Desktop AND laptop issues!

Edd

Let's start with my desktop.

For some reason, when Windows reaches my desktop, it has a tendency to simply restart without warning. Not the true Windows restart process - simply a loss of the desktop and the boot process beginning anew. Oddly enough, it only seems to happen early. If the computer has been on, and stable, for quite some time, even during intensive processes like running games, it's very unlikely to restart on me.

Next up we have my laptop. Today without warning as I booted, instead of heading into Windows' normal startup process, I got the BIOS error page offering me Safe Mode et al. I've since tried booting in every available mode, but ultimately arrive at a blue screen informing me that "the registry cannot load the hive file: \systemroot\system32\congif\software.

When I boot in safe mode I consistently reach exactly this before blue screening:
harddiskpartition(2)\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\mup.sys

I'm not savvy enough to know what to try in command prompt mode, so ultimately I'm simply asking: how fucked am I?

AtomBomb

This page seems to address the problem with your laptop. Seems like a pain in the ass

Edd

Well, that's appreciated, but the first option seems like the only truly practical one, and I haven't a clue how to go about executing it.

For instance, if my only real interaction is limited to choosing which to to boot unsuccessfully, how can I "reflash?"

Topweasel

Edd wrote: »

Let's start with my desktop.

For some reason, when Windows reaches my desktop, it has a tendency to simply restart without warning. Not the true Windows restart process - simply a loss of the desktop and the boot process beginning anew. Oddly enough, it only seems to happen early. If the computer has been on, and stable, for quite some time, even during intensive processes like running games, it's very unlikely to restart on me.

Next up we have my laptop. Today without warning as I booted, instead of heading into Windows' normal startup process, I got the BIOS error page offering me Safe Mode et al. I've since tried booting in every available mode, but ultimately arrive at a blue screen informing me that "the registry cannot load the hive file: \systemroot\system32\congif\software.

When I boot in safe mode I consistently reach exactly this before blue screening:
harddiskpartition(2)\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\mup.sys

I'm not savvy enough to know what to try in command prompt mode, so ultimately I'm simply asking: how fucked am I?

The Desktop can be three things that stick out and two that don't.

Stick out.
1. Power Supply (depending on age of system would look to this) 2. Memory (usually memory errors will BSOD before restarting). 3. Windows is broken. (reloading windows not fun would check PS and memory problems first).

Don't Stick out
1.) Hard drive. (could be currupted info, bad controller, bad drive) or CPU (its broke replace it).

Crashtard

If you aren't familiar with BIOS flashing Edd, see if you know someone else that is. It's a fairly simple procedure that's generally hard to mess up, but if you do it can be pretty terrible. If you can tell us the make and model of your MoBo we might be able to help you find the right stuff to do it.

I'll also second checking out the Power Supply. If they aren't producing enough power they can cause all sorts of interesting problems.