Hal.dll

The following message appears upon trying to boot an XP Pro SP1 system...

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
<Windows root>\system32\hal.dll
Please re-install a copy of the above file.


Any suggestions?


Thanks,

Steve

 

I did a search and found this web site. It talks about recovering Windows XP using the Recovery Console. Below that it states reinstalling Windows XP is not an option.

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_haldll_missing.htm

Hope this helps.

 

Good read.

However, reinstalling Windows XP is an option, provided you have the tools to do so. Like other options of course, a repair/reinstall doesn't always fix it.

 

I know if it was me, I would reinstall since I can reinstall a computer in my sleep.

Thanks for the added info.

 

In following the steps in that link...

The first portion I guess doesn't really appy, since it is assumed you can boot into Windows.

The second portion, I was able to get as far as BootCfg /Rebuild. At that point, I recieved the following error:

Error: Failed to sucsessfully scan disks for Windows installation. This error may be caused by a corrupt file system, which would prevent bootcfg from sucsessfully scanning. Use chksdk to detect any errors.

I tried chkdsk, and got as far as 25% before getting an error

Anything else I can try?

I too would probably just reinstall - if it was my computer, but it isn't. Reinstalling would be the absolute last resort. Besides, thats too easy. I learn a lot more by doing things the hard way.


-Steve

 

What is the error chkdsk reports?

 

The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable errors.


-Steve

 

Is your HDD formated in FAT32 or NTFS. The link to the thread below I believe has the answers. It regards XP Home as against Pro but I would guess that the proceedure must be identical

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=69169&highlight=missing+corrupt+hal.dll

Good Luck

 

Not good.

Um, a couple things you can try before weeping tears of sorrow.

fixmbr. Keep in mind, there is always a chance of data loss with this command.

Then run chkdsk and see if the unrecoverable error pops up. If it does, there are two possiblities.

1. The filesystem isn't reparable by MS tools.
2. Your drive is dying, or dead.

For number 2, run a real hard drive fitness test to be for sure.

 

I think I might know why they said that reinstall is not an option. My sister had the same problem, tried the reinstall, and got a second installation of XP alongside the corrupted one. Not exactly helpful.

 

Thanks guys. Thats what I figured. Basically every time I've seen that error: "The volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable errors", either the drive needed to be reformatted or was completely toast.

I'll do a reformat/re-install.

Question...

Is there a good way to "stress test" a drive? For instance, if the MBR is just screwed up, a reformat/re-install will fix that. But if the drive is in fact damaged, it may not be immediately detectable. I want to avoid giving this thing back to the person and having the same problem crop up a week from now.


-Steve

 

I know of a few paid for products we use at work:

Quicktech (expensive)
HDDregenerator (fixes bad sectors on drives (sometimes))

Doing a chkdsk /r is a comprehensive test on the drive.

 

I've heard good things about SpinRite 6 from Gibson Research (www.grc.com) - it's paid for software and I've been told both stresses disks and recovers damaged sectors. I ran it on my Dell laptop drive when I was worried about it hanging diring shutdowns and it gave my drive a clean bill. And I'm not on the GRC payrole.