Laptop issues (CD, hard drive, screen, reinstall) - PCs, laptops, hardware, software - City-Data Forum

exhdo1 · 08-10-2012, 07:29 AM

I have an older Compaq laptop that we have had for years and never had an issue with it. A few days ago I attempted to start it and experienced this problem. When it starts up I get a black screen as shown below asking about different start up options. I have chose start normally and last known good configuration. I always then get the second screen which is the Windows XP start up screen. After about 30 seconds or so I get a screen with info on it that lasts less than a second and then the computer starts the process all over again. I've attempted to get a photo of the third screen but it appears and disappears so fast, I'm unable to get a clear shot. (Maybe I can try taking a video, but I don't know if I can post it here). I tried putting the Windows XP disc in the CD drive and see if the computer would start off that but I think there is an issue with the CD drive which wouldn't always work the first time you put a disc in it. (I do have an external CD drive that I can hook up if need be). Anyway, like I said earlier, it's an older computer that I use for music and photo storage and to stream music to my Verizon media manager from. I have everything backed up on an external hard drive so if I can't get it fixed, it's not the end of the world, but I like using it as opposed to my primary laptop. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

Peregrine · 08-10-2012, 07:38 AM

Does SAFE MODE work?

exhdo1 · 08-10-2012, 07:50 AM

I'll try it (safe mode) and get back. I didn't want to start trying the other options and creating more issues. I know a lot about a lot of things. Computers are not on the list

exhdo1 · 08-10-2012, 08:22 AM

Tried safe mode and this is what I get. After about the first 18-20 seconds the screen stays the same then if you fast forward to about 1:09 in the video you'll see what I was describing as the screen that appears briefly then the process starts again. Hope the video helps.

Tek_Freek · 08-10-2012, 09:12 AM

It's been awhile, but the offender is the likely the program that is the last one you see on the screen before it crashes. I once found that it was the one after the one on the screen, but most help sites reference the last one, which in your case is mup.sys

Wait for Windows XP Files to Load (Step 4 of 7)

If you would give us the error code that shows up at the end of the video it would help. It's not clear enough to read on the screen shot.

XP freezes after loading mup.sys

eric3781 · 08-10-2012, 09:18 AM

I see in the third picture in the OP that the bluescreen says "unmountable boot volume".

Take a look at this and follow the recommendations for handling a damaged file system under the "Resolution" section. You will need to hook up that external CD-ROM as you need to boot into the Windows XP setup disc...

Unmountable Boot Volume

How about that: I didn't recommend nuking the drive and reinstalling the OS! (although that is what I would do if I were you).

Let's see if chkdsk solves the problem first.

With chkdsk there is a chance to lose some data, but since you have it all backed up there isn't anything to worry about.

Tek_Freek · 08-10-2012, 09:23 AM

And when you run the chkdsk command be prepared to wait awhile. I've waited two hours on a slow PC. It will get to 70 something percent then drop back to a lower number at some point. When it does that it's almost done.

exhdo1 · 08-10-2012, 09:58 AM

Thanks for all the help. I'll try your suggestions and report back, if none of the fixes work, look for the new video of me turning the laptop into a piece of swiss cheese with my AR15.

st33lcas3 · 08-10-2012, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exhdo1

Thanks for all the help. I'll try your suggestions and report back, if none of the fixes work, look for the new video of me turning the laptop into a piece of swiss cheese with my AR15.

Chkdsk will most likely take care of the problem. If it doesn't, there is another command to use while in Recovery Console.

If chkdsk doesn't do it, go back into recovery console and type FIXMBR - then press Enter. This command will rebuild the Master Boot Record. I've done this many times when chkdsk didn't fix an unmountable boot record and it has worked for me ninety nine percent of the time.

exhdo1 · 08-11-2012, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by st33lcas3

Chkdsk will most likely take care of the problem. If it doesn't, there is another command to use while in Recovery Console.

If chkdsk doesn't do it, go back into recovery console and type FIXMBR - then press Enter. This command will rebuild the Master Boot Record. I've done this many times when chkdsk didn't fix an unmountable boot record and it has worked for me ninety nine percent of the time.

I'm assuming (I KNOW THAT'S BAD), that I need to press the F12 key when the computer first boots in order to run those programs?