XP problem

Hello all I have windows xp home on my daughters cpu. i recieved the xp service pack 2 cd and installed it and it worked for a day or two.. Now I have a problem it says on a black screen ( Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt> Windowsroot\system32\hal.dll ) I have tryed to go into safe mode hitting F8 and it will not let me do anything in safe mode it just goes back to the error screen. I can open F2 & F12 but I dont know if theres anything to help me there? I have put the xp cd into the drive and it doesnt do anything there either?? If anyone knows of anything I can do please let me know before my little girl kills me LOL Thank you Scott

 

1. Make sure the computer is set to BOOT from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.

2. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer.

3. When you receive the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM.

4. When you receive the "Welcome to Setup" message, press R to start the Recovery Console.

5. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you have to use from the Recovery Console.

6. When you are prompted, type the administrator password, and then press ENTER.
Note: If you do not have one, just press ENTER.

7. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /list, and then press ENTER. The entries in your current Boot.ini file appear on the screen.

8. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /rebuild, and then press ENTER.
This command scans the hard disks of the computer for Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows NT installations, and then displays the results. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to add the Windows installations to the Boot.ini file. For example, follow these steps to add a Windows XP installation to the Boot.ini file:

a. When you receive a message that is similar to the following message, press Y:
Total Identified Windows Installs: 1

[1] C:\Windows
Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All)

b. You receive a message that is similar to the following message:

Enter Load Identifier
This is the name of the operating system. When you receive this message, type the name of your operating system, and then press ENTER. This is either Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.

c. You receive a message that is similar to the following:

Enter OS Load options
When you receive this message, type /fastdetect, and then press ENTER.

Note: The instructions that appear on your screen may be different, depending on the configuration of your computer.

9. Type exit, and then press ENTER to quit Recovery Console.


Let me know if you have ANY problems with these instructions. PM me if you need me ASAP.

 

I got your PM!

First, can you boot from the cd?

Right after your BIOS screen appears, does it then say "Press any key to boot from cd...)

Like the image attached?



If NOT then go into the BIOS and set it to boot from cd-rom and procede.

 

It wont let me do it, it goes to the error after the screen says dell l bios??

 

I have noticed just after the bios screen just about completes( it doesnt go all the way through) it flashes to invalid boot ini file/booting from C\windows and then changes to (Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt> Windowsroot\system32\hal.dll )

 

When you power your machine on, start tapping all together since Im not sure which one yours is:

Esc, F1, F2, Delete

Then you will be in the BIOS, the reason your getting this is because your BIOS is not booting from the CD, its booting from the HDD first. For this to work you much Boot from the CD.

 

I hit all 4 and it comes up to the screen were the time/date And drive config area it really is the F2 setup area

 

I found out the reason it would not reinstall windows ! I bought 2 of the same computers and the xp disc i was trying to install was mixed up and was from the other cpu. I want to thank you very much for all your help and patients Scott

 

Did you get your system with the hal.dll problem fixed?

 

Yes it is fixed now again Thank you for all your help

 

Your Welcome! Glad you got it working!

Happy Computing