Going all the way back to October of 2007 (when the computer was built) there are no event warnings or errors referencing NVidia.

I dismantled the computer this morning, and removed the video card, the sound card, both RAM strips, and the CPU cooling assembly (but not the CPU itself). I thoroughly cleaned all connectors, blew dust out of the fans, verified that all seven fans in the computer were indeed working, checked each and every capacitor for signs of swelling or heat damage (there are a lot of them!) and then put all back together after cleaning and then renewing the silver paste on the CPU.

To my satisfaction (and somewhat to my surprise) the computer started right up again, the only oddity being the re-installation of about a dozen USB drivers (mouse, scanner, external hard drive, Olympus camera, Panasonic camera, card reader, headphones, USB hub #1, USB hub #2, cooling fan for Vantek HD dock, color laser printer, WebCam, iPod Shuffle, and SWMBO's iPhone/Touch connector. There may be more, I just know I have two 7-port USB hubs filled to capacity, and I have 10 things plugged into my UPS). I think the USB reinstalls was because I plugged the USB hub into a port on the computer different from where it had been before.

The last time I moved the computer (from California to Mexico) I laid out all the data and power cords on the floor, and then installed them one by one. There were 38 of them. It's a fairly complex system.

There is one other data point I failed to list when describing the video problem. The only times it has happened is when I was playing a full screen video, which probably maximally stresses the video card.

Maybe I'll get lucky and it won't happen again. Yeah, and maybe the tooth fairy will bring me more money the next time a molar falls out.

tanstaafl.