windows wont start

[Guest]

all of a sudden i turn on my computer and i have a black screen with words
saying and i quote" windows could not start because the following file is
missing or corrupt (windows-root)/system32/hal.dll. please reintall a copy of
the above file.

I am a amatuer with computers and i have no idea why this happened or what
to do. Can someone please tell me what to do in order to reinstall this file
and how do i even get to the file when it wont allow me to do anything?
THANKS.

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

Please try the following link to Kelly's web site:

"HAL - Hardware Abstraction Layer"
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_h.htm

--


Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups

 

[Guest]

will how do i go to this link when as soon as i turn on the computer i get
the above message that i mentioned on a black screen the computer will not
allow me to go anywhere to do anything and windows xp was on my computer when
i purchased it so i dont have any disk to use to reinstall windows?

 

[ME]

How did you post this msg. try the same computer to go to Kelly's web site.
Derek

 

[Guest]

derek, i posted the message at work on another computer, i think i was very
clear in my post to Will, i can not access any links on the computer in its
current standing. As i said when i turn on the pc i get a black screen with
nothing on it but the writing that i posted, windows xp won't start. As i
said already in my previous post i dont have any original windows xp disc
because when i purchased the pc windows xp was already installed on it. Sorry
the the rest of the people reading this for the redundency, i thought i was
clear in my first two posts. Thank you. If there is anyone that can tell me
what i need to do in order to retrieve the file that i mentioned from a black
screen that wont let me access windows until i do so please let me know. Or
will i have to purchase windows xp and reinstall it on my pc.

 

[Malke]

derek, i posted the message at work on another computer, i think i was
very clear in my post to Will, i can not access any links on the computer
in its current standing. As i said when i turn on the pc i get a black
screen with nothing on it but the writing that i posted, windows xp won't
start. As i said already in my previous post i dont have any original
windows xp disc because when i purchased the pc windows xp was already
installed on it. Sorry the the rest of the people reading this for the
redundency, i thought i was clear in my first two posts. Thank you. If
there is anyone that can tell me what i need to do in order to retrieve
the file that i mentioned from a black screen that wont let me access
windows until i do so please let me know. Or will i have to purchase
windows xp and reinstall it on my pc.

You can't just replace the file. Here's information from the late great MVP
Alex Nichol:

That message is rather misleading. It 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. Set the BIOS to boot CD before Hard Disk. Boot the XP CD
and, instead of Setup, take the immediate R for Repair. Assume any
password requested is blank, and TAB over.

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

to search for Windows installations and make a new one.

Now that you know how to fix it, let's address the fact that you don't have
the necessary XP install cd. You will either need to borrow one that
matches your installed version (ex. OEM XP Home, retail XP Home) or take
the machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your local version
of BigStoreUSA).

And here's information about not having the XP installation disk:

When you purchased your computer, the seller was legally required to provide
you a method to return the computer to factory condition. They could do
this by providing:

1. A physical cd with the actual operating system on it. If an OEM version
(as opposed to retail), there must be a product key sticker on the
computer. If you have the product key sticker, a local computer shop may be
willing to install Windows for you since the product key is your license,
not the physical cd.

2. A physical cd with an image of the operating system as installed at the
factory.

3. An image of the operating system on a special partition, sometimes
hidden, on the hard drive.

Refer to your computer manual for which method was used. If you purchased a
used computer from "a friend", yard sale, or unscrupulous local computer
shop and did not receive the operating system or product key, I'm afraid
you will have to buy a copy.

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

Malke

 

[Guest]

Malke, thank you for your post. I knew i did not have the recovery disks so
what i did was contact the manufacturer and i purchased the disks. I will be
receiving the disks tomarrow. Hopefully the directions are alot simplier than
the computer jargon on here, thanks again.

 

[Malke]

Malke, thank you for your post. I knew i did not have the recovery disks
so what i did was contact the manufacturer and i purchased the disks. I
will be receiving the disks tomarrow. Hopefully the directions are alot
simplier than the computer jargon on here, thanks again.

Whether you will be able to repair your install or not depends on what
options you get with the OEM's recovery disks. In the meantime, you might
want to back up your data by booting with Knoppix, a Linux distro that runs
from cd or a Bart's PE. That might be a tad advanced for you, so if you
decide to do it, call some local computer repair shops.

I'm sorry that you find the "computer jargon" difficult, but you have to
remember that although computers are marketed as being simple, they are
not. They are not toasters. Computers are complex, powerful machines and
sometimes fixing them requires specialized skills.

http://www.knoppix.net - Knoppix
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder - Bart's PE

Malke

 

[Guest]

thanks malke for your help, it does take along time to recover to the
manufacturers original settings but i'm working on it and with the simple
instructions that came with the disks its very helpful, and as far as
computers not being toasters easy to understand or fix, nowadays they are
making things simple as toasters hard to understand to fix when it comes to a
problem and you have to go back to the manufacturer so its not so much being
that the computer is so complex its knowing the steps to take to get it back
online.

 

[Guest]

all of a sudden i turn on my computer and i have a black screen with words
saying and i quote" windows could not start because the following file is
missing or corrupt (windows-root)/system32/hal.dll. please reintall a copy of
the above file.

I am a amatuer with computers and i have no idea why this happened or what
to do. Can someone please tell me what to do in order to reinstall this file
and how do i even get to the file when it wont allow me to do anything?
THANKS.

 

[Joe Wright]

Try this:

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

Option 1 looks like it's easy. Make sure you use the slash and
backslash when needed.