Arrrrrgh!!!!!!! Sniafraga friffin goggin!!!!!!!!!!

1) Well the 'puter wont boot

2) Invalid Boot.INI file
booting from C:\windows\

3) Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
<WINDOWS ROOT>\SYSTEM32\HAL.DLL
Please re-install a copy of the above file

4) Trying Safemode just shuts the system down.

5) Booting with the Windows disc and picking "R" for repair gets me a DOS prompt, but I have forgotten all the DOS commands perfect syntax required and all.

6) tried a few commands I looked up on the Internet but the seemed to go unrecognized.

7) I have a copy of the HAL.DLL file off of another computer that works and had intended in coping it onto mine.

8) Hey why does it say "C:\windowS\" I'm sure when I originally installed it I put in in "C:windowZ\" just in case I needed to change back to the original operating system. About a year has passed so I un-installed the old operating system (about 3 months ago) so can't go there.

9) Tried what I think is Linux (Ubantu) Live but it does not let me (or I don't know what I'm doing) see the files on drive "C" so that I can replace the existing/corrupt HAL.DLL

10) So Gurus any dieas or Ideas?

Thanks, Skank

Drumroll please.
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If you have a virus scanner disk, boot to a copy of that. Sounds like you picked up a bug.

That is the same error you get when trying to boot from a non system disk floppy. Make sure there isn't a floppy in the floppy drive.

It looks like your system is trying to boot off of the wrong system partition. This is most likely caused by a virus or a bad HD (prolly maxtor) .....

Here is a list of things I would try first

First!!! I would run a check disk from the command console....if this fixes your problem I would get a new hd soon.

1. Boot the system off of CD and goto the R repair console. Once your to the Dos prompt....type chkdsk -f (to check even if it thinks its good....pretty sure it is -F command, type chkdsk /? to see commands to be sure.

2. If that doesn't boot it... Boot the system off of CD and goto the R repair console. Once your to the Dos prompt....
Type bootcfg /list to show the current entries in the BOOT.INI file
Type bootcfg /rebuild to repair it

I haven't personally used the above option yet, but is sounds sound....lol.


3. Boot the system off of CD and goto the R repair console.
type command 'fixboot' (fixes boot record)
reboot and see.....

4. if doesn't work, try 'fixmbr' (thin thats it) (fixes master boot record...note, may mess up your partitions.....but ....better than formatting.)


5. If that don't work.....then ....refer to FAH-Q's post.

{FAH}Q,
I knew you would be the first to respond and pretty much where you would go with it. If you hadn't then there would be little doubt the the the real "{FAH}Q had been taken over and converted to one of the pod people (not the pod from apple).

Juggsie,
I almost always run McAfee, unfortunatly I purchased mine online direct as a download and have no such disk to try. I didn't know there was anti-virus software that could boot without windows. Which would they be? You always have run the best avatars, promise to never stop.

Hermski!!!!!!!!!!!!,
Hi ya boss man. Can not denie that I have experienced the ol' floppy left in the drive phenominom. Unfortunatly that it not the case this time.

Hey Bigs,
A lot of good stuff there brother. Tried em' all with no luck. But it did show that the DOS commands could be executed.

O.K. Gurus I have a couple of ideas but need some input as to if they are way out in left feild or if fesible how to perform them.

1) I have a copy of the HAL.DLL file off of another computer with the same O.S. that works and had thought about coping it over the one on my. Is this possible? If so how do I coby it from A: to Where?

2) I have heard about computers being set up with two operating systems. Is there any reason that the second one could not be the same as the first (XP Pro) located on another drive? I thought if it was then maybe I could boot up with the new boot system and then fix the old one. Sounds funny I know but the old one has all the programs installed to it including the butt load of updates over the years the Microsoft probably wouldn't give me again as they no longer seem to enjoy the flavor of my OS when I try for updates.

I thank you all for the sugestions given as well as those yet to come.
Best regards, Skank

You should be able to put the hal file on a floppy and copy it into the c:/windows/ system32 folder using the command prompt recovery console.

I have read that people tried this and it didn't help them...haven't had this particular problem myself so can't attest to working or not. You still need to fix the boot.ini I think.

I don't see any reason why you couldn't have two copies of xp running on dual boot. You may try that....
It may be better to just pull the hard drive and stick it another machine as a slave...and fix it there...so you don't take the chance of messing it up more with a dual boot config...

If you do a dual partition or put the HD in another pc, I would try first, editing the boot.ini file and making sure it is correct. It is located at c:\boot.ini marked as hidden and system....and should look something like this....

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

Make sure the partition number and name are correct on the bold lines...if you have a dual boot system, make sure they are all correct and listed at the right partitions...(you can see the partitions in Management console)
Once the boot.ini is fixed, replace the hal.dll file in the Windows/system32 folder.

Don't know if this will help, but:

/KERNEL=
/HAL=
Enable you to override Ntldr's default filename for the kernel image (Ntoskrnl.exe) and/or the HAL (Hal.dll). These options are useful for alternating between a checked kernel environment and a free (retail) kernel environment or even to manually select a different HAL. If you want to boot a checked environment that consists solely of the checked kernel and HAL, which is typically all that is needed to test drivers, follow these steps on a system installed with the free build:

* Copy the checked versions of the kernel images from the checked build CD to your \Windows\System32 directory, giving the images different names than the default. For example, if you're on a uniprocessor, copy Ntoskrnl.exe to Ntoschk.exe and Ntkrnlpa.exe to Ntoschkpa.exe. If you're on a multiprocessor, copy Ntkrnlmp.exe to Ntoschk.exe and Ntkrpamp.exe to Ntoschkpa.exe. The kernel filename must be an 8.3-style short name.
* Copy the checked version of the appropriate HAL needed for your system from \I386\Driver.cab on the checked build CD to your \Windows\System32 directory, naming it Halchk.dll. To determine which HAL to copy, open \Windows\Repair\Setup.log and search for Hal.dll; you'll find a line like \WINDOWS\system32\ hal.dll="halacpi.dll","1d8a1". The name immediately to the right of the equals sign is the name of the HAL you should copy. The HAL filename must be an 8.3-style short name.
* Make a copy of the default line in the system's Boot.ini file.
* In the string description of the boot selection, add something that indicates that the new selection will be for a checked build environment (for example, “Windows XP Professional Checked”).
* Add the following to the end of the new selection's line: /KERNEL=NTOSCHK.EXE /HAL= HALCHK.DLL

Now when the selection menu appears during the boot process you can select the new entry to boot a checked environment or select the entry you were using to boot the free build.

And the place where I found this is here:
http://www.sysinternals.com/Information/bootini.html

See also here:
http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/1268/

Good luck with this. I just hope that you do not have to redo your system...

Was there any Doubt?



Been there. Done that. I've run the same version of OSX as well as two different version of OSX on seperate drives. Oh yeah I also had a third drive which had the old Mac OS (OS9) on it. Able to boot from any drive I wanted at anytime. Of course I never needed to but it was nice having that set up that way just in case a drive went bye bye.

Oh wait you wanted to do that on a PC. Ooops sorry.

Sorry Skank ol' buddy. Hope you find the problem.

............BOO!!.....Windoze sux !


Chef


"Will work for Mac"

The only kinda mac I want is from Mcdonalds

Soon as I make my first million on my book I'll hook you up with an entire Mac Lab.




I will forgive your transgression only because you've got a great Avatar.

Thanks dude! and speaking of great avatars.............Up the Irons!
Nice avatar brutha. Nuttin like Eddie the 'ed for Halloween .......!!

IC


Mcdonalds is crap !! and sells bowel-gas- plastic food!ugh, Soylent-green happy meal to go please

Sorry to say I've taken the cowards way out. Plugged in an old 80gig HD loaded Windows and am currently preping one on of my big drives as to comence with file juggling 101.
Maybe with this copy of Windows Mr. Gates will let me have updates again

Thanks for all the ideas folks, but when it got to kernels I didn't know if we were talking military or corn.

I had a new install give me probs today at work. I trie dthe repair but it just froze. Sometimes Windoz sux.