn\TOASTER.EXE
C:\Program Files (x86)\AlienRespawn\Components\DSUpdate\DSUpd.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\AlienRespawn\COMPONENTS\SCHEDULER\STSERVICE. EXE
C:\Program Files (x86)\Alienware On-Screen Display\AlienwareOn-ScreenDisplay.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology\IAStorIcon.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Integrated Webcam\Live! Central\WebcamInt.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Roxio\OEM\Roxio Burn\RoxioBurnLauncher.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Razer\Naga\RazerNagaSysTray.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Razer\Nostromo\RazerNostromoSysTray.exe
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\rundll32.exe
C:\Program Files\Alienware\Command Center\AlienwareAlienFXController.exe
C:\Program Files\Alienware\Command Center\AWCCApplicationWatcher32.exe
C:\Program Files\Alienware\Command Center\AlienFusionController.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\NCSoft\Launcher\NCLauncher.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\plugin-container.exe
C:\Users\Jeremy\Downloads\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://AlienwareArena.com
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://twokinds.keenspot.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 =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page = C:\Windows\SysWOW64\blank.htm
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Int ernet Settings,ProxyOverride = *.local
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - {687578b9-7132-4a7a-80e4-30ee31099e03} - (no file)
F2 - REG:system.ini: UserInit=userinit.exe,
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll
O2 - BHO: Windows Live ID Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Helper - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google Toolbar\GoogleToolbar_32.dll
O2 - BHO: URLRedirectionBHO - {B4F3A835-0E21-4959-BA22-42B3008E02FF} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~3\Office14\URLREDIR.DLL
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre7\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Google Toolbar - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google Toolbar\GoogleToolbar_32.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AlienwareOn-ScreenDisplay] C:\Program Files (x86)\Alienware On-Screen Display\AlienwareOn-ScreenDisplay.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IAStorIcon] C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology\IAStorIcon.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Integrated Webcam Live! Central] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Integrated Webcam\Live! Central\WebcamInt.exe" /mode2
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader 10.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe ARM] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [RoxWatchTray] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Roxio Shared\OEM\12.0\SharedCOM\RoxWatchTray12OEM.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Desktop Disc Tool] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Roxio\OEM\Roxio Burn\RoxioBurnLauncher.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [APSDaemon] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Apple Application Support\APSDaemon.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [iTunesHelper] "C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Razer Naga Driver] C:\Program Files (x86)\Razer\Naga\RazerNagaSysTray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Razer Nostromo Driver] C:\Program Files (x86)\Razer\Nostromo\RazerNostromoSysTray.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Steam] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe" -silent
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [msnmsgr] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Messenger\msnmsgr.exe" /background
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [swg] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\GoogleToolbarNo tifier.exe"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [uTorrent] "C:\Program Files (x86)\uTorrent\uTorrent.exe" /MINIMIZED
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MobileDocuments] C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Internet Services\ubd.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [DW7] "C:\Program Files (x86)\The Weather Channel\The Weather Channel App\TWCApp.exe"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [28050] rundll32.exe "C:\Users\Jeremy\AppData\Local\Adobe\28050\avfjzid gf.dll",DllRegisterServer
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Facebook Update] "C:\Users\Jeremy\AppData\Local\Facebook\Update\Fac ebookUpdate.exe" /c /nocrashserver
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [28050] rundll32.exe "C:\Users\Jeremy\AppData\Local\Adobe\28050\avfjzid gf.dll",DllRegisterServer (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')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-21-3977478570-1629161067-2669383975-1000\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'UpdatusUser')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-21-3977478570-1629161067-2669383975-1000\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'UpdatusUser')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-18\..\Run: [28050] rundll32.exe "C:\Users\Jeremy\AppData\Local\Adobe\28050\avfjzid gf.dll",DllRegisterServer (User 'SYSTEM')
O4 - HKUS\.DEFAULT\..\Run: [28050] rundll32.exe "C:\Users\Jeremy\AppData\Local\Adobe\28050\avfjzid gf.dll",DllRegisterServer (User 'Default user')
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~3\Office14\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O8 - Extra context menu item: Se&nd to OneNote - res://C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~3\Office14\ONBttnIE.dll/105
O9 - Extra button: Send to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Se&nd to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra button: OneNote Lin&ked Notes - {789FE86F-6FC4-46A1-9849-EDE0DB0C95CA} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIELinkedNotes.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: OneNote Lin&ked Notes - {789FE86F-6FC4-46A1-9849-EDE0DB0C95CA} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIELinkedNotes.dll
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files (x86)\common files\microsoft shared\windows live\wlidnsp.dll
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files (x86)\common files\microsoft shared\windows live\wlidnsp.dll
O11 - Options group: [ACCELERATED_GRAPHICS] Accelerated graphics
O18 - Filter hijack: text/xml - {807573E5-5146-11D5-A672-00B0D022E945} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE14\MSOXMLMF.DLL
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\nvinit.dll
O23 - Service: Adobe Acrobat Update Service (AdobeARMservice) - Adobe Systems Incorporated - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\armsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Adobe Flash Player Update Service (AdobeFlashPlayerUpdateSvc) - Adobe Systems Incorporated - C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerUpda teService.exe
O23 - Service: Andrea RT Filters Service (AERTFilters) - Andrea Electronics Corporation - C:\Program Files\Realtek\Audio\HDA\AERTSr64.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Alg.exe,-112 (ALG) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\alg.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Alienware Fusion Service (AlienFusionService) - Alienware - C:\Program Files\Alienware\Command Center\AlienFusionService.exe
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: Intel(R) Content Protection HECI Service (cphs) - Intel Corporation - C:\Windows\SysWow64\IntelCpHeciSvc.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\efssvc.dll,-100 (EFS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless Event Log (EvtEng) - Intel(R) Corporation - C:\Program Files\Intel\WiFi\bin\EvtEng.exe
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\fxsresm.dll,-118 (Fax) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\fxssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Google Update Service (gupdate) (gupdate) - Google Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
O23 - Service: Google Update Service (gupdatem) (gupdatem) - Google Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
O23 - Service: Google Software Updater (gusvc) - Google - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Common\Google Updater\GoogleUpdaterService.exe
O23 - Service: Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology (IAStorDataMgrSvc) - Intel Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology\IAStorDataMgrSvc.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\1050\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: @keyiso.dll,-100 (KeyIso) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Mozilla Maintenance Service (MozillaMaintenance) - Mozilla Foundation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Maintenance Service\maintenanceservice.exe
O23 - Service: @comres.dll,-2797 (MSDTC) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\msdtc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Wireless PAN DHCP Server (MyWiFiDHCPDNS) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Intel\WiFi\bin\PanDhcpDns.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\System32\netlogon.dll,-102 (Netlogon) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Driver Helper Service (NVSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\nvvsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Update Service Daemon (nvUpdatusService) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\NVIDIA Updatus\daemonu.exe
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\psbase.dll,-300 (ProtectedStorage) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless Registry Service (RegSrvc) - Intel(R) Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intel\WirelessCommon\RegSrvc.exe
O23 - Service: RoxMediaDB12OEM - Sonic Solutions - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Roxio Shared\OEM\12.0\SharedCOM\RoxMediaDB12OEM.exe
O23 - Service: Roxio Hard Drive Watcher 12 (RoxWatch12) - Sonic Solutions - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Roxio Shared\OEM\12.0\SharedCOM\RoxWatch12OEM.exe
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: SoftThinks Agent Service (SftService) - SoftThinks SAS - C:\Program Files (x86)\AlienRespawn\sftservice.EXE
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: Steam Client Service - Valve Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Steam\SteamService.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Stereoscopic 3D Driver Service (Stereo Service) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\3D Vision\nvSCPAPISvr.exe
O23 - Service: stllssvr - MicroVision Development, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\SureThing Shared\stllssvr.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\ui0detect.exe,-101 (UI0Detect) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\UI0Detect.exe (file missing)
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)

--
End of file - 14358 bytes

You're apparently on a laptop. That throws up a red flag that says "overheating" right away.

You may need to reduce your settings, but I also recommend getting temperature monitors and keeping your system below 70 degrees Celsius at all times. Anything above 80C is asking for it to crash.

You may be helped by Nvidia System Tools:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nvidia_...ools_6.06.html
Look for the version that supports your graphics card version, the 555M.
It allows you to manually set the graphics card fan speed higher so that it is working for maximum cooling at all times, as well as giving other information and allowing you better control over options.


Edit:
You also should shutdown unnecessary programs as well. That eats up a lot of system resources and creates heat.

As far as I can tell, its not an overheating issue. And any attempt for me to lower my graphics settings ends up with the game freezing. I also am unable to change the window size for the game without the game freezing up as well.

Shut off all unnecessary background programs and non-essential services, at least long enough to test and see if that will allow you to change the game settings.

If it does (and I'm pretty sure it will) then you can re-enable the services one by one, launch the game and try to change a setting to see if it still allows you to, then rinse and repeat until you find what it is that is keeping you from changing the settings without freezing up.

I'd definitely recommend turning off Ambient Occlusion. It's a resource hog that has been proven to cause lower framerates in the game.

You may also want to update your graphics drivers. I don't keep up with the nVidia drivers so I'm not sure if any of them are problematic with the game. Hyperstrike would be the person I'd ask about nVidia driver issues if I were going back to an nVidia card.

I turned off all programs save for City of Heroes and went in to try changing the graphics setting, but ended with the same result of the game locking up. Beginning to wonder if it might be a compatibility issue, but I wouldn't know if this is correct or not.

Did you disable the non-Micorsoft services as well as the programs loading at startup?

EDIT: Also, are you doing this over a wireless connection? If so, have you tried connecting it by ethernet to see if that will resolve the problems?

I attempted once again to change graphics settings after making sure every non-essential programs were shut down, having gone through the task manager to close out every process I could that wasn't needed for the computer to run. I also hooked my laptop up to an ethernet connection, and after trying these steps, the issue is still persisting.

I saw what looks like a 3D entry in that mass of mouthful. See if you can go into the actual nVidia control panel and turn that off. You should be able to see your idle temperatures as well.

You say it started a couple of days ago, can you think back to what Might have changed around that time? Software patch, new website you visited, change in usage habits,etc...

Can you change your graphics options from the login screen?
That is a lot less resource intensive than going all the way logged into a character, so it should not have any issues.

If even the login screen settings option is crashing then you have a rather severe error.

The game still crashes even at the login screen settings option, or if I even try to expand or shrink the game window. I 'am' able to play the game, though I just can't touch my graphics settings at all. And as for what changed a few days ago to possibly cause this, I'm not sure. I haven't gone to any unusual websites, and I haven't had any software patches besides the patches for City of Heroes.

Have you tried: running windows in safe mode + networking and then running the game in safe mode?

if you can't get into the game after that, then humor me with the following.

Goto the registry and give us a screenshot of the following key. I'm not Sure what we can learn, but since it's graphics settings you're dealing with it came to mind. You'll likely have to take two pictures to get the whole thing.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cryptic\CoH

So I just tried doing some switching around with the graphics while the game was in safe mode, and it worked until I put the game into windowed mode. This resulted in any further changes to the graphics causing the game to freeze up. Screenshots of the registry key will be coming soon.

Turn off Aero, the semi-transparent window effects.
You can do a search for Aero right in your start menu.

That is eating up a lot of your performance, so it should help to turn that off.

Also, if you still have the Windows "prefetch" process running, shut it down permanently. That's a RAM hog because it loads all your recently used programs into RAM "in case you may want to use them again" even if you only use them rarely. It's also better to only load what you use when you use it than let the system load it before you do.

Sorry for the ignorance, but how do I turn off this Windows prefetch process? I wasn't aware I had something like that.

Well, I disabled the prefetch process, turned Aero off, and I'm still having the issue of the game crashing up changing graphics settings or the window size.

I'm looking/comparing the entries now and I'm going to come up with a registry trick that should fix a couple of the numbers in a way that won't require you to necessarily click a few hundred times.

While you're waiting, change (if it's not already) the following setting in the nVidia control panel. You should be able to right click the desktop to get to it quickly. You probably have to click the Settings button in the window and change from "standard" to "advanced" first.

Under "3D Settings" there should be a spot for "Adjust image settings". Once you click that there should be something to the right with three options:

"Let app choose" <---chose this one
"Use Advanced Settings"
"Use my preferences"

Click the "Manage 3D Settings" link on the left of that window. Click the "Restore" button under the "Global Settings" thing. This will reset your software settings to default.

Tried switching it over to Let App Choose under the nVidia control panel, and I have still continued to have the graphics settings being changed cause the game to crash. I also tried turning the AlienFX off, and disabled it for the game as well.

*grumbles, smacks hand for clicking the wrong red X button on the screen*

Fix Write-up, round 2!

Considering your limited experience I normally wouldn't have somebody make the following changes, but I feel that you seem comfortable enough following directions so far that I'll try this.

Delete the following game related files:

In your C:\Program Files (x86)\NCsoft\City of Heroes folder delete the client.chksum file and any folder that starts with the wavy line character ~. This will force the game to recheck itself even if the rest of this fails to force it to.

In your C:\Program Files (x86)\NCSoft\Launcher\Config\Default folder, delete any files that start with Games and end with xml. This will basically reset the launcher's settings and you will likely have to manually tell it where City of Heroes is installed. It's kind of like when you first installed the game, only everything is downloaded already. You'll want to make any changes like adding the -maxinactivefps setting change (that many of us use to help make life easier on the computer) or having the launcher automatically close after game launch.

Backing Up Game Registry Settings:
Since you managed to pull up that registry nicely, then the following should be a sinch. Making Absolutely sure you're clicking where I say, open the registry to where you were for the pictures. Left click on the word CoH that is in the list on your left. Now you want to right click that word and choose Export. When the window pops up click the Desktop icon that's on the list to the left, give the file a name, and click Save. That basically saves our butt incase this doesn't work the way I'm intending it to.

Refreshing Game Registry Settings:
The next part might seem scary, but if you've gotten this far then you're doing great! Right click the word CoH again, but this time choose Delete. Tell it yes and you'll be fine as we already backed them up. Now the next part requires you to do some copy/pasting from this post. I've gone through and modified my Full Screen Playstyle registry settings to your screen resolution and Account Name. This will launch the game in Full Screen, but you can just as easily change that if it gets you into the login screen!

Here's the new partial registry entry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cryptic\CoH]
"Installation Directory"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\NCSoft\\City of Heroes"
"Locale"=dword:00000000
"GameProgress"="game_mainLoop"
"GameProgressDialogType"=dword:ffffffff
"accountName"="Deathborn"
"gamma"="1.000000"
"fxSoundVolume"="0.0005814"
"musicSoundVolume"="0.011628"
"voiceoverSoundVolume"="0.800000"
"dontSaveName"="0"
"version"="5"
"screenX"="1024"
"screenY"="768"
"refreshRate"="60"
"screenX_pos"="0"
"screenY_pos"="0"
"maximized"="0"
"fullScreen"="1"
"mipLevel"="2"
"characterMipLevel"="1"
"texLodBias"="2"
"texAniso"="4"
"worldDetailLevel"="0.800000"
"entityDetailLevel"="1.000000"
"shadowMode"="1"
"shadowMapShowAdvanced"="0"
"shadowMapShader"="0"
"shadowMapSize"="0"
"shadowMapDistance"="-2"
"cubemapMode"="0"
"buildingPlanarReflections"="0"
"ageiaOn"="0"
"physicsQuality"="0"
"showAdvanced"="0"
"graphicsQuality"="0.250000"
"maxParticles"="50000"
"maxParticleFill"="10.000000"
"suppressCloseFx"="0"
"suppressCloseFxDist"="3.000000"
"forceSoftwareAudio"="0"
"enableVBOs"="1"
"enable3DSound"="0"
"renderScaleX"="1.000000"
"renderScaleY"="1.000000"
"useRenderScale"="0"
"shaderDetail"="5"
"useWater"="0"
"useBloom"="0"
"useDesaturate"="1"
"bloomMagnitude"="1.000000"
"useDOF"="0"
"dofMagnitude"="1.000000"
"ambientShowAdvanced"="0"
"ambientOptionScale"="0.000000"
"ambientStrength"="0"
"ambientResolution"="1"
"ambientBlur"="3"
"antiAliasing"="1"
"useVSync"="1"
"fancyMouseCursor"="1"
"ShowLoginDialog"="0"
"enableHWLights"="0"
"razerMouseTray"="0"
"LoadintTip"=dword:0000001e