State’s computers crash again in Montana

State computers shut down about 1:30 p.m. Monday — the second time in two months — bringing to a halt a number of state services across Montana.

The effects of the outage were "almost identical to the last time around" during a widespread outage in May, according to Gayle Shirley, spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services in Helena.

In one example, visitors to the Motor Vehicle Office in the Cascade County Courthouse were turned away Monday after the 1:30 p.m. shutdown, since motor vehicle registrations could not be processed. Driver’s licenses also could not be renewed at exam offices across the state.

Officials hoped to have most services restored by this morning, but it was not certain late Monday afternoon how long that would take.

By RICHARD ECKE
Tribune Staff Writer

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