Re: bewildering boot problem
On Mon, October 5, 2015 12:53 pm, Glenn English wrote:
> It seems to me that there's a networking problem, but
> intermittent and from several directions. I don't understand it at all.
>
> Maybe it's hardware...
Have you had a lightning storm in the area recently? And is everything
connected to the machine plugged into a power strip with a surge arrestor?
Reportedly, most lightning damage to computer gear is due to transients
entering through the telephone line, rather than from the power line.
And even without nearby lightning strokes, transients are found on power
lines, due to connection and disconnection of inductive and capacitive
loads.
Electrical transients can cause cumulative damage without causing
immediate failure. A good analogy is the damage inflicted upon a large
boulder by repeatedly striking it with a sledge. Even after many blows,
no damage may be apparent, but eventually a blow shatters the boulder,
because the damage is cumulative. In this respect, solid-state devices
are like the boulder.
By the way, a surge arrestor also suffers cumulative damage; but it is
meant to be sacrificial.
Russ
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