Member Avatar for robodisco

i have a 80gig Seagate Barracudda 7200.7 which i purchased last yr. Unfortunately for me it stopped functioning recently for some reason. FOrtunately it was still under warranty and was ecstatic to get it yesterday since my warranty runs out next week.
so i try to install windows xp pro...initial installation goes fine ie. formatting n copying files. Then when the computer restarts, a message at the top reads

' windows was unable to start because a file was missing/corrupt : windows/system32/dal.dll. Please install this file again for setup to continue '

i've tried this windows xp cd installation without flaws on a friend's com just 2 weeks ago. what gives?
pls help as i'm helpless with a non functioning computer!!!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by pintree3

Dani AI

Generated

A short expert note and troubleshooting summary (built on the thread posts by , , , and ).

The error shown in early XP-era installs is most often the familiar HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) message — Windows reports a missing/corrupt \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\HAL.DLL when it cannot find or load a core boot component. That message can come from several causes (boot configuration, damaged system files, or hardware/read errors). (support.microsoft.com)

How this ties to the optical drive swap: Windows XP Setup runs in phases — it first copies the i386/setup files to the hard disk (text-mode), reboots and then continues the GUI phase. If one or more files are read incorrectly during the copy phase (dirty/scratched CD, a flaky CD-ROM drive, or even bad RAM), a critical file can be left absent or damaged and only show up after the reboot. That explains why swapping the CD drive fixed ’s install while a full-drive wipe would also have “looked” like a solution in other cases. (flylib.com)

Focused, practical checks not covered in detail above (ordered roughly by low-to-higher effort):

  • Confirm the exact filename in the error (HAL.DLL is the usual XP boot file). If it truly is HAL.DLL, the Recovery Console can be used to rebuild boot entries and restore kernel files (examples: bootcfg /rebuild, or use expand from the XP CD to restore hal/ntoskrnl). These commands and steps are in Microsoft’s recovery guidance. (support.microsoft.com)
  • If Setup fails repeatedly because of missing files, avoid the suspect CD/drive: copy the CD’s i386 folder to the hard disk or use the makelocalsource/Winnt32 options so Setup runs from a local source, or burn a fresh install disc at the slowest reliable speed (or use a different drive). (flylib.com)
  • Test RAM with Memtest (bootable utility) and test the Seagate drive with vendor tools (SeaTools) before repeatedly repartitioning/formatting — bad RAM or HDD faults can show as install copy errors. (memtest86.net)

Notes and cautions: ’s tip to clean/replace the CD-ROM is exactly the right low-effort first move; ’s full-wipe approach works when the file copy phase actually completed with bad data or if the boot records are wrong. ’s reminder about preserving data on other drives is important — verify and back up any needed files before formatting or applying destructive fixes.

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Member Avatar for Member #2466

I suggest you try the install again. The error you are getting is a standard error for any dll missing from system32 directory. Here is what I would do to correct your error:

  • Get ahold of or make a boot disk (windows 98SE). I use http://bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm You'll want the win98SE OEM. It doesn't matter what operating system you are installing...the win98 boot disk will get us to the menu we want to get to. I use mine for just about every windows OS out there.
  • Boot up off your boot disk. type the following: "fdisk /mbr" This will blank out your master boot record and get rid of any OS data that may be stored there.
  • I would then format the entire drive...blank that puppy out.
  • After this, I'd install windows normally and see what errors that gave me. You should be ok after that.
  • If your install still results with the same or similar error...I'd say you may have a corrupt copy/cd of Windows.

Let me know what happens...I'm interested in seeing this one through.

Member Avatar for robodisco

interestingly the installation went thru when i swapped my optical drive with another one. go figure :)

Member Avatar for Member #2466

That is a bit strange...well...darn. I didn't help squat. Oh well. :D

Member Avatar for RC_Razor

its ok TKS theres a next time...

Member Avatar for rasputinj

I have run into that problem a few times, once I had to clean off the CD, and another time I had to replace the CD-Rom drive.

Member Avatar for pintree3

This answer (TKS) seems good, if and only if, one does not need the information within any other drive. I thought I should mention this just in case someone uses this as a solution and forgets the fact that s/he may have important info on another drive.

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