Missing or currupt Hal.dll file

[Jeffnmoe]

Pc won't boot, it says windows can't start beause the file is missing or currupt. It says <windows root>\system32\hal.dll
reinstal a copy of above file. I have the reinstall cd that came with my dell desktop 8400 pc, I know I can do a repair option but I do't know if this wil effect any of my personal files & phot's if I do the repair, does anyone know if it will just fix the problem with the file or will it efect my personal stuff ? Please help.

Jeff

[Fruss Tray Ted]

It depends on what you have for recovery options. If the recovery info is on a separate partition on your hard drive or you have an all-in-one type recovery disk such as with HP pc's, you would end up losing all of your files. If you have a specific operating system disk such as with most Dells or a complete OEM or retail version of your OS, there are 2 specific choices on recovery. The first one saves your files, the second one does not.

Before you go any route above, have you tried to boot to Safe Mode? If you can, you could save your files before doing anything else. What OS? XP? Vista? 7?

Other choices would be to slave your hard drive to another PC to copy files, or booting to a live disk such as Knoppix, Ubuntu or Puppy Linux and burning to disk or other drives including memory sticks and cards.

[Sylvander]

Which Windows version? XP?

1. If your PC has a floppy disk drive:
Make and boot this "Windows NT 4.0, 2000, XP or Server 2003 boot floppy disk" (http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/ntboot/).
When you boot this, it will present you with a menu of 8 options made up of...
2 physical HDD's... [choose the 1st]
Each with 4 partitions. [choose the 1st]
i.e 1st partition on the 1st HDD [at the 1st attempt].
Keep choosing partitions in order at each attempt.
The 1st one will probably succeed in loading the contents of the Windows folder on C: to take you into your Windows environment.
Once there you know there's nothing wrong with the contents of the Windows folder; the problem is with the boot arrangements.
If you get that far we can then think about fixing the problem.

2. If your PC doesn't have a FDD.
Use this ISO to make the bootable optical disk version of the above floppy (http://www.paulski.com/bootcds/bootxp.iso), and use it in the same way.

3. For reference:
Find references to hal.dll here, with the the explanation of the hal.dll problem (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=55329) [amongst all the other enlightening info].
i.e. Use "Find" to show you "hal.dll or ntoskernel or ntldr "is missing or corrupt".

4. I ALWAYS have by me...
One of the disks mentioned in 1 or 2 above.
Have use the floppy a good number of times to save my bacon.

[Jeffnmoe]

Pc was bought from Dell, everything I see says the repair options should work, just not sure if it will touch any personal stuff. I found a few ref to my problem & they say the repair option will work just no mention about personal stuff. I started to do the repair option & got to the point that it wanted a admin PW, I put in hat it should be but it won't take it. I found a program that will erase the PW, haven't used it yet, want to find out about the repair option 1st.

[Jeffnmoe]

I forgot I did try safe mode & it won't boot. same msg comes up. Useig Windows XP. No floppy drive, just one dvd/cd & one dvdrw drives. how woud I slave it to another PC ?

[Jeffnmoe]

What will the ISO bootble disk do for me ? & is any different than my windows disc ?

[Sylvander]

1. "everything I see says the repair options should work"
A repair may be totally unnecessary.
Perhaps the contents of your Windows folder are perfectly good, and the cause of the problem lies elsewhere.

2. "just not sure if it will touch any personal stuff"
A non-destructive repair should change only the contents of the Windows folder, and leave all your data files untouched.
It is however, a good idea to make a backup copy of the contents of the Windows partition.
I ALWAYS have BOTH an image backup ["Seagate Disk Wizard"], and also a copy of the folder/file contents of the Windows partition [snap2 or Xfe within a Puppy Linux].

3. "What will the ISO bootable disk do for me ?"
(a) It substitutes for the system partition...
And by-passes any/all problems with the HDD boot arrangements.
(b) Provided there is nothing amiss with the contents of the Windows folder, The substitute system disk will load Windows.
Windows will boot successfully unless there's something wrong with the contents of the windows folder.
Hence, if it fails you will know there is something wrong with the contents of the Windows folder.

4. "is any different than my windows disc ?"
Yes, it is totally different to your Windows installation CD.
Does a different job altogether.

5. "I did try safe mode & it won't boot. same msg comes up"
As I'd expect, if the problem is with the HDD boot arrangements, not the contents of the Windows folder.

6. "No floppy drive, just one dvd/cd & one dvdrw drives."
So use the ISO file.
Burn it as an ISO IMAGE to a CD-R or CD-RW.

7. "how would I slave it to another PC ?"
No need to slave it within another PC.
You could make a Puppy Linux "live" CD...
Use it to mount and access the contents of your Windows partition...
And use the Puppy file explorer [Xfe?] to copy the contents of your Windows partition to some other storage location.
Perhaps on an external USB HDD? [That's what I use; works well]

[Jeffnmoe]

I used the ISO cd & am able to get ito my pc, wha do I do now, besides backup all my personal stuff ? shouid I used the widows system restore option ?

[Sylvander]

1. This is the usual/conventional method as included here by Paul Komski (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showpost.php?p=344903&postcount=2).
i.e.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"First thing I would suggest is to borrow any copy of a WinXP installation CD and boot to its recovery console using the first option to repair by pressing R.

Having logged on to the console you would issue:
fixmbr
fixboot
fixboot C:
bootcfg /rebuild

(in succession and OK-ing any warnings).

Then try rebooting normally."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Or alternatively...

2. If you want to try fixing the boot files manually [the problem is probably in the boot.ini file], you could:
Go into the C:\ folder, and...
(a) Look at the contents of the boot.ini file [and post the contents here], and fix any problems found in the boot.ini file.
If that doesn't produce a fix...

(b) Replace the copies there, of ntldr & ntdetect.com with the copies from the boot CD you made.

(c) If (a) & (b) above don't produce a fix...
Then I guess you'd need to resort to method 1 above.

[Sylvander]

Here's the contents of my own PC's Win2000Pro boot.ni file:
[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
C:\boxpup.dat="BoxPup Linux"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Recovery Console" /cmdcons

Bear in mind, your XP system's boot.ini file should be slightly different to suit.
I'm no expert on the boot.ini contents, but it doesn't seem complex.
Ignore the last line regarding cmdcons.

[Jeffnmoe]

Thanks for all your help, the ISO bootable CD got me ito my PC & than I ran the system restore option from my windows on my pc & all seems to be working just fine, Thanks to you & everyone else that made suggestions, I am up & running again. I appreciate every ones help.

Thanks again.

Jeff

[Paul Komski]

Incidentally, the repair options (including a repair installation (http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm)) from the windows installation CD should not affect your personal data. However nothing is that perfect and one should ALWAYS have valuable data backed-up onto removable media on a schedule that won't leave you stuck. This will eventually happen to all computer users.

Dell, despite its detractors, always ships with an installation CD even if there is a restore partition or option from the HDD itself.