I have a laptop that froze up during use. No new software has been added, and it's fully patched, with the exception of any Critical updates release over the past month. After a hard reboot, the PC would freeze up during the Windows XP boot screen and in safe mode, it freezes after loading MUP.SYS.
I have been able to trace down my problem to the integrated NIC by disabling all the devices (can't really remove them since it's a laptop) one at a time until I was able to successfully boot to Windows. So, if the NIC is enabled, Windows freezes during boot. When it's disabled, I can boot Windows fine, but obviosly no network connection.
Here is what I've tried so far, each failing to resolve my issue:
* Tried to clear the ESCD by re-flashing the BIOS. Also tried flashing to an older version of BIOS.
* Clear BIOS by removing CMOS battery, laptop battery and AC power.
* Uninstalling NIC drivers.
* Reinstalling NIC drivers.
* Replacing MUP.SYS file from another PC.
* Performing a CHKDSK of the system drive.
* Also ran Virus and Malware scan. (Found nothing.)
Does anyone else have any other suggestions on how to get this NIC working without causing Windows to freeze during bootup? My last two options before I do a clean install of Windows is to restore the registry and/or do a Windows repair.
Chris
I have been able to trace down my problem to the integrated NIC by disabling all the devices (can't really remove them since it's a laptop) one at a time until I was able to successfully boot to Windows. So, if the NIC is enabled, Windows freezes during boot. When it's disabled, I can boot Windows fine, but obviosly no network connection.
Here is what I've tried so far, each failing to resolve my issue:
* Tried to clear the ESCD by re-flashing the BIOS. Also tried flashing to an older version of BIOS.
* Clear BIOS by removing CMOS battery, laptop battery and AC power.
* Uninstalling NIC drivers.
* Reinstalling NIC drivers.
* Replacing MUP.SYS file from another PC.
* Performing a CHKDSK of the system drive.
* Also ran Virus and Malware scan. (Found nothing.)
Does anyone else have any other suggestions on how to get this NIC working without causing Windows to freeze during bootup? My last two options before I do a clean install of Windows is to restore the registry and/or do a Windows repair.
Chris