hal.dll ??

[merle2503]

Hi,
yesterday I fixed my boot.ini problem, all was fine.
Today when I start the computer it says:
Windows could not start because the following file is missing or currupt.
<windows root>\system32\hal.dll

😕
What does that mean? And what can I do?
When I click "Enter" the pc starts (without the hal.dll I think).
Thanks for help, Merle

 

[Waynus]

I had this same problem a couple of months ago and the only way I could fix it was to reinstall windows xp using the "repair" facility. This site here http://www.windowsreinstall.com/index.htm
can guide you through the process if you are not familiar with it.

 

[merle2503]

Thanks, I will try this!
Merle

 

[Lonman]

Open a command window and type in 'sfc /scannow' without the quotes. This is system file checker... it will look for missing or corrupt system files and prompt you to replace what it finds missing or corrupt.

 

[merle2503]

Hi Lonman,
I did it, it checked my system and nothing happened!?

 

[Lonman]

That's good news then. You might want to do a couple of test boot-ups to see if it replaced anything on the sly for you... If you still get the hal.dll error then I guess you're stuck doing the repair installation.

I just went to the Microsoft Knowledge Base and type in hal.dll... it came back with a lot of articles on it. I'm trying to find something XP or NT related that might help out. A lot of folks get the error you're getting. Let me do some reading and I'll post back if/when I find something that matches the situation.

 

[merle2503]

Thank you!!

 

[Lonman]

Here's an interesting article on hal (Hardware Abstraction Layer):

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q314070

Did you have any shutdown problems that you had to troubleshoot and find a fix for? Is your computer ACPI compliant? Did you have to manually activate APM (Advanced Power Management) features to power your computer down? If you answer yes to any of those, then that could be at the root of your problem.

Check out the attachement and let me know what kind of computer you have by going to Control Panel> System> 'hardware' tab> 'device manager' button. Look at what's highlighted on the picture and tell me what your's is saying it is.

 

[Lonman]

Oops, forgot the attachment:

 

[merle2503]

I did it. No problems with shutdown. Nothing highlighted in device manager! And: my computer is ACPI-PC.
Meanwhile I re-booted and booted twice and there was no hal.dll mistake. I do not understand it at all!
Merle (I have not yet read the article...)

 

[merle2503]

and here the attachment!

 

[Lonman]

I guess the sfc check snuck one in, lol. Glad it's working ok.

 

[merle2503]

Glad,too.
Thanks! 🙂