they’ll fix you. they fix everything
I tried to find some web-people who’d run into the same problem that my motherboard-and-such switch had caused me, but no dice. I found some that were close, but their descriptions of solutions made it clear that they were still able to boot into Safe Mode, and I was patently not. A fresh install of Windows XP didn’t have this problem; I tested on a spare partition that, apparently, I was keeping around for just this occasion, and then starting backing up all of Tyla’s RIAA/MPAA-bait.
In the midst of this, Tyla and Madhava and Hilary went climbing — my back is still a little sore; no, really — and by the time I met them for yet more sushi, I’d mostly got everything working again.
It’s pretty sweet. Now I’m thinking about that LCD we saw, or maybe a liquid cooling kit. Not thinking too hard, though. Don’t worry, honey.