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That message looks like a problem with the boot.ini file rather than a corrupted Hal.dll file.

Boot from the XP cd and go into Recovery Console (press R after it's loaded into setup). Once you're at the command prompt type "bootcfg /rebuild" and press enter.

It will then ask you to add the installation to the boot disk or words to that effect. Type "y" and press enter. Then it will ask you for the load identifier. This is just the OS name. If you're running XP Pro then it will be "Windows XP Professional" and so on.

The last option will be the load options. Type "/fastdetect" and press enter again. Restart the PC and if it was due to a fucked boot.ini the computer should start.

If that doesn't work then go back to the Recovery Console and type

"expand d:\i386\hal.dl_ c:\windows\system32\hal.dll"

It will copy a new Hal.dll file from the XP CD to Windows. That's it. It's piss easy.

If that STILL doesn't work then go back to the Recovery console again and type "fixboot" and press enter. You might want to also type "fixmbr" before you restart which will write a new master boot record as well.


If none of those things work (and they should) then you are stuck with a doing a clean install.

Good luck!
 
Thanks Menty, I appreciate the advice. My friend Raj (sort of my Menty in the office) said you were spot on.

Trouble is, it's more of a hardware problem; while that was the last interesting message I got, I get a different message each time I reboot. If it makes it past login (half the time), it either freezes a minute later, or goes bluescreen and says it shut down because of the following file/command, and it's a different one each time. The part where it doesn't make it past the initial boot started yesterday.

I haven't been able to use the keyboard for weeks because typing shorts out the machine. I've had an old Mac USB keyboard plugged in.

Luckily the files are 99% backed up, so I'm not suffering from OMG I NEED MY FILES-itis.
 
It's possible you just have a hard drive that is going out or is corrupted.

I suppose a virus that fucks with your dll's is also a possibility.

I'd recommend running checkdisk just to make sure your HD is in good physical shape.
 
I've run several, it never finds a problem with the HD itself. I was considering the virus possibility too.

I did remove a bad RAM chip a while back, it's only running with a 1 gig chip at the moment.
 
Shorting out when typing doesn't sound healthy. It kinda' points to a motherboard problem which is the done-and-dusted moment for most PC's.

Then again, it could be the harddrive that's acting-up. Unless you have stuff on the HDD that you really want to recover I'd go with a format and reinstall Windows. If it is still screwy with a new copy of Windows and you have ruled out the HDD then it may be time to bite the bullet on a new PC.


EDIT: Saw the HDD posts.


That doesn't bode well for the mobo then. Format and see if it eliminates the problems. If it does it was all software related.
 
I'd have to agree with you there. If it's not the HD I'd say it's the MB...

One last thing to check... Check your power supply.

It's possible that your power supply went kinda baddish, screwed up your motherboard AND possibly your hard drive due to an under-voltage or over-voltage event.

I know it sounds whacky, but before you replace the motherboard and hard drives, definitely check your power supply to make sure you don't accidentally ruin new equipment.
 
Yeah - if a reinstall takes, you don't have hardware problems. If a freshie windows exhibits the same issues, you have hardware problems.

If/when you reinstall windows, don't do the "quick" NTFS format. Do the longie, if there are bad sectors/structure problems with the drive that should take care of it.
 
The power supply issue is a remote possibility, I replaced it a few months ago, but I bought it from Dell and triple-checked the model compatibility. If I can get it booted again at all, I'll try it with the battery alone and with the AC with no battery to compare. But I don't think it's that.

But right now it's nigh impossible to get it past the first few seconds of booting. We'll see. But either way it's time for a new machine.
 
Interesting: Booted it up in Diagnostic mode and the Hard Disk test failed. haven't been able to sustain a boot long enough to retest and get the details.

Probably won't be online much this weekend...
 
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