missing or corrupted hal.dll file

[keith]

I intensionally deleted the 'hal.dll' while cleaning up my drive and now the
boot up fails, due to a missing or corrupted hal.dll.

Q. How do I recover my system?

I can get to Recovery Console, select R and selecting Windows operating
system 1 (the only op sys on my p.c.), but don't know the commands or file
name on my XP pro disk to copy the correct file to the C:\Windows\System32
directory.

Can anyone help me recovery from the command promp in recovery console?

Thanks in anticipation.

Keith

 

[Malke]

I intensionally deleted the 'hal.dll' while cleaning up my drive and now
the boot up fails, due to a missing or corrupted hal.dll.

Q. How do I recover my system?

I can get to Recovery Console, select R and selecting Windows operating
system 1 (the only op sys on my p.c.), but don't know the commands or file
name on my XP pro disk to copy the correct file to the C:\Windows\System32
directory.

Can anyone help me recovery from the command promp in recovery console?

I can't imagine why you thought deleting hal.dll would be A Good Thing.
However, from the command prompt in Recovery Console:

Attrib -H -R -S C:\boot.ini [enter]
DEL C:\boot.ini [enter]
to delete the bad one
BootCfg /Rebuild [enter]

to search for Windows installations and make a new boot.ini.

Malke

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

I intensionally deleted the 'hal.dll' while cleaning up my drive and now
the
boot up fails, due to a missing or corrupted hal.dll.

Q. How do I recover my system?

I can get to Recovery Console, select R and selecting Windows operating
system 1 (the only op sys on my p.c.), but don't know the commands or file
name on my XP pro disk to copy the correct file to the C:\Windows\System32
directory.

Can anyone help me recovery from the command promp in recovery console?

Thanks in anticipation.

Keith

What were you hoping to gain by deleting a file that consumes one millionth
of the average disk size? What other files fell victim to your spring
cleaning? - You will find a number of hal.dll versions in the folder
c:\windows\ServicePackFiles\i386. Their names are hal????.dll. The version
you need is motherboard specific. On my current machine I would need
halacpi.dll but you might need one of the other versions. You probably have
to do the recovery by trial and error: Copy one file after the other to the
System32 folder, rename it to hal.dll, then reboot the machine and watch
what happens.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

I intensionally deleted the 'hal.dll' while cleaning up my drive and now
the boot up fails, due to a missing or corrupted hal.dll.

Q. How do I recover my system?

I can get to Recovery Console, select R and selecting Windows operating
system 1 (the only op sys on my p.c.), but don't know the commands or
file
name on my XP pro disk to copy the correct file to the
C:\Windows\System32
directory.

Can anyone help me recovery from the command promp in recovery console?

I can't imagine why you thought deleting hal.dll would be A Good Thing.
However, from the command prompt in Recovery Console:

Attrib -H -R -S C:\boot.ini [enter]
DEL C:\boot.ini [enter]
to delete the bad one
BootCfg /Rebuild [enter]

to search for Windows installations and make a new boot.ini.

Malke

Would your recipe recover/restore hal.dll?

 

[Tim Meddick]

Wouldn't the OP need to copy the 'hal.dll' file from either the
installation CD or (in the case of SP3) the ServicePackFiles\i386 folder
from within RC first?

Does rebuilding the boot.ini file, using the 'bootcfg' command, somehow
accomplish this?


==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

I intensionally deleted the 'hal.dll' while cleaning up my drive and
now
the boot up fails, due to a missing or corrupted hal.dll.

Q. How do I recover my system?

I can get to Recovery Console, select R and selecting Windows
operating
system 1 (the only op sys on my p.c.), but don't know the commands or
file
name on my XP pro disk to copy the correct file to the
C:\Windows\System32
directory.

Can anyone help me recovery from the command promp in recovery
console?

I can't imagine why you thought deleting hal.dll would be A Good
Thing.
However, from the command prompt in Recovery Console:

Attrib -H -R -S C:\boot.ini [enter]
DEL C:\boot.ini [enter]
to delete the bad one
BootCfg /Rebuild [enter]

to search for Windows installations and make a new boot.ini.

Malke

 

[Malke]

Would your recipe recover/restore hal.dll?

The error message is misleading. Hal.dll doesn't need to be restored. The
error really means (to quote the late MVP Alex Nichol) "...happens because
the boot.ini file that tells the boot where to look for 'Windows' is
damaged, so it is looking for files in the wrong place - hal.dll just
happens to be the first one it looks for".

Malke

 

[Malke]

Wouldn't the OP need to copy the 'hal.dll' file from either the
installation CD or (in the case of SP3) the ServicePackFiles\i386 folder
from within RC first?

Does rebuilding the boot.ini file, using the 'bootcfg' command, somehow
accomplish this?

The error message is misleading. Hal.dll doesn't need to be restored. The
error really means (to quote the late MVP Alex Nichol) "...happens because
the boot.ini file that tells the boot where to look for 'Windows' is
damaged, so it is looking for files in the wrong place - hal.dll just
happens to be the first one it looks for".

Malke

 

[Gerry]

Pegasus

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

--


Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I intensionally deleted the 'hal.dll' while cleaning up my drive
and now the boot up fails, due to a missing or corrupted hal.dll.

Q. How do I recover my system?

I can get to Recovery Console, select R and selecting Windows
operating system 1 (the only op sys on my p.c.), but don't know the
commands or file
name on my XP pro disk to copy the correct file to the
C:\Windows\System32
directory.

Can anyone help me recovery from the command promp in recovery
console?

I can't imagine why you thought deleting hal.dll would be A Good
Thing. However, from the command prompt in Recovery Console:

Attrib -H -R -S C:\boot.ini [enter]
DEL C:\boot.ini [enter]
to delete the bad one
BootCfg /Rebuild [enter]

to search for Windows installations and make a new boot.ini.

Malke

Would your recipe recover/restore hal.dll?

 

[Tim Meddick]

(You just said that to Pegasus!!)

Malke,
I see, so you are working under the impression that the OP
did NOT delete hal.dll but just THINKS that he did because after doing
some cleaning up, found that he got the boot.ini inspired error
message - 'hal.dll missing' ???

Have I got that right?

But the OP seems fairly sure that he actually DID delete the actual file
'hal.dll' - should you not have given advice on the assumption that
what the OP said was true?

Or, at least, asked him for some confirmation and further details?

Perhaps, if he is reading this, he can confirm just what he did?

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[Gerry]

Keith

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/restorehaldll.htm


--


Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Gerry]

Tim

Malke will probably say the same to me given what I have just posted.

--


Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

(You just said that to Pegasus!!)

Malke,
I see, so you are working under the impression that the OP did
NOT delete hal.dll but just THINKS that he did because after doing some
cleaning up, found that he got the boot.ini inspired error message -
'hal.dll missing' ???

Have I got that right?

But the OP seems fairly sure that he actually DID delete the actual file
'hal.dll' - should you not have given advice on the assumption that what
the OP said was true?

Or, at least, asked him for some confirmation and further details?

Perhaps, if he is reading this, he can confirm just what he did?

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

Well said. I suggest that the OP should go one step further: Check while in
Recovery Console mode that the file c:\windows\system32\hal.dll exists.

 

[Tim Meddick]

Absolutely right, since the OP said that he DID actually delete hal.dll,
it is probable (but not certain) that it is absent rather than a result
of either an incorrect 'boot.ini' file or (after reading the Kelly's
corner page that was cited by "Gerry") a result of a "ddo" is installed.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Keith

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/restorehaldll.htm

Hope this helps.

Gerry

This link made me curious: How can a generic hal.dll, as restored from the
WinXP installation CD, replace a hardware-specific / Service Pack-specific
hal.dll, as found in the System32 folder? Well, it doesn't. Tim Fisher, the
author of the article at that link, says that the job is rated "Easy" and
should take 15 minutes. Neither is true. The job is not easy (unless you are
an expert) and it takes considerably more than 15 minutes. Since I'm a
glutton for punishment, I tried his recipe for myself.

After using the generic hal.dll recommended by Tim Fisher, the machine
booted into a very basic mode. It had forgotten about *all* the PC-specific
hardware: Motherboard, disk controller, display adapter, display settings,
network adapter, sound adapter, mouse, Service Pack, you name it, it had
forgotten about them. Some it was able to install automatically; for others
it demanded driver CDs. The IP settings defaulted to DHCP, which is not at
all what I need. And worse as well: System Restore would not touch the
restored hal.dll file.

It seems that Tim Fisher's recipe will allow the OP to boot up his PC but he
would have his work cut out in restoring it to a fully functional condition.
Conversely, if he found the correct hal.dll in his Service Pack folder then
he would land on his feet straight away.

 

[Tim Meddick]

I think there is a valid place for URL links to help- pages in these
posts.

However, some of the time, it looks very like laziness that's going on,
rather than to be concise.

I don't see why, when replying a query, people can't just answer the
question themselves.

Perhaps it might make people feel more responsible for their advice than
just posting a URL of another's work.

Not criticizing another's original works, but one may not realize that
advice was not relevant to a question, having not written it one's self.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

I think there is a valid place for URL links to help- pages in these posts.

However, some of the time, it looks very like laziness that's going on,
rather than to be concise.

I don't see why, when replying a query, people can't just answer the
question themselves.

Perhaps it might make people feel more responsible for their advice than
just posting a URL of another's work.

Not criticizing another's original works, but one may not realize that
advice was not relevant to a question, having not written it one's self.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

While I see what you're getting at within the context of the current thread,
I do not agree with you on this occasion. I find that there is a vast amount
of information available on how to trouble-shoot Windows problems and it is
simply not feasible to test every recipe quoted in some link, especially
when it is as authoritative and well-written as this one. Quite often the
quoted article is correct and allows the poster to fix his problem. I feel
that Gerry gave an excellent answer that was highly relevant. It is not is
fault that the article he quoted is superficial and I would not have
expected him to perform the same test as I did. It takes courage and
perseverance to deliberately wreck, then repair one's own machine!

 

[Gerry]

Pegasus

I agree that using the Recovery Console is not easy. My first thought
was to replace hal.dll from the backup copy on the hard drive. I used
the link because it had clear instructions on using the Expand
command.in the Recovery Console.


--


Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Pegasus

I agree that using the Recovery Console is not easy. My first thought was
to replace hal.dll from the backup copy on the hard drive. I used the link
because it had clear instructions on using the Expand command.in the
Recovery Console.

If you have a backup copy of the System32 folder then this strategy would be
your best option. See also my reply to Tim Meddick.

 

[Gerry]

Pegasus

When I last installed Windows XP with a new SP3 OEM disk an SP3 cab
folder was placed at c:\windows\drivercache\i386\sp3.cab

--


Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Indeed, but the OP would have to extract halxxx.dll from this cab file.
Remember - his machine does not boot and I suspect that he cannot extract
files from a cab file while in the Recovery Console.