ceremorphosis

Go home, apply a Windows Update to the new gaming machine. On reboot it dies. I spend 2 to 3 hours troubleshooting and find there are a lot of bad sectors on the hard drive. Run to Best Buy and spend too much on a new drive so I can get going again. Go home, install Windows Vista, apply patches – and hangs. Can’t get anywhere with it, so I wipe and reinstall. Have to stop Windows from updating even after I change the setting to not auto-update.

As I it rebuilds, I go downstairs and note that the TiVo is hung. Odd. I reboot, and it goes through its rebuild process. As that is going on, I notice the phone downstairs is dead. Power surge? Also odd – as the TiVo and my computer are on UPSes.

Go back upstairs to check on the progress of the Windows box. Hung again. Reboot into safe mode with logging. While that happens I turn on the TV. Green screen – the TiVo here is hung. Again, odd since it is also on a UPS which would seem to rule out power surges.

I spend hours working on the Windows machine, since it seems to be a driver issues. On a whim, I yank out the 2nd 8800. Bam – I immediately boot successfully. I swap out the existing one and, yes, the 2nd video card is dead.

So in one night, both TiVos required a reboot and time to rebuild. One of our wireless phones died. A hard drive and a video card in a computer. I think gremlins must have detonated an EMP spell in our home.