[dovjm]

I am getting the following error and it loops: "file is missing or corrupt windows root system32 hal.dll"

When I try and run the windows cd and either wipe or repair the error it tells me that the "the setup did not find hard drive disks"


Now I am thinking the hard drive is defective?? Or do I have a virus???

thanks for all your help

[Phantom010]

Read this.

[dovjm]

cause if I try and hit repair or clean wipe it says hard drive is not detected.

I checked the boot order and it is pointing to the correct hard drive, I also am now running the primary hard disk self test and will see what that says.


So does it sound like hard drive failure??

[Phantom010]

If the physical part of your hard drive that stores any part of the hal.dll file has been damaged, you're likely to see errors like this.

[dovjm]

Cause it seems like in all the repair suggestions online you need to be able to do things after hitting the repair section or able to wipe the drive.

When I do these things it says it can not detect the drive, therefore not sure if there is anyway to fix this drive???

[Phantom010]

A chkdsk /r might give us an idea.

[dovjm]

It says the following:

(S.M.A.R.T)

100% Complete

(Quick) Pass
(Comprehensive) pass
(S.M.A.R.T) Pass
Hit any key to exit.

[dovjm]

Does this mean the hard drive is ok???

[dovjm]

Any thoughts on this??

[Phantom010]

Check the boot order in the BIOS.

[dovjm]

when I have the hard drive set as number one it goes into the error:

<windows root>\system32\hal/dll.

[dovjm]

I tried to use the arrow keys to go down in the main menu of PhoenixBIOS Setup Utility, but it will only go down to the system date and wont go down to the other items on the Main menu.


Now sure what to do now??

[dovjm]

On System config it says SATA Native Support, which is enabled...

Still now sure if there is anything I can do to fix this problem, so it recognizes the hard drive and I can wipe it clean and reinstall....

Appreciate the help..

[TheOutcaste]

Originally Posted by dovjm

When I try and run the windows cd and either wipe or repair the error it tells me that the "the setup did not find hard drive disks"

Are you sure it an ATA drive and not a SATA hard drive?

The XP CD does not include SATA drivers, so it can't see SATA hard drives.
You can

1. Slipstream the SATA drivers into a new disk
2. Provide them on a floppy disk by pressing F6 at the start of Setup when prompted
3. Set the BIOS to ATA or Compatible mode instead of AHCI
4. Use a Live CD that includes SATA drivers to make repairs.

Be easiest to change the controller setting in the BIOS if it has that option, then you can use the XP Recovery Console. Then change the setting back when done. I would disable the SATA Native support, and check for any other options relating to ACHI or ATA or IDE

One thing most articles about fixing the missing hal.dll error fail to mention is that there are 7 different hal.dll files. If you copy the hal.dll file as they suggest on a system with two or more processors/cores, you may disable all but the 1st processor/core, as the hal.dll file is not a multiprocessor version. The Halmacpi.dll file is more likely the correct one to copy and rename as hal.dll

Live CDs
Ultimate Boot CD for Windows
BartPE CD/DVD
Ultimate Boot CD
Knoppix
Ubuntu
Puppy Linux


The first two require access to a Windows XP Disk

• The UBCD4Windows does include SATA drivers, but only for the WinPE environment. The Recovery Console image it includes does not have access to them
• The Ultimate Boot CD does not include SATA drivers, so you'll need to be able to change the BIOS setting for the SATA controller to ATA instead of AHCI, or Compatibility mode instead of Enhanced (wording will vary)

Note: A Vista/Win7 DVD can also be used to recover files and make some repairs. A Vista RE disk can be downloaded from one of these links:
Vista Recovery Environment CD
64 bit Vista
32 bit Vista

• Boot with the DVD
• Select your language and click Next
• Click Repair your Computer
• After it scans for Windows installations click Next (Win7: Select Top option first)
• Click Command Prompt.

The Vista/Win 7 Disks won't have the bootcfg, FIXBOOT, or FIXMBR programs that the XP Recovery Console does, but you can edit/create the boot.ini file using Notepad, and if it's the full DVD, you can use bootsect /nt52 to do the same as FIXBOOT. Bootsect.exe is not included on the Vista RE disks you can download but can be found pretty easily.

This post explains the steps to recover from the missing hal.dll error using the Recovery Console:
Missing Hal.dll

[dovjm]

I disabled the sata feature and now it recolonizes the hard drive...

But when I try to wipe it... it turns out there is a Cartition NTFS and a D:Partition which is FAT32

This is a friends computer, not sure if this means there is two hard drives???