System boot failure

The operating system is Windows XP SP3 fully updated. The machine worked
perfectly yesterday but failed to boot up successfully this morning. Nothing
was changed on the machine before it was switched off yesterday.

On attempted reboots I get the screen which tells me windows did not start
successfully. I have tried all the obvious options with the following
results.

1. Let the timer run down - system freezes sometimes with a centimetre wide
white bar across the screen and sometimes not.

2. Select start windows normally - the timer stops then same as above.

3. Select start in safe mode (all three options) - starts to load drivers
then freezes always at the same place.The last driver listed on the screen
when the system freezes is:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS\System3 2\Drivers\Mup.sys

Is this likely to be an operating system problem or a disk problem and does
anyone no anything I can try to get the system to boot. I do not have a
Windows CD for this machine but I do have another machine running the same
system for which I do have a CD.

Graham.

"Graham" wrote in message
...
The operating system is Windows XP SP3 fully updated. The machine worked
perfectly yesterday but failed to boot up successfully this morning.
Nothing was changed on the machine before it was switched off yesterday.

On attempted reboots I get the screen which tells me windows did not start
successfully. I have tried all the obvious options with the following
results.

1. Let the timer run down - system freezes sometimes with a centimetre
wide white bar across the screen and sometimes not.

2. Select start windows normally - the timer stops then same as above.

3. Select start in safe mode (all three options) - starts to load drivers
then freezes always at the same place.The last driver listed on the screen
when the system freezes is:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS\System3 2\Drivers\Mup.sys

Is this likely to be an operating system problem or a disk problem and
does anyone no anything I can try to get the system to boot. I do not have
a Windows CD for this machine but I do have another machine running the
same system for which I do have a CD.

Graham.

Omissions from previous post.

System XP Home

4. Select last known good configuration: system freezes with a blank screen.

"Graham" wrote in message
...
The operating system is Windows XP SP3 fully updated. The machine worked
perfectly yesterday but failed to boot up successfully this morning.
Nothing was changed on the machine before it was switched off yesterday.

On attempted reboots I get the screen which tells me windows did not start
successfully. I have tried all the obvious options with the following
results.

1. Let the timer run down - system freezes sometimes with a centimetre
wide white bar across the screen and sometimes not.

2. Select start windows normally - the timer stops then same as above.

3. Select start in safe mode (all three options) - starts to load drivers
then freezes always at the same place.The last driver listed on the screen
when the system freezes is:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS\System3 2\Drivers\Mup.sys

Is this likely to be an operating system problem or a disk problem and
does anyone no anything I can try to get the system to boot. I do not have
a Windows CD for this machine but I do have another machine running the
same system for which I do have a CD.

Graham.

Omissions from previous post.

System XP Home

4. Select last known good configuration: system freezes with a blank screen.

Graham wrote:

The operating system is Windows XP SP3 fully updated. The machine worked
perfectly yesterday but failed to boot up successfully this morning.
Nothing was changed on the machine before it was switched off yesterday.

On attempted reboots I get the screen which tells me windows did not
start successfully. I have tried all the obvious options with the
following results.

1. Let the timer run down - system freezes sometimes with a centimetre
wide white bar across the screen and sometimes not.

2. Select start windows normally - the timer stops then same as above.

3. Select start in safe mode (all three options) - starts to load drivers
then freezes always at the same place.The last driver listed on the
screen when the system freezes is:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS\System3 2\Drivers\Mup.sys

Is this likely to be an operating system problem or a disk problem and
does anyone no anything I can try to get the system to boot. I do not
have a Windows CD for this machine but I do have another machine running
the same system for which I do have a CD.

System XP Home

4. Select last known good configuration: system freezes with a blank
screen.

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the RAM.

Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts with
known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a professional
computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of
BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If possible, have all your data backed up
before you take the machine into a shop.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Graham wrote:

The operating system is Windows XP SP3 fully updated. The machine worked
perfectly yesterday but failed to boot up successfully this morning.
Nothing was changed on the machine before it was switched off yesterday.

On attempted reboots I get the screen which tells me windows did not
start successfully. I have tried all the obvious options with the
following results.

1. Let the timer run down - system freezes sometimes with a centimetre
wide white bar across the screen and sometimes not.

2. Select start windows normally - the timer stops then same as above.

3. Select start in safe mode (all three options) - starts to load drivers
then freezes always at the same place.The last driver listed on the
screen when the system freezes is:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS\System3 2\Drivers\Mup.sys

Is this likely to be an operating system problem or a disk problem and
does anyone no anything I can try to get the system to boot. I do not
have a Windows CD for this machine but I do have another machine running
the same system for which I do have a CD.

System XP Home

4. Select last known good configuration: system freezes with a blank
screen.

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the RAM.

Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts with
known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a professional
computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of
BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If possible, have all your data backed up
before you take the machine into a shop.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Graham wrote:
The operating system is Windows XP SP3 fully updated. The machine worked
perfectly yesterday but failed to boot up successfully this morning.
Nothing was changed on the machine before it was switched off yesterday.

On attempted reboots I get the screen which tells me windows did not
start successfully. I have tried all the obvious options with the
following results.

1. Let the timer run down - system freezes sometimes with a centimetre
wide white bar across the screen and sometimes not.

2. Select start windows normally - the timer stops then same as above.

3. Select start in safe mode (all three options) - starts to load
drivers then freezes always at the same place.The last driver listed on
the screen when the system freezes is:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS\System3 2\Drivers\Mup.sys

Is this likely to be an operating system problem or a disk problem and
does anyone no anything I can try to get the system to boot. I do not
have a Windows CD for this machine but I do have another machine running
the same system for which I do have a CD.

The dreaded or infamous stop on mup.sys! If you're lucky this might be
caused by the BIOS' Extended System Configuration Data (ESCD), a simple
reset in the BIOS might fix things. See if these can help:


http://www.aitechsolutions.net/mupdotsysXPhang.html
http://mcpmag.com/articles/2004/06/2...spx?sc_lang=en

John

Graham wrote:
The operating system is Windows XP SP3 fully updated. The machine worked
perfectly yesterday but failed to boot up successfully this morning.
Nothing was changed on the machine before it was switched off yesterday.

On attempted reboots I get the screen which tells me windows did not
start successfully. I have tried all the obvious options with the
following results.

1. Let the timer run down - system freezes sometimes with a centimetre
wide white bar across the screen and sometimes not.

2. Select start windows normally - the timer stops then same as above.

3. Select start in safe mode (all three options) - starts to load
drivers then freezes always at the same place.The last driver listed on
the screen when the system freezes is:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS\System3 2\Drivers\Mup.sys

Is this likely to be an operating system problem or a disk problem and
does anyone no anything I can try to get the system to boot. I do not
have a Windows CD for this machine but I do have another machine running
the same system for which I do have a CD.

The dreaded or infamous stop on mup.sys! If you're lucky this might be
caused by the BIOS' Extended System Configuration Data (ESCD), a simple
reset in the BIOS might fix things. See if these can help:


http://www.aitechsolutions.net/mupdotsysXPhang.html
http://mcpmag.com/articles/2004/06/2...spx?sc_lang=en

John

I had this happen to me as well. The safe course of action is to assume
your hard drive is dying; therefore you do not want to reinstall the OS
on it. Instead, use a new or different hard drive for your OS.

Once you have that drive set up, then add the dying drive to your
system and transfer your important files.

I had this happen to me as well. The safe course of action is to assume
your hard drive is dying; therefore you do not want to reinstall the OS
on it. Instead, use a new or different hard drive for your OS.

Once you have that drive set up, then add the dying drive to your
system and transfer your important files.

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the RAM.

Thanks for that Malke.

I downloaded a diagnostic utility from the disc manufacturers website and
made a bootable CD, ran it and it told me the disk was OK - no errors
detected on both its quick and detailed scans.

Not sure how to test the powersupply other than the fan is clean and running
ok and the unit itself is quite cool.

I downloaded and created a bootable CD for the memory checker you
recommended and ran that. Immediately the bottom have of the screen turned
red and the error count rose rapidly. From that I assumed the RAM card was
faulty so I swapped it for one I know was working last time it was in that
machine (swapped out a few years ago as part of an upgrade). The same thing
happened. It is still running, currently on test 5 with close on 600k errors
showing and rising.

Graham.

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the RAM.

Thanks for that Malke.

I downloaded a diagnostic utility from the disc manufacturers website and
made a bootable CD, ran it and it told me the disk was OK - no errors
detected on both its quick and detailed scans.

Not sure how to test the powersupply other than the fan is clean and running
ok and the unit itself is quite cool.

I downloaded and created a bootable CD for the memory checker you
recommended and ran that. Immediately the bottom have of the screen turned
red and the error count rose rapidly. From that I assumed the RAM card was
faulty so I swapped it for one I know was working last time it was in that
machine (swapped out a few years ago as part of an upgrade). The same thing
happened. It is still running, currently on test 5 with close on 600k errors
showing and rising.

Graham.

Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the RAM.

Thanks for that Malke.

I downloaded a diagnostic utility from the disc manufacturers website and
made a bootable CD, ran it and it told me the disk was OK - no errors
detected on both its quick and detailed scans.

Not sure how to test the powersupply other than the fan is clean and
running ok and the unit itself is quite cool.

I downloaded and created a bootable CD for the memory checker you
recommended and ran that. Immediately the bottom have of the screen turned
red and the error count rose rapidly. From that I assumed the RAM card was
faulty so I swapped it for one I know was working last time it was in that
machine (swapped out a few years ago as part of an upgrade). The same
thing happened. It is still running, currently on test 5 with close on
600k errors showing and rising.

OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad. If you
have any errors you might as well stop the test. You can test both sticks in
another computer to see if they are really bad or if it's your motherboard.
You can also put in 1 stick of new memory - or memory that is currently
working in another machine, not a stick that's been in the closet for a
while - and see what happens. If you get errors, you know that sadly it is
the mobo.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the RAM.

Thanks for that Malke.

I downloaded a diagnostic utility from the disc manufacturers website and
made a bootable CD, ran it and it told me the disk was OK - no errors
detected on both its quick and detailed scans.

Not sure how to test the powersupply other than the fan is clean and
running ok and the unit itself is quite cool.

I downloaded and created a bootable CD for the memory checker you
recommended and ran that. Immediately the bottom have of the screen turned
red and the error count rose rapidly. From that I assumed the RAM card was
faulty so I swapped it for one I know was working last time it was in that
machine (swapped out a few years ago as part of an upgrade). The same
thing happened. It is still running, currently on test 5 with close on
600k errors showing and rising.

OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad. If you
have any errors you might as well stop the test. You can test both sticks in
another computer to see if they are really bad or if it's your motherboard.
You can also put in 1 stick of new memory - or memory that is currently
working in another machine, not a stick that's been in the closet for a
while - and see what happens. If you get errors, you know that sadly it is
the mobo.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad. If
you
have any errors you might as well stop the test. You can test both sticks
in
another computer to see if they are really bad or if it's your
motherboard.
You can also put in 1 stick of new memory - or memory that is currently
working in another machine, not a stick that's been in the closet for a
while - and see what happens. If you get errors, you know that sadly it is
the mobo.

Thanks again.

Things have just gone from bad to worse. Come this morning the machine would
hardly make any progress through its boot sequence. It does the RAM check
then puts up the options to enter the bios setup or select the boot option
but at this point it would not let me select either and it moved on to the
next step where it identified the disc drive and the floppy drive and there
it froze. On doing a bit of research on boot problems I came across mention
of the possibility of a low or flat CMOS battery. So more in hope than
expectation I took mine out and tested it and found it to be completely and
I mean completely flat. I have replaced it with a new one but this has not
changed matters. From what I read I ought to have got some warning of a flat
battery but no.

In your opinion can a flat CMOS battery explain the problem you have been
assisting me with and if so what next.

Graham.

"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:


"Malke" wrote in message
...
Graham wrote:

Sounds like hardware. You can troubleshoot this yourself:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...ardware_Tshoot

I would start with the hard drive, then the power supply, then the RAM.

[Snip]
OK, you either have bad RAM and/or the motherboard RAM slots are bad. If
you
have any errors you might as well stop the test. You can test both sticks
in
another computer to see if they are really bad or if it's your
motherboard.
You can also put in 1 stick of new memory - or memory that is currently
working in another machine, not a stick that's been in the closet for a
while - and see what happens. If you get errors, you know that sadly it is
the mobo.

Thanks again.

Things have just gone from bad to worse. Come this morning the machine would
hardly make any progress through its boot sequence. It does the RAM check
then puts up the options to enter the bios setup or select the boot option
but at this point it would not let me select either and it moved on to the
next step where it identified the disc drive and the floppy drive and there
it froze. On doing a bit of research on boot problems I came across mention
of the possibility of a low or flat CMOS battery. So more in hope than
expectation I took mine out and tested it and found it to be completely and
I mean completely flat. I have replaced it with a new one but this has not
changed matters. From what I read I ought to have got some warning of a flat
battery but no.

In your opinion can a flat CMOS battery explain the problem you have been
assisting me with and if so what next.

Graham.