GBK.Xscape Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 well my little brother got the desktop computer after i got my new macbook pro but now he has done something so that only mac works and when i try to boot into windows it gives me an error "Windows could not start becuase the following file is missing or corrupt: <Windows root>\system32\hal.dll. please reinstall a copy of the above file" it has 3 partitions, one mac, one windows, and one restore image with the windows xp media center on it insted of having the restore dvds. how do i boot into that restore partition so i can reinstall windows? or is there a way to fix the error so the windows partition will boot and work again. thanks for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartan015 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 can u plug in that hard drive wit like idk a usb adapter (sata and there is IDE to usb, like the external hard drives) and then manually put the file back where it goes? For example, if u have another hard drive, install that windows media center dealie off it, on the new drive, boot the new drive and have the other drive as slave and copy the missing file back into it. it's a hassle but it'll probably work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBK.Xscape Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 hmm, i guess that would work, i have an external drive i could install it to but i am looking for something that would just let me boot off of the recovery partition made by hp becuase they are too cheap to include restore dvds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docmac Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Put your windows disk in and repair the win install. I had the same problem on my vaio notebook! Should be easy fix. post back your results. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBK.Xscape Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 Put your windows disk in and repair the win install. I had the same problem on my vaio notebook! Should be easy fix.post back your results. Good luck! its just that i dont have a windows disc, hp thought they would save money by just putting the restore disks onto a partition so we could restore it form there. can i just use any old windows xp disc, i have on lying around if that helps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBK.Xscape Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 anyone know a way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anagromataf Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Hi, the missing hal.dll is usually caused by a change in Win Partition scheme. Windows uses a text file named "boot.ini" to load any OS. This file contains informations about the disk and partition each Win installation resides on. Due to hardware changes Windows sometimes shifts its disk or partition numbering. Get yourself a bootable Win CD and choose "repair installation". On the command line you can use "bootcfg" to scan all disks for Windows installations. With "bootcfg /rebuild" you can add a new "boot.ini" entry for each Win installation. Make sure to use distinctive names (e.g. "Win XP repaired") or you may have some problems to identify the proper item in your boot menu. When Windows is up and running again, you may change the name and delete any old entry using a text editor (eg. notepad.exe). Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweatyfish Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 You managed to grab a copy of OSX86 but cant manage to snag a copy of XP?????? I thought everyone had a copy of XP by now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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