Missing HAL.DLL - INFURIATING !!!

[Andrzej]

Hi All,

I have seen a few posts in/around the forums on this - and a load on the web - but I have to say that (now having experienced it first hand) it is one of the most infuriating problems I have ever experienced!

1) Stable system - no additional software added recently etc

2) Turned PC on yesterday morning and received this message in DOS-style B&W :-

"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."

3) Started with the usual things like 'Doing what it said and putting a 'fresh' copy of HAL.DLL into that folder'... but no luck

4) Tried EXPANDing a copy from a Windows disk - nothing

5) Ran CHKDSK to see if there was an issue - there was - but it could give me no solution (I assume at this stage that there may be a physical problem with the drive)

6) Used SYSTEM MECHANIC 7 to create a 'DISCMEDIC' disk on another machine - booted from that - but it only has 2 options - (1) Check Master Boot Record and (2) Check Partition Table. There was a reported problem with the MBR - which SM7 claimed to fix.. still would not boot past the HAL message

7) Unleashed me Philips screwdriver from its dust-encrusted case and opened the system up - went to my son's box - and cabled my drive up as a secondary drive on his machine - booted his machine

8) No problem accessing the disk - or running a full set of diagnostics (from AV to spyware to disk checking etc) on it - all of which reported the drive (including its free space) in perfect health

9) Hived off the useful data - broke the inter-system-mind-meld and took me box back to the loft

10) Tried the advice given by MS and others ("Invalid Boot.ini" or "Windows could not start" error messages when you start your computer) by attempting to rebuild the configuration - which it reported as having been successfully done - but still would not boot past the missing DLL issue

NOTHING WORKED


At this stage, I tried something else

I renamed the HAL.dll file (so that it would not move off that little space on the drive - in case there was a physical issue that had not been spotted) and EXPANDed a new copy there from my Windows disk

I then used the BOOTCFG command again to set up a different OS (but, really, the same one - just in case it got its options from somewhere else)
This time it went to the 'Windows Loading Screen' with the big colourful flag and moving time bar... for about 15 seconds - and then froze completely (so, past the missing HAL.DLL problem - but stuck somewhere else)

I am not going to follow some of the stranger advice given on the web by half-eyed men leading the totally blind (including salt over the shoulder and putting the hard drive into a deep freezer over night)...

...but I am going to call it a day and reinstall Windows

As a 'directly over the top of the current installation' first - then - if that still has issues - I will go with the 'low level reformat and checking for bad sectors' - but I don't suspect that there are any



Given how many entries there are for this (seemingly innocuous) problem on the web, it would be great if Microsoft actually solved it by contacting some of the users who have experienced it and then putting some engineering effort into the problem




Linky things...
330184
Invalid Boot.ini
Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt
Windows\System32\Hal.dll
hal.dl_
291980
289022
307654
kbenv
kberrmsg
kbprb
KB330184

[Craig321]

Possibly the controller, or cable. Have you tried a different port and cable?

If by any chance you have a GIGABYTE SATA controller and an Intel (ICHxR) controller then try the opposite of what you're using (the ones coloured differently).

[Lucio]

It sounds like one of those files that if it breaks, it's unrepairable because it's generated by the system as you go through the install stages. Given the weird name, I wonder if it's part of XP's copy protection, hence MS being rather silent on the subject.

It would also explain why you can't just copy or expand a new file into it's place, the one on the CD isn't the same as the copy installed on your system.

[Andrzej]

HAL is the Hardware Abstraction Layer which (I guess) works as part of the system that translates 'high-level' requests into the OS -> across to requests at a lower-level for the individual hardware

The HAL that ships would, therefore be generic, and designed only to get you 'up and running on any hardware'...

...whereas the one you use on a regular basis will have been updated several times as you add new hardware etc to your system


One other link has been sent to me... Error Message: Windows Could Not Start Because of a Computer Disk Hardware Configuration Problem - which indicates that the issue could be with the NTOSKRNL file and not the HAL DLL

However, I had already kicked off a reinstall at this stage - so I guess we will never know...

*****************************************

...controller or cable...

Thanks for the suggestion, but unlikely as the cable/drive were the same when I plugged them into the other system. Controller also does not seem to create issues when reinstalling. I suspect that a file is corrupted at a low level (maybe the NTOSKRNL) - in a way that is not detected by Windows - or highlighted well enough my MS Tech Sup

[this_is_gav]

Nah, it is generated by the OS to an extent (not built as such, but it's hooked into the OS). It's the file which dictates the type of system used, how many processors are present and so on. As far as I'm aware you can't just replace the file unfortunately, you have to change the PC type from the Device Manager.

This file's a bitch to work with, as anyone who uses Sysprep extensively will know.

[Andrzej]

If we get a chance to 'put the cameras' on someone from microsoft, I want to ask about 'totally dumb messages which completly mislead the user about the nature of the problem'

It's like the old 'Missing OS - insert system disk' on systems which had a loose hard drive cable...

...why not simply introduce the possibility that there is a loose cable !

I seem to remember having 'fun' when Internet Explorer 'went wrong' in the past - and it was more fully integrated into the OS

While we are at it, it would give me a chance to ask "Why is there no 'right click - paste as text' option in Windows - that leaves all that horrible MSO crap out ?"

Questions questions questions...

...roll on 2008 !!!!

[TheAnimus]

First off, how is it to know that the reason it can't find the HAL library is because of a defective cable/controller/hard drive/memory/cpu/motherboard/PSU?

Odds are there is a hardware problem that caused this. The question you want to ask is how intermittent is it going to be. Ie will it happen again in 5 minuites.

The clue is in the name, Error Message. The error thats happened, not a possible resolution.

[directhex]

the windows user interface design guides state pretty clearly that all error messages should be useless and/or cryptic. never tell the user something, it'll only confuse or scare them, when "gremlins" is a much easier thing to blame

[TheAnimus]

What users really want is a SEND ERROR REPORT box. That way they can feal like its not all in vain.

(i actually do this in the software i write thats used by my traders, thing is when i get a dump in, odds are i know the bug anyway and its just a case of not enough hours in the day!)

[this_is_gav]

What users really want is a SEND ERROR REPORT box. That way they can feal like its not all in vain.

There is one

Well, an automatic one which pops up when a program crashes. Whether it's of any benefit or not I don't know, but it's always been a 3rd party issue when I've seen it anyway.

Just for the record though, how would an error be reported, presumably via the interweb, when the OS hasn't been loaded?

[TheAnimus]

There is one

Well, an automatic one which pops up when a program crashes. Whether it's of any benefit or not I don't know, but it's always been a 3rd party issue when I've seen it anyway.

Just for the record though, how would an error be reported, presumably via the interweb, when the OS hasn't been loaded?

I was been sarcastic.