Running XP. Tried to restart, as explorer was stuck. Got black DOS screen:Windows could not start because the following is missing or corrupt:\systems 32\hal.dll.What do I do?
Hello and welcome to JustAnswer. I look forward to assisting you today with your question and providing the best answer possible.Unfortunately the only fix in this case is to repair XP. Do you have your Windows XP installation disk that came with the computer?
I have not been able to find it as yet.
OK we will need that disk to run the repair process in most cases. Can you tell me the model of the computer?
Was looking for disk. Have found everything but. Dell Dimension 4700
OK the good news for a Dell Dimension you can purchase the disk from a third party. The service I like to use is http://www.restoredisks.com/. If you click that link you will get to their site.
Once there, you can click on Find a Restore Disk and then choose your computer from the wizard. I just checked and they do have disks for the 4700 for about $30.
Once you have the disks, you can run the XP Repair process. The instructions are below:
Most, if not all of your programs should still work and all of your data will still be there. You will need to run Windows Update (click Start -> Windows Update) immediately to protect your computer and to ensure that all programs work correctly.
Ok, I will continue looking for the original disk. It must be here somewhere. I don't throw stuff out. I did find a Win 95 disk for example.
If I have to order from restoredisks.com, they will mail me a physical disk? Or is it a download that I burn from this computer?
How do I get back from you later if I need to? Link or case #?
They will mail you a physical disk that you can use (you can have them overnight it but it is an extra $20).
You can get back to me by going to www.justanswer.com and clicking on My Questions -> My Stuff. You will then see a link for this question that you can click on. In addition you should have received several emails regarding this case that contain all the information.
Good. Just found the XP disk w/Service Pack 2. Will try that now.
Excellent. Since it is a SP2 disk, you will definitely want to install SP3 right after the repair install. Do NOT try to do anything else without installing SP3 and Internet Explorer 8 first. You can get both of them from the Microsoft Download Center at:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/default.aspx
Good luck!
In a blue Setup mode.
It asked me where I want to set up.Partition 1 FAT 55MB
C Partition 2 NTFS 235178 MB
or E Part 3 Fat32 3177 MB. I chose C.
Now screen says Caution A \Windows folder already exists...will overwrite...~ may lose desktop icons, etc, everything.. May lose My Documents. Gives three choices L to continue and overwrite existing installation, F3 to exit, ESC to install in different folder
OK right after you pressed F8 to agree to the license agreement did you see anything about repairing Windows? It sounds like you are one step past that screen, which is not where we want to be unfortunately. If you did NOT see that screen, let me know.
I don't think so, but everything has been a little different. Sounds like I should exit and try to come back in again?
Yes try it once more for me. Again, right after you press the F8 key to accept the License Agreement there will hopefully be a screen stating that there is an existing XP installation and asking if your want to repair it. If it goes right to the new installation screen instead let me know.Remember, if for any reason you are unsatisfied with my answer, we can continue the conversation until you’re satisfied and Accept my answer. I can address follow up questions at no extra charge and I’m always here to help. Thank you for using JustAnswer!
Got Welcome to Setup
To set up windows XP now Enter (did not say install)
Use Recovery Console R
Quit Setup w/o installing Win XP F3
Got BSD with A problem has been detected... Windows shut down to prevent damage to your computer.. ( I hate that screen!)
If this is the first time, restart. If not, check file space....
Restarted, back to same 3 choices. Holding here for your advice...
OK press the Enter key to install Windows. On the next screen you should see the license agreement, correct?
F8 took me right to that screen where it wants me to use up and down arrows to choose where to set up XP. Enter to select, C to create, and D to delete a partition. Since almost all of the available space was in C:, last time I chose C. At the bottom of the screen Enter corresponds to install, but the cursor starts (and is presently) on -: Partition 1 Fat 55 MB 47 MB Free. The C: is one choice down.
Shoot OK that means that XP setup is not seeing the existing installation, which means we can't perform a repair. Your only option is to reinstall XP, which you are on the path to doing (the C: partition is the correct partition to do this on).
This will allow you boot the computer, but you will also have to reinstall all of your programs and then copy your data from your old user profile to the new one that is created. It will work but not quite as nicely as the repair install.
So you will choose to install on the C: drive and then you will get the warning about there already being a Windows installation there. You can disregard the warning and the setup will take place. Once the setup completes, you will need to download and install all the drivers for your Dell from here:
http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19
You can use the computer you are using now to download them and save them to a USB flash drive. Once you have all of the drivers installed you can reinstall your programs. And finally you will need to transfer data from your old profile to your new one:
Let me know if you have any questions during this process.
Please wait while setup initializes your XP configuration.
Loading information file dmreg.inf....
Seems like it might be stuck here....
OK I assume it has been there for quite a while? If so, I believe we are looking at a hard drive issue. This behavior coupled with the blue screen and the fact that your computer locked up in the first place and then lost the hal.dll file all point to a dying hard drive. With the age of that computer it might be time to start thinking about replacing it, but if you would rather repair it steps are below!
This is what I would do: