Usally befalls the weary tech after a long and furious struggle with the system. It's not fun.
5:15 PM - Computer begins acting strange. Random crashes, unstable behavior, general bad stuff. Programs no longer launch properly (if at all), and display settings begin jumping around.
5:30 PM - Basic troubleshooting reveals no major problems. Recently installed software becomes suspect, and subsequently the target of further troubleshooting.
5:35 PM - Brew a pot of coffee.
5:40 PM - Pour a cup of coffee. (God Damn, Jimmie, this is some gourmet fuckin shit! Me and Vincent would have been satisfied with freeze-dried Taster's Choice, and you spring this gourmet fuckin shit on us! What flavor is this?)
6:00 PM - Uninstall of most recently installed programs complete, solving no problems.
7:00 PM - Remaining programs uninstalled, and all processes are removed from memory with the exception of the bare necessities. Computer resets for no apparent reason.
7:30 PM - Food.
8:00 PM - Several reboots later, problems still exist. Run Disk Defrag.
10:10 PM - Defrag (finally) completes. System rebooted, locks up hard while attempting to initialize GUI.
10:11 PM - Computer thrown to the floor, and kicked repeatedly. Finally placed back into service. Hard Drive now making strange grinding noise.
10:20 PM - Brew another pot of coffee.
10:25 PM - Skipped coffee mug - drinking coffee directly from pot.
11:00 PM - 45 minutes spent staring blankly at a computer staring blankly back. Screensaver kicks in, and crashes the system.
11:30 PM - System turned off for 20 minutes to "cool down."
11:50 PM - Apply latest OS patches. Three fail to install properly.
12:00 AM - Remove all latest OS patches, as well as any upgrades and add-ons. System now less stable than at 4:15 PM.
12:30 AM - Download, install and run trial Virus Scanner as a last ditch effort to save the system.
1:30 AM - Virus Scanner reveals no viruses found, then crashes. System spontaneously reboots.
2:00 AM - Boot Disk created, and hard drive is formatted. OS reinstalled, resumes bitchy behaivior.
2:10 AM - Computer powered down, hardware checks commence. Cards reseated, and connections checked.
2:11 AM - Power supply cable found to be loose. Re-secured to motherboard connector. Problems fucking disappear.
2:15 AM - Computer thrown to the floor, and kicked repeatedly.