One week ago, Sterrance, my Windows desktop computer refused to start. Touching the switch did not result in the comforting fan whirring and hard disk clatter that used to happen. The switch didn’t do anything now. In some ways, it was just like the mystery switch in my last apartment at Gables Grandview that performed no action that I could perceive in my own reality.

I found this problem quite peculiar since I built the computer to crazy specifications (solid gold ram sinks, spinners on the caster wheels, coffee can fan exhaust, NOS and massive VTEC stickers ever on every possible flat surface). My first assumption was that an electrical surge must have fried the power supply. This seemed rather implausible because the machine is plugged in to a UPS which is plugged in to a surge protector. Going through the motions, I earnestly took both spare power supplies that I have on hand and tried them both and got no love from Mr. G. While sitting on the floor with the case open, I noticed something rather queer. The LED on the motherboard and the IDE LED on the case stayed on whilst I was unplugging the power supplies. I started to become perplexed, and dare I say, a bit angry. So, I unplugged every possible Molex connector from the original power supply thinking that it must have been holding a charge in a capacitor somewhere. Even after that, the motherboard LED stayed on. The video card is sometimes troublesome and complains about its power adapter not being attached even though it is. Grasping at straws, I unplugged the video card. Still the LEDs shone like the twinkle in my dad’s eye on the day I was born.

Thinking I had somehow entered the twilight zone, I then physically unplugged the new and old power supplies from the wall. Still, the LEDs were lit up worse than a fraternity guy at a kegger. In my confusion, I somehow remembered that printed circuit boards hold some parasitic charge in their capacitors. Then, I shorted the “reset” jumper thinking it would clear any possible charge stored in the board. Still, the LEDs were glowing with the intensity of a neutron star. I was starting to get scared and irrational at this point, and I deleted all of the mp3s that comprised The Police’s “Ghost in the Machine” album on my iPod. Still, the LEDs were dutifully glowing like my glimmering life gem after I eat a whole pack of Hobnobs. As a last resort, I started unplugging USB peripherals, speakers, a USB Das keyboard, and finally an additional Model M PS/2 keyboard with marked letters on it that Rachel needed because she’s afraid to learn how to touch-type.

Eureka! It was the Model M PS/2 keyboard that was somehow injecting a current into the motherboard. So, as I went take the keyboard off the desk to examine it for the presence of gremlins or perhaps small trolls, I realized that the mouse portion of the cable was attached to my Linux machine. It was physically connected to two machines! The Model M PS/2 keyboard has a Trackpoint nipple nestled snugly between the G and H keys that I caress sometimes when I get lonely. To reiterate, the mouse cable for the keyboard was plugged in to the Linux machine that was on, and the keyboard cable was plugged in to my Windows machine which refused to boot. After disconnecting the extra cable and hitting the power switch, Sterrance booted-up like the clappers!

I realize now that it is a bad idea to have peripherals connected to two machines simultaneously unless they are designed for that purpose. I blame this oversight partially on the Electrical Engineering curriculum at Ohio University where it was never explicitly mentioned to _not_ do such a thing and on Rachel for not wanting to learn how to type on a keyboard with no letters.