Hi everyone,
I just replaced mobo and cpu in my girlfriends dead computer. It has xp office on hard drive. When I powered up it runs bios and then beeps and stops asking if I want to start windows norm, safe mode, safe mode with prompts and network. No matter which one I choose it restarts and then goes right back to same spot. I tried starting up with the cd in drive and turning off hard disk but it tells me no os found.Any help would be great. Thanks

Dani AI

Generated

Short expert summary and what likely happened (context from and )

  • When you swap a motherboard (different chipset/IDE/SATA controller or HAL) an existing Windows XP installation often won’t finish booting because the OS has low‑level storage and HAL bindings that don’t match the new board. Microsoft documents this class of “disk hardware configuration” startup failures and the Recovery/repair steps you should try. Microsoft: Error message / recovery steps. (support.microsoft.com)

Why it stopped at files like mup.sys or iomdisk.sys

  • mup.sys is the Windows Multiple UNC Provider driver (a kernel file that hands off network/redirector requests); a stall at mup.sys usually means the loader got that far and then the next driver (often a third‑party disk/filter or mass‑storage driver) failed to load. iomdisk.sys is the Iomega disk‑filter driver (third‑party) and is a known cause of safe‑mode/boot hangs when present and incompatible. Knowing those names points you at either a third‑party driver problem or storage‑controller mismatch. (file.net)

Recovery actions that work (practical, ordered)

  • If you can boot the XP CD, use the Recovery Console to run a check and to disable or rename a problematic driver, then attempt a repair install. Typical Recovery Console commands (example) are:
    chkdsk /r
    cd \windows\system32\drivers
    ren iomdisk.sys iomdisk.old
    bootcfg /rebuild
    exit

    Those steps (and the Recovery Console / repair‑install process) are documented by Microsoft — use the XP CD that matches the service‑pack level on the drive. If you can’t or won’t do that, connecting the drive as a non‑boot (slave) disk to another working machine and copying data off it (what you did) is a safe first step. (learn.microsoft.com)

Short best‑practice checklist for next time

  • Before moving a Windows XP system to different motherboard hardware, either prepare the image with Sysprep or uninstall vendor storage/chipset drivers so Windows can enumerate the new controller, or be ready to run a Repair install after the swap. When you just need user files, slaving the drive to a working PC (set jumpers/cable correctly) is the least‑risky recovery method. See the vendor notes on master/slave/cable‑select and Sysprep procedures for details. (seagate.com)

Cautions

  • Use the same‑SP XP media for Repair, back up user data before running chkdsk/fixboot/fixmbr (chkdsk repairs can cause loss if sectors are bad), and only rename/delete drivers if you are sure which driver is causing the hang (Recovery Console is the safe place to do that).

Recommended Answers

All 14 Replies

I understand the problem however make sure you don't make the confusion between the Windows XP Operating System and the Office XP Applications Suite which contains Word,Excel and Outlook.

In order to fix the issue that you are describing make sure you use the Windows Xp Operating System Reinstalation CD.

You will have to insert that disk in your cd drive and restart the computer. If the computer prompts you to Press any key to boot from the cd .. do that immediately.

If not you will have to change your BIOS settings to have the cd as the first boot device.

In order to go in BIOS you will have to hit F2, Del, F10 or F9 depending on the computer's manufacturer, every second while the system boots.

By the way what kind of system do you have? Dell, HP, IBM, E-machines, other?

I tried starting up with the cd in drive and turning off hard disk but it tells me no os found.

If you are able to go into BIOS make sure the hard drive is on and that the CD Drive is setup as the first boot device..

If all that went well you could try a manual System Restore in Recovery Console:

You could also try a System Repair and finally a complete OS Reinstall.

Hi, I only have the one disk I was hoping everything was on it but I guess not. The system is a custom build from someone else the mobo is an intel with a p2 cpu 256 gig ram 40 gig hd. The old mobo was also an intel with p2. Any idea why the windows won't go. I can get into bios. Thanks

Hello how do I get into recovery console?

To get into Recovery Console you really need that XP disk. There's no way whithout it.

Aside from the operating system corruption this problem might also be a hardware failure and in this case you don't need that cd.

Try booting only one memory stick at one time if you have two.

I tried booting with only 1 stick at a time but same problem.The last file windows reads is partition windows system 32/drivers/iomdisk.sys if that helps at all.In the mean time I'm going to dig around and try to find the xp start up disk. Also do you think it could be something in the config. of mobo that the old owner had setup diff. Thanks for any help you can give.

Hello, know I got bigger problems.I can't even get to bios know. When I power up it just beeps 4 times and nothing else. HELP!!!!!

At this point I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with either your motherboard or video card. I'm afraid you will not be able to fix it yourself.

Hey, I put the old mobo in , moved the video card to new slot and it booted right up. Thanks for all the help gemini. Its a good thing it worked because my other comp burnt up friday night. Any idea how I can get my files off of that hard disk. I tried putting it in this comp. but it would not boot it stops on windows partition 1 system 32 drivers mup something. It is an e machine. Thanks again for the help.

Hey I'm glad we solved that problem.

For the old hard drive problem now you have to slave it. That means that you change a jumper on the device on the slave position and you connect it on the same IDE cable with your main bootable hdd and then you should be able to see it as an extra partition.

Hey, Is that my only option? I really hate to mess with the only sys I have working right know.Here's what I tried,I working on my first complete build just waiting on the cpu to get here.I took the cpu out of my dead e machine which is compatable with my new mobo it is a celeron d 2.6 ghz I also used the ram 256mb because I don't want to put my 2 new sticks in they are 512mb each, just in case something goes wrong. Put in old hd 40gb seagate.I have a new 160gb sata seagate to put in the new sys. Anyway it starts up I can get into bios but it will not boot the windows xp home that is on the hd. If I try safe mode it stops at windows partition 1 system 32 drivers Mup.sys and won't go any further. Thats where it stoped in the other sys that is working know with its orginal hd. Can I slave it to the new sata hd that I have with no os. Or should I wait for my p4 3.0ghz to get here and install a new xp os to it and then slave it. Thanks again.

I'd say go ahead and change the jumper to slave and connect the hdd to the primary ide cable of your working system. Connecting a hard drive on the IDe should not cause any risks. However it's your choice what you want to do.

Ok Should I connect the other hd to the slave connector on the working hd ide cable. Then when it restarts do I have to go into bios and change anything. Also where do I change the jumper is that in bios? And when I do get it restarted how do I get into the slave hd? Thanks

The jumper is on the HDD that you want to slave
It looks like this: [IMG][/IMG]

After you did the modification connect it to the available IDE slot.

You don't need to change anything in BIOS. Just restart your computer.

Hey, Your awesome it worked great. I pulled the jumper out hooked it up as slave started up found new hardware had to restart and it works. The system sometimes slows down alot so as soon as I burn these files I'm going to take it back out. Do you think that it could have been a virus that killed the e machine. My niece was playing somthing online when it went down.Anyway thanks alot again!!! I hope you are around when start up my new build I might need somemore help.

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