So, I finally got all of the computers set up correctly on Saturday afternoon. We each had our own PC and could share files, the printer and Internet access. The Boy’s was connected via an 802.11b wireless card. I was all impressed with myself. My wonderful networked home lasted 24 hours.
We left all of the computers on yesterday when we left to go see Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (The Boy loved it. It’s just a longer version of his show wrapped in a weak plot). Just as we were leaving the house, a massive storm hit complete with torrential rain, thunder, and lightning. We were getting gas a few blocks away and noticed some particularly close lightning strikes. Turns out that they were so close that we must have had a temporary power outage. Both mine and The Wife’s PCs were off when we returned and The Boy’s had rebooted. Mine and The Boy’s started up just fine, while The Wife’s gave the dreaded “Disk read error has occurred” on boot up. After spending three hours last night trying to resurrect it, it looks like I’m going to have to re-install xp. Luckily, I still had most of The Wife’s stuff on my PC from the changeover last week. She’ll only lose 4 days worth of email. She seems unimpressed.