>I have the exact setup on another machine, just need to copy the project files over. Before I do, are there any clues I might look for to try and figure out why my system got slammed?

< Ctrl > - < Alt > - < Del > and killing a WinApp in a violent and direct fashion leads to lots of broken things (the equivalent of calling TerminateProcess() rather than sending the Window a WM_CLOSE by Esc or Alt-F4ing out). It the difference between walking in and saying "Honey, I've gotta make a phone call, would you mind letting me use the phone for a second" and waiting (admittedly sometimes for what seems like two days) for her to hand you the phone, as opposed to slamming down the hangup button and saying "Gimme the %(*&^$$)( phone!" Your PC and your SO are much more likely to treat you nicely after the first approach (exiting via a normal, semi-friendly and anticipated shutdown procedure) than the second; there are times when you've gotta do the second, but you know you're gonna pay for it.

In case noone mentioned this before, shutting down an app through Task Manager should be a second-to-last resort approach; the only step after that is the Big Red Switch