system32\hal.dll missing or corrupt

[Rocky A]

machine: HP pavillions running XP home
problem: all of a sudden (no really, I had just turned it off to have
lunch) it won't boot. I see the HP logo and the <esc> to change boot /
F8 to "Safe Mode". After it dissapears, instead of botting up to
windows it gives me an error message stating

<windows root> system32\hal.dll is missing or corrupt
reinstall file

I have the XP restore disk. what's the process to reload the dll file.

I can <esc> to get to "load from disk drive". will it allow me to just
reload the dll I need (I'm a beginer, if you haven't guessed).

I also, of course have the 3 disks from HP for their system restore,
but obviously I don't want to loose all the data I've entered since my
last save.

I'm scared shitless to try this on my own, just a little help is all I
need.
when I "boot from the disk drive" do I have the XP disk in and will it
allow me to just "restore" or pick and choose the right dll
or.........

Thanks
Rocky

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

HP Pavilions that ship with Microsoft Windows XP do
not come with Recovery CDs. Instead, they use a hidden
space (partition) on the hard drive to store the recovery
information.

Read the following article thoroughly, then follow
the steps outlined to perform a "non-destructive"
recovery operation.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...docname=bph07145&product=71013&dlc=en&lang=en

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| machine: HP pavillions running XP home
| problem: all of a sudden (no really, I had just turned it off to have
| lunch) it won't boot. I see the HP logo and the <esc> to change boot /
| F8 to "Safe Mode". After it dissapears, instead of botting up to
| windows it gives me an error message stating
|
| <windows root> system32\hal.dll is missing or corrupt
| reinstall file
|
| I have the XP restore disk. what's the process to reload the dll file.
|
| I can <esc> to get to "load from disk drive". will it allow me to just
| reload the dll I need (I'm a beginer, if you haven't guessed).
|
| I also, of course have the 3 disks from HP for their system restore,
| but obviously I don't want to loose all the data I've entered since my
| last save.
|
| I'm scared to try this on my own, just a little help is all I
| need.
| when I "boot from the disk drive" do I have the XP disk in and will it
| allow me to just "restore" or pick and choose the right dll
| or.........
|
| Thanks
| Rocky

 

[Guest]

I have the same problem on a Dell Dimension 8400, Attempts to recover have
all been unsuccessful. When I try to get to winddows pro xp setup from the
installation CD, the screen freezes when the 3 choices are 1) press enter 2)
press r 3) press f3 (none of the 3 options work). I also checked the hard
drive diagnostics (using f12 at bootup) and get the message "fail return
code: 7". Dell assumes the whole problem to be a bad hard drive. Is there any
possibility that they are mistaken and that there is a software fix?
Replacing the hard drive, reinstalling all programs, and losing prior data is
my other option.
Ron D

 

[Rich Barry]

Ron, for what it's worth I have noticed that if I add or subtract a
Primary Partition I have to reflect that change in the
boot.ini file or I will get the Hal.dll error. Since I do that often ( I
have eight linux distros along with a dual boot of XP/ME )
I can get to the boot.ini file from either a Linux OS or Me. But for
those who don't share my enthusiasm for multiple OS's
getting to the boot.ini file can be accomplished by using the Recovery
Console. But again you need a WinXP CD for that.

 

[Fred]

I have the same problem on a Dell Dimension 8400, Attempts to recover have
all been unsuccessful. When I try to get to winddows pro xp setup from the
installation CD, the screen freezes when the 3 choices are 1) press enter 2)
press r 3) press f3 (none of the 3 options work). I also checked the hard
drive diagnostics (using f12 at bootup) and get the message "fail return
code: 7". Dell assumes the whole problem to be a bad hard drive. Is there any
possibility that they are mistaken and that there is a software fix?
Replacing the hard drive, reinstalling all programs, and losing prior data is
my other option.
Ron D

:

Ran into the "missing hal.dll" error on a couple computers. Found that
hal.dll is a file that isn't actually needed. Followed the path
specified by the "missing file" report and created an empty file at that
location and labeled it "hal.dll"....problem solved... You might wasnt
to give this a try...

HTH,
Fred

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the post. The hard disk failed read diagnostics and was finally
replaced (so far without further problems. Apparently hal.dll can be caused
by multiple problems.
Ron D

 

[Ted Zieglar]

For more information on hal.dll search the Internet for Hardware Abstraction
Layer.