SOLVED PC : NFSMW freezes just after video intro...under 1st bridge

SOLUTION:  

Set  the restrict to 30FPS flag to true in the config file.  Game plays fine now. 

DESC:

The game completely freezes (consistently) when I drive into the 1ST bridge after the long, video intro. I do not encounter this error (or ones like it) in my other EA games: NFS The Run and Battlefield 3.

ENVIRONMENT:

PC : Alienware X51, 8GB Ram, 1TB C: drive with 69% free space. NVIDIA Geforce GTX 555 with 4GB RAM, NVIDIA driver version 296.36.

NOTES:

During gameplay, up to the point where the game crashes, the video looks fine. Great frame rates.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

-Billy