Windows won't load

[Inimical]

Ahh, computer woes.

This is what happened: while I was gone, my brother was using my computer, apparently not doing anything specific. He leaves it on over night, and the next morning the thing's frozen. He resets it, but windows won't load.

When you try to start windows in safe mode, it gets to the point where it load mup.sys and then hangs. I think that tells us almost nothing as mup.sys is simply the file windows loads before it gets to the GUI.

If you try to reinstall windows, the setup gets to the part where it says "starting windows" and hangs there.

This is what I've tired:
1) All combinations with my RAM. Unless every one of my 3 sticks simultaneously went bad, I don't think it's my RAM.
2) Disconnected everything except my hard drive, video card, processor and 1 stick of RAM.
3) Using my storage hard drive (the one not from step 2) and trying to install windows on it.
4) Switching the IDE cables to my hard drives.

Anyone have any idea what it could possibly be? If I need to replace a component, I'd really like to know what to replace.

 

[morkinva]

Here's what I found on searching:

Boot off the windows cd, load the recovery console.
Type "disable mup"
Hit Enter
All done, windows works. Mup.sys is the service to connect to Novell servers. %99.99909 of people won't need this.

If you can't do this, then remove usb card and then usb devices you have connected; see if you can boot then.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

from here .. My solution was to hit F8 on boot up and select safemode with command prompt, I then preceeded to the c:\winnt\system32\drivers directory, typed in the OLD DOS command "REN mup.sys mup.old" then rebooted and here I am or I found -- boot from OS Disk --> Repair --> Command Console --> Chkdsk /R
will fix the problem and you should be able to boot. The process takes 15 minutes... as always..ymmv..

 

[Inimical]

I found that same information. Like I said, EVERYTHING except cpu, ram, hard drive and video card were disconnected.

The problem with disabling mup.sys with the recovery console is that the windows set up doesn't go far enough to let me select that option. It loads all the files it needs, says "starting windows" and stays frozen there.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

http://www.ss64.com/ntsyntax/recovery.html ..
but then again I'd just drop my original setup hd(my current drive is a clone off of a 30GB Maxtor that was fully worked up/scienced out and run for 2 weeks..then placed in the clone's packing box ) in this comp and slave the damaged drive then either burn off my valuables and do a fresh install or do the repair attempt..depending on my time constraints. Goodluck ...

 

[Inimical]

Is this a hard drive thing? I tried doing the windows installation once with only one of my hard drives connected and the second time with the other, and both times it didn't work.

Damn this is annoying.

 

[Inimical]

Just in case anyone's curious, I think I found out where the problem was. It was the motherboard. The only reason I know this is because I took everything out of my broken computer, put it on a different mobo and it works fine. Good bye, $100 motherboard : (

Looks like I'll be getting a new one soon. One to go along with my new mobile athlon xp 2400.