MISSING or CORRUPT FILE HAL.DLL

Question

I have read through the suggestions to resolve this issue.  My question is 'Will it suffice to expand the hal.dll file from a Windows XP Pro CD when my original install in Windows XP Home Edition?   I was able to run the recovery console from the XP Pro CD and I copied the hal.dll file from the CD into the appropriate Windows folder location, but that didn't work.  I will next try to rebuild the boot file, but I guess nothing will work if in the first place I cannot rely on the XP Pro CD.   Any knowledge on whether or not it is OK to use the XP Pro CD for a XP Home install/repair would be appreciated.   Thank you.

mombodog · Answer

You cannot simply copy the Hal.dll file you must use the expand command in recovery console as follows:    The command would be        expand d:\i386\hal.dl_ c:\windows\system32\hal.dll.        Substitute d: for the drive letter of your CD. Once you have expanded the file type 'exit' to exit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.       You must use the correct CD for install or repair, but will be ok for the Recovery console repair of the Hal.dll   Remember there are 2 types of repair on a XP cd, one is the recovery console for repairing of specific files, then there is the full repair feature (you must use correct cd for this), you get to this Repair by skipping recovery console and let windows setup run, then you can select repair after setup loads. Here is a link on how to do the full repair, you will need your Windows license key handy when you do this. You will also have to do a Windows update (maybe more than once) after this proceedure. Be sure the CD you use to do the repair is at least XP SP1.   http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI                    this proceedure will leave all your programs and data intact.

stonent · Answer

If you are using a recent pc (like 2001 or newer) you'll need to use the acpi hal file. halacpi.dl_ expand it to halacpi.dll and then rename it to hal.dll and put it in the directory as shown above.

bwadhwa · Answer

Thanks for the responses stonent and mombodog.  You guys are way more technically savvy than myself.   I figured out how to fix the problem I was having with the Missing or Corrupt hal.dll file.  Windows XP was not booting at all and I was afraid I lost all the data on my Inspiron laptop.   Booting directly from the recovery console on a Windows XP CD, I ran the following command:  'bootcfg /rebuild' from the DOS prompt.  It worked and the laptop seems to be back online.  The problem was my Windows install was not being recognized and the bootcfg command actually helped to detect the Windows install.  That was my missing piece.   Incidentally, to reiterate, my original install was Windows XP Home Edition, but in my troubleshooting effort, I used a Windows XP Pro edition and it seems to work just fine.  However, j ust in case the system has a relapse, I burned all important content to CD.   -- bwadhwa

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