Windows XP hangs on startup at mup.sys

[Stan]

System hangs in safe mode at startup when it gets to
mup.sys. I can get the win98 to boot only in safe mode
command prompt (dual boot). Will not boot in any form with
XP. While trying the CD to restore it hangs when it starts
examining the drive. I ran the diags from WD and the
drive seems ok. Something I read leads me to believe it
may be in the boot.ini file but I don't know how to access
it from the dos prompt.
Can anyone help.
Waiting patiently.
Stan

PS: something else I read was that it could be a hardware
problem after installing new hardware. None has been
installed as a matter of fact with the exception of the
video card and hard drive I have stripped the chassis
clean and no goo.

[Rich Barry]

If you get the boot menu on startup then it's not your boot.ini file. It's
very unusual that both OS's become problematic at
the same time unless you don't have them on separate partitions. On Win98
try holding down F8 and from the Menu select
Command Line Only. When at the C:\ type:
windows\command\scanreg/restore. That may get your 98 up and running.
You could try a Repair Install for WinXP www.dougknox.com WinXPTips
left column last entry.
"Stan" > wrote in message
...
> System hangs in safe mode at startup when it gets to
> mup.sys. I can get the win98 to boot only in safe mode
> command prompt (dual boot). Will not boot in any form with
> XP. While trying the CD to restore it hangs when it starts
> examining the drive. I ran the diags from WD and the
> drive seems ok. Something I read leads me to believe it
> may be in the boot.ini file but I don't know how to access
> it from the dos prompt.
> Can anyone help.
> Waiting patiently.
> Stan
>
> PS: something else I read was that it could be a hardware
> problem after installing new hardware. None has been
> installed as a matter of fact with the exception of the
> video card and hard drive I have stripped the chassis
> clean and no goo.

[Earl F. Parrish]

"Stan" > wrote in message
...
> System hangs in safe mode at startup when it gets to
> mup.sys. I can get the win98 to boot only in safe mode
> command prompt (dual boot). Will not boot in any form with
> XP. While trying the CD to restore it hangs when it starts
> examining the drive. I ran the diags from WD and the
> drive seems ok. Something I read leads me to believe it
> may be in the boot.ini file but I don't know how to access
> it from the dos prompt.
> Can anyone help.
> Waiting patiently.
> Stan
>
> PS: something else I read was that it could be a hardware
> problem after installing new hardware. None has been
> installed as a matter of fact with the exception of the
> video card and hard drive I have stripped the chassis
> clean and no goo.

Mup.Sys is the last driver loaded which shows in the boot listing.
What caused the problem could have occur after that point. Try Boot
Logging to see what is happening during the startup. Here is a
description of the process:

Enable Boot Logging

Starts while logging all the drivers and services that were loaded
(or not loaded) by the system to a file. This file is called
ntbtlog.txt and it is located in the %windir% directory. Safe Mode,
Safe Mode with Networking, and Safe Mode with Command Prompt add to
the boot log a list of all the drivers and services that are loaded.
The boot log is useful in determining the exact cause of system
startup problems.

The file ntbtlog.txt is appended so the errors should be near the
end. Since the boot does not complete, you will have to read the
file in Windows 98 if the drive is accessible. The file is written
in real time so you should be able to capture the steps up to the
failure point.


--
Earl F. Parrish

[Michael Jo]

Stan,

Any luck yet?

I've run into this problem before, it also prevents the
install and repair of Windows 2000.

All was well with my XP install for weeks, then it just
wouldn't boot. I even had a perfect Ghost image of my
first-installed system, when restored would also refuse to
load XP past MUP.SYS. Recovery console and the procedures
in KB article 307545 did not help.

I know you mentioned you stripped the system down bare.
But try disconnecting all other ATAPI/IDE devices other
than your hard drive. If you're running an install, copy
the source files locally (i386 directory tree) and
slipstream any service packs.

In my case, I isolated the problem to a slave CDRW on the
secondary IDE controller. When disconnected the system
would boot normally. When connected, it would hang
shortly after initializing MUP.SYS. And, yes, the
master/slave settings were all correct.

I guess the closest real description of the problem is KB
article 310760. As for the solution, an RMA of the
motherboard solved it for me. (VIA KT400 chipset-based,
in case anyone is interested). The new one, same model,
works like a charm. Faulty IDE controller on the first?
Perhaps, who knows for sure. I'm just glad it works now.

Mike

"Stan" > wrote in message
...
> System hangs in safe mode at startup when it gets to
> mup.sys. I can get the win98 to boot only in safe mode
> command prompt (dual boot). Will not boot in any form
with
> XP. While trying the CD to restore it hangs when it
starts
> examining the drive. I ran the diags from WD and the
> drive seems ok. Something I read leads me to believe it
> may be in the boot.ini file but I don't know how to
access
> it from the dos prompt.
> Can anyone help.
> Waiting patiently.
> Stan
>
> PS: something else I read was that it could be a
hardware
> problem after installing new hardware. None has been
> installed as a matter of fact with the exception of the
> video card and hard drive I have stripped the chassis
> clean and no goo.