Sugar in hot drinks by default. Asking for coffee-no-sugar seems to trigger incredulity. At least this was my experience in the South. New York is another country altogether, no eyebrows raised there.

Not actually me, but in the middle of a raid when one of two brothers in the raid force suddenly typed "Got to go, yacht sinking" and they both logged out. (Not a terrible reason though)

I'd say they probably are, the later versions were redesigned with added complexity. Mine is the old Duo-60 (no airfry/sousvide function) bought 11 years ago, I use it several times a week and have never had a problem.The InstantPot Wikipedia page has a list of models. I'd avoid the ones with airfryer lids. iFixit has a handful of guides for disassembly and repair of a few multi-cooker models including the IP.

I put some new RAM into a Portege R700 and had the same issue. Solved by removing and reseating the RTC battery.

My notes only say "Upgraded RAM 2->4GB (had to reset RTC)". There is a good chance I left it unplugged and RAM-less for quite a while as I tend to multi-task and get distracted. A few minutes should be fine though. Just compared the specs of the R600 v R700 and I've got 2 slots and no on-board so that probably makes a big difference. Sorry can't be more help, but there must be a solution. https://www.productindetail.com/... https://www.productindetail.com/...

I suppose it could be bad RAM modules, dirty contacts, dodgy slot. Can you boot it with a Memtest USB stick (empty or filled slot)? (If you find yourself in London look me up, this is exactly the sort of thing I'd get obsessed with fixing)