Foo - Windows will not boot, clueless now. Please assist

I've been building up a system for a persons computer, and have encountered something I've never experienced or heard of before.
I got windows on there, however when I boot up the PC, it brings me to the screen where it says windows did not boot properly, do you wish to start in safe mode?
I try booting into the regular boot, but there is only a black screen.
Then I try safe mode, and it gets stuck loading "mup.sys"

There is a countdown from 30 seconds, if it reaches zero, you automatically boot in the regular startup. But it freezes at zero.

ASR requires a premade disk, so I cant do that. DOes anybody have some ideas?

Have you tried doing a repair on the install from the CD?

Yeah, try the repair install if you can. That's probably the best bet for getting it to work without reloading.

Or did you just reload it on a new/formatted drive? If so, it's probably a problem with a driver.. I'd probably reload it again and not install that particular driver.. maybe get the network driver and then run a windows update and see if there's any hardware updates first, and if not try a different version of all of the drivers you used before, just to be safe.

Also, can you give full specs on the hardware, including brand & model of the power supply and the memory modules, the motherboard, AND your favorite flavor of ice cream.

Additionally, what exact version and service pack of Windows does the CD have (e.g. WinXP Home Edition, Service Pack 1A).

http://www.tux.org/~bball/biking/Computer_Frustration.gif

Via p4ma motherboard
Celeron 1.8ghz processor
512MB DDR RAM
WinXP Professional edition, SP1 I believe it is.
It is a brand new hard drive, 80GB seagate.

http://www.tux.org/~bball/biking/Computer_Frustration.gif

Hahahahahhaha I love that one...

With th XP disk boot to the recovery console then run the following in order.

C:\chkdsk /p

C:\fixmbr

c:\fixboot

See if that helps

Via p4ma motherboard
Celeron 1.8ghz processor
512MB DDR RAM
WinXP Professional edition, SP1 I believe it is.
It is a brand new hard drive, 80GB seagate.If you're not making headway after trying what Stacey suggested, then download these resources using your working computer, and save them onto a CD-R:

The full Service Pack 2 installation file from this page at Microsoft.com (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=049c9dbe-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a&displaylang=en)
An antivirus program of some sort. I like Kaspersky, but it isn't free. AntiVir is one of the better freebie ones, http://www.free-av.com.
The VIA 4-in-1 driver package, plus the drivers for onboard LAN, audio and video, from this page at VIA (http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/mainboards/others/p4ma.jsp#faq) Also ensure that the motherboard has the BIOS update needed to support Celerons properly (same page).

Now start Windows Setup from CD-ROM again.

1) unplug the network cable and leave it unplugged for the duration of the installation.

2) unplug all hard drives or USB drives (including memory-card readers) except the new 80GB Seagate.

3) start Windows Setup from the CD-ROM. Proceed until it shows the existing partitions on the hard drive. Delete all of them, then press the F3 key twice to exit from Windows Setup.

4) now start Windows Setup again. This time, carry on. When it makes it to the desktop screen for the first time, do not install drivers. Do install Service Pack 2 immediately, from the CD-R that you burned earlier, then reboot. When rebooting, it'll ask if you want Automagic Updates enabled, answer Yes.

5) if the system makes it to the desktop on the next boot-up, then install the VIA 4-in-1 motherboard drivers FIRST, and reboot.

6) AFTAR the motherboard drivers & reboot, now install the video drivers and reboot.

7) Next install the onboard LAN and audio drivers.

8) Right-click My Computer, choose Properties, and do what's shown in this pic (http://www.mechbgon.com/build/DEP.gif) to fully enable the software Data Execution Prevention.

9) Install antivirus software and check that the Windows Firewall is enabled. Go through all of the antivirus software's panels and max out/enable all of the options such as spyware/adware detection, heuristics, and scanning within compressed files & archives.

10) Connect to the Internet and update the antivirus software, reboot if necessary, then run the system through Windows Update at http://update.microsoft.com. You will need to run it through Windows Update at least twice, possibly three times. I would also suggest scanning the system with the free Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b13ebd6b-e258-4625-b0a3-64a4879f7798&displaylang=en), it's pretty cool :)

11) It may be wise to set up a Limited user account (http://www.mechbgon.com/build/Limited.html) for the user, since using root/Admin accounts for daily usage is a significant risk factor anymore. I know this is not going to work for everyone, but it's a good idea to use where possible.

Okay I tried running the actual CD, boot from the CD that is.
I get to windows setup, press f2 for ASR, etc.
Then it gets to "starting windows..."

It all freezes up here

Okay I tried running the actual CD, boot from the CD that is.
I get to windows setup, press f2 for ASR, etc.
Then it gets to "starting windows..."

It all freezes up hereForget about ASR. You haven't done an ASR backup, so there's nothing for ASR to restore from. Follow the fresh-install routine I listed above.

Well the installation is getting stuck in the beggining, this is what confuses me

Well the installation is getting stuck in the beggining, this is what confuses meDid you update the motherboard BIOS to the version that supports Celerons? Are you trying a proper Windows Setup without the ASR thing, just a straight install after deleting all existing partitions on the previous go-around?

update the motherboard BIOS to the version that supports celerons?
Well...no :).
But would that cause a problem though? I mean I can play in the BIOS all I want, I get windows install to get going until it reaches that point. Would this cause it?
I am trying the straight install

If it continues to not get past that point, try updating the BIOS. You have ACPI enabled in the BIOS, right? There's no hardware besides what you listed? (although I don't see a power supply in there :))

- take a KNOPPIX CD-ROM (or other 'live' Linux optical media) and try to boot.. if the box locks up you have either a bad RAM stick or CPU...

- on the other hand, if Linux boots and the OS runs perfectly, you have been dealing with Software From Satan™... try running memtest for a half hour (go have a cup of coffee, a beer, a sandwich, or a ride around the block on your bike)

:-)

- take a KNOPPIX CD-ROM (or other 'live' Linux optical media) and try to boot.. if the box locks up you have either a bad RAM stick or CPU...

- on the other hand, if Linux boots and the OS runs perfectly, you have been dealing with Software From Satan™... try running memtest for a half hour (go have a cup of coffee, a beer, a sandwich, or a ride around the block on your bike)

:-)Umm, or he might need to update his BIOS so it recognizes the capabilites of the CPU properly, allowing Windows to try starting using the correct HAL ;) One test would be to manually specify what HAL to use, which is done by pressing the F5 key when Windows is prompting to press the F6 key for third-party storage drivers. Shortly afterwards, Windows Setup would present a list of options to choose from, and if the BIOS is set for ACPI mode, you'd try ACPI Uniprocessor PC, IIRC (haven't had to do this for a while).

It could also be an ice-cream compatibility issue. You notice how he's pointedly avoided answering that, I bet he's embarrassed to admit his favorite is Kiwi-Fruit flavor :D The system's power supply brand/model is also an unknown so far.

I am going to try and update the BIOS.

Favorite Ice cream is Georgie Peach, from Richardsons Icecream right in Mass. But its only available in early summer season :(.
Power supply brand is "Blue Storm"

Fortron Blue Storm? Those are reputable. Georgie Peach ice cream sounds delicious :)

Georgie Peach is amazing. Actually there is one better, its a regional brand in New YOrk called Perry's.
ALl around hte catskill area of NY state, there are ice cream places that have the "Perry's" sign. That was on par with the Georgie Peach from Richardsons, but its a big heavier. RIchardsons packs air into their product...

I left the guy with instructions of how to upgrade the BIOS. I think this is the problem. I never thought about it. THen again, i've always used pentiums

Start the Recovery console or..
Start the computer with the boot disks or Windows CDROM

After the Welcome to Setup dialog box appears, press R to repair,
and then press C to start Recovery console.
Choose install Windows and log on as Administrator.

At the command prompt type "disable Mup.sys"

"MUP stands for "Multiple UNC Provider" which assists Windows in locating resources when more than one redirector is on a machine such as "Microsoft Client for Microsoft Networks" and the "Novell Client for Novell Netware". When a connection to a server is requested it does not know if the request is to a Novell server or an NT server. It will start looking for the server with the primary protocol on the primary requestor and then continue looking for the server on each protocol bound to each redirector until the server is found.

Restart the computer and all should be well.

In some cases, I've resolved this by just booting from a Win98 floppy (if the filesystem is FAT32), and renaming MUP.SYS to MUP.TMP or something to prevent it from loading.