Ok, maybe just this one time.
Naturally, as soon as I post that I’m notever fixing a computer for anyone ever again, my mother and my father both can’t keep World of Warcraft from blacking out their machines when my 13-year-old brother plays it. Since I built the computers, it must be something I did right?
Luckily, the helpful MetaFilter folks had some excellent suggestions on where to begin. I’m fairly certain it’s a video card issue, from the vague descriptions they’ve given me, but I’m going to follow the plan below to save myself future headaches. If you can read, you can do it, too!