hal.dll corrupt or missing, cannot boot from CD

Wife's computer woke up saying that the above is happening. Went to Setup, put CDROM as first boot choice. I tried to boot first from Windows XP CDROM, then with a CDROM with a program called xp_rec_con (supposed to be able to access the recovery console from boot) but the PC still gives me the message: Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: <windows root>\system32\hal.dll is missing.

Please suggest what to try next.

Thanks in advance!

 

If you have set the cdrom as the first boot choice and have only one cdrom drive on the system and it still does not boot to the cdrom it could be any of the following:

1. The disk you are trying to boot to is damaged (check for fingerprints, dirt, scratches, etc.).

2. The cdrom drive is defective.

3. When booting to a cdrom you should see 'Press any key to boot from cd". If a key is not pressed at that time then the computer attempts to boot into the operating system and you will get the message you described. If you don't see the message to press any key, then then the cd or cdrom drive are most probably defective.

Once you are able to boot to the cd you should should follow the instructions for a resolution here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314477

Hope this helps!

 

Thank you! I did clean up the disks and I pressed a key when instructed, so it is probably the drive. Will replace and see what happens.