zzm,
Unclean power causes lots of possible problems for electronics. AC's tend to draw a large amount on startup, which can cause sags elsewhere, which causes cap's to discharge to compensate. I don't know about them causing spikes.
Most municipal power is unclean as well, with voltage drops, sags and spikes common, not to mention brief outages.
So, yeah, I think you're hosed.
Next time you save money on a new computer, or win a lottery, spend $100 and get a battery backup, which will help keep clean power going to the rig.
JMO. ICBW.
rr
