Infinity Ward is in California, where non-compete clauses are automatically void. I believe (though I'm not an expert by any means) that they can get back to work immediately should an offer present itself.

I could have knocked the cable loose in my attempts to elevate the console and power supply to make sure it wasn't an overheat problem, or when I removed the hard drive. As it only happened once, but the freezing persists, I'm inclined to think the lights were a coincidence and the freezing is the actual symptom.