Mark,
I do not know how to do a "stepped boot." The last thing I see in the (AMI
bios) Post is "checking nvram....", then the screen goes black; shortly
followed by the XP boot screen. It is actually pretty tough just to even
get to the F8 (Safe Mode) selection screen.
Bill Cohane,
I have read thru your share several times. Many years ago FORC5 schooled me
in the use of removing old ghost devices in the Safe Mode and the use of
the "View Hidden Devices" switch in the CP/Device Manager. I now plan to
view and decode all the items of my current hidden devices from the fully
booted perspective.
Thank you for the idea about the "system" file. I was able to find it after
allowing hidden system file view temporarily. Normally I leave this stuff
hidden because I can be a klutz!!!!! :)
o-Yes, my "system" file is now 10,240 KB and dated yesterday.
o-I do not overclock any of my systems any more.
o-I do not see a "Reset ESCD" switch in my current 0502 bios (Asus P5Q3).
I'm off to study the UM again.
o-I have re-flashed my bios w/o any change. There is a newer bios available
(0603) but the release notes do not suggest any improvement to my kit
stack. Still thinking here anyway........ :)
Best,
Duncan
At 22:09 02/02/2009 -0600, you wrote:
Can you do a stepped boot not in safe mode and get hung up at the same
place?
Mup.sys is blamed a lot just because it is the last thing loaded, it is not
really causing the problem in most cases.
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of DHSinclair
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 6:33 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [H] ?small problem
John,
Thanks. I'll drill into your send.
I choose to wait to update the bios; I do not meet the minimum ATM.
mup.sys remains the stop for a boot to Safe Mode.
I'll find it in time. Time I do still have.
Yes, have a new bios also. Already discussed.............. :)
Really odd glitch; from my perspective. Have patience.
Can wait. winXP-SP3 is still AOK here ...
(as long as I don't drill into either mup.sys or "network'.)....... odd
I remain in this "Stuff Happens! Mode" right now; still digging.
Duncan
At 15:36 02/02/2009 -0800, you wrote:
>Here are some more to try. :)
>
>
>Here are some troubleshooting suggestions:
>
>. ESCD corruption, Try resetting ESCD and/or changing ACPI setting in
>the BIOS. If there is no specific way to reset the
>ESCD data via the BIOS you can force this by reflashing. For added
>value check to see if there is a BIOS update available first.
>
>. If your system is overclocked, Try reverting to the original
>standard spec.'s
>
>. If you have USB devices connected, including any hubs, try removing
>them all before you boot
>
>. If you have devices connected to the serial or parallel ports, Try
>disconnecting them, again before you boot
>
>. If you added any new hardware recently, including PCI,PCI-E, ISA
>cards, Or memory DIMMs Try removing them one at a time, reboot
>and see if this allows the system to boot correctly
>
>. If you have access to a DMM (Multimeter), Check all the power supply
>voltages and try to watch each as you try to boot. If they are more
>than 7% below normal and\or your PSU is over 5 years old, less than
>350W and you have a 3D gaming graphics card with 128MB
>or more of graphics memory. Consider replacing the power supply with
>an upgrade of 500W or better.
>For more information on troubleshooting PC Power Supplies see my
>article on ATX PSU Troubleshooting
>
>. If you have PCI, PCI-E or AGP Graphics card and also have a video
>connector on your motherboard try taking out the graphics card and
>run off the motherboard video. Be sure to adjust your BIOS accordingly
>
>. Try moving around your System RAM DIMMs and/or try removing one
>
>. Try running an antivirus scan from CD or Diskette if you have that
>capability. If needed boot the recovery CD to a prompt first
>
>. Try booting with as minimal a system you can. Remember to disconnect
>optical and floppy drives. Also, try using a non-USB kybd and a
>regular ball mouse that plugs into the PS\2 port in place of an
>optical USB type
>
>. If all this fails to identify or fix your problem, Try Running
>Chkdsk from the Windows XP\2000 Recovery Console.
>If chkdsk fails to resolve the problem, at this point you may need to
>reinstall windows but first ...
>
>. Try checking out my Windows XP Boot Issues article to find out how
>to fix mup.sys hangs by manually restoring your registry. The process
>I detail is reversible if you back up the original hives first as
>instructed so it is worth a try ;) The fundementals of this procedure
>should also work on Windows 2000.I can say from experience that this
>absolutely fixes the windows XP mup.sys boot hang when the cause is a
>corrupted registry!
>
>. The motherboard my have failed or was damaged in a particular way
>such as from an excessive power draw by USB devices or AGP graphics
>card.
>
>One astute and observant reader provided this feedback:
>"We actually found this problem (mup.sys hang) was bulging capacitors
>on the motherboard" - Thanks MOH for the much appreciated feedback!On
>Feb 2, 2009, at 3:08 PM, DHSinclair wrote:
>
>
>
>>Steine,
>>Thank you. That share is part of the print I have made and not yet
>>read thru.
>>Sometimes the Collective Mind is on the same track!
>>The bios ESCD business I can shortly fix, but I think I've already
>>done this. We'll see.
>>I will do this routine immediately! I do understand this from long,
>>long ago.
>>I did "go" from one asus bios to a brand new asus bios; across m/ b's,
>>but WTF!
>>Yet again, perhaps I still screwed up! LOL!
>>Thank you very much,
>>Duncan
>>
>>At 14:45 02/02/2009 -0800, you wrote:
>>>Found this after a google of mup.sys. :)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>So, we started scouring the Internet looking for other possible
>>>causes. We found quite a few instances of the "hung at Mup.sys"
>>>symptom, but with a variety of fixes. Several administrators
>>>solved the problem by replacing memory. Several others solved it
>>>by replacing drive controllers or by simply moving the controllers
>>>to a different slot. One administrator even replaced both
>>>processors.
>>>
>>>Then we found a posting by Sean Branham at the Annoyances.org web
>>>site. See the full text of the thread at
>>>http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/t1047532372 .
>>>
>>>
>>>Sean correctly determined that the cause of all these disparate
>>>"hung at Mup.sys" failures were actually caused by problem with
>>>the Extended System Configuration Data (ESCD) stored in the system
>>>BIOS.
>>>The ESCD maintains a static list of Plug-and-Play resource
>>>allocations. This avoids recalculating all the allocations at each
>>>restart. If the ESCD gets corrupted, then the operating system
>>>cannot assign resources correctly. Windows makes this resource
>>>decision just after it loads the Mup.sys driver because that's
>>>when it loads the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
>>>(ACPI) drivers.
>>>
>>>You can download the (mercifully short) ESCD specification from
>>>http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/1/161ba512-40e2-4cc9-843a-9231
43f3456c/escd.rtf
>>>.
>>>
>>>Once we knew that something in BIOS might be causing the problem,
>>>solving it was a snap. We downloaded the most current firmware
>>>revision from Dell's web site and flashed the BIOS and that was
>>>that. (Some motherboards come with an ESCD rebuild option in CMOS,
>>>so it would not be necessary to flash the BIOS.) The system booted
>>>without a hitch and performance was right back to where it had
>>>been before the problems started. If it hadn't been for Sean's
>>>insight, we would have spent time and money replacing the PERC
>>>controller, which unfortunately might well have solved the problem
>>>because replacing the board would have refreshed the ESCD.
>>>It's difficult to determine whether the system crash earlier in the
>>>week caused the ESCD problem or vice-versa, or if some other
>>>problem caused both. At this point, Anon is going to keep an eye
>>>on the system and hope for the best.
>>>I'd like to thank Sean both for solving this tricky problem and for
>>>taking the time to post a detailed account. This was the first
>>>time I'd visited the Annoyances.org web site, and it looks like a
>>>great resource.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>--
>>>JRS steinie**[email protected]
>>>Please remove **X** to reply...
>>>
>>>
>>>Facts do not cease to exist just
>>>because they are ignored.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>________________________________
>>>From: DHSinclair <[email protected]>
>>>To: Hardware Group <[email protected]>
>>>Sent: Monday, February 2, 2009 2:37:03 PM
>>>Subject: [H] ?small problem
>>>
>>>Have what seems to be a small problem.
>>>WXPproXP3......
>>>Was an Upgrade from W2KproSP4.....
>>>Otherwise works superb!
>>>But,
>>>Can Not boot to Safe Mode...........Hangs at "mup.sys".
>>>
>>>Do have reading for this, but, am wondering if there may be
>>>something else going on?
>>>My network connection pointer in the CP is at #2.
>>>In the past, I have found that #1 was never totally ripped
>>>out............ :)
>>>I do not recall how to fully erase net connections, if this is what
>>>is going on...........
>>>
>>>I have sat for 40+ minutes waiting, at the blue (Windows is
>>>Starting) screen trying to do a Restore Install. Not yet.....
>>>
>>>I really do NOT wish to erase/reformat my C: partition; UNLESS the
>>>Collective convinces me this is the ONLY way. Hmmm.
>>>Perhaps Windows CAN NOT really be Upgraded? Sure looks like it at
>>>the moment.
>>>
>>>This is NOT a call to Resurrect. I am not Down. WXP is fully
>>>running (and I remain totally confused!)
>>>If this is a "boot.ini" file trouble, I can read/correct. (?)
>>>If this is a "mbr" partition error, I can read/correct. (?)
>>>Where to start? Ideas? Suggestions? Opinions (except Vista) welcome?
>>>Duncan
>
>
>--
>JRS steinie**[email protected]
>Please remove **X** to reply...
>
>Facts do not cease to exist just
>because they are ignored.
