[ForgotMyKeys]

Hi.

I've been searching through the internet for a solution to this grand problem and this seemed like the best place to get information. On to the problem.

I attempted to update the graphics driver for my onboard video card. It's an ATI Radeon 200 Express. I previously had an nVidia 7600gs 512mb pci-e installed but there was a problem with the PCI-E bus so I had to remove it. Before that I had an ATI Radeon X1600 pro. I know there are a lot of graphics cards in there, but I forgot to uninstall display drivers before doing this (a no-no, I'm sure.)

Anyway, I downloaded the new drivers, installed it and it hung for a bit and the installation program went away, but the computer didn't restart after it asked me to. I went to the start menu and restarted it there and it went without a hitch. After it attempted to reboot, the computer now continually reboots after "mup.sys". I've looked all over the place and there were suggestions about removing USB devices, PnP devices, IDE controllers, updating the BIOS, resetting the ESCD, chkdsk /r, and repairing the Windows installation.

I'm pretty sure that it has nothing to do with mup.sys since the boot screen shows it loads, and I've disabled it as well, just to have the system reset again. I don't know where to check the bootlog to see which driver did or did not load after that for me to check, although I'm assuming it does have to do with my graphics card. I cannot get into safe mode, with or without networking, or the command prompt. The "Last Known Good Configuration" also just restarts my computer. I've on occasion seen the flash of the dreaded blue screen, but I haven't been able to make out what my error is before the computer restarts.

What I've done so far:
+ Run chkdsk /r twice. Failed.
+ Reset the ESCD by removing the battery. Failed.
+ Used optimal BIOS settings. Failed. BIOS is the most recent version.
+ Tried 2 other graphics cards in my PCI-E slot: the Radeon x1600 pro; Failed. The nVidia 7600gs; Failed.
+ Followed Microsoft support thread KB307545 to change system registry values. Failed.

The only thing I haven't tried is a repair of the Windows installation via a Windows CD because I have no Windows CD. It's a Compaq that I bought from the store and it didn't come with a restoration CD or anything. I just downloaded a recovery console ISO that allows me to get to the recovery console.

I'm at wit's end. I have my share of experience in fixing all sorts of computer problems, from network problems to staring hours at black and white command prompts and reboots. This one is really pushing my buttons. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If you need any clarification on any events or system hardware/software, feel free to ask. Thank you for your time.

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Here is a quick update: I'm actually editing this via a pre-installed environment and I can open up the regedit if I need to edit the registry, so I was wondering if I could add or remove programs or drivers this way. I think that if I can fix that then I might have some success. I'm feeling hopeful about getting a resolution. Thanks.

[ForgotMyKeys]

Here is a quick update: I'm actually editing this via a pre-installed environment and I can open up the regedit if I need to edit the registry, so I was wondering if I could add or remove programs or drivers this way. I think that if I can fix that then I might have some success. I'm feeling hopeful about getting a resolution. Thanks.

[pip22]

I personally have my doubts about it being a video driver issue, ForgotMyKeys. If it was, Windows should start in one of the two safe modes you've already tried, because in those modes all third-party drivers are bypassed (ie not loaded), thereby allowing Windows to run in order to remove the offending driver.

As for using Regedit, that would allow you to remove the driver load entry to stop it from being loaded, which is basically what Windows does in safe mode anyway. But I don't think you can use the registry to actually remove a driver. It's a database of file locations, not a repository for the files themselves.

[anzenketh]

Hello ForgotMyKeys,

Try the option in advanced options boot menu(F8 menu) disable restart on system failure see if you can provide us the technical details of the blue screen.

[ForgotMyKeys]

Wow, I inadvertently solved it. Either this is going to sound weird or just plain careless. Thank you to those who responded or cared to look up the subject.

Here's where it gets complicated.

I had another harddisk (probably should have mentioned that) from a previous computer I had owned. I (thought I had) slaved it to the system. When the boot option menu would come up, I hadn't noticed that it wasn't from my master drive that the boot.ini was loading (my C:), but the slave drive (E:, there is a system partition on the master). Ever since I installed the old drive, I was getting the old boot.ini, which resoundingly enough had an option for both the master partition and the old drive partition. That may sound off, but I believe that drivers were being installed to it. I guess right after mup.sys loads, it was looking for the hardware that was installed on the old drive, but obviously it wasn't there. When I was messing around in BartPE, I noticed that the boot.ini in the old drive had the settings to the boot menu I kept encountering. I removed the old HDD and there it was, the boot menu was different and it loaded right up.

I may be making assumptions about the drivers being installed on the old drive, but some evidence that may suggest this is that I installed the ATI Catalyst Control Center while the old drive was in and now every time my computer wants to access it, it's saying it's on a disk that doesn't exist. I find this odd because I don't think I've installed anything to that drive. I usually custom install and check that the drive listed is my system drive (C:).

Anyway, sorry for the long winded response and thank you again to anyone who offered help. I just hope this clarifies to anyone else who encounters a "mup.sys" error that it probably is more than likely hardware related.

[anzenketh]

ForgotMyKeys Glad you got your problem fixed.