hard drive

[Phil]

First, i hope i'm in the correct area. I have an HP a324x desktop. The
computer would keep shutting down and restarting during use. I tried changing
the power supply. Did not work. I figured i would try the recovery option on
HP. In doing so, i received messages that it could not extract some files.
dll files. Partially thru the computer shut down and restarted. Now the
computer will not start. I then tried the recovery discs. I chose the proper
boot and inserted disc 1. after several minutes of just a blinking line on a
black screen i get a message saying " windows could not start because of the
following file is missing or corrupt... windows root system 32\hal.dll.
Does anyone have an idea what I should try from here? Perhaps a new hard
drive? And if i were to get a new drive would i be able to load it using the
recovery discs?
Might they be bad?

Thank you in advance for any imput.

 

[Malke]

First, i hope i'm in the correct area. I have an HP a324x desktop. The
computer would keep shutting down and restarting during use. I tried
changing the power supply. Did not work. I figured i would try the
recovery option on HP. In doing so, i received messages that it could not
extract some files. dll files. Partially thru the computer shut down and
restarted. Now the computer will not start. I then tried the recovery
discs. I chose the proper boot and inserted disc 1. after several minutes
of just a blinking line on a black screen i get a message saying " windows
could not start because of the following file is missing or corrupt...
windows root system 32\hal.dll. Does anyone have an idea what I should try
from here? Perhaps a new hard drive? And if i were to get a new drive
would i be able to load it using the recovery discs?
Might they be bad?

Troubleshoot the hardware in a more systematic way. Scattershot
troubleshooting the way you are doing it is a waste of time.

Start with the hard drive, then the RAM. Of course, other components could
be bad, too. Yes, you will be able to use the recovery disc set on a new
hard drive. But before you run out and buy one, you need to find out what is
causing the problem. A new hard drive won't help if your motherboard has
gone bad.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts with
known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a professional
computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of
BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If possible, have all your data backed up
before you take the machine into a shop.

Malke

 

[Bob Harris]

Do you really have a disk image on CDs (or DVDs), or is it possible that
what you are calling a recovery disk is really just bootable CD with a
program that restores an image form a hidden partition on the hard drive?
The latter is a favorite trick of PC makers, to save them some money. But,
it also would mean that the so-called recovery disks are useless without
getting a new hard drive form the same PC makers and with that special
hidden partition with an image of your make/model of computer.

One way to tell is to read the CD/DVD in a known good PC. Is the size 600+
Meg? If so, that could be all of XP, plus a few required drivers. But, if
the optical media is under about 100 Meg, it is more likely it is merely one
of those recovery programs.

As for testing a PC, I agree that a systematic approach is the way to go.
There are stand-alone testers for some components, such as RAM and hard
drives. These run from bootable floppies to bootable CDs. With respect to
the hard drive, if you can find the make (or drive not computer), then go to
the drive maker's support site and look for free testing tools.

An alternative that will work on many PCs is to download the free ultimate
boot CD on a good PC, burn to CD on same PC, then boot the bad PC from it.
http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/ This CD can test many things, and includes
hard drive testing software from several major makers of drives.

Another way to test hardware is to download, burn, and boot from a "live"
LINUX CD, such as KNOPPIX. If the PC can run from this CD, then probably
the hardware (except possibly the hard drive) is OK. And, even the hard
drive could be tested via attempting to read it (e.g., list directory, open
a txt file, etc) If you get errors attempting to boot, then suspect a bad
motherboard or something attached to it (e.g., video card), RAM. KNOPPIX is
free, and includes drivers for almost any PC's hardware. For testing,
download the CD image, not the DVD image. The DVD merely has more
applications programs, but none are going to help you diagnose hardware
problem. I suggest version 5 of KNOPPIX, as that appears to be stable.
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

Finally, when testing, be sure to NOT have any peripherals plugged into the
PC, except for mouse and keyboard. That is, no printer, no scanner, no
iPod, no USB pen drives, no external hard drives, and especially no USB
hubs. And, do not have any unused cables plugged into the PC. If any of
these are bad in just the wrong way, they could prevent a PC from booting.

 

[Phil]

The recovery cd's are 8 diskd that we made when the unit was purchased. I
will download some tools and check the hardware and post back. Thank you
again !!

 

[Phil]

I downloaded the sourceforge.net app to desktop then burnt to cd. When i put
in cd drive i get the same error missing root system32. , on the knoppix I
was unsure what to download.

Thank you.

 

[Phil]

I also downloaded the wd400 eb tols and i get the same error. Is this safe
to assume the mobo is no good?

 

[Phil]

latest update to what I have tried. I borrowed a known good hard drive from a
friend. I started installing win xp 3/4 way thru the install I got a blue
screen stopping the install. PFN_LIST_CORRUPT stopxoooooo4e. does that
shed any light?

Phil

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I downloaded the sourceforge.net app to desktop then burnt to cd.
When i put in cd drive i get the same error missing root system32.
, on the knoppix I was unsure what to download.

Once you create the CD(s) - you have to change your system BIOS to boot from
the CD drive first and pay attention in case it requires you to 'press any
key to boot from cd" as well.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

latest update to what I have tried. I borrowed a known good hard
drive from a friend. I started installing win xp 3/4 way thru the
install I got a blue screen stopping the install.
PFN_LIST_CORRUPT stopxoooooo4e. does that shed any light?

Same installation CD? Same installation CD drive? Same cable for the CD
drive? Same cable for the hard disk drive? Same motherboard? Same memory
in the motherboard? Same power supply?

I'd bet on bad memory or bad hardware of some sort...

 

[Phil]

everything was all the same as far as hardware. I used a xp installation disc
instead of the recovery disc

 

[Shenan Stanley]

latest update to what I have tried. I borrowed a known good hard
drive from a friend. I started installing win xp 3/4 way thru the
install I got a blue screen stopping the install.
PFN_LIST_CORRUPT stopxoooooo4e. does that shed any light?

Same installation CD? Same installation CD drive? Same cable for
the CD drive? Same cable for the hard disk drive? Same
motherboard? Same memory in the motherboard? Same power supply?

I'd bet on bad memory or bad hardware of some sort...

everything was all the same as far as hardware. I used a xp
installation disc instead of the recovery disc

As I said - I'd bet on bad hardware.

Memory is most likely. You can try a different CD drive or a different
CD... You could even swap out the cables. You might even try taking out
some of the system memory if that is possible (if you have two memory
modules and your motherboard can work with one, etc.)

Why would I say that?

Now is a great time to point you to one of the easiest ways to find
information on problems you may be having and solutions others have found:

Search using Google!
http://www.google.com/
(How-to: http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/basics.html )

http://www.google.com/search?q=PFN_LIST_CORRUPT+installing+Windows+XP

 

[Paul]

everything was all the same as far as hardware. I used a xp installation disc
instead of the recovery disc

There are some examples of memory test programs here.

http://www.memtest.org/

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

No errors are acceptable. Repeated failures at the same address could indicate
an actual failed RAM chip. On my last computer, one of the RAM chips became
completely unresponsive, giving lots of errors in memtest86+. I there is only
one errored bit in two complete passes, sometimes a BIOS adjustment may be sufficient
to correct the problem, without buying new RAM.

Paul