Desktop hangs - tried Safe Mode without Networking - stops at Mup driver?

[Patience]

Hi All,

This morning I turned on my HP desktop (Windows XP Professional) and Windows started then I saw the desktop. I tried to start my email and it hung. Could not bring up Task Manager or ESET in the system tray. Couldn't even select the 'Start' button.

I powered off/on and tried it in Safe Mode with Networking - same thing.

I powered off/on again and somehow it started checking the disk drives then brought up Windows and hung again.

I started it in Safe Mode and when it was loading the drivers, it stopped at Mup. Not sure what that driver is.

Backing up to a week or two ago, I also noticed that when I tried to backup my Quicken files to my external hard drive, Quicken would hang and then the whole desktop would hang and I'd have to turn it off and back on and try again. Could this be related?

I did a quick search this morning about Mup and saw two explanations - one person said it's hardware and another person said it's a nasty virus.

So I'm here asking for help once again. I feel confident that someone will have the key to this.

Thanks so much,
Nancy

[jdc2000]

Does the hard drive light stay on most of the time? From the symptoms, I suspect the hard drive may be failing. If you have another computer available, you can download the .iso file and create a bootable diagnostic CD from the link below that has hard drive diagnostic software on it.

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com

[Train]

When it hits MUP, did you leave it sit for 30 minutes to a hour?

That has been know to work at times.

[Patience]

Good Morning - Train: I was able to get past the Mup driver and into Safe Mode where I've been backing up since last night!

jdc2000 - I'm on my work computer (at home) so I'll download that .iso file and give it a whirl. Sure hope it finds out what the problem is.

Thanks both of you

[Patience]

Update:
I have everything backed up now. I downloaded the .iso file to my work comupter and tried to put it on a RW disc but it said it was read only? Shoot.

On my home PC, I tried to run chkdsk c: /f but it said "chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? Y/N"

I did a hard reboot again after turning off my external hard drive. This time the desktop came up and I saw ALL my extensions load in the system tray so I started thinking there must be an association with that external hard drive however - right after that - I was finally able to go to the Start button and get to Run. I tried chkdsk c: /f again and got the same message. After that, I could NOT select anything on the desktop. I got a double ended arrow and nothing was working once again.

I do see the ard drive light flash now and then but it's yellow not green (although I've never paid attention to the color before).

Can someone straighten me out about the CDROM RW vs R - I thought I'd be able to copy the downloaded .iso file to a CDRW disc - how come it says it's read only?

Oh boy. What a pain in the rump roast.

Thanks all,
Nancy

[dneilson]

Might wanna try a Repair Install of XP.

[Patience]

dneilson - is the Repair Install part of the XP Professional CD?

Thanks,
Nancy

[Shinma]

... I tried to run chkdsk c: /f but it said "chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? Y/N" ...

Normal message. WinXP can not run message since the operating system is on the same drive/partition.

... I did a hard reboot again after turning off my external hard drive...

That "hard reboot" cancelled/terminated your previous command to check disk.
When the message was/is displayed, you should have restarted your computer normally by clicking the Start > Shutdown > Restart...

... is the Repair Install part of the XP Professional CD? ...

Instructions with images,
Link,

• How To Perform a Windows XP Repair Install

[Shinma]

In case additional instructions required,
Following posted by Microsoft:

How to run Chkdsk at the command prompt

Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type cmd, and then press ENTER.
Use one of the following procedures:

To run Chkdsk in read-only mode, at the command prompt, type chkdsk, and then press ENTER.
To repair errors without scanning the volume for bad sectors, at the command prompt, type chkdsk volume:/f, and then press ENTER.

Note If one or more of the files on the hard disk are open, you will receive the following message:
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)
Type Y, and then press ENTER to schedule the disk check, and then restart your computer to start the disk check.

To repair errors, locate bad sectors, and recover readable information, at the command prompt, type chkdsk volume:/r, and then press ENTER.

Note If one or more of the files on the hard disk are open, you will receive the following message:
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)

Type Y, and then press ENTER to schedule the disk check, and then restart your computer to start the disk check.

[jdc2000]

How to create a CD from an .iso file:

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolso...urnisofile.htm

http://www.petri.co.il/how_to_write_iso_files_to_cd.htm

Note: Since you want to end up with a bootable CD, use a CD-R. Sometimes a CD-RW won't be bootable after it is created.

[Patience]

I ran chkdsk and it said that there are 44 bad sectors. Could this be the problem with the desktop hanging when not in Safe Mode?

[Shinma]

I ran chkdsk and it said that there are 44 bad sectors. Could this be the problem with the desktop hanging when not in Safe Mode?

Definitely.

If applicable, double check your hard drive data & power connection(s).
Then, suggest you run a hard drive manufacturers' diagnostic utility since the hard drive may be damaged/defective.

Following article/link provides details on bad sector,

• What Is a Bad Sector and How Can I Repair It?

[Patience]

Thank you Shinma! I'm running checkdisk as I type ;-) I will also open up the box and get rid of dust and check the connections (we have two 21 year old cockatiel brothers in this room with plenty of dander to go around)!

~Nancy

[Shinma]

You're welcome.
Hopefully the hard drive is not defective...

[Patience]

I think it very well may be kaput. I ran checkdisk and there were several bad clusters it reported in 3 files. The desktop still locks up.

jdc2000 - I'm going to try the .iso again.....uff da!