Missing hal.dll and re-install

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My neighbour’s computer can’t get past the boot stage, coming up with:
[indent]”Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
system32hal.dll.
Please re-install a copy of the above file.”[/indent]I’ve checked the boot order and run some basic diagnostics on the drive but as I can’t get past the error, have decided that a re-install is probably the easiest/best solution. The pc is about 5 years old, so the cleanup a re-install would provide would have great advantages.

However, am I right in assuming a re-install will obliterate all his ‘My Documents’ and sub-folders? I personally never use these folders, keeping ‘my’ stuff in a separate folder if not on a different partition, so I’ve never had to find out the hard way. He’s happy for me to fit a new drive for the re-install and see if we can recover his personal stuff from the original if I make it a secondary drive, and I think this will be the most efficient method to resolve the problem.

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My neighbour’s computer can’t get past the boot stage, coming up with:
[indent]”Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
system32hal.dll.
Please re-install a copy of the above file.”[/indent]I’ve checked the boot order and run some basic diagnostics on the drive but as I can’t get past the error, have decided that a re-install is probably the easiest/best solution. The pc is about 5 years old, so the cleanup a re-install would provide would have great advantages.

However, am I right in assuming a re-install will obliterate all his ‘My Documents’ and sub-folders? I personally never use these folders, keeping ‘my’ stuff in a separate folder if not on a different partition, so I’ve never had to find out the hard way. He’s happy for me to fit a new drive for the re-install and see if we can recover his personal stuff from the original if I make it a secondary drive, and I think this will be the most efficient method to resolve the problem.

Have you tried booting from the XP installation CD and attempting a Repair?

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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Have you tried booting from the XP installation CD and attempting a Repair?

I thought that you would have been able to determine from the above that I had not!

I am aware of the Repair using Recovery Console option, and that I should be offered a Repair option in Setup. My main concern is to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that any kind of Repair or Re-install will leave the user’s profile (My Documents etc.) intact.

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I thought that you would have been able to determine from the above that I had not!

I am aware of the Repair using Recovery Console option, and that I should be offered a Repair option in Setup. My main concern is to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that any kind of Repair or Re-install will leave the user’s profile (My Documents etc.) intact.

I can’t imagine why a repair of the operating system would do anything to user profiles!
Neither would a ‘parallel installation’ of Windows, if you can do this.

But for absolute peace of mind do what you’re suggesting; make it a secondary drive and install XP again to a new, primary drive. All you have to find are the appropriate power and data cables, Y-splitters, mounting screws, and the like, if they aren’t already present!

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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I thought that you would have been able to determine from the above that I had not!

I am aware of the Repair using Recovery Console option, and that I should be offered a Repair option in Setup. My main concern is to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that any kind of Repair or Re-install will leave the user’s profile (My Documents etc.) intact.

My advice is to do an image backup, using True Image or an equivalent product booted from a CD, before you do anything else.

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I thought that you would have been able to determine from the above that I had not!

I am aware of the Repair using Recovery Console option, and that I should be offered a Repair option in Setup. My main concern is to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that any kind of Repair or Re-install will leave the user’s profile (My Documents etc.) intact.

If service pack(s) have been applied you will not be able to do a repair install from the original CD. You’d need an installation CD with the service pack corresponding to the installed version slipstreamed.

If you can run a repair install the user files should be fine.

Have you tried booting to “Last know good configuration”?

Joe

--Joe

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I thought that you would have been able to determine from the above that I had not!

I am aware of the Repair using Recovery Console option, and that I should be offered a Repair option in Setup. My main concern is to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that any kind of Repair or Re-install will leave the user’s profile (My Documents etc.) intact.

If it truly is a corrupt hal.DLL file, you can copy just that file from the original XP CD. I that doesn’t do it, a repair re-install seems in order.
Check this site for hal.dll restoration. http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproble…storehaldll.htm

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Pulling the problem drive and installing a new HD to recieve a clean install of XP seems the best option. Once slaved to that drive, the old drive should be readily accessable and you can simply move all the appropriate and necessary settings, folders and files to the new drive. Here’s a little document I keep around for just such emergencies.

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My last problem for a client a couple weekends ago, started with corrupt .dll warnings. Replaced the one said to be a problem and then the next and the next and the next, ad infinitum. Worth a try, for sure, but be forewarned.

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[indent]”Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
system32hal.dll.
Please re-install a copy of the above file.”
[/indent]

This message does not always mean what it seems to, because hal.dll is the first file to be loaded from the location pointed to by boot.ini, so a corrupt or missing boot.ini can also cause this message.

Another possible cause is when you have a multi-boot system and the active partition is NOT the same one as where you have all your XP files, if the XP disk is missing or completely corrupt then I think this is the error message you will see.

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Thanks one and all for the suggestions.

I’ve just tried Viking’s suggestion of copying (expanding) the file from the installation cd, but it don’t want to know. From the repair console I can browse c: and c:windows, but c:windowssystem32 gives me a drive ‘enumerating’ error.

I have a suspicion the drive may be on it’s way out – I’ll stuff a spare IDE drive in and see where I get to with a clean install.

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I have a suspicion the drive may be on it’s way out – I’ll stuff a spare IDE drive in and see where I get to with a clean install.

Sounds like a plan.

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Thanks one and all for the suggestions.

I’ve just tried Viking’s suggestion of copying (expanding) the file from the installation cd, but it don’t want to know. From the repair console I can browse c: and c:windows, but c:windowssystem32 gives me a drive ‘enumerating’ error.

I have a suspicion the drive may be on it’s way out – I’ll stuff a spare IDE drive in and see where I get to with a clean install.

FWIW I’ve had this kind of problem twice, once an unknown transient problem that an image restoration solved, and once it was a hard drive failure (which various drive diagnostics did not point out)

Good luck, Dave

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To wrap it all up:
I fitted a spare IDE drive I had and a clean install went fine. On connecting the original drive, chkdsk kicked in immediately on power-up and it spent 30 minutes deleting and repairing. (Chkdsk reported no bad sectors, but I don’t believe everything I read!)
I reckon I’ve got 95%+ of the important data safe, so my neighbour is happy. All that remains is to trash the original drive, sell him the idea of investing in a back-up usb drive, and enjoy the pint or two I’m due

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…and enjoy the pint or two I’m due

Do you need any help with this part?

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Do you need any help with this part?

Yes, thanks. Perhaps if you could stay online at the time so I can post any queries…..?

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