New randomass theory on crashing: another random thing which I have linked to crashing is the FILE PERMISSIONS. Check to make sure that the file permissions on your install, including your mods and userdirectory, are not set to weird shit, under properties -> security -> advanced.
No strange settings found there, also prefetch clearing had no effect that I can see.
I'm having some luck getting past 1:00am by saving and loading just after midnight, whereas if I play through several hours it will die every time (at 1:00am).
On the up-side, no more loading-screen crashes with the latest version.