Unable to Boot into Safe Mode

[Doug]

I discovered a possible problem with my Win XP Pro after
multiple unsucessful attempts to reinstall a nVidia MX440
AGP card which previously worked on the same motherboard.
I could never get the system to boot with a generic
standard VGA adapter in order to complete the
installation after uninstalling the SiS drivers.

So I tried going into Safe Mode upon which the screen
appears to be properly loading multiple .sys files, stops
at mup.sys while the HD continues to chatter for several
secs, and then abruptly stops, reboots and goes on to
load XP normally (with the original SiS drivers). This
recurs every time I attempt to go into Safe Mode with the
F8 key.

Can anyone explain what may be preventing the system from
booting into Safe Mode?

 

[S.Sengupta]

Hi,
mup.sys is very often the last file to get loaded in Safe mode.so all
you can say is that the initialisation of the system is failing.you
should do a repair reinstall to get the
underlying interfaces of the system matched to your board.
See:-How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
Also try to enter the safe mode by the following way and see what happens:-
If in Normal mode, you Start - Run - MSConfig then on the Boot.ini page
select /SAFEMODE and OK to reboot, it will come up in Safe Mode. You
will have to run it again, and uncheck, to return to normal.
regards,
ssg MS-MVP

 

[Alex Nichol]

So I tried going into Safe Mode upon which the screen
appears to be properly loading multiple .sys files, stops
at mup.sys while the HD continues to chatter for several
secs, and then abruptly stops, reboots and goes on to
load XP normally (with the original SiS drivers). This
recurs every time I attempt to go into Safe Mode with the
F8 key.

This is happening after all files are loaded, and the system is being
initialised (mup.sys is the last file that is loaded). Safe Mode
bypasses installed windows drivers to use just the most basic generic
ones - notably that for the video card - and your trouble suggests that
one basic driver, not used in a normal boot, is in trouble. What I wold
do is refresh system files: put the CD in the drive, exit Autorun, and
then go to Start - Run and run the line
SFC /SCANNOW

 

[Doug P]

I didn't get the opportunity to try the /SCANNOW fix since
I saw the other response before I saw yours. I ended up
doing a Repair Reinstallation of XP which fixed the
problem with my VGA driver. Thanks for your assistance!